Jim1955 12 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 (edited) STV sport now reporting that Maribor are questioning Bocanegra's eligibility to play against them in the first leg. Could be trouble ahead. Edited August 23, 2011 by Jim1955 grammar 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Maribor lodge protest over Carlos Bocanegra eligibility Slovenian side submit questions to UEFA over whether the US international was eligible to play in the Europa League play-off round match. STV has learned that Rangersââ?¬â?¢ Europa League opponents Maribor have lodged a protest with UEFA over the eligibility of Carlos Bocanegra. The American defender completed a move to the SPL side from Saint-Etienne last Wednesday, beating an 11pm deadline to be registered as Rangersââ?¬â?¢ one additional player for the two-legged tie. Bocanegra didnââ?¬â?¢t have his UK work permit at the time of the tie in Slovenia and Maribor have now asked UEFA for clarification on whether he should have been able to feature in the first leg. ââ?¬Å?UEFA can confirm that the club NK Maribor has sent a protest to UEFA following the UEFA Europa League Play-off match NK Maribor vs Rangers FC played on 18 August 2011 in Maribor,ââ?¬Â a spokesperson for the European football governing body told STV. The Control and Disciplinary Body will immediately consider the protest, with a decision expected on Wednesday or, at the latest, before Thursdayââ?¬â?¢s nightââ?¬â?¢s second leg. A spokesperson for the Scottish FA told STV on Tuesday that all of the necessary paperwork to render Bocanegra eligible to play in the Europa League play-off round tie had been completed and submitted in advance of last Wednesdayââ?¬â?¢s deadline. Bocanegra played the full 90 minutes of the first leg tie between the two clubs in Slovenia last Thursday, but was unable to play against Motherwell in the Scottish Premier League on Sunday as the UK Border Agency were yet to process his visa to enter the United Kingdom. Mariborââ?¬â?¢s complaint stems from article 18.14 of UEFAââ?¬â?¢s Europa League regulations, which state: ââ?¬Å?For the three qualifying rounds and the play-offs, a club may register a maximum of one new eligible player on List A after the above-mentioned deadlines, provided the quota of locally trained players is respected. ââ?¬Å?Such registration must be completed by 24.00 CET on the day before the relevant first-leg match and the clubââ?¬â?¢s association must confirm in writing that the new player is eligible to play at domestic level at this time.ââ?¬Â Zeljko Latin, spokesman for Maribor said: "How can the player have the right to play in the European competition on the Thursday night but didn't have clearance to play for Rangers in a domestic match in Scotland three days later? "We are now awaiting a decision from Uefa. It's hard to say when they will make that decision. We are mentally preparing for the match as if it is 2-1." The Scottish FA do not take whether or not a work permit has been processed for a player into consideration before declaring him eligible to play in domestic competition. Work permit and visa issues, governed by the UK Border Agency, are treated separately from the registration of players. Bocanegra subsequently had his application for a UK work permit endorsed by the SFA and has was subsequently granted permission to live and work in the UK on Monday. If UEFA uphold Mariborââ?¬â?¢s protest, the governing body retain the right to impose a number of sanctions upon Rangers, ranging from a warning or fine to disqualification from European competition. Nobody was available for comment from Rangers at the time of publication. Story by Grant Russell, Andrew Coyle and Raman Bhardwaj. http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/267398-maribor-lodge-protest-over-bocanegra-eligibility/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1955 12 Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Several people on Twitter reporting that this issue was reported to Uefa from a "correspondent" in Scotland who wanted to draw Uefa's attention to this matter "in a true Corinthian spirit" Oh Yeah. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 This is not good news because there's some people at UEFA that clearly have it in for us. You would think it would have been UEFA's responsibility to determine the player's eligibility to play. If he wasn't eligible they had 18 or 19 hours from the registration deadline till kick-off to tell us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Several people on Twitter reporting that this issue was reported to Uefa from a "correspondent" in Scotland who wanted to draw Uefa's attention to this matter "in a true Corinthian spirit" Oh Yeah. Oh, it's got Britney or some bitter yahoo written all over it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1955 12 Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Saw someting on twitter from that Phil Macetcetcetec guy on this subject, for me it's the Orcs. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Someone tweeted it to him. The point is that he was eligible to play for Rangers but not yet eligible to work in the UK. The Maribor game was not in the UK and so a British work visa did not apply. Simples. Why would anyone need a British work permit to play football in Slovenia? That is just plain stupid. I expect he would need a Slovenian Visa but that is surely a formality for visiting professional football teams playing in UEFA competitions. Work permits and UEFA eligibility are two separate issues. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 PS I have lost all respect for Maribor who obviously don't want a sporting match. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 PS I have lost all respect for Maribor who obviously don't want a sporting match. The most likely reason for Maribor to do this is in hope of the slim chance that UEFA turn round and disqualify us. Another possible, but less likely reason for them doing it is that this will seriously fire up our squad. They might be playing mind games in the hope that the match gets really heated and we end up getting players sent off again like we did in Malmo. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1955 12 Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Think that Calscot's explanation of the work permit rules is spot on and that Maribor have been clutching at straws, play as we did on Sunday and we are favourites. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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