Gloves off as IHA rebuke Irish Times article

The Irish Hockey Association has issued a stinging rebuke to an Irish Times report which suggested the national body would seek compensation if its players followed Iain Lewers’ lead in declaring for Great Britain (GB). In a statement released on its website, the IHA seeks to correct seven inaccuracies contained in an article published last Friday, which predictably went down like a lead balloon within the association. The report claimed that Richard Leman and David Faulkner of the GB management team met with Irish officials at the Beijing Olympics, and notified them that they had been approached by a number of Irish players about representing GB at London 2012.

It also claimed Instonians’ Mark Gleghorne had withdrawn from the Irish senior men’s team, and that the IHA “may pragmatically turn towards seeking reward for the development costs” of defecting players. In response, the IHA has stated that neither Gleghorne – who is still recovering following shoulder surgery over the summer – nor any other player has indicated their intention to defect to GB. The body has also vehemently stated that it would not agree to fast-track a player’s defection – a possibility raised in last week’s article – or seek compensation for defecting players, and refuted the suggestion that any Irish officials met with their GB counterparts. The IHA also moved to correct inaccuracies stated about the wilderness rule, which rules players out of international hockey for three years should they choose to defect from one country to another. IHA chief executive Angus Kirkland told Southern Fried the report had caused “extreme annoyance” within the national body. “I thought it was a joke at first, and not a very good one at that,” he said. “The concept that a Northern Irish player can choose to play for England is down to the individual, and there’s not a lot we can do about that. But we would never seek compensation for players, (adopting that attitude) would condemn our national side to second-tier hockey.” The issue of Northern Irish players defecting to Great Britain has rumbled on all summer, starting with calls in June from Democratic Unionist Party member Alastair Ross for players to be allowed to make the move unhindered. Lewers’ subsequent decision to join the GB cause after winning 89 Irish caps in four years rocked the sport, with the former Annadale man claiming Ireland would not achieve Olympic qualification under the current set-up. In August, an article was posted on the Ulster Hockey website, which appeared to be encouraging the province’s U18 players to impress GB selectors at the UK Schools games. The article was later removed following an internal investigation, with Ulster Branch chairman Raymond Hughes expressing a desire to see Ulster talent appearing in the green shirt. Kirkland said the only way to put the issue to bed was to ensure Ireland qualified for major tournaments. “We’ve set out our stall, we’re gunning for the Olympics,” he said. “We have a talented young team, and the best way to ensure this isn’t an issue is to put the right things in place for Ireland to qualify.”

In Southern Fried’s view, any suggestion that multiple players from the current squad would be interested in a move to GB makes little sense. It’s worth remembering that Lewers is one of just three or four world-class Irish players who could conceivably be good enough, and of the right age, to make the GB squad in 2012 – and there are no guarantees at that. Lewers made his decision in the knowledge that he has a decent shot if being selected, based on his current standing in the game and capacity to improve playing semi-professionally in the Dutch league with HGC. But there’s hardly a queue of other Irish players lining up to throw away three years of their international career when the odds of them making it are far longer. Furthermore, the article’s suggestion that GB’s automatic qualification as hosts adds extra incentive is equally vexing, given they have qualified for every Olympics since Los Angeles 1984. The perceived notion that GB could find Ulster a fertile breeding ground for future internationals – who wouldn’t be hindered by the wilderness rule – must be a worry for Irish hockey down the line. But for now, the IHA must be counting the days to next August, which is the cut-off point for any potential defections to GB – or any other country – in time for London 2012.