Wanderers have finally conceded defeat in their attempt to sign Macedonian midfielder Artim Sakiri after losing their appeal against the Home Office rejection of his work permit application.
There was disappointment all round when the appeals panel verdict was confirmed - Sam Allardyce having lost out on a £250,000 bargain buy from Central Europe and the 28-year-old wide player being devastated after being denied a dream move to the Premiership.
For once, perseverance failed to pay off for the Reebok boss. He had refused to take "no" for an answer when the Home Office rejected Sakiri's original application on the grounds that Macedonia are outside the top 70 in the FIFA rankings.
The PFA opposed the deal but Wanderers launched a vigorous and well-researched appeal, which was heard in Sheffield on Monday. Twenty-four hours later, Sakiri - capped 69 times by his country - was heading back to Slovenia to resume his club duties with SK Gorica.
Wanderers football secretary Simon Marland said: "Obviously we are disappointed, and the lad himself is really disappointed.
"It was an opportunity for him to enhance his own career in the Premiership and having seen him in a couple of behind closed doors games, he looked the part and would have been an asset.
"We know we gave it our best shot but the frustrating thing is that while he qualifies on the international criteria - he's captain of his country and has played in nearly all their games - we've missed out because Macedonia are outside the world top 70s.
"In fact they are 86th but, when you see that Togo are 69th ... no disrespect to them but it's about who you play and when you play them. As far as we are concerned, to have played regularly for Macedonia should have been enough to persuade the authorities to let him play in England."
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