Dundee FC chief executive Harry MacLean has hit out at the Scottish Football League for blocking a deal that would have kept Leigh Griffiths at Dens until the end of the season.
English Premier League side Wolves are favourites to secure the striker’s signature after reportedly tabling a bid in the region of £150,000.
Wolves had also agreed to loan the player who is expected to undergo a medical at Molineux on Thursday back to the Dark Blues until the end of the season.
However, the SFL have invoked the player registration ban they have imposed on Dundee and have refused to sanction the loan.
Now, if and when Griffiths departs, Dundee will be left with just one recognised first-team striker in the shape of Sean Higgins.
MacLean said, “We are extremely disappointed that the SFL have taken the decision to deny us the opportunity to take Leigh back on loan.
“They told us that because the player registration was leaving the club, we would be unable to take him back on loan.
“I do not understand why common sense cannot prevail.”
He added, “We had negotiated an agreement with the buying club and the player was keen on staying here the SFL are the only people who do not think it is an eminently sensible offer.
“The SFL could have used their discretion to allow the loan but they have decided not to, which is beyond me.”SFL’s ‘overwhelming’ backingMacLean said, “If we come out of administration, it is unlikely that the loan aspect of the deal could be resurrected and it seems we have just been wasting our time.
“The SFL have constantly gone on about the integrity of the league since we went into administration.
“Yet they will not allow talented Scottish youngsters the chance to play in this country.”
Meanwhile, SFL chief executive David Longmuir is confident that whatever the outcome of Dundee’s appeal at Hampden on Friday against the 25-point deduction for going into administration, that will be the end of the matter.
He believes the Dark Blues are unlikely to become the first Scottish club to take football’s ruling bodies to court because their case before the SFA appeals committee will heard by one of the country’s top judges.
Lord Carloway, a senator of the College of Justice and a judge of the Supreme Court of Scotland, will chair the committee, which will also include a representative from the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Professional Footballers Association (PFA).
Dundee’s appeal to the clubs last month was thrown out by a 26-4 majority and this is their final footballing appeal.
Longmuir said, “This hearing will be different from the one at our SGM (special general meeting), where we presented a very strong football argument as to why we did what we did and we were backed overwhelmingly by our members.
“If Dundee don’t get a result that they are happy with on Friday… at what is effectively a semi-judicial hearing, then I do not know what they can do.”
He added, “I am not sure where they could go with it. It’s possible that they could seek a judicial review, which would take it out of the reach of the footballing bodies.
“However, given that the appeals committee will be chaired by an eminent judge, then I don’t see how they would have a very strong case for doing that.”
Longmuir said, “If their evidence has already been heard and dealt with by one of the most prominent law lords in the country, then it’s hard to see how it would benefit them going to court, which would be unprecedented in any case.
“Friday’s hearing comes under the SFA’s articles of association and those articles say that Friday’s decision is final and binding on both parties.
“The fact it will be adjudicated by an eminent law lord would make you think that’s as far as anyone would wish to take it, but that’s entirely up to Dundee.”
He added, “At the moment, Dundee’s lawyers are going down the route of the legalities of the Insolvency Act and arguing that the Scottish league’s rules are not the law of the land.
“The footballing argument which is that they took an unfair sporting advantage while being unable to finance it seems to have been forgotten about.
“Right now, we have 60 postponements that we are trying to re-arrange and two Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-finals to organise, but half of my time is taken up with preparing for this.”