Republic slip below North in rankings

STEVE Staunton’s Republic of Ireland have slipped five places to 51st in the FIFA world rankings.

Northern Ireland have overtaken the Republic by climbing two places to 47th; Wales fell two places to 77th, while Argentina took over at the top of the rankings from world champions Italy, who fell to second, with Brazil third, France fourth and Germany fifth.

Scotland, meanwhile, have climbed to their highest ever position of 16th.

They have not played a senior international since October but continue to climb as other countries lose points accrued over previous seasons. Their rise comes about due to the complicated FIFA points system, with Scotland having nudged ahead of Switzerland, Cameroon, Mexico and Denmark.

Points gained over the course of a year are included in full, however results from any preceding 12 months count only for 50%, with that figure decreasing to 30% for a third year and then 20% for a fourth year.

Meanwhile the FAI has made representations to FIFA on behalf of players affected by Article 5.3 of the regulations for the status and transfer of players.

The rule relates to footballers playing for three clubs between July 1st and June 30th.

Merrion Square bosses submitted cases on Tuesday relating to eight players to the Player Status Committee, which has five working days to consider these applications.

An FAI delegation will meet with the head of the committee in Zurich next Wednesday to discuss the issue. The delegation will be made up of Fran Gavin, Director of the eircom League of Ireland, Eoin Hand, Manager of Football Support Services, and Sarah O’Shea, legal advisor to the FAI.

As no decision on the cases will be made by FIFA before the weekend, the FAI has confirmed that the status of the players will not change before this weekend’s fixtures. In addition to the eight cases submitted to FIFA yesterday, a further two cases were submitted to FIFA late last week.

Rule 5.3 stipulates that while a player can be registered with three clubs between July 1st and June 30th, he can play for only two of them. The FAI agrees with the principle of the rule but feels it was designed for leagues operating over the winter, unlike Ireland’s March-November season.

As a result, in Ireland July 1st to June 30th crosses two seasons, so the rule stops players playing for three different clubs during two playing seasons.

Ten players are affected by the regulation: John Brophy and Mark Leech of Shels, Alan Cawley of Bray, Willie Doyle of Monaghan United, Gareth Farrelly and Colin Healy of Cork City, Sean Holmes of Finn Harps, Peter Hynes of Derry City, Ray Scully of Waterford United and Gary Rogers of Galway United.