Eligibility Rules, Okay

[BonnieShels]

There is no love lost between Croatia and Serbia, thats for sure. But many croats would actually see the kosovo thing, in the same way that they recognise much of Herzegovina as Croatian.

That makes no sense at all.

They would see the Kosovo thing in that it is part of Serbia? Is that what you're saying? Hardly.

[Charlie Darwin]

I don't know, in the same way that those might feel agrieved with the North of Ireland.

Kosovo down through the centuries was a serbian stronghold, populated with mostly ethnic serbs.

You could ask those who typically wouldn't like Serbs of other balkan nations, and they would even feel for the Serbs in this one. It feels a bit like Mayo cessating Irish citizenship/nationality and creating their own Independent state Although then again that might not be a bad thing.

@BS I would say you could add Croatia to the no list, Bulgaria and possibly Slovenia too.

Who feels aggrieved with the north of Ireland? I doubt many in Ireland begrudge them a team. Other European countries would have more of a problem.

[geysir]

I don't know, in the same way that those might feel agrieved with the North of Ireland.

Kosovo down through the centuries was a serbian stronghold, populated with mostly ethnic serbs.

You could ask those who typically wouldn't like Serbs of other balkan nations, and they would even feel for the Serbs in this one. It feels a bit like Mayo cessating Irish citizenship/nationality and creating their own Independent state Although then again that might not be a bad thing.

I would be surprised if there was any existing historical data to support your opinion, not even a few morsels.
Quite the opposite, ethnic Serbs were planted into Kosovo.
Perhaps you had better read up on your wikipedia history of Kosovo.

[BonnieShels]

Who feels aggrieved with the north of Ireland? I doubt many in Ireland begrudge them a team. Other European countries would have more of a problem.

Maybe not many. But certainly "some".

[paul_oshea]

I would be surprised if there was any existing historical data to support your opinion, not even a few morsels.
Quite the opposite, ethnic Serbs were planted into Kosovo.
Perhaps you had better read up on your wikipedia history of Kosovo.

Ah Geysir, google opinions by geysir, the man who has travelled the world from the comfort of his own home, who knows everything and hasn't experienced anything. History is open to interpretation, even opinion from time to time. I don't know when your history starts if it predates the ottoman regin or not, but if you insist on wikipedia, I can provide some for you. But if I were you I'd always try and get a bit more perspective maybe even speak to some "local" to get different contexts.

We can start with a Croat(as BS says surely they wouldn't be siding with the Serbs..)
"Archives reveal an overwhelming Serbian demographic majority in Kosovo, which was reversed by the end of Ottoman rule, as Croatian historian Ivo Banac summarised: "Ottoman raids, plunder, slaving forays, as well as the general devastation caused by constant wars uprooted large numbers of Serbs even before the Great Serb Migration".[37] This was followed by the transfer of Albanian pastoralists from the highlands of Albania to the fertile valleys of Kosovo"

"The zenith of Serbian power was reached in 1346, with the formation of the Serbian Empire. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Kosovo became a political and spiritual centre of the Serbian Kingdom. In the late 13th century, the seat of the Serbian Archbishopric was moved to Pec, and rulers centred themselves between Prizren and Skopje,[31] during which time thousands of Christian monasteries and feudal-style forts and castles were erected.[32] When the Serbian Empire fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities in 1371, Kosovo became the hereditary land of the House of Brankovic. In the late 14th and the 15th centurie
Mainstream historiography clarifies that "there is no conclusive evidence that a people unambiguously identifiable as "Albanian" constituted the majority of the population in Kosovo prior to the Ottoman occupation". Even the relatively "pro-Albanian" history written by Noel Malcolm concedes that "the region probably had a predominantly Orthodox Christian and Slavic population from the eight to the mid-nineteenth centuries".[39] Allowing for the possibility of some connection between the region's inhabitants prior to successive Slavic/ Serbian inflows, the Albanians who 'returned' to Kosovo in modern times were certainly not the same people, having intermarried extensively with Vlachs, Slavs, Greeks "


I have met many Croats for example, who wouldn't generally see eye to eye with Serbia on anything, but Kosovo is one thing they feel Serbia is justifably aggrieved about.

The ottoman reign drastically changed the cultural and religious landspace of the central Balkans, and if youre only willing to look at history post the downfall of the ottoman empire then you're getting a very one-sided view.

[paul_oshea]

And I won't get into a big drawn out debate on this. I don't have the luxury of all the free time you do to post on here and "research" google for hours on end.

Unless we start speaking about the non-existant prosecution of Bosnian War criminals, then I might be able find some time at the weekend

[geysir]

Ah Geysir, google opinions by geysir, the man who has travelled the world from the comfort of his own home, who knows everything and hasn't experienced anything. History is open to interpretation, even opinion from time to time. I don't know when your history starts if it predates the ottoman regin or not, but if you insist on wikipedia, I can provide some for you. But if I were you I'd always try and get a bit more perspective maybe even speak to some "local" to get different contexts.

We can start with a Croat(as BS says surely they wouldn't be siding with the Serbs..)
"Archives reveal an overwhelming Serbian demographic majority in Kosovo, which was reversed by the end of Ottoman rule, as Croatian historian Ivo Banac summarised: "Ottoman raids, plunder, slaving forays, as well as the general devastation caused by constant wars uprooted large numbers of Serbs even before the Great Serb Migration".[37] This was followed by the transfer of Albanian pastoralists from the highlands of Albania to the fertile valleys of Kosovo"

"The zenith of Serbian power was reached in 1346, with the formation of the Serbian Empire. During the 13th and 14th centuries, Kosovo became a political and spiritual centre of the Serbian Kingdom. In the late 13th century, the seat of the Serbian Archbishopric was moved to Pec, and rulers centred themselves between Prizren and Skopje,[31] during which time thousands of Christian monasteries and feudal-style forts and castles were erected.[32] When the Serbian Empire fragmented into a conglomeration of principalities in 1371, Kosovo became the hereditary land of the House of Brankovic. In the late 14th and the 15th centurie
Mainstream historiography clarifies that "there is no conclusive evidence that a people unambiguously identifiable as "Albanian" constituted the majority of the population in Kosovo prior to the Ottoman occupation". Even the relatively "pro-Albanian" history written by Noel Malcolm concedes that "the region probably had a predominantly Orthodox Christian and Slavic population from the eight to the mid-nineteenth centuries".[39] Allowing for the possibility of some connection between the region's inhabitants prior to successive Slavic/ Serbian inflows, the Albanians who 'returned' to Kosovo in modern times were certainly not the same people, having intermarried extensively with Vlachs, Slavs, Greeks "


I have met many Croats for example, who wouldn't generally see eye to eye with Serbia on anything, but Kosovo is one thing they feel Serbia is justifably aggrieved about.

The ottoman reign drastically changed the cultural and religious landspace of the central Balkans, and if youre only willing to look at history post the downfall of the ottoman empire then you're getting a very one-sided view.

Yes Paul, Serbs have used the defeat by the invading Ottomans some 600 years ago as justification for their territorial claims on Kosovo and the ethnic cleansing of the late 1990's.
And that justification is based on ancient history, the Serb invasion and occupation of Kosovo from 12C to 15C.
I'm sure as an Irishman you could identify with those present day Serbian territorial claims on Kosovo directed against the 95% ethnic Kosovo Albanians.
Perhaps those Serbian claims have a little bit more validity than the Vikings might have on Ireland based on their presence here. pre 1014.

[paul_oshea]

Or the orangemen in the north some 200 years later?

[BonnieShels]

There wasn't a hint of an Orangeman in the 12th and 13th century.

Henry and his spawn were a way off still.

[paul_oshea]

600 - 200 = 400 Bonnie.

[BonnieShels]

600 - 200 = 400 Bonnie.

1014 + 200 = 1214

Paul

[paul_oshea]

read the post bonnie.

"Yes Paul, Serbs have used the defeat by the invading Ottomans some 600 years ago as justification for their territorial claims on Kosovo and the ethnic cleansing of the late 1990's."

[geysir]

Seeing as Kosovo has existed as a territory of sorts since the year dot, has had autonomous status since WW2 and is 98% filled with Kosovar Albanians,
Irish people should rally round the Serbs territorial claim to Kosovo because............. we have sympathy for the failed ethnic cleansing campaign?
or what? We identify with the struggle of the oppressed Serbs so much so that we should vote to deny (the almost independent state of) Kosovo entry into Uefa?
"Remember remember the Battle of Kosovo 1450" How could we ever forget! Damn the historically challenged FAI for siding with Kosovo.

[Charlie Darwin]

You're all ignoring the real issue here. Which is if we did support Serbia, how long would it take for a Kosovo flag to show up at a Northern Ireland match?

[BonnieShels]

You're all ignoring the real issue here. Which is if we did support Serbia, how long would it take for a Kosovo flag to show up at a Northern Ireland match?

Youre ignoring tr even bigger issue what of the FAI and the IFA supported Serbia on this issue, OWC would be in a dilly of a pickle.

[tetsujin1979]

didn't know whether to post his here, or in the "Potentially Eligible Players" thread
former Northern Ireland U18 schoolboy international Ronan Hale, currently with Birmingham City has switched to the Republic of Ireland. His brother has also played for the North
from http://www.irishfa.com/news/2015/mar...ls-squad-named

Paul Smyth and Ronan Hale have been called into the Under 18 squad. Smyth is the first boy from St Louise's Comprehensive School to gain international representative honours while Hale is the brother of Rory Hale, who was capped at Under 16 level three years ago, and is the grandson of former Crusaders striker Danny Hale.

Mohan names Under 18 squad for Germany game: https://www.fai.ie/ireland/news/moha...r-germany-game

Forwards: Josh Barrett (Reading), Trevor Clarke (Shamrock Rovers), Ronan Hale (Birmingham City)

[Olé Olé]

Interesting to see how many young lads there are going to Catholic schools and then also playing with Derry or Institute or Cliftonville.

[CraftyToePoke]

didn't know whether to post his here, or in the "Potentially Eligible Players" thread
former Northern Ireland U18 schoolboy international Ronan Hale, currently with Birmingham City has switched to the Republic of Ireland. His brother has also played for the North

I was sitting in Shannon Airport last week Tets and the fella next to me turns out to be a Brimingham City ST, and he started telling me about an Irish kid who was making their bench recently, but he thought the player was from Limerick, I don't know of any Limerick lads at Brimingham presently, do you ? I think he was on about this lad maybe but had his Irish place names jumbled.

Anyway, he reckoned there was potential there to break through, whoever he was talking about.

[tetsujin1979]

Only Irish I'm aware of at Birmingham are Stephen Gleeson, who's a Dub, and Noe Baba, who was raised in Mayo. Baba hasn't been involved with the first team though
Gleeson's the only Irish player listed on their wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birmin...#Current_squad

[CraftyToePoke]

Yeah, my thoughts too.

Anyway, this Hale chappie hit four recently - http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/spor...cores-10829315

And is glad he didn't quit the game after Cliftonville dropped him, and has signed pro with Brum of late - http://www.bcfc.com/news/article/ron...s-3002364.aspx

A striker with 22 in 17 at U18 for Birmingham.

Knee injury in the post any time now surely.