Darron Gibson

Club

_Free Agent Soccer

Position

Midfielder

Nationality

Ireland

Date of birth

1987-10-25

Birthplace

Derry, Northern Ireland

Height

1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)

Weight

89.34

Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson (born 25 October 1987) is an Irish professional footballer from Derry, Northern Ireland, who plays as a midfielder for the Republic of Ireland national team. He has also played for Manchester United and on loan for Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In 2007, Gibson, who was born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, was at the centre of a dispute between the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and the Irish Football Association (IFA), after he opted to play for the Republic of Ireland instead of Northern Ireland. The issue was referred to FIFA and was discussed in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The issue was settled in 2010 when it was declared, as Irish citizens, Northern Ireland-born people are entitled to play for either the Republic or Northern Ireland. Gibson represented Ireland at UEFA Euro 2012.

On 13 January 2012, Gibson signed for Everton for an undisclosed fee. He became the fourth ex-United player to sign for Everton under David Moyes, following Phil Neville, Tim Howard and Louis Saha. He made his debut a day later, as he started in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa. Later that month, Gibson scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 home win against league leaders Manchester City. Gibson played 11 times in the league during his first season with the club and didn't finish on the losing side once. If his time at Manchester United is taken into account this figure is stretched to 28 consecutive league games without defeat. The run came to an end in Everton's third league game of the 2012–13 season, when Gibson started in a 0–2 loss to West Bromwich Albion, although the game was level at 0–0 when Gibson was substituted in the first half due to injury. Gibson was sent off for the first time in his career, in a 1–2 win away to West Ham United on 22 December 2012, although the red card and subsequent ban were rescinded by The Football Association five days later. On 13 April 2013, Gibson scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 home win against Queens Park Rangers. His impact on Everton in his first two seasons was such that the club won 52% of the games he played in and only 25% of those he did not, with Gibson being hailed as the key link between attack and defence.

Gibson only made one league appearance during the 2013–14 season as it was ended in October when he suffered serious cruciate knee ligament damage whilst on international duty.

Gibson was at the centre of a dispute between the Irish Foo