---
title: "Neville slams Rice for switching international allegiances – but is his criticism justified?"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2019/09/06/neville-slams-rice-for-switching-international-allegiances-but-is-his-criticism-justified/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Alex Turk"
section: "Feature Writers"
published: "2019-09-06T07:00:58Z"
modified: "2019-09-06T07:00:58Z"
---

# Neville slams Rice for switching international allegiances – but is his criticism justified?

Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville has called out Declan Rice for switching the Republic of Ireland for England, but is his criticism justified?

Rice featured in three Ireland friendlies, which meant he remained eligible for England duty before playing a part in the 2020 European Championships Qualifying campaign.

The 20-year-old was born in London, but has Irish grandparents and represented Ireland at youth level before breaking into the senior team in March 2018.

Speaking at the launch of the Cadbury Premier League Partnership in Dublin, cited by [the Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-football-declan-rice-gary-neville-republic-of-ireland-gareth-southgate-euro-2020-a9092636.html), Neville claimed FIFA and UEFA need to do something about players switching their international allegiances so easily:

> I’ve heard he’s a really good lad, I just think that ultimately a player should not be allowed to play for his country’s senior team and then switch.

> It doesn’t feel right to me. It’s a really strange thing to see and ultimately FIFA and UEFA need to stop it.

### read west ham’s verdict

As an Englishman myself, I have no problem with Rice representing our country!

However, I can partly see where Neville is coming from. It seems very easy to decide overnight that you want to represent another country. For me, you should represent the country you’re born in.

I don’t agree with how publicly Neville has pinpointed Rice though. As a former England coach and pundit, he has a huge voice in football and he should use it to motivate the nation’s young talent.

Rice will likely start under Gareth Southgate at next year’s EUROs, so let’s hope he can light up the international stage.