Originally Posted by
DannyInvincible
Just reading article 18 again, the way it is worded provides a crucial insight into how "nationality" should be read in article 16 where a player is "eligible to represent more than one Association on account of his nationality", the article the IFA are asking the CAS to ensure FIFA uphold. Article 18 begins:
The IFA's case rests on the word "nationality" in article 16 referring to a fusion of all nationalities held by a particular player - for example, if his nationality was considered "Irish-British"/"British-Irish", this single nationality would entitle him to play for more than one team, Ireland and, say, Northern Ireland - but it is clear from the wording of article 18 that FIFA treat each nationality held by a player as distinct from any other nationalities he might hold. The article distinguishes between a player having more than one nationality (which is the case for those players born in the north who possess both Irish and British nationality) and players eligible to play for more than one team due to a single nationality (for example, British nationality would permit a player to play for any of the "Home nations" before the application of further conditions restricting players with British nationality to play for one). There is no such thing as a single "Irish-British" nationality; rather, there are separate Irish and British nationalities, and, importantly, this is how FIFA view the concept of nationality. That might sound a bit convoluted and I'm not sure how well I've articulated what I'm trying to say, but I think you can get the gist of it anyway. Essentially, it means the IFA's case is destined to fail.