London-born Harry Arter, who has started the season in fine form with Bournemouth, was suggested as a possible outside contender for a call-up.
Much mocking ensued, as the Soccer Saturday personalities had seemingly failed to realise that not only was Harry Arter an Ireland international, qualifying through his Sligo-born grandparents, he actually played against England for his adopted country in June of last year.
Yet the story did not end there. Arter, although he has three Ireland caps to his name, has yet to feature in a competitive match for Martin O’Neill’s side and so theoretically remains eligible to represent England.
Somehow, from last week up until this Thursday, an internet conspiracy theory gathered pace to the point where O’Neill was actually asked about it in the post-match press conference following the Georgia match.
The fact that Arter was injured and unavailable for both the Georgia and Moldova games added to the growing sense of suspicion, with some believing it was a convenient excuse, despite assistant boss Roy Keane dismissing concerns about the player’s commitment only two days previously.
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When asked about the Arter rumour on Thursday night, O’Neill appeared genuinely surprised and taken aback by the question, saying: “I had no idea… He hasn’t played a competitive game for us and the choice is entirely with the player. It’s news to me, so I don’t know.”
O'Neill seemed perplexed when asked about the Arter rumours on Thursday night. PA Wire / Press Association Images
PA Wire / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Some people interpreted O’Neill’s reluctance to unequivocally dismiss the speculation as an ominous sign, with the rumour machine going into full flow as a result.
One or two high-profile tweeters, who really should have known better, only served to encourage the unfounded speculation about Arter.
But anyone who bothered to do some research before making up their mind will have quickly learned that the story was completely bogus.
Moreover, Arter himself spoke in glowing terms about representing Ireland just three days previously in an interview with the Bournemouth Echo, with the 26-year-old midfielder saying: ”It’s an honour to represent your country. I always look forward to it whether it’s a friendly or a qualifier.”
However, despite the strong evidence to the contrary, a small minority of Irish fans decided to take the ludicrous internet murmurings as gospel.
“I see these Twitter messages and, honestly, it was the only time that I have ever had a thought that maybe I shouldn’t bother playing for Ireland,” he added.
In what has been a difficult year for Arter personally, the last thing he needs is people questioning his integrity owing largely to irresponsible reporting.
Furthermore, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, who actually did choose to switch allegiance and declare for England, having represented Ireland at underage level, has received similar levels of abuse ever since.
There is no doubt Grealish could have handled the situation better, but young people tend to make mistakes at the best of times yet most people’s judgements are not scrutinised by millions.
Grealish, like Arter, deserves to be left alone and not chastised on Twitter every time he fails to make an England squad or when Ireland achieve a positive result in his absence.
Irish fans were rightly commended for their good behaviour at Euro 2016, so let’s not allow a few trolls on Twitter tarnish that reputation.
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Harry Arter saga an example of Twitter and Irish fans at their worst
IT ALL BEGAN, it seems, with a basic misunderstanding.
In a Facebook video with Sky Sports journalists Jeff Stelling and Paul Merson, the topic of players who could feature in Gareth Southgate’s first England squad came up.
London-born Harry Arter, who has started the season in fine form with Bournemouth, was suggested as a possible outside contender for a call-up.
Much mocking ensued, as the Soccer Saturday personalities had seemingly failed to realise that not only was Harry Arter an Ireland international, qualifying through his Sligo-born grandparents, he actually played against England for his adopted country in June of last year.
Yet the story did not end there. Arter, although he has three Ireland caps to his name, has yet to feature in a competitive match for Martin O’Neill’s side and so theoretically remains eligible to represent England.
Somehow, from last week up until this Thursday, an internet conspiracy theory gathered pace to the point where O’Neill was actually asked about it in the post-match press conference following the Georgia match.
The fact that Arter was injured and unavailable for both the Georgia and Moldova games added to the growing sense of suspicion, with some believing it was a convenient excuse, despite assistant boss Roy Keane dismissing concerns about the player’s commitment only two days previously.
When asked about the Arter rumour on Thursday night, O’Neill appeared genuinely surprised and taken aback by the question, saying: “I had no idea… He hasn’t played a competitive game for us and the choice is entirely with the player. It’s news to me, so I don’t know.”
Some people interpreted O’Neill’s reluctance to unequivocally dismiss the speculation as an ominous sign, with the rumour machine going into full flow as a result.
One or two high-profile tweeters, who really should have known better, only served to encourage the unfounded speculation about Arter.
But anyone who bothered to do some research before making up their mind will have quickly learned that the story was completely bogus.
An FAI spokesperson told The42 and other journalists that there was nothing to the rumours and that Arter’s injury was genuine.
Moreover, Arter himself spoke in glowing terms about representing Ireland just three days previously in an interview with the Bournemouth Echo, with the 26-year-old midfielder saying: ”It’s an honour to represent your country. I always look forward to it whether it’s a friendly or a qualifier.”
However, despite the strong evidence to the contrary, a small minority of Irish fans decided to take the ludicrous internet murmurings as gospel.
In an interview with Kevin Palmer in The Sunday World today, Arter broke his silence on the issue, condemning the “vile” Twitter abuse he received once the rumour became widely discussed.
“I see these Twitter messages and, honestly, it was the only time that I have ever had a thought that maybe I shouldn’t bother playing for Ireland,” he added.
In what has been a difficult year for Arter personally, the last thing he needs is people questioning his integrity owing largely to irresponsible reporting.
Furthermore, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, who actually did choose to switch allegiance and declare for England, having represented Ireland at underage level, has received similar levels of abuse ever since.
There is no doubt Grealish could have handled the situation better, but young people tend to make mistakes at the best of times yet most people’s judgements are not scrutinised by millions.
Grealish, like Arter, deserves to be left alone and not chastised on Twitter every time he fails to make an England squad or when Ireland achieve a positive result in his absence.
Irish fans were rightly commended for their good behaviour at Euro 2016, so let’s not allow a few trolls on Twitter tarnish that reputation.
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