Smeltz set to light up NPL after club delay
SHANE Smeltz’s Gold Coast United return has finally been given the green light, with the A-League legend to make his NPL debut today following weeks of uncertainty.
Lured out of a two-year retirement last month, Smeltz was forced to sit out the season-opening 1-0 loss to Olympic on February 11 as red tape stalled clearance from his previous club, Indonesia’s Borneo FC. But with clearance coming through this week, the 38year-old striker is free to play in tonight’s 7pm trip to Easts – his first game in United colours since making 38 appearance for the A-League franchise between 2009-11.
“The international clearance system is changing and Indonesia is on the new system and we’re on the old one,” United chairman Danny Maher said of the transfer dramas. “The FFA (Football Federation Australia) couldn’t force Indonesia to use the old system and Indonesia couldn’t force FFA to use the new one. I spoke to the lawyer at the FFA earlier this week and he ran me through it and it was just one of those things.
“He said they understood the urgency. Football Queensland and the FFA really escalated it up and they sorted it out. It required manual intervention and escalation and the FFA made that intervention.”
Sitting second on the ALeague’s all-time goalscoring list with 92, Smeltz appears likely to come off the bench in United’s second outing.
After two washed-out games, Gold Coast Knights play their first fixture at home to Olympic at 6.30pm tonight.