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AS a defender, Tyrone Mears knows you get punished for playing a man on-side - especially if it's the WRONG side.
And that's now happened to the Burnley star after playing football for a country he has NO link to.
The balls-up came when Tyrone - who thought he was of Jamaican blood - was asked to play by their old boss John Barnes.
It was the right-back's first international cap - but the Jamaican FA MISSED the fact Tyrone's long lost father was AFRICAN.
Now the 26-year-old must pay the ultimate penalty - not being able to fulfil his boyhood dream of playing for England.
Tyrone, born in Stockport to a British mum, told the News of the World: "It was an honest mistake on my part. I can't believe the Jamaican FA didn't check in the registration process!"
The Premier League player, rated as England's second-best right-back by Opta stats, was recovering from an injury at the start of the year while playing for French club Marseille.
He added: "I was desperate for games at the time. When Barnes asked me about Jamaica I thought I'd see if I qualified."
That's when Mears began digging into his father's past and was told he had Jamaican roots. His father was actually from Sierra Leone.
He added: "I gave the Jamaican FA my name, my father's name and that was it. I didn't have to submit my passport.
And that's now happened to the Burnley star after playing football for a country he has NO link to.
The balls-up came when Tyrone - who thought he was of Jamaican blood - was asked to play by their old boss John Barnes.
It was the right-back's first international cap - but the Jamaican FA MISSED the fact Tyrone's long lost father was AFRICAN.
Now the 26-year-old must pay the ultimate penalty - not being able to fulfil his boyhood dream of playing for England.
Tyrone, born in Stockport to a British mum, told the News of the World: "It was an honest mistake on my part. I can't believe the Jamaican FA didn't check in the registration process!"
The Premier League player, rated as England's second-best right-back by Opta stats, was recovering from an injury at the start of the year while playing for French club Marseille.
He added: "I was desperate for games at the time. When Barnes asked me about Jamaica I thought I'd see if I qualified."
That's when Mears began digging into his father's past and was told he had Jamaican roots. His father was actually from Sierra Leone.
He added: "I gave the Jamaican FA my name, my father's name and that was it. I didn't have to submit my passport.
thats a damn shame
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