IFA begging Ireland players to play for them

[Chrisowc]

Common sense has won. FIFA have decided not to change their rules, therefore you can only play for a country if you're elligible. Let's hope this is the end of the FAI's sectarian poaching strategy (not that it was too effective to start with)

Does this not mean now anyone with an Irish passport can choose to play for ROI, as has always been the case?

No.  They will need to fulfill the parents/grandparents and residency critieria too.

This quote is from the FIFA website.

The Executive Committee decided to leave the current regulations regarding the eligibility of players to represent association teams unchanged.

Darren Gibson represented ROI at under 17 level prior to the current regulations.

[Main Street]

 
You wish.
Current regulations are as explained by the FIFA legal board in Oct 2006.

But I´m not surprised that the OWC and IFA lot have got it wrong yet again.

[SammyG]

You wish.
Current regulations are as explained by the FIFA legal board in Oct 2006.

Sorry but yet again you're wrong. The legal board make representations not rules. Their recommendation has now been considered and thrown out. There are to be no rule changes, elligibility is still governed by the four criteria.

But I´m not surprised that the OWC and IFA lot have got it wrong yet again.

[/quote]
Pot and kettle.

[stibhan]

Pot and kettle is an IFA supporter calling the FAI sectarian. It's churlish to keep on talking about this because no-one knows what the f**k is going on.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Pot and kettle is an IFA supporter calling the FAI sectarian. It's churlish to keep on talking about this because no-one knows what the f**k is going on.

Agreed, the sight of the Six county media and IFA officials prostituting themselves to anything/body that stopped long enough to listen was amusing though! 

Bring on the next case and a European court case - FIFA would shit themselves!

[Main Street]

You wish.
Current regulations are as explained by the FIFA legal board in Oct 2006.

Sorry but yet again you're wrong. The legal board make representations not rules. Their recommendation has now been considered and thrown out. There are to be no rule changes, elligibility is still governed by the four criteria.

You know feck all about FIFA rules.
And absolutly feck all about the function of the Legal Dept.
You are a bottemless source of all sorts of sh'iite spouted out about FIFA eligibility issues.

The Legal Bord frame the rules, the FIFA Congress votes on them, if approved then they are added to the Statutes.
If it's an an agreement between 2 federations, the Legal Board frame the wording of document and the Executive Board rubber stamp it and its an addendum to the Statutes only if the federations are in agreement.
Amongst other things the FIFA Legal Dept are responsible for the statutes being applied properly.
responsible for all arbitration on eligibility disputes, eligibility issues, this is the FIFA Supreme Court of arbitration, If you are not happy with their ruling  there is only CAS as I have mentioned a month ago.

A letter from the Head of FIFA legal Dept Oct 2006 is as good as it gets when it comes to a ruling on the FIFA Statutes and in that letter the FIFA legal board are quite content that Article 15 covers all applications from citizens born in Ireland.

Care to have a very large bet on this?

[SammyG]

You know feck all about FIFA rules.
And absolutly feck all about the function of the Legal Dept.
You are a bottemless source of all sorts of sh'iite spouted out about FIFA eligibility issues.

The Legal Bord frame the rules, the FIFA Congress votes on them, if approved then they are added to the Statutes.
If it's an an agreement between 2 federations, the Legal Board frame the wording of document and the Executive Board rubber stamp it and its an addendum to the Statutes only if the federations are in agreement.
Amongst other things the FIFA Legal Dept are responsible for the statutes being applied properly.
responsible for all arbitration on eligibility disputes, eligibility issues, this is the FIFA Supreme Court of arbitration, If you are not happy with their ruling  there is only CAS as I have mentioned a month ago.

Err that's exactly what I said. The legal department made a reccommendation (as is their role) and the board rejected it.

A letter from the Head of FIFA legal Dept Oct 2006 is as good as it gets when it comes to a ruling on the FIFA Statutes and in that letter the FIFA legal board are quite content that Article 15 covers all applications from citizens born in Ireland.

Ahh the good old invisible letter. If the FAI have such a letter then why haven't they produced it in the last 18 months. Interestingly the FAI themselves only claim to have 'spoken' to FIFA for clarification and don't mention any letter.

Care to have a very large bet on this?

On what? iIf you mean a bet on whether any NI players (who don't already qualify) will play for the FAI, then I'd take that bet in a heartbeat (and I don't even gamble much).

[Main Street]

Err that's exactly what I said. The legal department made a reccommendation (as is their role) and the board rejected it.

What reccomendation did the Legal board make?
considering that the Legal Board had written out into the proposed compromise.
"Currently, players born in Northern Ireland are generally eligible to turn out for the Republic of Ireland providing they have not yet played a competitive match for Northern Ireland  but the same does not apply in reverse."
Considering that the FAI were not requesting any change.
Considering that the Legal Board had said that  the proposal if agreed upon by the Federations would have to be passed at a FIFA executive board meeting.

On what? iIf you mean a bet on whether any NI players (who don't already qualify) will play for the FAI, then I'd take that bet in a heartbeat (and I don't even gamble much).

A bet that the current situation, is that players who are Irish citizens born in NI are entitled to declare for the Republic under article 15 paragraph 1-5
That the annex conditions do not apply
That the FAI can select players born in NI who are Irish citizens who have not been previously capped at senior level for NI.
That again the annex conditions do not apply.

I propose a bet of €1,000   I am willing to gamble more if you are agreed.
Also I do not gamble as a habit, I haven't gambled since I was aged 16. In fact I have a principle not to gamble but I am prepared to temporarily suspend my principle for this bet.

[red hander]

According to Paddy Heaney on the Irish News back page today, an FAI source is adamant "the IFA are referring to rules which do not pertain to the situation in Ireland".

The FAI official goes on to say: "The point the IFA has missed completely is that the rules they are quoting relate to people who are seeking to change their nationality.  People born in Newry or Armagh are either Irish or British.  They have a choice.

"The IFA's argument would hold if someone from Belfast wanted to play for Norway.

"Somebody from Derry who wants to play for the Republic of Ireland isn't changing his nationality.  If he carries an Irish passport, then in the eyes of the Good Friday Agreement he has an entitlement to be classed as either Irish or British.  That's the key to this.  That seems to be a point that the IFA has missed."

If this is in fact true, then the IFA are going to look like a right bunch of arseholes ... and they'll be shitting themselves if any of their young prodigys are called Svennsen and have a taste for reindeer meat...

[magickingdom]

i thought the fai were the dumbest organisation on this island but i was wrong, the ifa are by a long shot. someone is going to have to tell them 

[saffron sam2]

Pot and kettle is an IFA supporter calling the FAI sectarian. It's churlish to keep on talking about this because no-one knows what the f**k is going on.

Agreed, the sight of the Six county media and IFA officials prostituting themselves to anything/body that stopped long enough to listen was amusing though! 

It is amazing that one of the so-called experts (on this thread), a man who knows everything there is to know about FIFA's eligibility rules can't even spell the word eligibility properly.

You couldn't make it up. Take a bow, SammyG.

[dec]

There is a document on the FIFA website called "Commentary on the Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players"

http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/administration/transfer_commentary_06_en_1843.pdf

Annex 2 addresses "Eligibility to play for Association teams for players whose nationality entitles them to represent more than one Association"

Article 1 Section 1 reads.

A player who, under the terms of Art. 15 of the Regulations
Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes, is eligible to
represent more than one Association on account of his nationality,
may play in an international match for one of these Associations
only if, in addition to having the relevant nationality, he fulfils at
least one of the following conditions:
a) he was born on the territory of the relevant Association;
b) his biological mother or biological father was born on the
territory of the relevant Association;
c) his grandmother or grandfather was born on the territory of
the relevant Association;
d) he has lived on the territory of the relevant Association for at
least two years without interruption.

This would seem to address anyone who is eligible to play for both the IFA and FAI.

[Chrisowc]

You've forgotten about the GFA agreement Dec

[dec]

Of course anyone from NI who really wanted to play for the FAI team could fill out form RN1 "Declaration of renunciation of British citizenship, British Overseas citizenship or British subject status"

In such a case they would no longer have British citizenship and would therefore not be eligible for the IFA team. They would only be eligible for one team (the FAI team) and the Annex 2 criteria would no longer apply.

[Chrisowc]

Still not enough as far as I see it Dec, as you are still eligible to represent Northern Ireland on an Irish passport. 

There is something in FIFA's rules somewhere that if you provide a strong enough reason why should not represent a particular association then you may be able to play for another. 

What constitutes a good reason is anyone's guess