The list of Irish players that have had a feud with Giovanni Trapattoni would fill the bones of a starting XI. From Stephen Kelly, Kevin Foley and Shane Long to Stephen Hunt and James McClean, rows and fallouts have been a key feature of the Italian’s reign thus far.

But Darron Gibson has gone a step further than any of the above names – with the exception of Wolves’ Foley - by refusing to accept calls up for friendlies and World Cup qualifiers.

Since he moved to Everton in January 2012, the former Manchester United has been in fine form at club level. In fact it was Trap who encouraged the transfer to Merseyside in the first place as first team opportunities were limited at Old Trafford.

Then it must have been frustrating for Gibson to watch the likes of Paul McShane and Paul Green getting into the Ireland starting XI while he kicked his heels on the bench.

The source of Gibson’s anger stems from Euro 2012 where he was not called up at any stage. In contrast Leeds’ Green was thrust into action as a substitute against Spain.

Justified?

He is not the first Ireland player to refuse to play for his country. You can go back to Roy Keane in Saipan, Stephen Ireland and his vanishing grannies and Kevin Foley’s pre-Euros misery for players who all pulled out for different circumstances.

But is Gibson justified in his decision to turn down call ups to the national team?

You would like to think that patriotism would overcome the frustration of languishing on the bench.

But it is not the like the Derry native’s position in the squad is untenable. Trapattoni may be wrong to play the likes of Paul Green and Keith Andrews ahead of Gibson but the fact that he has offered to call him up suggests that the manager does value him to some extent. In fact, most of Gibson’s 19 caps have come under Trap.

Most pundits and fans disagree with his tactics and squad selection, but at the end of the day, the Italian is the manager and it is ultimately up to him to do what he thinks is right – and Gibson has no divine right to start even if  Trap is in the wrong.

In those circumstances, Gibson has two choices: continue his self-imposed exile or get his head down when the Ireland squad meets up and push hard to give Trap less reason to leave him on the sidelines.

Patriotism should win out over petty arguments with the manager, but as Gibson has shown modern footballers appear to have a completely different mindset.

If he maintains his stance he could be waiting for a full year as the cost of Trap’s contract means that the current management team will still be in charge until 2014, barring an unforgiveable disaster in the intervening period.

Self-imposed exile just does not seem worth it in those circumstances.

 

©INPHO/James Crombie