Friday 25 March 2011

'Round and 'Round the Merry-Go-Round goes...

And the merry-go-round goes ‘round and ‘round. No sign of stopping, it seems.

The indignation expressed by many Northern Ireland fans regarding the so-called ‘Eligibility Row’ shows no signs of waning and it will only be to the detriment of the IFA. In an age where the internet pervades almost every aspect of our lives, the anger can, perhaps, be most loudly heard on online forums, social-networking sites and blogs. The target of this outrage is primarily the Football Association of Ireland, but the players who have made the switch from the IFA to the FAI have also found themselves denounced.

The FAI has been ludicrously portrayed as a sort of sinister child-catching agency, luring naïve young men from football pitches around Northern Ireland in a bid to ensure that the IFA’s team becomes exclusively Protestant. Please, hold the laughter. Players, meanwhile, have had their characters denigrated with all sorts of accusations being thrown their way. Sectarian mercenaries, is what most are being called. All this for legitimately, and one would think reasonably, opting to play for their national team - nothing too serious, right?

Preston North End player Adam Barton is the latest in a line of players who have switched to the FAI from the IFA and, as such, he has been the hot-topic for fans to discuss. However, when the whole affair came to the fore in the Spring of 2010, it was Shane Duffy who became the target for criticism. When it was announced that Duffy would rather play for the FAI, the then 18 year old was branded a sectarian ‘Judas’ by Northern Ireland fans. Just over a year later it seems that the sour taste has yet to be washed away.

The social-networking website, Twitter, has allowed footballers and all kinds of celebrities greater interaction with their fans. Fans revel in this access and even a cursory glance at some pages is enough to demonstrate the excitement that fans get when their favourite player replies to their comments. However, it isn’t always nice, as Shane Duffy was to find. While he was taking part in preparations for a game, Duffy was subject to a tirade from an evidently incensed Northern Ireland fan, who stated that the 19 year old was a ’prick’ who did not deserve to play for his country. When Duffy replied, informing the fellow that he didn’t know what he was talking about, he was subject to further harassment. I feel that the angry fan’s words should be quoted verbatim in order to expose the pettiness (if you can, try to look past the poor grammar, spelling and punctuation - I’m sure it was difficult for the man to find clarity when embarking on a good old rant).
“lol… Im not your mate. U turned your back on your country. If u wanted to play for eire why did u ever play for ni at school boy level? Some other lad could have played in your place, prob would have given their right arm to do so. Anyhow u wouldnt have got on… Once everton release u and u don’t get off da bench for eire u will wake up and say, “shane, I made a mistake. I was a silly little boy”
Granted, this was the only occurrence of this kind of harassment on Duffy‘s personal Twitter page, but it undoubtedly reflects a view that has been expressed vehemently by a number of Northern Ireland fans on a variety of internet forums. Those who hold such views often protest that they are entitled to their opinion, but the simple fact is that such short-sightedness is a certain hindrance to the IFA, as it will discourage more players from wanting to play for them in the future.


In Duffy’s case, Northern Ireland fans seem to take offence at the fact that in an interview with the Irish Times shortly after his switch to the FAI, Duffy remarked that everyone in the Northern Ireland set-up had known that he was a Catholic and that he wanted to play for Ireland. The comment itself, from a naïve 18 year-old no less, was harmless, but there is a section of the Northern Ireland support who are intent on the vilification of Duffy, by twisting his words to present the kid as opportunistic, sinister and sectarian. Of course, it’s probably easier for those fans to engage in such disparagement than to look at the reasons why a young player might not have such a strong desire to play for the IFA. Indeed anyone familiar with football and society in Northern Ireland would have known Duffy was from such a background - at under-age games, his head, along with many others’, would be bowed low during the playing of the divisive anthem, ‘God Save the Queen’. Such a sight must surely cause severe embarrassment among the IFA chiefs and fans, yet there is still no sign of a change. Duffy had also shown indications that he wanted to switch the FAI from the ages of 16 and 17, but was persuaded to stick around by his coaches and Nigel Worthington, who offered him ‘carrot-caps’ as an incentive - tactical capping, as it is now known.

Duffy declared for the FAI at the ripe age of 18. That’s right, eighteen. And this after having played for the IFA representative teams for little over two years. It is now over a year later. It’s time for the IFA and its fans to wise up and move on.

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Response to Belfast Telegraph view of the 'Eligibility Row'

March 2011

On 4th March 2011, the Belfast Telegraph saw fit to run several stories on the much publicized disagreement (popularly dubbed the ‘Eligibility Row’) between the Irish Football Association and FIFA along with the Football Association of Ireland. There was, it seemed, no apparent catalyst for this sudden flurry of articles, as it was a dispute that was supposedly settled in the Summer of 2010 when the IFA foolishly took the FAI and FIFA to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport, and lost. Indeed, they lost emphatically so, and it was a foregone conclusion for all, except the IFA.

One article, by Stuart McKinley, was entitled ‘Northern Ireland anger as Republic pick Celtic’s George’. Paul George, who had previously represented the IFA schoolboys, opted to declare for the FAI several months ago and the tabloid newspaper the Irish Star covered the story at the time. Around that time, it was Derry-born Shane Duffy and Belfast-born Daniel Kearns who dominated the headlines with their decision to change association, so perhaps that is why the younger, more obscure, Paul George slipped under the Belfast Telegraph’s radar. Some days after McKinley‘s article was published, the FAI under-17 manager John Morling announced a squad which included George. Evidently, it was this relatively minor, and I hasten to add, completely legitimate, event which sparked ‘anger’ in the Belfast Telegraph headquarters. Indeed, this supposed ‘anger’ seems to have been fairly restricted to the employees of Belfast Telegraph, because there was very little, if any, reaction elsewhere.

McKinley has consistently shown himself to be rather lazy in his reporting of the ‘Eligibility Row’. Although FIFA’s statutes governing national team eligibility have been repeatedly and painstakingly explained, with the IFA’s reading of them dismissed as incorrect, McKinley continues to trot out the same old ignorance in his articles - a strange thing indeed. For example, in his most recent article, McKinley erroneously writes:
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.
One might be forgiven, considering the unexpected nature of the articles, for thinking that such misleading reportage was part of a deliberate attempt to ensure that the supposedly settled issue remains an ongoing one, plaguing Irish football. Certainly, it might even appear, to those of a more cynical hue, that the Belfast Telegraph was shamelessly trying to create an escalation of tension before the upcoming Carling Nations Cup fixture between Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland in May. It is, of course, difficult to be sure. Nevertheless, what is sure is that the decision of an Irish national to play for the Football Association of Ireland is not particularly newsworthy stuff, especially now that the matter has finally been resolved by the highest known authority. To persist with the issue at this stage is to flog the proverbial dead horse.

Trevor Ringland also had an opinion piece printed on the same day, presumably to complement McKinley’s flimsy article. Ringland’s piece boldly asserts the view that the FAI ‘are in danger of making Northern Ireland a Protestant team - instead of a mixed team - by taking away these young players’ - a staggeringly ludicrous claim without foundation in reality. Indeed, there is absolutely no indication or developing trend which points to the conclusion of an exclusively Protestant Northern Ireland team. The FAI have been selecting northern-born Irish nationals since the mid-1990s (Belfast-man Ger Crossley and Derry-man, Mark McKeever, for example) and in 2011, we still see a ‘mixed’ Northern Ireland team. Ringland, who is a former Ireland rugby star and unionist politician, is carelessly placing the blame on the FAI for what is simply the socio-political reality of Northern Ireland society. Ringland claims that the stance of the FAI ‘is undermining the good work of so many others’ in relation to football in Northern Ireland. One wonders that, when Ringland refers to ‘good work of so many others’, does he mean the continued use of ‘God Save the Queen’ as an anthem by the IFA? Or the insistence on using an unofficial, divisive flag to represent the team? It is not the FAI who is in danger of making Northern Ireland a Protestant team, it is the IFA.

Ringland’s understanding of the situation contradicts his normally liberal attitude. In fact, one could argue that Ringland misunderstands the whole scenario. His ’initial reaction’ demonstrates a fundamental ignorance:
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 switch to Tyrone.
Ringland’s analogy is applicable only in the sense that the players in question have made a switch to a team, that, only to those like Ringland, is perceived to be a rival; for the players in question however, unlike Ringland, the FAI team represents a natural choice of national team. In the spirit of progress and in appreciation of identity, this is a fact that must be respected.

I’ll conclude with what I deem to be a rather interesting observation. For one reason or another, the Belfast Telegraph did not include an alternative viewpoint on the matter. With articles accusing the FAI of strengthening social division, the lack of balanced viewpoints is disappointing, for, while the newspaper is recognised as moderately unionist in political alignment, it would surely be in the interest of proper integration to offer a ‘mixed’ view.