Scottish Panel held on 30 November in
Edinburgh
SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE
REVIEW PANEL
PANEL MEMBERS
Frank Coulson—Scottish Football Association;
Pat Stanton—Independent expert;
Tony Higgins—Scottish Professional Footballers
Association;
Bob Crampsey—Independent expert;
Iain Blair—Scottish Premier League Limited.
Application by Aberdeen Football Club for
a work permit for Hicham Zerouali
The Panel considered evidence from the Club
consisting of a written submission expanding on their application,
testimonials from a number of people in the game, including Craig
Brown, Scottish National Coach; Gordon Strachan, Manager of Coventry
City Football Club; Henri Michel, Manager of Morocco national
team and Ivica Todorov, Manager FUSFC.
The Panel watched a video supplied by Aberdeen
Football Club and took oral evidence from Ebbe Skovdahl, Team
Manager, David Johnston, Operations Manager and Keith Burkinshaw,
Chief Scout.
After watching the video the Panel were of the
opinion that Zerouali was a quick, strong player, showing good
ball control with either foot and he displayed a good all round
tactical awareness in the highlighted games. Their reaction was
that he was certainly better than the players in the current Aberdeen
First Team squad. There was some concern that even though the
Panel unanimously agreed that the player met the criteria, up
and coming Scottish players would find their First Team opportunities
restricted as a result if a permit was granted. However, they
acknowledged the remit of the Panel and the scope of what they
were being asked to consider and decide.
Taking evidence from the Club, the Panel asked
the Aberdeen manager whether he thought that Zeroulai was better
than the current younger First Team fringe players. Mr Skovdahl
said he certainly thought he was a better player and went on to
explain that the younger players needed competition to demonstrate
the standard they needed to reach in order to become regular Premier
League players. He also pointed out that the team had suffered
a significant number of injuries and there was a need to improve
the size of the squad. He stated that they were looking for more
technically gifted players but, despite a wide search within the
domestic market, they had been unable to find suitable players
at an affordable price. The team are currently bottom of the Premier
League and lacking confidence which made it difficult to successfully
introduce young Scottish players, although the Club have used
two young players consistently this season and demonstrated their
commitment to developing such players in their recent domestic
purchases. Keith Burkenshaw said that he had seen the player in
action twice and he was a genuinely exciting player who in his
opinion would be an extremely good role model for Aberdeen's young
players. David Johnston emphasised the Club's commitment to youth
development and confirmed that they will be spending £750,000
this year on their Academy activities. The Panel also asked whether
any other clubs had shown an interest in signing Zerouali. David
Johnston confirmed that Nantes were keen on signing him but that
Zerouali recognised Aberdeen was a bigger club and had decided
to join them accordingly.
After considering all of the evidence the Panel
unanimously agreed that Zerouali was a player of the highest calibre
and would make a significant contribution to the Scottish game.
Accordingly, they recommended that a work permit be issued for
the three years requested.
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