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Football

23rd Sep 2015

The best player in the country doesn’t feature on Fifa 16’s Irish cover

Glaring omission

Robert Redmond

Fifa 16 goes on sale today.

The hugely popular video game will, once again, overlook Emile Heskey as a cover star, and will instead feature some player called Lionel Messi.

The footballer alongside the Barcelona forward will vary depending on where you buy the game.

In the UK, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is paired with Messi. In France, Antoine Griezmann, of Atletico Madrid, gets the nod, while in the United States, Alex Morgan is on the cover.

Female players make their debut in the game this year, and the US international has the honour of being the first female cover star.

EA Sports also produce a downloadable League of Ireland edition, but arguably the best player in the league at the moment, Richie Towell, isn’t on the cover.Fifa 16 IrelandDundalk defender Andy Boyle and Derry City striker Ciaran O’Connor, on-loan from the league champions, are there instead, and have been selected by a process that saw over 80,000 votes cast online.

The omission of Towell, who was on last year’s cover, is puzzling to us. The midfielder has 22 goals this season, and looks on-course for the player of the year award and another league title.Richie Towell 26/7/2015But congratulations to O’Conner and Byrne, it’s not everyday you line-up alongside Messi.