As Celtic race to register Wakaso Mubarak in time to face Maribor the club will be mindful of a similar incident in 2011 which also involved a Scottish and Slovenian side.
Fueled by Craig Whyte’s warchest Rangers (IL) ‘signed’ Carlos Bocanegra on the eve of a Europa League play-off against Maribor for an undisclosed sum from St Etienne.
Strangely Bocanegra was eligible to play in a UEFA tie in Slovenia but unable to play in an SPL match against Motherwell in-between the two matches against the Slovenian side.
Wakaso is believed to be in Moscow waiting to undergo a Celtic medical with the hoops needing a work permit to register the winger with the SFA before they can do likewise with UEFA.
In light of Jo Inge Berget’s display away to Legia Warsaw it’s doubtful if Wakaso will be pitched in to play in the first leg in Maribor but having him available for the return leg could be priceless.
Of much more importance, especially after the Legia Warsaw incident, Celtic will ensure that the paperwork is watertight before deciding on whether Wakaso features or not.
Three years ago nothing seemed amiss when Bocanegra made his debut in Maribor but when their coach went to the following Rangers (IL) match the plot began to unravel.
Bocanegra was unable to play at Motherwell because he didn’t have a UK work permit but thanks to the SFA his signing had been registered and submitted to UEFA allowing him to play in Slovenia but not Scotland!
With just a 2-1 lead from the first leg Maribor appealed to UEFA to be awarded a 3-0 victory due to the appearance of the American defender.
A Maribor spokesman asked: “How can the player have the right to play in the European competition on the Thursday night but [not] have clearance to play for Rangers in a domestic match in Scotland three days later?”
Maribor’s appeal was thrown out since it was made more than 24 hours after the match had been played with the Slovenian’s playing at Ibrox under protest.
A 1-1 draw in the return leg ensured that justice was done with the Slovenian’s having no need to appeal against the UEFA decision