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Would you call up Arteta for England?
As the title really.
Would you (assuming you are English, although generally speaking too) be happy to have a player like Arteta pull on your national shirt with no direct links to the country.
Is it a case of "everyone else is doing it so why not?", or does it devalue any success you may have with him in the squad?
Arteta is just the current example, the question applies generally too.
Would you (assuming you are English, although generally speaking too) be happy to have a player like Arteta pull on your national shirt with no direct links to the country.
Is it a case of "everyone else is doing it so why not?", or does it devalue any success you may have with him in the squad?
Arteta is just the current example, the question applies generally too.
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Comments
I'd say no but unfortunately he is a player we could with being English.
(im not being arsey, but i saw this with Almunia 2 years ago)
Would you change your opinion based on wanting/needing one particular player for a position?
International football has become a joke as to who represents who
The media have a habit of bringing this up, causing days of intense debate before saying "Oh, well the British nations have an age-old gentleman's agreement never to call up non-Britons anyway".
Yes i know that. However that doesnt lend itself to a discussion and given the nature and purpose of the forum i was just trying to get people to talk about the idea of it.
I wasn't trying to be awkward, so apologies if it came across like that.
Personally, I don't really see an issue with it. If he is granted British citizenship then he is just as British as I am, and has just as much right to represent a British nation (or Britain as a whole in other sports) as I do.
National teams like Ireland, Wales, Singapore, Nigeria, Jamaica and Switzerland have benefitted from it for a while, so it don't see the problem in England or Scotland doing the same.
Sorry, i didnt mean to be arsey. Apology back at ya.
I just dont think its right (im scottish, i have no valid opinion i guess).
I have no issue with a person coming to the UK and adopting the country and THEN becoming a footballer but this just feels like flying under a flag of convenience.
As opposed to "its not going to happen with Arteta" i was looking for a discussion about the broader topic using Arteta as a current example.
Cats arent allowed in dog shows, that was a shit comparsion BTW.
As I'm all in favour of the dumbing down of International Football I would be in favour of this. It is ridiculous of course but anything that undermines the credibility is a good thing imho.
And No is the answer to the OP's question.
Although it shows the sad state of english football that Arteta is probably a type of player we don't have I still wouldn't want a player with no blood line to England in the team.
Otherwise we'd just end up as a team full of players not good enough for their own country.
I'm happy enough will the current rules as they are, including the newer ones brought in for the likes of Islam Feruz.
Which would be true if it was.
I know you are smart enough to know what i mean and the purpose of the thread.
If i have to break it down to make you happy i will.
"Does the qualification for a passport after 5 years give you the right to change the country you play football for?"
"Should a player be allowed to change nationality purely to allow him to play international football when he has no links to the country in question?"
Failure to adhere to this is why international football has no credibility and is a lost cause - the spirit has gone and is the reason why I want to see inter-league tournaments where it's impossible to cheat as to who represents who - replace international football
The problem is that the law says otherwise. How do you get round that?
The point is that it shouldnt be based on whether he is good enough, it should be based on whether he even vaugley qualifies or is acceptable.
Cough ... Germany ....
Actually one of the many 'good' things about Spain is that they had 23 Spanish players in the squad as opposed to some of the others who were just taking the p*ss tbh.
I would have in a heartbeat - virtually everyone else is at it so why not us ???
Seems like around 70% of teams have a Brazilian in their squad anyhow .
Did you do a survey for those stats?