Ireland willing to battle for McCarthy
by Gordon Pope, 08 October 2008
Hamilton’s Ireland Under-21 international James McCarthy could still have a future for Scotland.
The 17-year-old has represented Ireland at U17, U19 and U21 levels, but under Fifa rules a player can switch their allegiance if they have not earned a full cap, and are under 21 years of age.
McCarthy was born in Glasgow, but qualifies through his mother’s parents who are from Donegal and has earned rave reviews, prompting George Burley to attempt to persuade the midfielder to choose the dark blue shirt over the green.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni hopes to have the issue sorted before next month, when he could end the issue by playing McCarthy in a friendly against Poland.
“We will see if he is Irish or Scottish - but I think he will play for Ireland,” Trapattoni told the Sun.
“I haven’t spoken to him yet myself, but I will speak to him soon. I know he has two possibilities, Scotland and Ireland.
“I think he will choose Ireland and maybe he will play in the next friendly.”
The FAI insists that they will do their best to keep the keep McCarthy, but admits they cannot stand in the player’s way.
“There are reports about Scotland trying to convince him to play for them but at the moment he is an Ireland Under-21 player,” a FAI spokesman said.
“There isn’t really much we can do in terms of what James wants.
“The squad to face Lithuania are meeting this week and I’m certain the manager will mention it.
“It’s purely speculation. James is a fantastic player and one we are desperate to keep playing for us.
“When the team meets up there will be conversations about the situation so we will have to wait and see.”