Wells 'staggered' by Fifa finding

The Irish Football Association are "staggered" by Fifa's proposal to settle the eligibility row with the Football Association of Ireland.

Fifa - invited to rule on the issue by the IFA - have suggested that players born on both sides of the border should be able to represent Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.

But IFA chief executive Howard Wells believes Fifa's preliminary recommendation is "totally inconsistent with the body's own rules which apply to the other 206 countries in Fifa".

"I am extremely surprised about this, to say the least, staggered in fact," he told the BBC.  "All we are asking is for Fifa to apply their own rules consistently to all members of their organisation."

The issue has been brought to a head by the case of Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson, who was born in Northern Ireland and played for the province at under-16 level before switching allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.

Gibson, on-loan at Wolves, recently appeared for the Republic in a Euro 2008 qualifier even though he would not ordinarily be eligible to play for Steve Staunton's side because neither he, his parent nor his grandparents were born south of the border.

The FAI believe they are entitled to pursue players born in Northern Ireland under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which guarantees the right of anyone born anywhere on the island of Ireland to apply for an Irish passport.

Fifa's preliminary recommendation was welcomed by the FAI last night.

Fifa will listen to submissions from both bodies before a ruling is made by their executive committee, although IFA boss Wells has hinted he will consider legal advice.