Scotland banned from England

He had appealed a decision by the Home Office to deny him a work permit. At the hearing of the appeal last Friday, his case was dismissed.

The effect of this is that the player will be prevented from playing and living in the United Kingdom with immediate effect.

This development comes despite incredible support from all quarters in Scotland — the public, football fans, anti-racism agencies, elected representatives. Scotland’s case was also pleaded by Trinidad and Tobago Federation Federation and a vice-president of FIFA Jack Austin Warner who is a Trinidadian.

Dundee United Chairman Eddie Thompson said, "We are both disappointed and angry with this decision. We have explained our concerns to the Home Office, particularly the make up of the panel (with five people with a connection to one club) and subsequent comments made by members of the panel on the matter, but to no avail"

The Home Office judgement of June 29 is based on the recommendation of the review panel, and states that Jason Scotland’s appeal had been refused as he "was not of the highest calibre and would not make a significant contribution to the Scottish game.

"It appears that, in the judgement of the review panel he was not good enough for Scottish football.

"This is after he helped take United to the Scottish Cup Final and into Europe and had been the subject of interest from numerous other Scottish clubs.

"Just what did he have to do to prove that he was good enough for Scottish football? Putting aside the loss of a player to United, we must think of the effect on the individual’s life. From being valued by his employer and having a well-paid career, a home and partner, he has now been told he is no longer wanted here.

"One can only imagine how he must feel. When you add to this the work he did to help race relations in the community while in Scotland, one can only wonder how this situation came about.

"One can only hope that by us bringing Jason’s case to everyone’s attention, no other individual will have to suffer the same fate, whether he be a footballer or otherwise.

"Finally Dundee United Football Club would like to thank Jason for bringing his own brand of football skills, excitement and entertainment to Tannadice Park and for him readily assisting our community programmes.

"We wish him well for the future. We are frankly astonished that he has been treated in this way (the panel voted five to one against him) and sincerely hope that lessons will be learnt to avoid this happening again in the future."

Meanwhile Dundee United will continue to pursue this case through every possible avenue.