'We can't handcuff players to a decision' - O'Neill

"Every player has the right to make that choice. He's a young player that had been initially in the Republic of Ireland set-up. He came back to be part of our set-up and I think Chris played maybe 17 times for representative teams for us. But every player has the right to make that choice, and obviously he's made that choice."

"We can't handcuff them to a decision that they made initially. They have the right to make that choice once in their career, and Chris has decided to make that choice. We can only wish him well."

Chris Atherton, who made history as the youngest senior footballer in the United Kingdom at age 13, has changed international allegiance from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland. Atherton represented Northern Ireland at under-16 and under-17 levels and was a youth ambassador for Euro 2028. He moved from Glenavon to Chelsea's academy in July 2025 and signed a professional contract in October. Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill acknowledged the switch as disappointing but acceptable, stating every player has the right to make such decisions. O'Neill noted Atherton played approximately 17 times for Northern Ireland representative teams. He referenced similar cases including Omari Kellyman's switch to England and noted Northern Ireland has also benefited from allegiance changes with Jamie Donley and Ronan Hale joining from England and the Republic of Ireland respectively.

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