Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT’S NOT POLITICAL ..IT’S JUST FOOTBALL Michael: All I ask is young talents get protected as I’ve seen far too many of them pay a heavy price
NORTHERN Ireland boss Michael O’neill insists he views the eligibility debate as a football issue – and not political or religious.
O’neill moved to defuse a row that has simmered since last week when he told one southern newspaper that the FAI was targeting players here simply because they are catholic.
Reading from a prepared statement yesterday – and with Irish FA chief executive Patrick Nelson in attendance – the 48-year-old agreed the southern association “has broken no rules”.
However, he hit out at the FAI’S lack of “dialogue” when it comes to targeting underage players who are born in the north but opt to transfer to the Republic.
He believes youngsters aged 17 to 21 should be left to focus on their careers and claimed some are paying a “heavy price” for making an early decision on their international future.
O’neill said: “For me, eligibility is not, and should not, be a political issue. Nor should it be a religious issue. For me, eligibility is a football issue.”
He went on to insist he has “never disputed” the “rights of players born in Northern Ireland to be free to choose for whom they wish to play”.
However, he remains concerned that youngsters in the U17, U19 and U21 set-ups are being lured to the Republic with no tangible prospect of furthering their senior international careers.
He said: “I’ve seen a heavy price paid by too many talented young players; players who have transferred their allegiance to a country that ultimately doesn’t rate them, nor play them; creating a vacuum that signals a wholly different outcome to the career they may have had.
“My request to the FAI, and any other association, is this: if a young player has chosen to represent Northern Ireland at U17, U19 or U21, he is allowed to develop without the responsibility of having to make a decision regarding his allegiance that is binding for the rest of his career.”
While attempting to pour oil on troubled waters, O’neill reserved criticism for the FAI in its failure to keep the IFA abreast of its planned targeting of players.
He said: “Where I am critical is the way in which it currently communicates with the IFA over a player who potentially wishes to make a transfer.
“There is no dialogue with our coaches from their respective counterparts at the FAI besides an email from the FAI’S licensing department requesting information on the player.”
O’neill says Martin O’neill (inset) is prepared to discuss the underage element to the debate and believes the Republic boss got the wrong end of the stick when the debate raged last week.
Martin, a former Northern Ireland captain, claimed only one senior player (Alex Bruce) had switched during his time as manager – from the south to the north in 2011.
O’neill said: “Given the examples Martin used, he misunderstood the issues I wish to address. I am not talking about senior players but those aged 17 to 21 born in Northern Ireland.”
O’neill stated both the Irish FA and FAI have a “responsibility to invest in and nurture talent on both sides of the border”. He added: “With that comes a duty to protect those young talents in their most formative and vulnerable years. We appeal for transparency and fairness at underage level.”