Former Republic of Ireland international Bernie Slaven offered his two cents on one of Italia 90's more unusual stories. “When Tony Cascarino was away with the Republic of Ireland at the 1990 World Cup, he ended up rooming with Bernie Slaven. Cascarino says Slaven was badly homesick, especially about his dogs, and that’s where it got strange. “At night, while Cascarino was lying in bed, Slaven would ring home and start howling like Lassie in to the phone – ‘Woof woof, aru, aru, woof!’ – then kissing the receiver and cooing, ‘hello lovey, dovey’. Slaven was fully committed to it, like this was the most normal thing in the world to do on a World Cup trip.”How accurate was this telling of the story?

Source: The Irish Times February 02, 2026 15:04 UTC