Reading’s Liam Kelly explains why he turned down Ireland call-up

Midfielder says ‘personal reasons’ were behind his decision not to join squad in Turkey

Reading midfielder Liam Kelly has explained his decision to turn down an international call-up from Martin O’Neill. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP

Mon Apr 16 2018 - 11:26

Reading midfielder Liam Kelly has said "personal reasons" were behind his decision to turned down an Ireland call-up from Martin O'Neill.

22-year-old Kelly declined the opportunity to join up with Ireland for last month’s friendly with Turkey in Antalya.

O’Neill said Kelly - who represented Ireland at underage level - informed him of his decision via text message.

However, Kelly has since explained why he turned down the advances of the senior side. Speaking to the Reading Chronicle, he said: "It was a personal reason, it was nothing against the Republic of Ireland.

“It had nothing to do with feeling English or Irish, it was a personal thing between me and my family which we thought was best. There are no ifs and buts about it, it was just how I was feeling at the time.”

Kelly also refused to rule out representing Ireland in the future: “We’ll see how it goes.”