O'Neill raises concerns over eligibility rules after Ceadach O'Neill inclusion in Nations League squad

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill has named Arsenal teenager Ceadach O'Neill in his squad for a Nations League quadruple-header after the player was approached by the Republic of Ireland, with the call-up announced on Tuesday. O'Neill said the rules governing international eligibility place young players under pressure to make irreversible decisions.

Any player born in Northern Ireland is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland, but Fifa rules state that an application to transfer international allegiance can only be made once. Arsenal teenager Ceadach O'Neill has won two senior caps for Northern Ireland; at present he would be required to undertake a Fifa transfer of international allegiance should he wish to play for the Republic of Ireland at any level. If he makes an appearance in the upcoming Nations League quadruple-header, he would have to wait until he is 21 to do so, and should he reach four caps he would be unable to transfer at any stage. Under the Good Friday Agreement - the 1998 peace accord that followed the conflict colloquially known as The Troubles - those born in Northern Ireland can hold both British and Irish passports, and a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling in 2010 means players born anywhere on the island of Ireland are able to represent the Republic of Ireland regardless of the other measures of eligibility; players born in the Republic of Ireland, however, cannot represent Northern Ireland unless they are otherwise eligible.

"My focus is on the player, and I have a duty of care to the player as his international manager, as we have as an association as well," said Michael O'Neill, describing his responsibility for the teenager. "He's been in our pathway since he's been a young boy. He's been part of our academy. He's obviously had an approach from another association, which happens."

O'Neill expressed his objection to the timing of such approaches, saying: "The thing that upsets me the most in this is that putting a young player in a position to make an international transfer before he's been a professional for even two years is, I think, not the right thing. It's not something that any association should be doing." He reiterated the association's role in developing players regardless of community background.

"We exploit eligibility, the same as every other country does, down to the grandparent rule, but this is a rule which is obviously unique between ourselves and the FAI [Football Association of Ireland]," said O'Neill. "I think everyone recognises it's not particularly fair, but as I say, our focus is to make sure our pathway for our young players is as good as possible and that's a pathway for boys from any part of the community."

FAI director of football John Martin said the organisation should at "the bare minimum" be sounding out eligible players, adding: "We know there are kids out there who want to play for Ireland who haven't been approached in the past," and "That's not right. It's making sure we have a presence and we understand all the players available to us, and that they are being monitored and tracked." O'Neill addressed media commentary about nationality and identity, saying: "It would have been in the past, it's not tiresome now. We have people who comment on this and talk about nationality and talk about identity and talk about all these different things, which are part of being born in Northern Ireland and growing up in Northern Ireland. But I think what we're missing now is that we're putting young players in a situation where they have to make a decision which is irreversible."

During O'Neill's tenure, Tottenham Hotspur's Jamie Donley and Gillingham's Ronan Hale have made international transfers to Northern Ireland from England and the Republic of Ireland respectively. "We've done two international transfers in my time. Jamie Donley, who is now a senior international, and Ronan Hale, who was 25 at the time when we asked him to make that decision," added O'Neill. "I think there's a point in a player's career where you've just got to let him play and develop, enjoy his football without creating a situation like this. We haven't created this situation. Ceadach's been in our system all along and he's in our squad now."

Reflecting on players who have switched allegiance, O'Neill said: "I think if you look at it from our point of view, there's not many players that have been a success who have gone from Northern Ireland. I can think of two, James McClean and Shane Duffy, who had international careers where they got over 50 caps. Otherwise, most of the other players who have gone that route have not played consistently or not had, I think, possibly the international career they could have had if they stayed here. It is a decision for the player to make, ultimately, and we have to respect that, but as I've said all along, I think there's two sides to this. There is obviously who you feel you should play for, but there's also the situation around a football decision where you can have longevity in your international career."

Ceadach O'Neill's inclusion in the Nations League squad means his participation in the upcoming quadruple-header will determine the timing of any Fifa transfer application: an appearance would require him to wait until he is 21 to seek a switch, and accumulation of four senior caps would bar any future transfer.