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Thu, Mar

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Jason Scotland has launched a blistering attack on the SPL panel for leaving his career in tatters. The former DundeeUnited striker is still reeling after Britain’s Home Office chiefs agreed with the panel's decision not to grant the Trinidad and Tobago international a new work permit.


Scotland sunk into the pits of depression after the Home Office stuck by the original ruling from the six-man SPL committee to deny him a new permit to extend his stay on Tayside.

And the 26-year-old has accused them of ruining everything he's worked for in the game up until now.

Scotland said: “I used to make a good living at Dundee United but now I have to start all over again.

“To have this all taken away from me when I'm not getting any younger is unbelievable.

“It was always my dream to play football in a foreign country but now where do I go?

“I worked really hard to get to Dundee United but I don't know what will happen from here.”

Scotland spoke of his heartache after being told his days at Tannadice had officially come to an end.

The shell-shocked striker was so cut-up when Gordon Chisholm broke the news to him that his instant reaction was to vomit.

Scotland said: “I felt so upset when I heard the news it made me feel sick.

“It's an absolutely shocking decision.

“To go from such a high at the end of last season to such a low is hard to describe.

“Because so many fans had signed the petition I thought the Home Office would think again.

“There was such a long wait that I thought there would be some good news at the end of it but that hasn't happened.”

Scotland had planned to move his family over to his beloved Scotland once he had signed the two-year deal that was waiting on the table for him back at Tannadice.

However, the next time he sets foot in this country will be to collect his belongings and bid an emotional farewell to all those who have grown to love him during his two-year stay at the club.

Scotland said: “All I wanted was to come back to Scotland and play for Dundee United in the new season.

“I wanted my daughter Jascell to come over so we could live as a family.

“Dundee has been a home from home for me and my car is still sitting back in Scotland and I have my flat in Broughty Ferry.

“I hope to come back over to Dundee for a couple of days soon to say cheerio to everyone Support United boss Gordon Chisholm and all the players at Tannadice have done their best to offer Scotland plenty of support.”

And their efforts have helped the striker stay strong during an agonising last few weeks.

Scotland has been training rigorously back home in a bid to occupy his mind in the vain hope that he would still return to Tannadice for the new SPL campaign.

But recent events have made it almost impossible for him to focus properly on a career that promised so much.

Scotland said: “Derek McInnes has been in touch with text messages.

“Obviously, I would like to see all the boys again. But I don't know when that will be.

“I've been training with my old Army team and with the international team to stay fit because I always hoped to go back to Dundee United.

“The training helped take my mind off things a bit back home. But I still can't understand the decision.”