IRELAND U21 boss Jim Crawford has responded to recent criticism of his squad selection by Galway boss John Caulfield.
Crawford has picked a backup squad comprised of League of Ireland players for Tuesday’s qualifier against Montenegro.
This decision is due to the fact that Montenegro is currently on the UK and Germany’s red list, meaning players based in those countries, as it stands, have to quarantine before returning if they were to make the trip.
But Caulfield criticised Crawford’s decision, likening the League of Ireland players to “guinea pigs”.
“They’ve picked a squad for the U21s and a number of players from England can’t go,” the Galway boss told RTE’s Saturday Sport. “They’ll rush our players to Montenegro so I think it’s an insult to Alex Murphy, to our club and players in the League of Ireland.
“They’re second choice and he’s an U18 international, he’s an U19 potentially, and they’re calling him for the U21 team if 13 players can’t leave from England.
“If we can’t get a team out to Montenegro then we should forfeit the match. The players from England who were picked in the first squad, if they can’t travel well why should the guys over here be guinea pigs when they’re not wanted for next Friday’s match [against Luxembourg] in the first place?”
Asked what he made of these comments, Crawford responded: “Being honest, I thought a little bit outdated. We’re doing our best to promote the league. The initial squad had six or seven players from our league in the group. Now all of a sudden we were told by Uefa that we had to play a home-based group.
“So, I’m bringing in home-based players that are playing in their first teams, that are quality players, that will come and experience playing with the 21s in a competitive campaign. It’s an experience that they will never forget and nobody can take that away from them.
“They will come here and they will learn. And they will enjoy it. I’ve had phone calls from First Division and Premier managers who supported our decision and it was refreshing but we do need to promote our league.
“We have pencilled in a home-based game against an Irish amateur team early next year but this has come a hell of a lot quicker. It is what it is but we get on with it. The players are here on merit, playing in their first teams.
“Comments like that… What did he compare them to? Guinea pigs. He said that which I just think was an unfair statement. And by the way, if he had a solution to this I would have sat down with him.
“But I think he came out with ‘why don’t we forfeit the game?’ If I had sat down with him in that particular situation I would have just walked away because that’s certainly not in our DNA.”
Group rivals Sweden and Italy beat Luxembourg 6-0 and 3-0 respectively, whereas Ireland could only manage a 1-1 draw in Dudelange, and Crawford is expecting a similarly tough test on Friday evening at Tallaght.
“Luxembourg played a different shape in those games and we went to their place with a narrow enough pitch and the surface wasn’t great but, c’mere, that’s neither here nor there. I felt had we scored the penalty early in the game it would have changed it.
“They would have come out and it would have moved them higher up the pitch and there would have been more space available to our players to expose. It is what it is. Collie Whelan scored a magnificent goal and we just couldn’t hold out.
“We gave away a penalty towards the end of the game, one-all, it was disappointing after a fantastic start and a really difficult Bosnia test but probably expecting more of the same. They’ll come and be patient, playing that low block again and try to catch us on the counter.
“It will be a tactical battle.”
