Been listening to this Nacho Novo bollocks rumble on and on and thik it's ridiculous that he's even being considered to play for Scotland. He has clearly stated he wants to play for Spain so why should we accept him for Scotland. Biggest fact anyway is he's NOT SCOTTISH...NEITHER DOES HE HAVE ANY SCOTTISH BLOOD IN HIM. Now they say if he gets a UK passport that makes him eligable...so does that mean any of the English players such as Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney etc could all have played for Scotland as they have uk passports?

Could we just then tap up the Irish and Welsh players and take the future Giggs and Healy's of this world as they have UK passports and we could emerge as a new Celtic national team to try and rival England.

As it stands I think it should stretch as far back as the grandparents. Now I would have no problem of anyone playing for Scotland who is outwith the grandparent rule if we had our own passports and anyone who's great grandkids and their kids etc have scottish passports cos they're parents did as did their parents before them etc however as it stands we don't. I just think this is making a mockery of it. I could understand it if Novo had lived here since he was 5yrs old or something like that and all he really knew and felt was Scottish but he's only lived here 7 yrs roughly. Does that mean that as I've now lived in Eng-ur-lund for 9 years that I can play for them....it's absurd.

Opinions and votes please

if you have at least 1 scottish born parent

his is a load of pish.
why cant we get threads like this pinned

I have a Kenyan great gran, do you think i can make it into the team??? See you all later im gonna become a international footballer

Needs to go back to either you were born in the said country or at least 1 parents. Grandparents etc... a nonsense.

Not fishing or anything here, after a serious answer, We all know John Barnes was born in Jamacia but were any of his parents English or did he qualify through citizenship?

Have you ever started a thread that's not been about Rangers?

Touche

Anyway this isn't about Rangers. This is about Scotland/International Football. Just so happens the cases where this scenario might have happened is when it's been Rangers players linked with Scotland. Good enough for you

Tartan Army forum please?

Maybe I am about to be wooshed, but this is in the Tartan Army forum

It was in the SPL

Not at the time you posted it wasn't. It started off in the SPL and got moved in here yesterday by the mods....do keep up

FIFA would allow anyone with a British passport to play for Scotland but there is an agreement between the home nations that you stick to players that have some lived in Scotland for a long time or have Scottish family. Otherwise we would poach players like Anton Ferdinand and other England rejects.

It's an interesting one this. I like the residency ruling, because it means that people who are putting their roots down here have a chance. What would you rather have - someone with a Scottish granny who has never been near the place, and didn't really want to until they got a call up-or someone who lives here (for at least 5-8 years) and is intending to stay and bring up their children here.

Exactly my thinking mate. I don't agree with the Granny rule, but agree with the 5 year thing.

the gentlemans agreement which is supposedly in regulation between home-nations is nonsence.

I give you one Fabrice Muamba, England U-21 Internationalist.



Born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). His father fled the country in 1994 because of his political views and arrived in England seeking asylum. In 1999 he was granted indefinite leave to remain, at which time he was joined by the rest of the family. They settled in East London, where Muamba attended Kelmscott School in Walthamstow. Despite having arrived in England aged 11 unable to speak English, he went on to take A-levels, and excelled in school football.

As for selecting someone without being born or blood relatives, if they are better than what is available then why not. There are top nations all over the world who do it.

Should Portugal say "F*ck you Deco" because he thought he wasn't good enough for Brazil so chose Portugal?

Podolski is another, Poland told him he wasn't good enough, now playing for Germany.

Novo offers something the current strikers don't and is a great impact player when brought on, Scotland need a quick impact player when things aren't going well. I reckon Novo would do well for Scotland and should be given a chance. He's no worse than anything we have in the squad just now.

I agree with you to a point. Muamba getting called up for England is a sign that somewhere along the line, society works.

Podolski's story isn't as you portray it though. He never wanted to play for Poland. It's exactly the same situation as Graeme Alexander.

There is a point to be made though. Are there any players who, given the grandparent rule, would be eligible for Scotland who has not yet got called up? Given that Novo will not play for Scotland, is there anyone we could get?

I reckon Novo has more of a right to represent Scotland as Matt Elliot ever did. Not that I'm saying I was against Elliot's selection (in principle).

The boy has lived and contributed to Scottish society for years. Had Elliot ever been across the border?

So he wants to play for Spain? In reality Andrew Sachs has as much chance of a call up and if we want him and he can do a job for us then why not? Barnes is the deal breaker in terms of the gentleman's agreement and it appears that we haemorrhage young talent to Ireland under the parentage rules.

Replace them with better under any available rulings if possible, everyone else is at it

I'm not sure can afford to be so precious over selection if we want to get to another World Cup any time soon (unless we can get that expanded in size as well).

If thats the case Andy Driver has more right to represent Scotland than Novo

Podolski said in an interview before Germany played Poland it would be an emoctional game, because he was told by the Polish manager he wasn't good enough (well before he got into the German national side).

Now, if he was told he wasn't good enough for Poland. Then why did Germany consider him, it's along the same lines. Although the difference being, Novo isn't actulaly good enough for Spain, but is for us. Unlike the Podolski case, he might not have want to play for Poland, but it still stands he was told he wasn't good enough.

Ireland will be at it ne...oh.

REgardless what the SFA say this situation will rear it's ugly head again sooner rather than later, eg a refugee from wherever who is homed in scotland with his family and gain citizenship etc and their kid becomes a quality player.

You're telling me that the SFA won't change their mind if this young guy who for the vast majority of his life lives, breaths and enjoys being "scottish" even if he is the next big thing. On one hand the government is saying "One Scotland, Different Cultures" and the SFA say "naw sun yer no one o us."

If that's the case the SFA should hang their heads in shame, regardless of the gentlemans agreement, they've mucked up big style with McGeady and McCarthy through their poor coaching staff.

Other nations use it to there advantage, i'm not saying lets go back to the granny route as before, but if they vastly improve the squad then do it, if France, Holland and Portugal do it why not us.......

John Barnes' parents brought him to Ingerland when he was six years old when his Dad was made the Jamaican Military Attache to the UK. His Dad had previously played football for Jamaica. Young John qualified for Ingerland on the residency rule.

The "granny route" is here to stay, and quite rightly too.

novo is a completely different situation to muamba and podolski, they moved to the countries when they were children and i'm pretty sure there is a secondary rule which makes a player 'homegrown' if they have played so many years in the country before they are 20 or something like that. this is what allows england to cap players at u21 level. messi could have chosen to play for spain, and i believe bojan has. senna and deco i am unsure exactly how their situations arised so can't comment. unfortunately the english premiership is a big attraction and the likes of chelsea and arsenal bring in a lot of players at a young age, i don't think the scottish teams have quite the same pull to be honest. i'd have no problem with a foreign player who has been in scotland since he was 14 and been developed through one of our clubs playing for scotland on the conditions
a) hes good enough
b)scotland is his first choice
fair enough novo may consider himself scottish in some way now as hes lived here a long time but there is no getting away from the fact he stated his desire to play for spain over and over in the past