 He was branded a "terrible" player by RTÉ pundit and former Republic of Ireland international Eamon Dunphy in the aftermath of a poor performance in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Sweden.Whelan hit back at Dunphy stating that he is nothing more than a "media bully".Whelan earned his 90th cap against Switzerland in October 2019 making him the ninth most capped Irish player of all time.