Soccer chiefs on both sides of the border today insisted football's governing body Fifa had ruled in their favour in a row over whether players born in Northern Ireland could play for the Republic.

Northern Ireland soccer bosses and unionist politicians claimed victory last night after Fifa's executive committee said following a meeting in Tokyo that it had decided against any rule change.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) in Belfast said this meant players born in Northern Ireland with no family ties to the south would not be able to line up for the Republic.

However, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in Dublin insisted Fifa sources were telling them the ruling meant they could continue to field players from Northern Ireland.

The row was sparked initially by the Republic of Ireland's selection of Derry-born player Darron Gibson in a senior international game.

A communique issued after Fifa's meeting in Japan did not clarify the matter, with just one sentence referring to the eligibility row.

"The Executive Committee decided to leave the current regulations regarding the eligibility of players to represent association teams unchanged," the governing body said.

An FAI spokesman noted Fifa's legal department had previously backed the fielding of Northern Ireland-born players by the Republic.

"Following today's Executive Committee meeting, senior Fifa sources have confirmed to us that the status quo remains and the FAI may continue to select players born in Northern Ireland who declare that they wish to play for the Republic of Ireland," he said.

However, IFA president Raymond Kennedy claimed the ruling was in Northern Ireland's favour. "I was always quietly confident," he told BBC Northern Ireland. "FIFA is just upholding its own rules."

The ruling was the subject of a fractious debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly earlier this week, with unionist politicians warning the rule change could undermine the cross-community nature of the Northern Ireland football team.

Nationalists insisted that the Belfast Agreement meant players from the north and south were allowed to opt for the other team.

Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy also claimed victory for the IFA and accused the FAI of spin.

"The facts are, FIFA have not made the changes demanded of them by the FAI, despite intense pressure from certain Irish and nationalist and republican politicians, and they are the losers in this situation - they should accept their defeat a little more gracefully and coach their own players to success instead of trying to poach ours!"