Chhetri fails to get work permit

Chhetri had signed a three-year contract with QPR a few weeks back, although it was kept under wraps.

The club has been working to get Chhetri’s work permit to play in England but on Friday, the Delhi lad’s agent informed hims that it was rejected by the British government. According to the newly launched website of Football Players Association of India, Chhetri was denied permit since India is not in the top 70 in the FIFA rankings and the British government does not grant permit to non European Union players whose country is ranked below 70.

Queen’s Park Rangers, which is partly owned by steel magnate Laxmi Mittal, had been following Chhetri’s career for over a year and were happy with his development as a player. QPR CEO had also come down to see Chhetri in Barcelona where the Indian national team had a month-long training tour recently in preparation for the ongoing Nehru Cup.

Asked why he kept the contract with QPR under wraps, Chhetri said, “I had signed with QPR few weeks back and I knew I still would have had to wait for a work permit. So with lots of stories about me playing in Europe and with having a bad experience with the media in the Coventry case, I was sceptical,” Chhetri said.