Glovers boss Gary Johnson said last night that he was hopeful of finally resolving the long-running saga of obtaining international clearance for new signing Pablo Bastianini today. The process has been tied up in red tape for the last week, and Gary revealed the main problem was down to Argentine contract law that required the paperwork to be signed in ink, with photocopies or faxes of contracts being unacceptable as a form of contract. The solution has involved giving Pablo's mother Power of Attorney over the striker's affairs - a means of allowing her the right to sign contracts and declarations on his behalf. But still the fun didn't end there, with even the Power of Attorney paperwork having to be couriered from England to Argentina, via Heathrow Airport, Paris and Youth Team manager Stuart Housley's motorbike!
Gary explained late last night: "The latest on Pablo is that we're almost certainly going to get it in the morning (Wednesday). We had a solicitor up there who had to write out some information for the Argentines. Pablo had to give his mother the Power of Attorney in Argentina. We had Stuart Housley ready with a motorbike and helmet ready to get the Power of Attorney down to Heathrow to someone who was catching a flight to Argentina and then meeting Pablo's mum to sign the document, which would then go to the Argentine FA, to then take to their PFA. Unfortunately it didn't arrive on time (for the Rotherham game). The document has gone all around the world but hasn't landed in Argentina yet. But they reckon it will arrive today. It had to be the original contract rather than a copy."
Gary added that even once they had agreed how to resolve the problem there were further complications: "He (the courier) has had to go via Paris to get to Argentina which is unbelievable. I'm fed up with it to be honest! It's only because Pablo is such a fantastic fellow and is so keen to play that I haven't cancelled the whole thing! The Argentine FA have got their own rules and regulations. They wanted Pablo back in Argentina. But we decided to keep him here and go through the other route, but obviously it's been a bit slower than expected."
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10 August 2005 : 
