Noel King defends FAI morals after Michael O’Neill jibe

Ireland U21 boss Noel King has strenuously denied pursuing Northern Ireland-born players for his squad following allegations made by Michael O’Neill.

The Northern Ireland boss hit out at the FAI for what he claimed as their “morally poor” approaches to players in the northern ranks.

O’Neill said he took King to task on the case of Derry City midfielder Aaron McEneff, who represented Northern Ireland up to U19 level only to quit the set-up last year, but King correctly pointed out the player didn’t formalise his switch and is still free to choose either country at senior level. King refuted allegations of him mounting a campaign to headhunt McEneff or other tyros eligible for the Republic, as vindicated by the landmark ruling in 2010 by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following a case taken by the Irish FA in relation to Daniel Kearns.