Scottish Panel held on 21 December 1999
in Glasgow
SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE
REVIEW PANEL
PANEL MEMBERS
Pat Stanton—Independent expert;
Alex Taylor—Scottish Professional Footballers
Association;
Bob Crampsey—Independent expert;
Iain Blair—Scottish Premier League Limited;
Peter Donald—Scottish Football League;
Willie Miller was scheduled to attend as an independent
expert but was unable to do so due to illness.
The Panel considered a wide range of evidence
from the Club including a detailed written submission and a testimonial
from the Brazilian National Coach.
The Panel watched a video supplied by Celtic
Football Club detailing the player's technical ability and took
oral evidence from Kenny Dalgleish, Director of Football and Jim
Hone, a Club Director.
After watching the video the Panel were of the
opinion that Rafael was a high quality player with a commanding
presence, a good passer of the ball who could play equally well
with either foot.
Taking evidence from the Club, the Panel asked
the Celtic Manager to explain the background to the Club's efforts
in securing Rafael's services. Mr Dalgleish explained that Rafael
would be the first Brazilian, the highest rated team in the world,
to play in Scotland. This was seen as a major coup for the Club.
He also stated that the player was keen to play for Celtic despite
interest shown from a number of major European Clubs such as Bayern
Munich, Juventus and Fiorentina. Rafael is seeking to establish
himself as a regular in Brazil's National team prior to the next
World Cup and sees the exposure he will get in Scotland as a major
factor in these plans. Mr Dalgleish and Mr Hone then went on to
explain in detail Celtic's youth policy, in particular the difficulties
their Youth Academy was having in attracting and retaining young
players with the qualities necessary to make a career in Professional
Football at the highest level. Celtic, even though they are a
major force in Scotland, cannot compete with Clubs in England
who have similar Youth Academies. This is a great concern to the
Club. They need to be able to nurture home grown talent as it
is not financially viable to continue to compete for players such
as Rafael. Despite these efforts it was noted that of the current
Celtic squad of players only one had come through the Academy.
The Club hoped that buying top quality international players in
the short term would allow the Club to establish a position as
a force in European Football which would then encourage youngsters
to the Club. The Club also explained that Rafael had German ancestry
and had applied for a German passport which was expected to be
issued within the next six months.
After considering all of the evidence the Panel
unanimously agreed that Rafael 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.
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