I have managed to covertly obtain a copy of the appeal drafted by Alan Savage which will be presented to the Home Office Permit Appeal Panel tomorrow. The document. in its entirity, is almost 10 pages long but I felt that the following two paragraphs highlighted how the appeal is based on footballing, political, cultural and humanitarian grounds.
"We feel that Marius is a player of the highest calibre and would be able to contribute significantly to the development of the game at the top level in Scotland. He has played at the highest levels across Europe, representing well known clubs such as Dinamo Bucharest, Sporting Lisbon, Standard Liege and Mainz. He has represented his country (Romania) on 17 occassions, netting 6 international goals. His international career has been temporarily halted due to injury problems and contract issues with his previous club, Mainz of Germany. He will undoubtedly be a crowd puller in Inverness and will bring media attention to the footballing outposts of the Highlands. Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club has developed dramatically in the last six years and Marius will undoubtedly enhance this reputation and strengthen our finances accordingly. This could bring increased prosperity to the region as a whole. Marius will also be an added attraction to the ever increasing multi-cultural, international and cosmopolitan appeal of the SPL."
"From a cultural and humanitarian perspective we feel that Marius could develop into a role model and icon like figure to the large ***** populations north of Inverness. We have received a testimonial from the Ross-Shire Romany Society who stress that Marius's Romany status would be inspirational to the local amalgamation of tinkers, caravan dwellers, peg sellers, travelling folk and beggars, predominantly populating the poorer areas of Dingwall and Easter Ross. It is envisaged that the mere fact that he can be seen to live, work and prosper in a big city would be inspirational in itself."