The Stormont Assembly says FIFA will be stirring up a hornet's nest if it allows Northern Ireland stars to play for the Republic of Ireland.The province's Sports Minister, Edwin Poots, said the controversial proposal from football's world governing body could cause chaos in world soccer and especially Eastern Europe, given that there were a large number of Russians living in Baltic states.

During a fractious Assembly debate on the FIFA plan which unionists oppose but nationalists support, Mr Poots said it would undermine a shared future between the communities and create a single-identity international football team.

"In terms of where we are with this particular proposal, I think FIFA is entering a hornet's nest," the minister said.

"Members have mentioned other countries in Europe. The Baltic states, for example, have a high number of Russians living in them.

"If you go down to south east Europe you'll have large numbers of Hungarians living outside the borders of Hungary, you have got the ethnic Albanians, Croats, Serbs.

"What FIFA is doing is engaging in politics in a very dangerous way if they go down this particular route. While an Irish person whose parents were born in Ireland and who went to Australia can play for Ireland, this is a completely different situation from people who have been born and brought up in Northern Ireland, whose parents have lived in Northern Ireland for generations.

"Northern Ireland is the legal entity and is part of the United Kingdom. Irrespective of whether people like it or people do not like it, Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom."

The row over Northern Ireland-born players' eligibility for the Irish Republic's squad surfaced when Londonderry-born Wolves player Darron Gibson was selected to represent the South even though he would not normally qualify as neither he, his parents nor his grandparents were born there.

FIFA's legal committee upheld the rule after nationalists argued the Good Friday Agreement, which guarantees the right to Irish citizenship for anyone born anywhere on the island of Ireland, enabled players born and bred in Northern Ireland to play for the Republic.

However a final decision is expected soon from FIFA's executive committee.

Northern Ireland soccer's governing body, the Irish Football Association, is considering legal advice on the move.

An amended Ulster Unionist motion condemning the eligibility rule fell after nationalists tabled a petition of concern which meant it would require the support of a majority of unionist MLAs and also a majority of nationalist MLAs.

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