Ashley Barnes has suffered a fresh knock back in his quest to play international football.
The 29-year-old Burnley forward qualifies for Austria through his grandmother but the Austrian Council of Ministers believe the player doesn’t meet certain criteria to claim Austrian citizenship.
What’s happening with Barnes and Austria? Four things to know…
- Barnes played for an Austrian selection in a 2008 friendly and has recently expressed his wish to represent them as they prepare for Euro 2020.
- The striker helped sink Spurs’ distant title hopes when he scored the winner at Turf Moor as Burnley won 2-1.
- The player has 94 goals in 391 career appearances.
- However Austrian authorities have since quashed any hopes for Barnes to represent Das Team.
The ministry announced on Monday ahead of a scheduled meeting on Wednesday: “Ashley Barnes does not meet essential criteria for naturalization under §10 (6) of the Citizenship Act”.
Sports section director, Philipp Trattner, said: “His previous sporting achievements have no connection with Austria, in particular, they were not provided in Austria for a relevant period of time, and his Austrian roots do not matter.
“However, one thing is clear: citizenships are not gifts and there are the same rules of the game for everyone – whether outstanding achievements in the special interest of the republic in science, art, business or even football were provided.”
And previous to the ruling, speaking on his future in international football, Barnes admitted to the Lancashire Telegraph that he still holds a hope to represent England when asked about it.
“Definitely. I have every faith in my ability,” said the 29-year-old. “If that happened, then I’d have to make a choice and I’d have to choose wisely. But first and foremost I need to concentrate on Burnley.”
On England, Barnes said: “I think I bring something completely different to the whole squad. But that decision isn’t down to me. I’m a Marmite kind of player, you either love me or hate me. That does not bother me. I know my own ability and how good I am.”
On the topic of Austria, who have improved in recent years, Barned added: “I am eligible for Austria, so what will be, will be.
“It would be something I’d like to do. I’d like to have a chat and see what happens.
“It may be a bit strange playing for Austria because I was born here, but I’m eligible through my gran and what will be, will be. I just need to keep working hard and do my talking on the pitch.”
“First and foremost is to keep Burnley in the Premier League. That’s my aim. What will be, will be. We will see what happens in the future.”
Subscribe to Squawka’s Youtube channel: sqwk.at/Squawka-Sub
Barnes on top form
The Bath-born forward has hit eight league goals in 26 games, meaning he is well on course to notch double figures in the Premier League for the first time in his career.
Whether this is enough to interest Gareth Southgate, who typically has the likes of Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck among his charges, is doubtful.
Meanwhile, Austria has Marko Arnautovic, the country’s star man, on seven in 18 league games, Augsburg’s Michael Gregoritsch, who has three in two and FC Lugano’s Marc Janko, who is yet to register this season in seven league games.
The post Ashley Barnes suffers setback in bid to play for Austria appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka News https://ift.tt/2tBt1Y4
No comments:
Post a Comment