Eligibility Rules, Okay

[Predator]

From Trevor Ringland's piece:

"Extreme disappointment would be my initial reaction to this latest development. It’s like an Ulster player deciding to switch to Munster or a Down player deciding to turn out for Tyrone"

Ringland's ignorance is clear from this statement. In fact, I'd almost go as far as to say that the statement is 'incredibly short-sighted' and shows 'a total lack of understanding' of the reasons why players would rather play for the FAI. The only truth in the statement is that it is an act of playing for what, only to the likes of Ringland, is a rival team.

[Charlie Darwin]

But an Ulster player DID just decide to switch to Munster.

[The Fly]

But an Ulster player DID just decide to switch to Munster.

ahhh........poor Trev.

[Not Brazil]

i can play for any of the 4 home countries because i am eligible for a british passport and not being born in britian

In addition to being a British Citizen, players need to comply with Article 16 of the FIFA Stautes in order to play for one of the "home" Associations.

[co. down green]

Paul George named in the Ireland u17 squad for Elite qualifiers later this month. Welcome aboard Paul.

http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=c...r-17&Itemid=17

[Stuttgart88]

I hear John Ringo is also about to declare.

[Paddy Garcia]

well i am decent i am eligible for a british passport because my granny was born in eire before the rebellion so she is british. so i am in the maik taylor mold i can play for any of the 4 home countries because i am eligible for a british passport and not being born in britian. matthew letissier was the same way he could of played for northern ireland since he was born jersey. maik taylor was born in germany but could play for n.i becase he was a british citizen born abroad, so he chose northern ireland. so could grame lesaux could of played for n.i so the rules are tricky with british citizenship it seems anyone born out side of britian can play for the home countries if there british citizens so i dont know what northern ireland problem is they could of had owen hargraves, le tiss,lesaux dorigo ect they just chose not to cap them or even approach them

Well your grammar and punctuation is a lot better than most of our players - so I'd certainly have you in the team.

[geysir]

I don't think Sean has any hypothetical choice of Irish teams. Unless he has British nationality, he cannot play for NI.
I'd say he'd have a job getting a UK passport, unless his grandfather was a UK passport holder.

[sean r]

thanks paddy i do have a education and being born in usa i do have a grasp of our native tounge and know Amhrán na bhFiann in irish too! more than can be said about half the national team. we should be picking players what WANT to play for eire not players where we were the 2nd choice. i remember when marlon king was linked with us. what if he was on the team now!! i said on another thread we are really the england "B" team now anyway

[Lionel Ritchie]

Which great sage of foot.ie was it who said "appropriate capitalisation is all that separates I'm helping my Uncle Jack off a horse from i'm helping my uncle jack off a horse" ?

[The Fly]

i remember when marlon king was linked with us. what if he was on the team now!!

We'd have to keep him well away from Manuela for a start.

[Predator]

A poster on OWC suggested that if the IFA supported Grant Wahl in his campaign to be FIFA President, that they may have a chance of getting the rules changed to suit them. Alas, today he announced that he would no longer be running (from his twitter):
"If only the world's fans could vote. But they don't, so today I'm bowing out of the FIFA president race. Thanks for your support!"

Here's his piece on the affair: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...acy/index.html

[Predator]

I truly wish the Belfast Telegraph's sports writers would stop peddling such misinformation. I'm almost embarrassed for them.
Should Northern Ireland born players be free to opt for the Republic?

"The world governing body gave the FAI the green light to cherry pick players born in Northern Ireland, despite Fifa’s own statutes dictating that either a player himself, one of his parents or a grandparent must be born on the ‘territory of the relevant association’ in order to play for that country."

[DannyInvincible]

The only thing I find semi-annoying about that is this notion of carte blanche "cherry picking". It gives the impression that the FAI can select who they like and somehow force them to play for Ireland when any rational-thinking person would understand and acknowledge that the decision of a dual national as to who to represent if considered good enough by whichever association is concerned quite naturally lies entirely with the player himself. If he's not keen on representing the FAI, then there'll obviously be no "cherry picking".

The rest of it, by now, I just find kind of unfathomable, amusing and cringeworthy. It's as if the writers are living within a vacuum. There's a lot of ill-informed nonsense spouted in the comments sections below the pieces they churn out too, from both sides of the debate - although, in fairness, those commenting there aren't being paid to regurgitate balderdash - but I'm pretty sure the error of the writers' ways has been highlighted there at least, even if nobody has bothered to e-mail them to correct their misunderstanding every single time they fail to actually bother doing the most basic bit of research you'd expect of them as to the wording of the FIFA statutes before having a moan about them.

Then again, what was it Joseph Goebbels said about repeating a lie often enough?...

[geysir]

You've got to credit the sheer persistence of those sports writers on the Belfast Telegraph, to maintain that level of obstinacy.
Thicker than 2 short planks, though.
Where do you start with someone who thinks this is the question?
BT Poll - Should footballers born in Northern Ireland be free to play for the Republic?

[awec]

The BT get it wrong time and time again. I reckon they do it on purpose.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Playing 'Devil's Advocate' is their new (or not so new) 'Modus Operandi??

Sure on the comments section on one of their many debates on this issue last year, one persistent poster (unless they too also were playing DA) was suggesting The BT were not adhering to their expected agenda/stance, which is another oddity. Given the medium this person was protesting through.

[Predator]

Interesting to read the thoughts of 'AugherStar' over on OWC. Hard to know whether those who expound these views are serious or not.

"Can you not see the irony in all this ,re the funeral of Ronan Kerr and the RoI policy of dividing our population?This country is struggling to put our former divisions to bed and your bunch of parasites are stoking up ill feeling over somthing as irrelevant (in the grand scheme of things) as football.Constable Kerr and his colleagues are able to satisfy their "irishness" whilst working within NI ,for the UK government,yet little sectarian toe rags are allowed to declare for the Republic ,"coz that's who caffilicks play for ".All the while being cajoled and influenced by scum like Delayney and Brady .
Sure who cares if we get a peaceful,mature society (which may ultimately lead to some sort of "United Ireland")as long as the Republic pick up an odd extra, decent player to mix in with the rest of the English and Scots that they have gathered up to make themselves think they are an important footballing nation."

The FAI are not just scheming sectarian childcatchers, but they're also to blame for bombs and conflict. It would be a task to make this up, I'm sure.

[tetsujin1979]

Good thing there's no English players on the Northern Ireland team, isn't it?

[co. down green]

Good thing there's no English players on the Northern Ireland team, isn't it?

augherstar must have missed the announcement of the north's u19 squad yesterday, especially their midfield

Midfielders
David Morgan – Born ni
Matthew Ball – Born Chelmsford
Ryan Brobbel – Born Middlesbrough
James Knowles – Born ni
Jack Warburton – Born London
Ben McKenna – Born Carlisle

As for the rest of it, a sectarian rant - best ignored.