Inverness Caledonian Thistle last night vowed to take their case to the highest level after Marius Niculae's work permit was rejected.
The club thought that they had landed the biggest signing in their history when the Romanian international striker put pen to paper two weeks ago. But the deal was thrown into disarray when it was officially turned down by the Home Office yesterday.
Niculae, at the very least, has no chance of facing Rangers in tomorrow's televised Clydesdale Bank Premier League opener.
The club are now seeking to bring the case before an appeals tribunal at the earliest opportunity to avert further delays and the possible collapse of the entire two-year deal.
Despite Romania having recently joined the EU, the country has been denied full rights to freedom of labour movement. With 12 goals from 28 international appearances, Niculae's case looks strong, but he has failed to appear in 75% of his country's games in the last two years.
A panel, featuring some of the Scottish game's highest profile figures, could now be convened to decide on an appeal. Caley Thistle have enlisted Highlands and Islands Labour MSP David Stewart, a former Westminister parliamentary colleague of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, to press the case urgently.
He will argue that Niculae, with a rich career CV at Dinamo Bucharest, Sporting Lisbon, Standard Liege and Mainz in the Bundesliga, is deserving of special dispensation.
Stewart, a keen Caledonian Thistle supporter and club trustee, confirmed: "I have been approached by the club regarding the situation Marius now finds himself in.
"When Marius signed for the club, like many fans, I was thrilled - he is a player of stature, experience and talent.
"I have looked at the Home Office conditions which have to be met for the granting of a work permit for a footballer in Marius' circumstances. One is that the player's home country must be within the top 70 of FIFA's rankings. Romania's national team's position meets this requirement.
"Another condition is that the player must have played for his country in at least 75% of its competitive full international matches, during the two years preceding the application. Despite his international record as a player Marius, unfortunately, does not meet this requirement.
"However, these are only guidelines for an initial application and I'm aware there have been many precedents of even internationally unknown, non-EU players with no links to the UK being granted work permits.
"The application by Marius will now go to appeal and the important thing now is to gather support for the legal team to use at the hearing. With this in mind I have today launched an e-petition and would encourage all Inverness Caley Thistle fans to not only sign the petition themselves, but to encourage family and friends to do likewise."
The petition can be accessed at www.ipetitions.com/petition/mariusniculaeappeal/.
Manager Charlie Christie welcomed the formal rejection of Niculae's work permit as it means the club can move quickly to appeal.
"The good thing is we can now kick on with the appeal," Christie said. "We're trying to get that done quite quickly.
It's a matter now of the club making a strong case and trying to speed the process through.
"After watching Marius on the training ground today, I'd say the quicker that's done the better."
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