Originally Posted by
Mr_Parker
Good piece. Ewan MacKenna always makes a lot of sense, although I think he might have had a read of the piece I put together before he penned his own. He wrote:
""We could get into the two-faced nature of it all....
Or how FIFA, in 2007, even tried to placate the IFA with a special offer allowing them to select those who weren't British nationals but came from Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, only for them to refuse. Of how Gerry Armstrong was brought in by the IFA to identify players who were 'at risk' of switching, meaning something obvious and dangerous.
These were two paragraphs I'd added to mine the other day:
"It is worth remembering that when FIFA did actually make the extraordinary gesture of offering the IFA special treatment in respect of their complaints over the matter of player eligibility back in November of 2007, the IFA rejected the proposal, even though the FAI were prepared to accept it.
The exceptional proposal would have allowed the IFA to select Irish nationals born south of the border who were not British citizens and who had no legal connection to the territory of the IFA. It would have enabled, for example, the association to select individuals from the Ulster-Scots community in the southern border counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan. Many people from this community culturally identify with the Northern Ireland statelet and its football team despite their birth and upbringing on the southern side of the border. Willie Hay, Basil McCrea, Maurice Devenney and Charley McAdam are just a few examples of public figures from this community."
And I'd added this tweet to an update:
In fairness, I ripped off his WordPress template, so I'll let it slide this time.
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