I'm not so bothered about people playing for the country of their parents, I think it's fair enough as they at least have a direct connection, it's the whole grandparent thing that's really ridiculous.
This thread reminds me of Vinny Jones transformation into a passionate Welshman singing the anthem and everything, and Mick Mcarthys broad Irish accent
Stewart and Chester didn't look very Scottish scoffing down their Portuguese chicken in Nando's today, haha.
That's just traditional. Talking of all things Jock, i've just had a wee dram in celebration of Burns Night.
yep agreed.. look at Germany now, they've nicked all the best Poles & Turks.. I know for a fact that Mesut Ozil is hated in Turkey and seen as a "traitor"!
France with the likes of Viera and the rich pickings of most of the smaller french speaking African countries. Think Ozil was born in Germany but has Turkish parents. Podolski & Klose were definitely born in Poland though
Did Joey Barton get permission to play for them in the end, or did FIFA rule it out because although he seems to be a massive cock they decided he just acts like one and that's not enough to play for them.
I think it's just his dad that's a Turk. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/groups_and_teams/team/germany/mesut_ozil "it goes without saying Germany are more than happy that this talented playmaker chose to represent the country of his birth, rather than that of his father. Would be odd to use father if it were both parents that were Turkish.
Wasn't there something about a German player whose brother played for Poland but both were born in the same house in Poland to the same Polish parents and no German ancestors? It was something to do with the borders moving so while it stayed in the same place the house moved from Germany to Poland or t'other way around. Then again it could just all be bollocks.
I don't think so, I'm rubbish at geography but I don't think the German border's all that close to Ghana. I'm sure it was Germany, Poland, Czech or one of those where the border had been redrawn. Anyway, aren't we all eligible for Africa according to Scientists?
He was just trying to keep them all on side. Only he'd had the rules explained to him by Brian McDermott.
I've edited my previous post, if you're right they never played against each other at least. It still raises the point that it's ridiculous how two (half) brothers who were raised together can play against each other at international level and at a world cup no less!
The guys I've got in mind where paler. Scraping my mind back, they probably didn't play against each other because of the way the draw panned out, but at one point it looked like a possibility.
But under the "you play for the country you were born in" rule my cousins would do that as well. The eldest was born in England and moved to Scotland when she was about 5. Then her mum had 2 kids while she was living in Scotland.
I suppose there'll always be exceptions, but in the Boateng's case it's things like this from Kevin-Prince that turns it farcical No actual allegiance, they're his second choice
This is what I was saying about the Stewart thing earlier, if he feels he's a Scot then he should be able to play for them, but if he does why has he been playing for England up to now? In the case of my cousins it would make more sense for them all to be Scottish, since they've all grown up/are growing up in Scotland, talk like Scots, and just generally act more Scottish than English despite having had one English parent in the house. Telling the eldest one she had to represent England because that's where she was born would be stupid. What's worse than the dodgy grandparent link though is the 'naturalised' players. Things like Almunia and Cudicini being eligible for England when they moved here in their 20s. I was 23 when I moved to Scotland, if it were a seperate country for passports I'd now be eligible to claim one and play for them. btw, Kris Commons is a Scotland international. Unless he has kids with someone in a Scottish family his kids won't be eligible because it was Kris' grand parents that enabled him to play and that's the furthest the bloodline can go back. If they made an exception on the grounds that he's played for them so the bloodline should start with him again how long would it be before some 50 year old with a Scottish grandparent was getting called up for one cap so that his son could play for them?
