Footballers from NI playing for ROI

mylastparadigm

In my own ignorance, i always thought a young man would declare for ireland because of links to ireland of his parents, or maybe wanting a chance to play at a world cup or euro (no offence intended to norn iron, lads), but after reading about mcclean today (and after the penny dropping) religion/tribalism (cath & prod) it seems this is plays a role. or does it? it wouldn make sense to me to play for another country as a religious objection.

so does this play a role? maybe to dispell the theory, has a northern ireland footballer ever switched to roi and been a protestant?

i just dont see it as a reason to swithc, and not represent your country. i know the use of the word 'country' is a little precarious in this case.

i suppose its a serious slap to the ifa, and supporters in general everytime it happens. i know we in roi benefit but in fairness id be happier to steal english players than NI players. like us, they need all the players they can get.

was this a part of the good friday agreement?

John Doe1

He has an irish passport:rolleyes:

Biggins

I don't care what religion is a player.
Its none of my business unless it means they are breaking state laws or do something that is considered immoral by the general populace.
If the above don't apply, they can kick a blown up piece of cow hide all over the place all year around.

forfuxsake

It's not stealing if they go of their own free will.

Many people in the North are Irish and as such will not feel comfortable playing under God Save the Queen or the Union Jack.

Done to death as well and rather a pointless discussion as it FIFA have ruled time and time again that it is acceptable and therefore it is.

DrumSteve

He's a good player so he can play for us. If he was **** they could keep him.

Playing for Northern Ireland as a catholic would not be a very pleasant experience. The supporters are very pro English and they have god save the queen as their national anthem they would be abusing a catholic player who was playing for them you can be guaranteed.

mylastparadigm

Kase Uptight Broom wrote: »

Playing for Northern Ireland as a catholic would not be a very pleasant experience. The supporters are very pro English and they have god save the queen as their national anthem they would be abusing a catholic player who was playing for them you can be guaranteed.

surely there is a majority of fans that dont care about that. you have the louts everywhere. over the years i never even thought to notice that the endlish lads (that played for roi) were ever english. i never held it against them anyway. and there have been plenty.

is it really that bad?

token101

Kase Uptight Broom wrote: »

Playing for Northern Ireland as a catholic would not be a very pleasant experience. The supporters are very pro English and they have god save the queen as their national anthem they would be abusing a catholic player who was playing for them you can be guaranteed.

Or threatening your family every five minutes and sending you nail bombs in the post ten years after you retire.

mylastparadigm

forfuxsake wrote: »

It's not stealing if they go of their own free will.

Many people in the North are Irish and as such will not feel comfortable playing under God Save the Queen or the Union Jack.

Done to death as well and rather a pointless discussion as it FIFA have ruled time and time again that it is acceptable and therefore it is.

... fifa being the moral authority on right and wrong...

not really talking about the technical side of things. just whether its really a religious thing? i would agree with the god save the queen stuff and republiccan sympathies and getting grief from the crowd.

it annoys me when people put down religion as a reason of conflict when its really republicanism and loyalism.

Lionel Messy

If i was Northern Irish it would piss me off but i'm not Northern Irish and therefore, i'm not pissed off.

token101

When are we going to get our crop of immigrants' kids who are f***ing top class? Like the Germans have? Most, if not all, of their decent players are of Turkish and Polish descent. Where's our Nigerian and Polish second generation superstars? FFS, the GAA even got Setanta and Sean Óg, and Rugby has Zebo now. Where's footballs next stars????

IrishAm

mylastparadigm wrote: »

is it really that bad?

Ask Neil Lennon. How he hasnt walked away from football, I will never know.

dirtyden

mylastparadigm wrote: »

In my own ignorance, i always thought a young man would declare for ireland because of links to ireland of his parents, or maybe wanting a chance to play at a world cup or euro (no offence intended to norn iron, lads), but after reading about mcclean today (and after the penny dropping) religion/tribalism (cath & prod) it seems this is plays a role. or does it? it wouldn make sense to me to play for another country as a religious objection.

so does this play a role? maybe to dispell the theory, has a northern ireland footballer ever switched to roi and been a protestant?

i just dont see it as a reason to swithc, and not represent your country. i know the use of the word 'country' is a little precarious in this case.

i suppose its a serious slap to the ifa, and supporters in general everytime it happens. i know we in roi benefit but in fairness id be happier to steal english players than NI players. like us, they need all the players they can get.

was this a part of the good friday agreement?

Is religion not incidental to the argument. He is a Derryman who feels affiliated to Ireland more so than Britain, and hence chose to play for Ireland. The northern Ireland soccer time have a very loyalist tradition which would make it not a very welcoming environment for a nationalist from Derry. There are many history books which will educate you as to why, but if you want a sporting context check out any clip from the qualifier in windsor park in 1993 where the atmosphere of hatred for Ireland was pretty shocking.

D-Generate

Don't blame him to be honest. Football in NI is still a very sectarian sport and it is up to the fans to change rather than for the team composition to change.

mylastparadigm

mylastparadigm wrote: »

surely there is a majority of fans that dont care about that. you have the louts everywhere. over the years i never even thought to notice that the endlish lads (that played for roi) were ever english. i never held it against them anyway. and there have been plenty.

is it really that bad?

When it comes to religious division in football in northern Ireland and Scotland it really is that bad, as other posters have mentioned Neil Lennon is a good example of this and what he has to put up with.

A young catholic lad playing for northern Ireland would get dogs abuse and probably death threats etc too, ironically he would probably be getting more hassle playing for them than he is now getting for turning them down.

mylastparadigm

dirtyden wrote: »

Is religion not incidental to the argument. He is a Derryman who feels affiliated to Ireland more so than Britain, and hence chose to play for Ireland. The northern Ireland soccer time have a very loyalist tradition which would make it not a very welcoming environment for a nationalist from Derry. There are many history books which will educate you as to why, but if you want a sporting context check out any clip from the qualifier in windsor park in 1993 where the atmosphere of hatred for Ireland was pretty shocking.

no, i agree totally. its just that i raed an article in the indo today where they implied he switched because he was catholic. i've said as much in my follow up posts. i just would have thought he switched because he had family connections to roi or for the abuse reasons outlined above. maybe thats what they ment in the paper.

IrishAm

Paddy McCourt, a Celtic player who comes from a Catholic background, has also received death threats from Northern Irish fans.

Hes probably their most skilful player. Fucking sick.

mylastparadigm

Kase Uptight Broom wrote: »

When it comes to religious division in football in northern Ireland and Scotland it really is that bad, as other posters have mentioned Neil Lennon is a good example of this and what he has to put up with.

A young catholic lad playing for northern Ireland would get dogs abuse and probably death threats etc too, ironically he would probably be getting more hassle playing for them than he is now getting for turning them down.

cheers lads, i understand now.

mikeym

I see no problem here either you want to declare yourself available for the Northern Ireland team or the Republic of Ireland team.

The good friday agreement states that if you were born in Northern Ireland you can call yourself British or Irish.

IrishAm

dirtyden wrote: »

check out any clip from the qualifier in windsor park in 1993 where the atmosphere of hatred for Ireland was pretty shocking.

The Republic does not surrender!

Benny_Cake

I think that Alan Kernaghan was brought up in Bangor and played for NI schoolboys before declaring for the Republic. He was from a Protestant background, and if that wasn't complicated enough, both he and his parents were born in England.

Richard

IrishAm wrote: »

Ask Neil Lennon. How he hasnt walked away from football, I will never know.

Neil Lennon says its vastly improved and the IFA have done a lot to improve things.

In terms of the question! IMHO players should only be able to play for the Republic if they, their parents, or grandparents were born there. Otherwise nearly every footballer from Northern Ireland could play for the Republic.

But its all been decided now, and tbh, whether they can play for the Republic or not, the IFA need to do more including changing the flag and anthem to make NI matches more cross-community.

tonycascarino

mylastparadigm wrote: »

it wouldn make sense to me to play for another country as a religious objection.

That's the thing, it is not really another country. A man born in the North is just as Irish as someone born here.

MaroonAndGreen

McLean said that being a Catholic he felt out of place when playing underage for NI. If he was made feel that way (which he probably was, seeing the abuse they give their Catholic players) its their own fault and dont deserve any sympathy.

Zebra3

Kase Uptight Broom wrote: »

Playing for Northern Ireland as a catholic would not be a very pleasant experience. The supporters are very pro English and they have god save the queen as their national anthem they would be abusing a catholic player who was playing for them you can be guaranteed.

So are most RoI supporters with their love of Unira and the 'Pool.

El Weirdo

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