31 Oct 2008Novo's Scotland call-up a no-go after gentleman's agreement

Football Referees, Players, Managers and Media

Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith has claimed today (October 31st) that the Home Nations have made a gentleman's agreement about selecting players for international squads.

Rangers' Spanish striker Nacho Novo suggested recently that he would be interested in applying for a British passport and representing Scotland after spending eight years in the country.

And England boss Fabio Capello has reportedly considered the possibility of calling up Everton's Mikel Arteta and Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, both of whom will soon qualify for residency.

However, Smith explained that the SFA has come to an agreement with its English, Welsh and Northen Irish counterparts to only select players based on bloodlines.

He said: "I have sought to clarify the issue. We have had discussions with the other associations in the past couple of days and I've found out that everyone is adhering to our agreement and that, subsequently, we're all going down the line that we will use bloodline as the basis for eligibility."

Smith also refused to rule out the possibility that any one of the individual FAs may change their stance at a later date.

Novo arrived in Scotland in 2001 from Spanish side SD Huesca and has since played for Raith Rovers, Dundee and Rangers.

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