Diego Costa

[northnorfolkwolf]

Cricket wise, i have played cricket for a long time up to england u15s, etc. Its actually bloody hard to get permits for them through the home office, even 8 years ago pre bexit. Getting a work permit for an aussie for our club was a nighmare took 3 months. He couldnt play, was on a travel visa. Even when proving his employment and part time bar job.

But again you have a very much valid point in regard to other countries linking it to investment and what they will bring to the country, and its signed off and done very quickly.

If costa went to turkey it would be a very quick deal.

Yes, pay the right people!

 

[Deleted member 8455jwf]

End of the day Guedes played up front in a two last year mostly, Hwang is better in a 2 and Neto would be worth a look there.

4-4-2 diamond?

Neves deep
Nunes wider left, Neto wider right and Podence behind Raul and Hwang/Guedes.

Problem is Moutinho guaranteed starter berth. Offers very little protection at this point given he gets run past basically worst in the lease and makes our tempo glacial

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

There's not a hope in hell that a player who's not played or trained with a professional team in 8 months is going to appear in a Premier League game. Or there really shouldn't be.

Isn't this up to the club and the manager to decide that? A player coming back from injury may have been out for longer and obviously not have trained whereas it seems Costa has kept himself fit according to accounts.

 

[SuperGran]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567474868077182976

 

[Northampton_wolf]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567474868077182976

Makes sense he wont want to fly from brazil to be told that nope you havent got a permit

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

Yes, pay the right people!

Can I be the right people please?

 

[Contrarian]

Ok fair, but corbeanu does not score the same amount of goals for anderlecht that fabio has with the same minutes in the same games.

So far, he's scoring at exactly the same rate for Blackpool. As a winger. OK, he almost certainly won't over the course of a season. But it's promising so far. Both are doing well.

Just my opinion i like him as a player, but he has not done enough to say hes a prem starter, (neither has fabio yet)

Agreed. I think next season will be the time for Fabio. Having watched him a few times in the Belgian league, he's improving, he's a talented, natural finisher, however still has a lot to learn.

I'm just trying to avoid heaping yet more expectation on Fabio. If anybody said a player scoring a goal every 100 minutes in the Championship needs to come back to save us, I think we all know that would be dismissed, because "Championship". Yet same in similar level league and already some seem to think he's going to come back and be a revelation in the Premier League.

 

[Northampton_wolf]

So far, he's scoring at exactly the same rate for Blackpool. As a winger. OK, he almost certainly won't over the course of a season. But it's promising so far. Both are doing well.


Agreed. I think next season will be the time for Fabio. Having watched him a few times in the Belgian league, he's improving, he's a talented, natural finisher, however still has a lot to learn.

I'm just trying to avoid heaping yet more expectation on Fabio. If anybody said a player scoring a goal every 100 minutes in the Championship needs to come back to save us, I think we all know that would be dismissed, because "Championship". Yet same in similar level league and already some seem to think he's going to come back and be a revelation in the Premier League.

Thats a completely fair point contrarian, one that i agree with.

 

[Northampton_wolf]

Makes sense he wont want to fly from brazil to be told that nope you havent got a permit

On that if they know by the end of the day, he may fly tonight, for medical tomorrow, its a chunky flight. 12 plus hours

 

[SuperGran]

Makes sense he wont want to fly from brazil to be told that nope you havent got a permit

After all the angst of waiting for wp news then we have the angst of the medical outcome

 

[Cuban Wolf]

Can some kind soul please tell the guy up the tree, that he can go home for the rest of the day?

 

[Northampton_wolf]

After all the angst of waiting for wp news then we have the angst of the medical outcome

That would be criminal, gets a wp, comes into uk, fails medical thursday

 

[The Finkler]

I do hope he gets his

https://twitter.com/x/status/1567474868077182976

Fingers crossed for the appeal then like many others looking forward to him crashing VAR and leaving Mike Dean in a state of panic at Stockley Park staring at a swirly blue circle in the middle of his screen panicking and repeatley pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete in a desperate attempt to end previous tasks in order to review the 15th off the ball incident of the game

 

[Bugsy911]

I'd have thought getting him here and checking he is in anyway fit would be sensible alongside the appeal and give him extra recovery time to at least be an option off the bench on Saturday...I guess we can scrap any ideas of that now.

 

[Glow69]

I'd have thought getting him here and checking he is in anyway fit would be sensible alongside the appeal and give him extra recovery time to at least be an option off the bench on Saturday...I guess we can scrap any ideas of that now.

No point him being here if it gets a second no.

 

[Stafford]

I'd have thought getting him here and checking he is in anyway fit would be sensible alongside the appeal and give him extra recovery time to at least be an option off the bench on Saturday...I guess we can scrap any ideas of that now.

He probably doesn't see any reason to travel until he finds out the outcome. I don't realistically think he'll be match sharp for a couple of weeks anyway.

 

[Bugsy911]

No point him being here if it gets a second no.

With the money Wolves make a flight is of little concern , it would also maybe show the panel we are serious and want him involved straight away ....for an economy that is on its knees to throw his taxes away on a minor technicality looking at his career record would be madness.

 

[Northampton_wolf]

With the money Wolves make a flight is of little concern , it would also maybe show the panel we are serious and want him involved straight away ....for an economy that is on its knees to throw his taxes away on a minor technicality looking at his career record would be madness.

Doesnt matter the panel solely looks at why he didnt make the 15 points and if there is a reasonable reason he didnt.

Its a huge flight 13 plus hours, he has a family.

I doubt hes going to want to take a risk to be on the flight, just reassurances.

Im sure he will be marching to a plane once has has the green light we have you a permit diego.

Hes already agreed the contract in principle so he is happy, and we wouldnt be applying a permit if he didnt want to come.

 

[Northampton_wolf]

I'd have thought getting him here and checking he is in anyway fit would be sensible alongside the appeal and give him extra recovery time to at least be an option off the bench on Saturday...I guess we can scrap any ideas of that now.

Yes would be nice, but potentially a risk, putting all the effort in before having a concrete yes on WP

 

[Deleted member (smith)]

Cricket wise, i have played cricket for a long time up to england u15s, etc. Its actually bloody hard to get permits for them through the home office, even 8 years ago pre bexit. Getting a work permit for an aussie for our club was a nighmare took 3 months. He couldnt play, was on a travel visa. Even when proving his employment and part time bar job.

But again you have a very much valid point in regard to other countries linking it to investment and what they will bring to the country, and its signed off and done very quickly.

If costa went to turkey it would be a very quick deal.

Very interesting….the key points are the restrictions were imposed by the ECB not immigration….so different criteria for different levels…this year there were huge delays in getting approvals even for returning established internationals ….the excuses included brexit, staff shortages , Ukraine war, channel crisis etc. it used to be a one day process.

How many England qualified players should premier league teams have to play? And championship?

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

He probably doesn't see any reason to travel until he finds out the outcome. I don't realistically think he'll be match sharp again ever.

Corrected it for you.

 

[Ditton Wolf]

Also might show a bit of arrogance on the part of the club by flying in Costa, thinking this is a done deal with the permit. I'm sure whoever sits on the panel has access to social media and this may have rubbed them up the wrong way.

 

[WolfInSheep'sClothing]

Very interesting….the key points are the restrictions were imposed by the ECB not immigration….so different criteria for different levels…this year there were huge delays in getting approvals even for returning established internationals ….the excuses included brexit, staff shortages , Ukraine war, channel crisis etc. it used to be a one day process.

How many England qualified players should premier league teams have to play? And championship?

Ultimately the amount of applications that need to go through the system has vastly increased.
The vast majority of foreign players in English football have come in from having an EU passport. As we aren't in the EU anymore all players that aren't already here have to go through the same work permit process that probably only had a dozen applications a year before.
If they kept the rules as they were hardly anybody would have qualified, as it was soully based a percentage of international caps, or being an "exceptional talent" (which basically meant man united want to sign them)
The new rules are actually a relaxation, to try not to upset the quality of players coming in to the league(previously by us being in the schengen zone). They were also done very, very quickly, due to us not knowing the exact terms of Brexit for ages. I'd expect them to change, or the quality of football in the UK to go down drastically.

 

[RosehillWolf]

The most Wolves thing ever will be for him to be granted a WP then fly in and fail his medical

 

[wwfc9]

I am a little confused…what kind of country will not grant a work permit to a foreign owner who has invested hundreds of millions into uk for an elite international footballer with a pedigree like Costa who is wanted by a premier league team.? What about accountants, lawyers , doctors nurses ? This is absurd even for a third world country.

Not to mention the tax costa himself would have paid into this country already ..

 

[McSteen]

The most Wolves thing ever will be for him to be granted a WP then fly in and fail his medical

Or signing him on big wages and then tear his ACL in his debut

 

[wolvesaywe]

Grinds my gears when folk say anything adverse that ever happens is "so Wolves"

It's "so ****ing football"

We aren't some unique club where players get injured and the odd signing doesn't work out. Happens to each and every club at some point.

 

[ombyman]

The most Wolves thing ever will be for him to be granted a WP then fly in and fail his medical

Yeah, why don't we fly our guys out there now, so they can wiggle his knee cap a bit and make him jump up and down so he can pass his medical (based on the recent videos of Sasa and Traore)

 

[Hawkguy]

SSN saying the bar is set very high for the appeal and presuming it wont go through so onto carroll I guess.

I'd rather just play Bonatini...

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

SSN saying the bar is set very high for the appeal and hoping it wont go through so onto carroll I guess.

Fixed the above and I repeat that if we sign Andy ****ing Carroll I want heads to roll.

 

[FJRWolf]

I'm a little surprised that people are so excited about Costa coming, just a sh$thouse has been.
4 or 5 years ago yes he'd have been a great signing but his best days are long gone.
On the other hand people are panicking that Carroll is on his way... not seeing much difference myself, obviously Costa was a class player and Carroll a journeyman but surely a decent coach could get more from the players already here than a pair of vintage bronze statues?

 

[Skrilla]

You'd imagine we'll hear their decision in next few hours, I can't really see why they wouldn't make the exception given he's a point short with his experience, fame and injury reasons, but they might want to **** us over. God knows we already have horrendous 'luck' with VAR.

 

[OoohRobbieRobbie]

Grinds my gears when folk say anything adverse that ever happens is "so Wolves"

It's "so ****ing football"

We aren't some unique club where players get injured and the odd signing doesn't work out. Happens to each and every club at some point.

You've just reminded me of one of the most cringe chants I've ever heard vs Bournemouth away: "If that was us, you'd send him off".

Get a grip.

 

[WolfLing]

Just for those who are interested how the process works

The club will be notified of the identity of the Panel Members and have the opportunity to challenge the appointment of any Panel Member on the basis of an actual or perceived conflict of interest. Each Panel Member shall also have the opportunity to declare an actual or perceived conflict of interest (of him or herself or any other Panel Member) to the Chair or, if the conflict of interest relates to the Chair, to The FA. The Chair, or The FA respectively, shall then determine whether the Panel Member should be excluded from participating in the application. If the Panel Member is excluded from participating in the application, The FA will appoint a replacement Panel Member (to whom this paragraph shall also apply).

49. The Exceptions Panel can request any further information from The FA’s Player Status Department, the applicant club or any third party (via The FA’s Player Status Department) that it deems necessary, in its absolute discretion, in order to make its decision. If an Exceptions Panel meeting has been convened or is in progress when a request for further information is made, the Chair may adjourn the meeting to allow the information to be gathered. Where it is able to do so, the applicant club or The FA’s Player Status Department will supply the further information to the Exceptions Panel within a reasonable timescale.

50. The Exceptions Panel shall only recommend to The FA that a GBE be granted if it is satisfied that either:

a. exceptional circumstances prevented the Player from achieving 15 points, and if those exceptional circumstances did not apply, the Player would have achieved 15 points; or

b. the Youth Player shows significant potential and is of sufficient quality to enhance the development of the game in England and justify the Exceptions Panel recommending that a GBE be awarded.


51. The Exceptions Panel will make its decision, based on the papers submitted to it, at an inperson or virtual meeting at which The FA’s Player Status Department will provide appropriate secretarial support. Each Panel Member has one vote and the decision will be made by a simple majority, with the chair having a casting vote.

52. If the Exceptions Panel recommends to The FA that a GBE be granted, The FA will consider whether to grant a GBE (but is under no obligation to do so).


53. Written reasons for the decision will be supplied by the Exceptions Panel to the applicant club. Written reasons will also be provided to the relevant league Stakeholder with a redacted copy provided (on a confidential basis) to all Stakeholders.

Thanks @Northampton_wolf, very useful info.

Having read through the document you attached, there's some information in there that makes me think the reports about him having 13/15 points are not accurate.

Long-winded explanation, but here's why!!!

Looking at the 'current club' and 'last club' definitions.....

Current Club means:

1) the Player’s Last Club, if the application for a GBE is made after the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season;
or 2) the club the Player is playing for as at the date the application is made, if the application for a GBE is made before the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season (i.e. mid-season)

If the Player is a Free Agent, the Player’s Current Club is the club the Player played in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So on that basis, Costa can have no points relating to any 'Current Club' definitions. Had he been at Athletico Mineiro at the end of last season, he would have scored 8 points for this (Band 3 current club = 8 points).

Last Club means:

the club the Player played for in the Last Season. If the Player played for two (or more) clubs during the Last Season, the Player’s Last Club is the club the Player played for at the end of the Last Season. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So again, no points for Costa for any 'Last Club' definitions.

What we already think we know....

According to reports, Costa scored 13/15 points. 15 points would have got him an automatic work permit.

But over the course of the whole season, the reports say he didn't play enough of the available minutes in each competition to get any points for them (maybe not accurate!).

This image has been shared a lot.....



As you can see, this reports that his 13 points are made up of 4 from Athletico Mineiro getting into the Coppa Libertadores semis and 9 because they won the Brazilian league title (band 3 competition).

It's actually the other way around, 9 points for Coppa Libertadores semis and 4 for a band 3 league win. I thought it was wrong anyway, but this lack of attention to detail has made me more sure!!

But both of these criteria use the 'Last Club' criteria!

As above, because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club'.


Available minutes

This is the guidance on pages 8 & 9.....

Calculations 27. If a Player has played for two (or more) clubs during the Reference Period, or a Player is or has been a Free Agent during the Reference Period, the Player’s Continental Minutes, Player’s Domestic Cup Minutes and Player’s Domestic Minutes (each, the “Minutes”) will be calculated in accordance with paragraphs 28-29 below.

28. For each of the Minutes criteria, the applicant club should calculate a weighted average (using the annex to the application form at Appendix 1) as follows:

• a. Calculate the number of days during the Reference Period the Player has been registered for each/any club or no club (as appropriate).
• b. Calculate the percentage of the overall Reference Period that each of those periods of time represents.
• c. Calculate the percentage of Minutes played as a proportion of the total Available Continental Minutes, Available Domestic Cup Minutes or Available Domestic Minutes (respectively).
• d. Multiply each of the numbers at (b) by their corresponding number at (c).
• e. Add each of the numbers at (d) to find the weighted average value for the Minutes

But if we go through the calculations.....

a) number of days he was registered to Athletico Mineiro = 14th August 2021 to 7th January 2022 = 146 days
b) this represents 40% of the reference period (7th September 2021 - 6th September 2022) 146/365 = 40%
c) Costa played in 19% of the total available domestic minutes and 28% of the total available continental minutes
d) I'm assuming by multiply, they mean to divide to get a weighted percentage!? 19% divided by 40% = 47.5%, meaning Costa played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro. He played in 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days there (28% divided by 40%).
e) no need for weighted averages, as he was only at one club.

So using those calculations, Costa has played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes and 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro.

40-49% of domestic minutes in a band 3 competition gives him 3 points
70-79% of continental minutes in a band 1 competition gives him 8 points

So he should get 11 points for the domestic and continental minutes he played in, during the games available to him while he was there.

Governing Body Exemption Panel

Anyone scoring less than 10 points is automatically rejected and can't go to a GBE panel. Incidentally, this happened with Justin Kluivert's move to Fulham over the summer.

Because Costa scored between 10-15 points, he can go to a GBE.

The Exceptions Panel shall only recommend to The FA that a (Governing Body Exemption) GBE be granted if it is satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented the Player from achieving 15 points, and if those exceptional circumstances did not apply, the Player would have achieved 15 points.

I think he's on 11/15 for his minutes played, not 13/15 for Athletico Mineiro's achievements.

I think the case being put forward is that all or some of the 13 points for Athletico's achievements should be counted, as currently they are discounted because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season (thereby not being granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club').

Adding everything together, he gets 24 points, so way more than 15 required to get an automatic permit.

So I suppose it's whether the GBE panel feel that their were exceptional circumstances that meant Costa did not reach those 15 points.

To me, this is the definition that could be disputed.....

If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

He was strictly speaking still at Athletico Mineiro at the end of their last season, so the points for their achievements should still count!

 

[wolvesaywe]

Thanks @Northampton_wolf, very useful info.

Having read through the document you attached, there's some information in there that makes me think the reports about him having 13/15 points are not accurate.

Long-winded explanation, but here's why!!!

Looking at the 'current club' and 'last club' definitions.....

Current Club means:

1) the Player’s Last Club, if the application for a GBE is made after the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season;
or 2) the club the Player is playing for as at the date the application is made, if the application for a GBE is made before the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season (i.e. mid-season)

If the Player is a Free Agent, the Player’s Current Club is the club the Player played in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So on that basis, Costa can have no points relating to any 'Current Club' definitions. Had he been at Athletico Mineiro at the end of last season, he would have scored 8 points for this (Band 3 current club = 8 points).

Last Club means:

the club the Player played for in the Last Season. If the Player played for two (or more) clubs during the Last Season, the Player’s Last Club is the club the Player played for at the end of the Last Season. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So again, no points for Costa for any 'Last Club' definitions.

What we already think we know....

According to reports, Costa scored 13/15 points. 15 points would have got him an automatic work permit.

But over the course of the whole season, the reports say he didn't play enough of the available minutes in each competition to get any points for them (maybe not accurate!).

This image has been shared a lot.....

View attachment 30090

As you can see, this reports that his 13 points are made up of 4 from Athletico Mineiro getting into the Coppa Libertadores semis and 9 because they won the Brazilian league title (band 3 competition).

It's actually the other way around, 9 points for Coppa Libertadores semis and 4 for a band 3 league win. I thought it was wrong anyway, but this lack of attention to detail has made me more sure!!

But both of these criteria use the 'Last Club' criteria!

As above, because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club'.


Available minutes

This is the guidance on pages 8 & 9.....

Calculations 27. If a Player has played for two (or more) clubs during the Reference Period, or a Player is or has been a Free Agent during the Reference Period, the Player’s Continental Minutes, Player’s Domestic Cup Minutes and Player’s Domestic Minutes (each, the “Minutes”) will be calculated in accordance with paragraphs 28-29 below.

28. For each of the Minutes criteria, the applicant club should calculate a weighted average (using the annex to the application form at Appendix 1) as follows:

• a. Calculate the number of days during the Reference Period the Player has been registered for each/any club or no club (as appropriate).
• b. Calculate the percentage of the overall Reference Period that each of those periods of time represents.
• c. Calculate the percentage of Minutes played as a proportion of the total Available Continental Minutes, Available Domestic Cup Minutes or Available Domestic Minutes (respectively).
• d. Multiply each of the numbers at (b) by their corresponding number at (c).
• e. Add each of the numbers at (d) to find the weighted average value for the Minutes

But if we go through the calculations.....

a) number of days he was registered to Athletico Mineiro = 14th August 2021 to 7th January 2022 = 146 days
b) this represents 40% of the reference period (7th September 2021 - 6th September 2022) 146/365 = 40%
c) Costa played in 19% of the total available domestic minutes and 28% of the total available continental minutes
d) I'm assuming by multiply, they mean to divide to get a weighted percentage!? 19% divided by 40% = 47.5%, meaning Costa played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro. He played in 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days there (28% divided by 40%).
e) no need for weighted averages, as he was only at one club.

So using those calculations, Costa has played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes and 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro.

40-49% of domestic minutes in a band 3 competition gives him 3 points
70-79% of continental minutes in a band 1 competition gives him 8 points

So he should get 11 points for the domestic and continental minutes he played in, during the games available to him while he was there.

Governing Body Exemption Panel

Anyone scoring less than 10 points is automatically rejected and can't go to a GBE panel. Incidentally, this happened with Justin Kluivert's move to Fulham over the summer.

Because Costa scored between 10-15 points, he can go to a GBE.

The Exceptions Panel shall only recommend to The FA that a (Governing Body Exemption) GBE be granted if it is satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented the Player from achieving 15 points, and if those exceptional circumstances did not apply, the Player would have achieved 15 points.

I think he's on 11/15 for his minutes played, not 13/15 for Athletico Mineiro's achievements.

I think the case being put forward is that all or some of the 13 points for Athletico's achievements should be counted, as currently they are discounted because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season (thereby not being granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club').

Adding everything together, he gets 24 points, so way more than 15 required to get an automatic permit.

So I suppose it's whether the GBE panel feel that their were exceptional circumstances that meant Costa did not reach those 15 points.

To me, this is the definition that could be disputed.....

If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

He was strictly speaking still at Athletico Mineiro at the end of their last season, so the points for their achievements should still count!

Any chance of a TLDR?!

 

[WolfLing]

Any chance of a TLDR?!

I think the reports are wrong. I think he fails to get to the 15 points needed on a technicality because the Brazilian and European seasons end at different times, meaning he doesn't get the points for Athletico Mineiro's achievements because he was classed as a free agent in the half season before we made the application.

If he had have got those points, I think he would have got 24 points and an automatic approval.

 

[wolvesaywe]

I think the reports are wrong. I think he fails to get to the 15 points needed on a technicality because the Brazilian and European seasons end at different times, meaning he doesn't get the points for Athletico Mineiro's achievements because he was classed as a free agent in the half season before we made the application.

If he had have got those points, I think he would have got 24 points and an automatic approval.

Brilliant, thank you!

 

[TheRetroChief]

Thanks @Northampton_wolf, very useful info.

Having read through the document you attached, there's some information in there that makes me think the reports about him having 13/15 points are not accurate.

Long-winded explanation, but here's why!!!

Looking at the 'current club' and 'last club' definitions.....

Current Club means:

1) the Player’s Last Club, if the application for a GBE is made after the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season;
or 2) the club the Player is playing for as at the date the application is made, if the application for a GBE is made before the club the Player plays for as at the date of the application has completed its season (i.e. mid-season)

If the Player is a Free Agent, the Player’s Current Club is the club the Player played in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club in the half of the season immediately before the date the application is made, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So on that basis, Costa can have no points relating to any 'Current Club' definitions. Had he been at Athletico Mineiro at the end of last season, he would have scored 8 points for this (Band 3 current club = 8 points).

Last Club means:

the club the Player played for in the Last Season. If the Player played for two (or more) clubs during the Last Season, the Player’s Last Club is the club the Player played for at the end of the Last Season. If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

So again, no points for Costa for any 'Last Club' definitions.

What we already think we know....

According to reports, Costa scored 13/15 points. 15 points would have got him an automatic work permit.

But over the course of the whole season, the reports say he didn't play enough of the available minutes in each competition to get any points for them (maybe not accurate!).

This image has been shared a lot.....

View attachment 30090

As you can see, this reports that his 13 points are made up of 4 from Athletico Mineiro getting into the Coppa Libertadores semis and 9 because they won the Brazilian league title (band 3 competition).

It's actually the other way around, 9 points for Coppa Libertadores semis and 4 for a band 3 league win. I thought it was wrong anyway, but this lack of attention to detail has made me more sure!!

But both of these criteria use the 'Last Club' criteria!

As above, because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club'.


Available minutes

This is the guidance on pages 8 & 9.....

Calculations 27. If a Player has played for two (or more) clubs during the Reference Period, or a Player is or has been a Free Agent during the Reference Period, the Player’s Continental Minutes, Player’s Domestic Cup Minutes and Player’s Domestic Minutes (each, the “Minutes”) will be calculated in accordance with paragraphs 28-29 below.

28. For each of the Minutes criteria, the applicant club should calculate a weighted average (using the annex to the application form at Appendix 1) as follows:

• a. Calculate the number of days during the Reference Period the Player has been registered for each/any club or no club (as appropriate).
• b. Calculate the percentage of the overall Reference Period that each of those periods of time represents.
• c. Calculate the percentage of Minutes played as a proportion of the total Available Continental Minutes, Available Domestic Cup Minutes or Available Domestic Minutes (respectively).
• d. Multiply each of the numbers at (b) by their corresponding number at (c).
• e. Add each of the numbers at (d) to find the weighted average value for the Minutes

But if we go through the calculations.....

a) number of days he was registered to Athletico Mineiro = 14th August 2021 to 7th January 2022 = 146 days
b) this represents 40% of the reference period (7th September 2021 - 6th September 2022) 146/365 = 40%
c) Costa played in 19% of the total available domestic minutes and 28% of the total available continental minutes
d) I'm assuming by multiply, they mean to divide to get a weighted percentage!? 19% divided by 40% = 47.5%, meaning Costa played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro. He played in 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days there (28% divided by 40%).
e) no need for weighted averages, as he was only at one club.

So using those calculations, Costa has played in 47.5% of the domestic minutes and 70% of the continental minutes available to him during his 146 days at Athletico Mineiro.

40-49% of domestic minutes in a band 3 competition gives him 3 points
70-79% of continental minutes in a band 1 competition gives him 8 points

So he should get 11 points for the domestic and continental minutes he played in, during the games available to him while he was there.

Governing Body Exemption Panel

Anyone scoring less than 10 points is automatically rejected and can't go to a GBE panel. Incidentally, this happened with Justin Kluivert's move to Fulham over the summer.

Because Costa scored between 10-15 points, he can go to a GBE.

The Exceptions Panel shall only recommend to The FA that a (Governing Body Exemption) GBE be granted if it is satisfied that exceptional circumstances prevented the Player from achieving 15 points, and if those exceptional circumstances did not apply, the Player would have achieved 15 points.

I think he's on 11/15 for his minutes played, not 13/15 for Athletico Mineiro's achievements.

I think the case being put forward is that all or some of the 13 points for Athletico's achievements should be counted, as currently they are discounted because Costa was a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season (thereby not being granted any points for the criteria which adopt the definition of 'Last Club').

Adding everything together, he gets 24 points, so way more than 15 required to get an automatic permit.

So I suppose it's whether the GBE panel feel that their were exceptional circumstances that meant Costa did not reach those 15 points.

To me, this is the definition that could be disputed.....

If the Player is a Free Agent and was not registered for any club at the end of the Last Season, he shall not be granted any points for the criteria which adopt this definition.

He was strictly speaking still at Athletico Mineiro at the end of their last season, so the points for their achievements should still count!

Jesus Christ. I only get an hour at most for lunch.

Busy day today?

 

[WolfLing]

Jesus Christ. I only get an hour at most for lunch.

Busy day today?

Technically self-employed. So only robbing Peter of time to give it to Paul later!!

Lots of copying and pasting too.

 

[Jack Russell]

A minor point but surely at the end of last season he was at an Athletico Mineiro player. He ceased to be so after the end of the season.