Kyle Lafferty will be unable to play for Rangers in their weekend clash against Hamilton after Northern Ireland invoked a FIFA rule to stop him featuring, according to the Daily Record.
The Scottish newspaper claim the Irish FA sent an email to the Glasgow giants on Tuesday informing them they have triggered the five-day rule blocking an injured player for competing for his club until five days after an international period.
The Record report that, with international matches going ahead on Tuesday night – 24 hours after Northern Ireland’s 2-0 defeat to Bosnia – Lafferty will not be able to play for Rangers until next Monday at the earliest.
OPINION
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and Lafferty’s decision to declare himself unfit for international duty has cut no ice with Northern Ireland. The national team have taken the highly unusual move of preventing the striker from playing for Rangers in their Sunday trip to Accies, which is unlikely to go down well with either the title hopefuls or the player himself. Serves Lafferty right for pulling out of international duty at the last minute? Yes, it does. The striker is a key man for his country and would have been the first name on the team sheet for both matches. The new trend of players picking and choosing their international games – Leigh Griffiths and Kieran Tierney have been guilty of the same – is making a mockery of what should be the pinnacle of their careers. Maybe Lafferty will think twice about pulling out again. Or, maybe, he will tell his country where to go and concentrate on club football from here on in.