Tom Mohan defends Ireland’s ‘granny rule’ policy

Ireland U17 manager Tom Mohan, who has led the squad to next month’s European finals in Bulgaria, has defended the FAI’s pursuit of English-born players eligible for the Republic.

Jack Grealish’s sparkling display for Aston Villa last weekend caused the debate over dual-nationality players to resurface again, especially among English fans irate at potentially losing one of their best young players permanently to Ireland.

The role of the FAI’s London-based scout, Mark O’Toole, has been brought into particular focus, as he was the instigator of Grealish being introduced to the Irish set-up at the age of 14.