Scottish football supporters have been claiming for years that there is one rule for the Old Firm and a different rule for everyone else.
Dundee United manager Craig Levein found out exactly how biased the SFA are towards Rangers & Celtic last week, after he was prevented from signing Sunderland`s Roy O’Donovan.
22-year-old Roy O’Donovan has played for Cork and Sunderland during the past 12months, but Levein believed it wouldn`t be a problem because of what happened with Andy Webster.
The SFA allowed Webster to sign for Rangers, despite the Dundee born defender playing 1st team football for both Hearts and Wigan in 2007.
However, after agreeing terms with O`Donovan, the SFA stepped in to prevent the transfer going through before the deadline last Friday night.
Since joining Sunderland last month, the 5`07″ Northern Irish striker hasn`t even played in Roy Keane`s 1st team squad.
‘I would have taken Roy in a minute,” moaning Levein to the Courier after the SFA`s intervention.
‘We thought the loan deal was done, then it became clear this regulation would come into play.”
“He was at Cork before joining Sunderland and we thought, with the Irish season being different to ours, that it would be OK, but it’s not to be.”
“Now I will have to sit tight, but there are still a few out-of-contract players available after the window closes so we`ll see how things go.”
The question remains, what makes it ok for Rangers to sign Webster, but not ok for Dundee United to sign O`Donovan???
Answers on a postcard…..
Thats easy. Rangers have connections in the SFA offices and always have had. I don’t see where you managed to tack Cetic in with this though. This is a Rangers thing, not an Old Firm thing. Celtic suffered a worse fate a few years back when the then leader of the SFA decided to stall on a registration of a player so he could not face Rangers. He was exposed and subsequently had to resign. This though was only because he was caught, not because he did it! That was Mr. Jim Farry.
Unfair as anything………..