From Celtic FC:

Celtics have been granted a Governing Body Endorsement by the SFA for Zheng Zhi following a hearing today. This allows the procedures to be completed to grant the player formal entry to the UK.

“Zheng Zhi is a player I have tracked for some time,” Celtic manager Tony Mowbray said. “He is a highly-regarded player and was a thorn in our side when he played against us at West Bromwich Albion.

As the UEFA’s registration deadline has already passed, the Celtic new bhoy will not be able to play in the Europa League until the knockout stages next year.  Zheng, 29, has played for Charlton Athletics FC for three seasons before joining the Scottish club.

This April, the Chinese FA appointed Gao Hongbo(高洪波), the country’s youngest-ever head coach, to lead the national team to the 2014 Brazil World Cup.  But the authorities has done little themselves to address the problem of score fixing in the leagues and to change the stringent transfer rules that made most Chinese footballers untransferable.

Links and Sources:

• Celtic FC: Zheng Zhi gets green light from SFA
• The Daily Mail:  Zheng Zhi is too late to play in Europa League
• Shanghai Online via Sina: Xu Genbao: Score fixing not new in Chinese leagues (Chinese)

Previously:

• Zheng Zhi to Play in The Premiership?
• How China’s Transfer Rules Made Footballers Untransferable
• EPL’s back for free in China

Photo: Celtic FC