Originally Posted by
DannyInvincible
Hmm, telling any Irishman by birth that he isn't suitable to play for his country comes across as a wee bit insulting and ignorant to me. I mean, what are you saying to him if not, "You're not Irish enough to play for us because you weren't born in Ireland"? But we'll have to agree to disagree if you don't see it that way. I think it would be better to have the rules as they are, even if it does attract some mercenaries now and again. I'd feel much more comfortable that way rather than forbid genuinely proud Irishmen who just happened to be born abroad from representing us. It's not like we're unique internationally either in having players born outside the country representing us.
Not sure where Roy Keane comes into this and I don't really want to get into a Roy Keane debate other than point out that he was sent home from the World Cup, albeit having probably left Mick in little position to do anything else. As it turned out though, his views were vindicated by the Genesis Report. I didn't express any positive feeling in the slightest towards players who don't want to play for us, mind. In fact, I don't think too highly of Stephen Ireland or, most lately, Anthony Stokes in the slightest.
Well, I'll apologise if your stance is well-intentioned, but that's just the way I'd interpret it and I'd imagine many others would feel the same, especially our fans born outside of Ireland.