Representing your country is a great honour, but it can get complicated sometimes especially when it clashes with your club commitments. Club vs country rows have frequently happened over the years, and the 2018 Asian Games has sparked the age-old debate once again. Here, we take a look at some of the examples...

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS REPUBLIC OF KOREA

Having missed the 2014 Asian Games when the Republic of Korea won a gold medal at home, the 2018 edition represents Son Heung-min's final opportunity to avoid getting called up for military duty. Every able-bodied South Korean male at the age of 28 must serve a two-year compulsory term of military service with the South Korean army, but emerging victorious at this year's Asian Games will provide the 26-year-old a rare reprieve.

Tottenham Hotspur were aware of the implication in two years' time, but at the same time, they were unwilling to be without their star for too long this season. So, a special arrangement was struck, which would see Son link up with the national team after their Premier League opener against Newcastle United, and miss an international match in November and the first two matches at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

AVALDSNES VS REPUBLIC OF KOREA


When the South Korea women's football team departed for Indonesia, one name was missing from the passenger list: Cho So-hyun. The Taeguk Ladies captain, who is one of the four foreign-based players in the squad alongside Chelsea Ladies' Ji So-yun and INAC Kobe Leonessa duo Lee Min-a and Choi Ye-seul, would miss her team's first two Group A matches (against Chinese Taipei and Maldives) due to her commitment with her club,Avaldsnes.

As the Norwegian side were in the middle of the 2018 Toppserien league season and involved in the 2018-19 UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying round, she would only join her national team in time for their final group match against hosts Indonesia.

SELANGOR VS INDONESIA




In arguably the most protracted transfer saga of the 2018 M-League preseason transfer window, Selangor did not have it easy to sign Evan Dimas and Ilham Armaiyn from Liga 1 outfit Bhayangkara. Although the duo reached personal terms with the Red Giants in December last year, the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) refused to let them go until Selangor gave an assurance of releasing them for the Garuda's international matches that might fall outside the FIFA international match calendar, including the Asian Games. A gentleman's agreement was eventually made and the Indonesian duo sealed their moves in January.

PAHANG VS MALAYSIA




Malaysia U-23 head coach Ong Kim Swee cut a frustrated figure when he was deprieved of services of Matthew Davies and Nor Azam Azih for the 2018 Asian Games. Despite allowing Faisal Abdul Halim and Kogileswaran Raj to be part of the national team, Pahang opted to keep Davies and Azam for their Malaysia Cup campaign. Unfortunately, due to the Games taking place on non-international match dates, the Malaysian Super League side had every right to not comply with the national team's requests.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS VS PHILIPPINES




Ok, this is not so much a case of club vs country, but more like association vs country. Cleveland Cavaliers star Jordan Clarkson, who is eligible to play for the Philippines through his maternal grandmother, looked all set to play for the national team at the Asian Games before the National Basketball Association (NBA) stepped in, saying that the Cavs were not obligated to release the shooting guard due to the Games not being sanctioned by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

However, the decision was later reversed and Clarkson would be able to make his Gilas Pilipinas debut in Indonesia this month. It was also confirmed that Houston Rockets centre Zhou Qi and Dallas Mavericks forward Ding Yanyuhang, who had already been included by the China national team, were allowed to feature at the same Games.