London 2012: Celtic trio invited to Great Britain football squad
Scott Brown, James Forrest and Adam Matthews all formally invited to represent Great Britain at next year's Games
Celtic’s Scott Brown, James Forrest and Adam Matthews have all been formally invited to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics.
Welshman Matthews, 19, and 20-year-old Forrest both meet the under-23 requirements whereas Bhoys captain Brown would have to be selected as one of the three over-age players permitted in each squad.
The involvement of Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish players has been a long-running bone of contention with the respective FAs concerned over their future sovereignty with Fifa.
Wales duo Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have both expressed an interest in taking part however and while the home nations have made their feelings clear, it’s likely that players will have the final say.
And Celtic boss Neil Lennon said he wouldn’t stand in their way, even though he’s concerned by the proximity of the Olympics to the start of the 2012-13 domestic season.
“We will sit down with them over the next few weeks and see what they are thinking,” said Lennon.
“My view is that football is not an Olympic sport. But if the players want to go, I’m not going to discourage it.
“It’s the timing of it with the start of the season next year or the [European] qualifiers.”
Brown has been capped 27 times for Scotland while winger Forrest has made four senior appearances for Scotland and full-back Matthews has five Wales caps.
