Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill admits they don’t have a date for when Ronan Hale’s international transfer process will be completed, revealing that the ball is now entirely in FIFA’s court as to when it will be done.
Having played underage football for the Republic of Ireland, Ross County man Hale has been trying to declare for Northern Ireland since July but has seen his bid halted by the administrative process.
O’Neill, who encouraged Hale to swap Cliftonville for a move to the Scottish Premiership over the summer in his bid for an international call-up, has been asked about the delay during every international window since, maintaining that it is only a matter of time before the 26-year-old becomes eligible.
But after being unable to call-up Hale for his latest squad for next week’s Nations League double-header with Belarus and Luxembourg, the boss conceded that they are similarly in the dark as to what needs to be done for the process to end.
“I couldn’t tell you how close it is. It’s an administration process, it’s not like we get updates or can check online,” explained O’Neill.
“The governing body, which is FIFA, have to ratify the transfer, it’s not a UEFA matter. We’re in constant contact but sending an email every three days won’t make it any quicker, it’s not that type of situation. All the paperwork is there with FIFA but, as I said many times, this won’t happen quickly.
“Unfortunately he’s not eligible for us to consider.”
It means that Hale won’t receive his first Northern Ireland call-up until March’s World Cup qualifiers at the earliest, provided his clearance comes through by then, which would be seven months after the process was started.
While O’Neill could call him into camp but not play him, the manager says he doesn’t want to do that but, in the meantime, he has been keeping a keen eye on the Ross County star as he continues to shine across the water.
“We could bring him into camp but that would be to the detriment of somebody else who is eligible for us at this point in time. That’s the right thing to do,” he added.
“The most important thing is when he does come in, what determines how a player does at international level is their club form. He has to continue what he’s been doing at club level. At the weekend he was on the bench and did well in the second half. Jimmy (Nicholl) was at the game, so we are watching him.
“He’s a player we are looking at to come into the squad, so we continue to do that. Unfortunately, due to the rules, we can’t pick him right now.”