
Originally Posted by
Matt Leslie
A familiar sigh could be heard from the Irish Football Association's HQ this past week.
Luton Town midfielder, Cameron McGeehan, had renounced his intended footballing nationality and declared himself unavailable for Northern Ireland.
McGeehan, despite, having previously represented the Ulstermen at both under-19 and under-21 level, pulled out of the latter's squad for this weekend's match against Scotland in Lurgan.
In fact, he went one stage further.
He informed the IFA that he no longer wanted to be considered for Northern Ireland full stop, preferring to chance his luck with an attempt to win a full cap for England.
The IFA then did something that had long been threatened over the years with players who dropped out of squads - but never used - and invoked the five-day rule.
That regulation states that if you pull out of an international squad but are fit to play for your club up to five days after the international match you were selected for, the board of that nation can have you miss your club's next game should they feel obliged to do so.
The rule is there to try and stop players picking and choosing which international games to play in. Some would claim they were injured and couldn't play for their country (read: didn't fancy going to the likes of Armenia or Kazakhstan for a friendly match) but would make a dramatic recovery for a league game against Stoke 72 hours later.
McGeehan's case is slightly different however and the IFA's action, which made him miss Luton's league fixture this weekend, has been deemed by those across the Irish sea as being 'petty'.
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