CAS ruling rocks Northern Irish

Northern Ireland football chiefs have suffered a crushing defeat in their attempts to prevent players switching to play for the Republic of Ireland.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne yesterday rejected an appeal by the Irish FA against Fifa and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) allowing Belfast-born Daniel Kearns to play for the Republic.

Kearns, 18, represented Northern Ireland at under-17 level but switched to play for the Republic this year and played in two European Under-19 Championship matches.

A statement from CAS said: "The CAS panel dismissed the appeal and confirmed the decision issued by the single judge of the Fifa players' status committee, which recognised that Daniel Kearns was eligible to play for the national team of the FAI."

Under the Good Friday Agreement, Irish passports can be held by citizens born on either side of the border. However the IFA have been trying to prevent a talent drain of players and have been arguing that players born in Northern Ireland without family links to the south should not be allowed to play for the Republic.

Kearns, who was released by West Ham at the end of last season, joined the likes of Manchester United's Darron Gibson and Portsmouth's Marc Wilson in switching allegiance from Northern Ireland to the Republic. In Gibson's case, the player, his parents and grandparents were born north of the border, but he opted to play for the Republic.

Fifa's players' status committee had ruled that Kearns fulfilled the requirements in that he had never represented Northern Ireland in an official competition at senior international level.

Irish FA president Raymond Kennedy reacted with dismay to the court's decision. Kennedy said: "I am disappointed by today's decision but we will continue to develop our very successful and wide range of 'Football for All' and community programmes in the areas of grassroots, domestic and international football to ensure that anyone available to play for Northern Ireland will want to do so."

The Irish FA wished Kearns "the best of luck" for his future career but said they would wait to see the court's full judgement before making any further comment.

Meanwhile, The Football Association of Ireland, representing the south, welcomed the "complete and final clarity" on the dispute. "The ruling upholds the right of individual choice on this matter for players born north of the border," FAI chief executive John Delaney said in a statement. Delaney praised the "determination of Kearns and his family to uphold his right as an Irish citizen to play for his country."

Northern Ireland are ranked 59th by Fifa and have not qualified for the World Cup since 1986. The 36th-ranked Republic played at three of the past six World Cup finals.CAS said it would explain the decision fully next week.