Tony Kane

Anthony Michael Kane (born August 29, 1987) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays as a full-back for Carlisle United^[1]. As an international, Kane has played for both for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland at under-21 level.

Club career

Kane joined Blackburn Rovers as a youth in November 2004 and was subsequently a member of the squad that won the Premier Academy League in 2004-05. He then became a regular member of the Rovers reserve team before signing a two year contract in 2006. In November 2006 he had a brief loan spell at Stockport County before joining Cercle Brugge on another loan deal in January 2007 ^[2][3]. In his first appearance for Cercle, Kane was voted man of the match by fans after a strong debut in a 2-0 win a debut against Zulte Waregem^[4][5]. On February 10, 2009, Kane signed a loan deal which took him to Carlisle United until the end of the season. On 22 May 2009, it was announced by Carlisle manager Greg Abbott that a deal had been verbally agreed between Carlisle United and English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers to make the loan move a permanent one. Kane will be signing a 2-year-deal with the Cumbria based team.^[6]

International career

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Kane, together with Michael O'Connor, Marc Wilson and Darron Gibson, is one of several Northern Irish footballers, involved in a continuing dispute between the (Northern) Irish Football Association and the Football Association of (the Republic of) Ireland over international eligibility. The dispute arose after the FAI unilaterally reneged on the Gentlemen's Agreement it had reached with the IFA in 1950, whereby neither Association would select players from each others territory (ironically an Agreement originally sought by the FAI). Under the managerial tenure of Brian Kerr, the FAI now began selecting players born and brought up in Northern Ireland, who did not have a parent or grandparent from the Irish Republic. Indeed, there is some evidence (e.g. from Chris Baird and Kieran McKenna) that the FAI is prepared to initiate contact with NI-born players, although they (FAI) deny this. Anyhow, the FAI's right to select such players has been disputed by the IFA. And although there has not yet been a definitive statement by FIFA on the matter, most observers agree that the FAI are clutching at straws, since the policy since partition of the Republic of Ireland Government automatically granting Irish citizenship from birth to anyone born anywhere in Ireland, means that this Nationality qualification "appears" to come within FIFA's existing eligibility criteria. As a result Kane has been selected to represent both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at international level ^[7] Finally, after having represented both Associations at under-age level, Kane opted to revert to playing for Northern Ireland, to whom he is now tied, since he has since passed his 21st birthday. The Republic of Ireland has a long history of selecting players who aren't qualified to play for them. Most notibly Darran Gibson and Tony Cascarino. No one doubts they will do it again unless FIFA sreps in.

(Incidentally, Michael O'Connor has also reverted to Northern Ireland, to whom he is now committed, since he has now played for them in a competitive "A" international. Meanwhile, it has emerged that Marc Wilson has a grandparent from the Republic of Ireland, and so the IFA freely accepts his choice to play for the FAI team. As for the player who first brought this matter to public attention, Darron Gibson, he is now firmly established as a senior Republic of Ireland international.

Northern Ireland

Kane initially represented Northern Ireland at both under-18 and under-19 levels ^[8] before playing for the Republic of Ireland U21s during the 2006-07 season. He subsequently switched allegiances back to Northern Ireland and in November 2007 was called up for the senior team^[9]. He has also played for Northern Ireland U21s^[10], becoming a regular member of the squad during the qualifying rounds for the 2009 European Under-21 Championship. To date he has played twice against Israel^[11][12] and in games against Luxembourg^[13] and Moldova^[14]. On March 26 2008 he also played in a 3-1 friendly defeat against Romania^[15]

Republic of Ireland

During the 2006-07 season Kane also made 5 friendly appearances for the Republic of Ireland U21s, making his debut on October 18 2006 in a 2-0 win against Luxembourg^[16]. Then in February 2007 he was selected for the Republic U-21 squad to play in the Madeira Cup, subsequently playing in two of the three games - a 1-0 win against Slovakia^[17] and a 2-2 draw with Madeira^[18]. On March 27 he played in a 1-0 defeat against the Netherlands^[19] before making his final appearance for the Republic U-21s on August 21 2007 in 2-2 draw with Germany^[20].

References

External links