Fifa will block Old Firm shot at England

Published on Saturday 25 April 2009 20:00

FOOTBALL'S world governing body will block plans to allow the Old Firm to play in England's Premier League, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

David Will, a Scottish lawyer and former vice-president of Fifa, said plans to include Celtic and Rangers in a radical reorganisation of English football are destined to fail.

He said Article 80 of Fifa's statutes permits no club to play in another country without the ruling body's authority, which will be granted only in "exceptional circumstances". "They need the full agreement of the SFA, the full agreement of the FA and the full agreement of Fifa," he said. "I have no idea what the SFA and the FA's views are, but I do know that Fifa would be a stumbling block because they have always stopped this in the past. The words 'exceptional circumstances' are quite important. Would this be considered an exceptional circumstance?"

Berwick Rangers, an English-based club who play in the Scottish league, fall into that category, but Celtic and Rangers do not. "It requires Fifa's permission, but in my experience, Fifa has never given it," said Will, now honorary vice-president of the organisation.

"Once, there was an application by a Spanish team from Los Angeles, who wanted to play in the Mexican league. That was refused. It would require a complete change of mind by the executive committee. If they did that, it would be the thin end of the wedge. You would have the big Belgian clubs trying to get in the Dutch league, the Dutch ones trying to get in the Bundesliga.