Gary Neville has said Declan Rice should not have been allowed to switch allegiance to England after playing three games for the Republic of Ireland.
West Ham midfielder Rice played for Ireland at youth level before playing in three friendlies for the senior side.
But because they were not competitive games, he was allowed to make the switch.
Now former England and Manchester United full-back Neville has slammed the move.
And he called on world and European governing bodies FIFA and UEFA to tighten up the rules and scrap the idea of representing one country as a youngster and another at senior level.
“I’ve heard he’s a really good lad, I just think that ultimately a player should not be allowed to play for his country’s senior team and then switch," said Neville , in quotes reported by the Sun .
“It doesn’t feel right to me. It’s a really strange thing to see and ultimately Fifa and Uefa need to stop it.
“There have been players who’ve asked for interviews and meetings with the national team manager. Why?
“Why is that influencing your decision, do you want some level of guarantee about play?
“Country is about an emotion, it’s about a feeling and that might be England, it might be Ireland, it might be Wales, whatever country you play for I’ve no problem with the process of players picking who they want to play for.
“I’ve issue with this sort of beauty parade to determine which country they play for. It should be taken out of the players’ hands.”
Speaking at the launch of the Cadbury Premier League Partnership in Dublin, Neville added: "There should be basically a tighter rule brought in.
“I don’t like the idea of a player playing for England or Ireland Under-16s, 17s, 18s, 19s, 21s and all of a sudden switching to play for a different country. It just doesn’t feel right.
“It’s actually become a bit distasteful. I don’t think it helps anyone.
“I genuinely think you should just pick your country at the point where you’re selected for a national team.”
