The Declan Rice international allegiance story has run for long enough and a CandH follower -Mooro64uk – has given an opinion on the site which really should put the entire issue to bed once and for all.
Manuel Pellegrini has backed the player’s decision yesterday and asked for everybody to respect it and Mooro64’s piece comes at precisely the right time. Let’s please hear no more about it!
By Mooro64uk
For how much longer will this Declan Rice rubbish drag on. The rules are the problem!
You should only be able to play for your country of birth or the country in which you have been naturalised. Declan was a very young lad when he was wooed by Republic of Ireland.
As he developed and matured his own country began to take notice and after long deliberations with his family and advisers he opted for his country of birth. If he made any mistake at all, it was to listen to the ROI overtures in the first place.
Let it go. Why keep bashing a guy who remains very young.. If anyone deserves to be bashed it is the rule makers for allowing this situation in the first place.
As for the online abuse and threats to him and his family, please GROW UP. We are talking about a lad playing football not a world changing event.
There are much more important things to get angry about.
COYI
HEAR HEAR!!!
Well said, mooro! Totally agree.
Spot on !
Again, we’ll said Moore, time too take these trolls down. COYI
Remember back in the 80’s Pat Van Den Hauwe
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Van_Den_Hauwe
The news report was that he could pick any of the “Home Countries” to play for and he was born in Belgium. Just brilliant as above the rules around this are nuts. Birthplace or parents for me and that is that.
I’m a West ham and Ireland fan. Unfortunately I do have a problem with it. We are a fantastically proud nation so for him to represent us 3 times and sing our national anthem kiss badge etc then do what he did was totally and morally wrong. I’ve lost my respect for him as a person but I’ll support him wearing the claret and blue. He has no loyalty though and will leave us as soon as big clubs start calling.
Don’t you think wooing and cajoling a 16 year old kid to play for a country, that he shouldn’t even be eligible for, is morally wrong? Did you never make wrong decisions, while under pressure, when you were young? He was very young, maybe given bad advice, but he is now older, better able to make informed decisions with all the choices clearly laid out in front of him. It is done. Life goes on. How many Englishmen would have given him stick if he’d stuck to his original choice? Once again, I say blame the rules that are there to be exploited. ROI didn’t hesitate to pursue a youngster and get him to sign forms, regardless of how complicated it would make his life as he got older. Perhaps they should take part of the blame.
I’m pretty sure it was his father who wanted him to play for Ireland and couldn’t have been more proud when he did at every level. I agree we all make irrational choices when young but the fact is he represented us on 3 occasions sang the anthem etc. If the shoe was on the other foot the uproar would have been more severe I tell you that.
On a side note. Why isn’t he eligible to play for Ireland?
I agree with most of what you say Conor, at the same point agree that the rule makers are to blame. I think Declan is proud of both sets of roots as nearly all Anglo Irish are. He no doubt had parents in his ear when he was younger and agents and others when he switched.
Imho the rules should be changed and kids made aware that once they commit to a Country it will take many years to overturn.
That I agree with mate. Rules should be changed. You play for a country at any level then that should be it. FIFA are clowns though. A simple changing of rules is needed
Conor, I actually said” he shouldn’t have been eligible”. The rules are stupid. Play for the country of your birth or that you have been naturalised in or lived in for most of your life. Once you decide, that’s it, no changing. Alter the rules and it prevents cases like this occurring and stops all this ill feeling and nastiness.