If anyone actually wants to know what takes place in the work permit hearings see the examples from 1999 here -
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmeduemp/218/0021601.htmExample taken -
English Panel held on 23 November in Sheffield
SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE REVIEW PANEL
PANEL MEMBERS
Frank Clark—Independent expert;
Dr Rogan Taylor—Independent expert;
John Young—Football Association;
Mike Foster—Premier League (Derby County application only);
John Bramall—Professional Footballers Association;
Andy Williamson—Football League. Could not attend in person but gave a written submission for the Panel's consideration in the case of Chester City Football Club;
David Lacey, a sports writer with the Guardian was due to sit on the Panel but did not arrive.
Application by Chester City Football Club for a work permit for Angus Eve
Recommendation
The Panel considered written evidence from the Club which concentrated exclusively on Mr Eve's non availability for selection due to injury. The Club were not represented at the Panel due to unforeseen circumstances connected with their forthcoming FA Cup Tie against Manchester City, but sent a fax to the Panel which contained limited additional information on Angus Eve's playing ability. The Club also stated they felt they would have been able to add little in the way of evidence had they appeared at the Panel.
The Panel Chair read out Andy Williamson's comments to the rest of the Panel. The Football League supported the appeal on the basis that Eve's injury had prevented him from competing in Trinidad's only two competitive matches in the last two years. He had played in all Trinidad's games since recovering from injury and was currently the Captain of his country albeit because the usual Captain was unavailable for selection.
There was a discussion on the player's injury problems and Dr Rogan Taylor was particularly sympathetic as he felt that had Eve been fit, a work permit would have been issued. The discussion then centred on judging whether Eve would make a significant contribution to the English game. Eve was an attacking midfield player with a good goal scoring record who has been a regular in the Trinidad team prior to and following his injury. The Panel felt that although he had played a lot of international games, they were generally against poor opposition, no other Club appeared to have shown an interest in the player. There had been no information supplied by the Club to suggest how they had been made aware of Mr Eve and no written testimonials on which to judge his playing ability. John Young made the comment that he would be particularly uneasy about approving an application for a Club who currently reside 92nd in the League, with the possibility of relegation to the Football Conference.
The Panel concluded that although Eve was an established international player it was generally playing against lower level opposition, no other Club had shown an interest in him. They were of the opinion that he was not an established international player of the highest quality and therefore would not make a significant contribution to the English game. That was the view of Frank Clark, Dr Rogan Taylor, John Young and John Bramall.
Andy Williamson's written submission had supported the application.
The Panel's majority decision is to recommend that the appeal be refused.
Application by Derby County Football Club for a work permit for Giorgi Kinkladze
Recommendation
The Panel considered evidence from the Club consisting of a written submission expanding upon their application, testimonials from a significant number of people in the game, including
Sir Alex Ferguson, Manager of Manchester United and Peter Taylor, Manager of England's Under 21 team. There were also representations in support of the application from the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett, MP for Derby South and Alan Keen MP, Vice Chairman of the All Party Sports Group in the House of Commons. The Panel also took oral evidence from Keith Loring, Chief Executive of the Club, Jim Smith, Team Manager and Keith Pearson, Club Secretary.
The Panel were well acquainted with the player's ability from his previous spell as a work permit holder. He is, in their opinion, a player of superb skill and would be a tremendous asset to the domestic game. Kinkladze's move to Ajax of Amsterdam had been something of a disaster for him personally. He had been asked by Ajax to play out of position so his effectiveness was lessened. This led to him not being selected on a regular basis. This in turn meant he was then unable to command a regular place in the Georgian national team when previously he had been a regular and a star name within that team. He had also suffered a number of injuries which limited his appearances for both Ajax and Georgia. This inactivity had raised doubts about his current fitness levels which could have a bearing on the impact he would be able to make in England should his appeal be successful.
Mr Smith explained that doubts over Kinkladze's overall fitness were ill founded although he was short of match fitness and he wanted to see how far his recovery had progressed before making the signing a permanent one. Derby County's medical team had examined him fully and declared him fit. Indeed Mr Smith declared that should permission be granted Kinkladze would be in the team squad for their Premiership game this Sunday. He stated that Kinkladze was a world class player whose ability to excite crowds would be a massive boost to the English game. In his previous time in England Kinkladze had become something of a "cult" figure with English crowds due to his extraordinary skills and ability to turn a game in an instant. His previous record in England was testament to the significant contribution he would make to the English game. He said that the Club had signed the player on loan to the end of the season but they had first option to sign him from Ajax for £3 million should the move be successful. Mr Smith was confident that he would be able to judge whether a permanent move was possible in a short time and therefore hoped to offer Kinkladze a permanent contract well before the end of the season. He also said that the Georgian coach had stated that Kinkladze would be an automatic choice for the national team once he has established himself with Derby County.
Derby also indicated that Kinkladze was due to marry an English national next month which would remove the need for any further work permit applications should this be the case. The Panel were unanimous in their opinion that Kinkladze was clearly a player of the highest calibre, would make a significant contribution to the English game and that a work permit should be issued to Derby County Football Club.
