SCOTTISH football chiefs have stood firm over their refusal to allow Jorge Cadete to play in Celtic's Cup semi final showdown with Rangers - in the wake of fierce criticism by Parkhead chairman Fergus McCann.
McCann is angry at the SEA's handling of the Portuguese striker's protracted transfer from Sporting Lisbon.
The delays meant Celtic missed the 14 day registration deadline for signing new players ahead of a cup tie. And yesterday the message from the SFA to McCann was that the Portuguese international cannot play in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden.
"The position is that he is ineligible," said SFA spokesman David Findlay. "The player was registered last Saturday, which was clearly not outside the 14 day limit."
In the Celtic club newspaper, McCann had insisted Cadete's registration should stand from Friday, March 22nd the day before the semi final deadline - when the club tried to rush through the transfer as the SFA sought international clearance from Portugal.
"We are pleased to have completed all the arrangements for Jorge Cadete to be fully registered as a Celtic player," said McCann. "However, we believe that hiss registration should have been official on March 22nd, when the documents were originally deposited with the SFA.
"I also believe the secretary of the association acted wrongly in refusing the first application. And regarding that, we will be making our concerns known to those in charge. Under FIFA and SFA rules, we believe the original date should have been adhered to."
Findlay said yesterday: "We have no knowledge of a letter of complaint from Celtic at this stage. In fact, we received a letter thanking the association for its help and assistance in completing the signing."
Cadete made his debut as a Celtic player in Monday's 5-0 thrashing of Aberdeen, he scored the fifth goal only three minutes after coming on as a substitute.
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