Celtic and Rangers will both be able to sign EU players in the January window
Celtic and Rangers have been handed a major boost ahead of the January transfer window with confirmation that they will be able. to sign players from the European Union as usual.
With the Brexit transition period ending on December 31, there were fears that Scottish sides would be subject to the same points system agreed upon by the English FA, English Premier League and English Football League.
Under that system, players would be awarded points based on how many senior and youth appearances they had made for club and country.
Clubs would be unable to sign players from abroad under the age of 18, and only three overseas players aged between 18 and 21 could be signed in the January window.
Such a system could have significantly hampered Scotland’s top two sides as they head into a crucial transfer window that could go some way to determining whether Celtic clinch a historic tenth successive title.
As reported by BBC Scotland, teams in Scotland can sign players from the EU providing they meet an appeals panel’s criteria.
They say that the process will be similar to that currently used for signing players from outwith the EU, and that Scottish football’s Joint Response Group are currently in discussions with the Home Office regarding a future transfer framework.
Both sides are in action on Wednesday night, with Steven Gerrard’s league leaders meeting St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park and Neil Lennon’s men welcoming Ross County to Celtic Park.
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