Comments on: IFA to formally revisit Irish player eligibility issue?

By: Marco Van Heamorroid

Marco Van Heamorroid — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 09:52:09 +0000

The IFA would rather stop the prospective international career for any Catholic footballer from the 6 counties rather than have them play for the 26.

Stamp bigotry out of football, maybe the IFA should start with themselves. If they had no loyalist undertones then they wouldn’t go crying to FIFA everytime a Catholic declared themselves available for the 26.

By: Daniel Collins

Daniel Collins — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:05:38 +0000

I’m not sure how you missed it. Besides, there will be an inevitable cross-over of politics and football in the realm of the international game. Representative entities are founded on politics; eligibility to play for them will be an inherently political issue. If you have a problem with that, international football probably isn’t for you. Anything constructive to add?

By: Daniel Collins

Daniel Collins — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:56:18 +0000

That’s even more bizarre. So the IFA are asking FIFA to abolish article 16 altogether, or just in relation to them? If it’s the latter, why should FIFA treat the IFA differently to the other British associations? If it’s the former, that would render eligibility for the British associations a rather ridiculous free-for-all. Further criteria are necessary to govern eligibility for the British associations because British nationality is a shared nationality. What would be the point in having four British sides representing each constituent country of the UK if, say, Tony Hibbert, with no connection to NI, was eligible to represent them?

When did the Republic of Ireland express concern with this? I don’t see why the FAI should be concerned. Irish nationals like James McClean and Darron Gibson declared for the FAI on the basis of their identity; not for careerist reasons. Consequently, I don’t see why they would opt to declare for any of the other British associations considering they identify solely as Irish. Regardless, if that option was indeed open to them, it would still be a matter of choice for the player concerned and not the business of the FAI. Can you provide a reference to where the FAI supposedly expressed concern?

By: ironmike

ironmike — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:46:11 +0000

I can’t see any football here. All thinly disguised politics of the individual.

By: Steve Porter

Steve Porter — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:15:20 +0000

Let me offer a scenario and then I’ll explain what the IFA are actually doing because the article has totally missed the gist.

Tony Hibbert is an experienced left back in the EPL, never going to be good enough for England but reasonably respected as a player. he holds a British passport. Under the rules being applied in Ireland Tony should be allowed to declare for any of the four home nations based on having British Citizenship right? WRONG. under the rules applied to British Citizenship Tony, an Englishman, of English ancestry and with no residential connections to the other home nations CANNOT declare for Northern Ireland.

Take his team mate Darren Gibson. born in Northern Ireland or Northern Irish ancestry with no residential connection to the Irish Republic but he IS ALLOWED to declare for the the Irish Republic because he has an Irish passport.

The IFA have tried to stop this and failed. they are not attempting to stop this again. What they have approached FIFA with on this occasion is for them to have the same right to call on any British passport holder in the same way the Irish Republic can call up any Irish passport holder. in effect giving them the right to aproach the likes of Tony Hibbert and call him into a Northern Ireland squad if he so chose.

The Republic of Ireland have expressed concern because it would mean that all those Irish passport holders in Northern Ireland such as Gibson etc would not become fair game for Scotland, Wales or even England if they had issues about playing for Northern Ireland.