Neville: Rice should not play for England having already represented Ireland

  /  autty

Gary Neville insists West Ham midfielder Declan Rice should not be able to play for England having already won three senior Republic of Ireland caps.

Rice has now played three times for the Three Lions and has again been called up for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo.

But Neville, who featured 85 times for England during the years of 1995-2007, has called on FIFA and UEFA to stop allowing players to swap their allegiances as he claims playing for your 'country is about emotion'.

While at the launch of the Cadbury Premier League Partnership in Dublin, the 44-year-old said: 'I've heard he's a really good lad, I just think that ultimately a player should not be allowed to play for his country's senior team and then switch.  

'It doesn't feel right to me. It's a really strange thing to see and ultimately FIFA and UEFA need to stop it.

'There have been players who've asked for interviews and meetings with the national team manager. Why? Why is that influencing your decision, do you want some level of guarantee about the play?  

'Country is about emotion, it's about a feeling and that might be England, it might be Ireland, it might be Wales, whatever country you play for I've no problem with the process of players picking who they want to play for.

Related: West Ham United Gary Neville Rice
Download All Football for more comments