What has Declan Rice done to us?
Are you ready to be heartbroken? Declan Rice’s announcement on the eve of Valentine’s Day stunned Ireland, or at least that section that cares about the football team.
A sub-section of that support is angry at the decision of the player and the long and winding road that led to this decision. But are they right to feel let down by Rice or should it just be accepted as part of the game?
Ireland have capitalised on these rules before so why is there such upset now? If Rice hadn’t played the full international friendly games would it have made a difference and will players be less trusted in the future?
On The Football Spin, Paddy McKenna is joined by Dion Fanning and Conan Doherty to discuss what Rice’s decision means for Ireland, their pursuit of players born outside Ireland and identity. Has nuance been lost in this debate and are things ever as binary as some people are making out?
Ireland should get ready for more of these debates in the future as the country will be attempting to cap more players with dual nationality. Maybe the solution is simply not to get as worked up when these debates come along. But that is not possible so maybe we should accept that professional players will do what’s best for their career.
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