 McEleney was involved in a controversial incident in October 2010 when, 3 days after pulling out of the Republic of Ireland's Under 19 squad due to an ankle injury, he played and scored twice in a First Division fixture against Shelbourne.The League of Ireland Participation Agreement stated that if a player was not released for international duty, he could not play for his club during the five days after that duty.The FAI cleared Derry of any breach, however, declaring that "by the time [McEleney] had recovered from the injury, he was no longer required to fulfil his international duties and so he was eligible to play for Derry City."