Simple as that really, he was denied a Visa into the UK due to the pending court case in Australia. But with the relaxed Visa regulation in France he has managed to sign a season long deal with the Catalan Dragons and will make his debut against Castleford this weekend.

But surely for the sakle of the game the RFL should have denied his playing registration. Its a loophole that i can see many players doing, such as Eastwood and Crocker who were also denied working visas in the uk.

I'm still not sure if he will be allowed into the uk and as for Eastwood and Crocker surely they they would not be able to play for a uk club on a french visa / work permit ,or is it an Eu issue . But i do agree it is wrong in my opinion if this does happen.

He has signed. Done deal.

He will be ok to enter the UK on a visitors visa as he will only be in and out within a day.

I think that the government here should make a show of him and refuse him entry as it is unfair that he is playing in the competition with Catalans anyway as he had technically signed for Bradford. He should be refused entry into Britain until after his pending court case. Should he be found not guilty fine but until he is proven not guilty or otherwise he shouldn't be allowed here. It's ridiculous that he can be refused a work permit here then just go play for a team in france and then come and play in Britain goes against the whole point of refusing it due to him being a danger to society as he can still come here! Points like this make you see what's wrong with our country.

I new he had signed but but did no know the details of the visa and that he would be allowed in the country under those terms. Do you think we may have issues with feka when is visa expires as it seems saints are now having problems with Meli.

how could they? catalans have done nothing wrong.
if the rfl had said no, catalans would have appelaed and won. european law overides rfl rules surely.

If the RFL don't want someone in their competition the EU can't force them to hahaha. That's like saying this woman wants to play but the RFL says no so the EU goes "no you must take her" don't be ridiculous haha. Do you think that would work in the FA Premier League? No so it wouldn't with the RFL lol

It's strange that Eastwood was denied a visa for driving convictions. Correct me if I'm wrong. Bird is allowed a visa despite a forthcoming court case for an alleged serious assault.

I guess all you can say is that it's purely down to different entry requirements between France and the UK and them's the rules. I'm not a fan of players from Aus/NZ coming over because they're out of options in the NRL, but I guess that's their job and they'll try and earn wherever they can.

i don't think the rfl should have been allowed to stop him, he still hasn't been convicted. the whole entering the uk thing is a different matter though.

none of them should be denied entry in the first place, they come from a country that was once ours and they have guaranteed jobs, unless they have commited a serious crime (Murder/rape/kiddy fiddling) then what is the problem, look at that poor foriegn bird that was brutally murdered in Scotland by a fellow farm worker who was knopwn to have killed before, how the hell was he allowed in when Crocker is denied for something he did when was younger, takes the really

This question has been raised before and there's no definitive answer as yet. Feka has a child over here, so in a sane world that would go in his favour. But the incredibly picky attitude adopted by the visa people at this moment suggests that any outcome is possible.

To me, this entire business beggars belief. Sportsmen with minor convictions can't get visas to work over here for a relatively brief time, yet our inner cities seem to be overrun with pimps and gangsters from Eastern Europe, who are all living here permanently and cheerfully setting up major league criminal networks.

I'm sure it's not quite as simple as that, but from the POV of the ordinary man in the street it's completely unexplainable.

you mean like some folk in the premier league want restrictions on the number of none british players but that would contravene eu law?
the rfl didnt stop bird playing it was the british government. he wasnt allowed a visa. the rfl sanctioned his move to bradford as they did with eastwood, crocker etc.

you might be a bit slow but at least your happy, laughter is the best medicine chuck

i dont think he should be allowed in super league if the NRL wont let him play then neither should we super league is turning into an 18-30 holidays for aussies who have no respect for the game and care about the money and the fame

When you look at the bigger issue i think its more about meting government stats on immigration than tackling the illegal issues of society , So back on topic ,going for higher profile people sports men /musicians and the like puts a bigger spin on things .

Yes. It creates an unfair playing field for Catalan (who i accept are only doing what is allowed) but the RFL should have set a ruling to work alongside the government.

Its a dangerous precedent.

Do you think this means that all those Aussies - no matter whether they're good or average - who've fallen foul of the NRL for whatever reason, will now go automatically to Catalan?

If so, could be a good thing. Might concentrate the rest of SL's minds on recruiting the sort of players they should have been trying to recruit all along.

I thought Meli's problem was more to do with him being dozy and not putting his application in time and is just waiting on clearence. Could be wrong on that but i am sure i have read it somewhere

Possibly a good thing for the rest of SL, not necesarily for Catalans. The whole idea of bringing a French team into SL was to develop the French game - that doesn't mean no Aussie imports - but they must concentrate firstly on the young French talent which IMO comes in abundance, before they even consider Australian imports.

No, I don't think it means all will. But it certainly gives Catalan an advantage in terms of recruiting the real quality - like Bird.

I agree that it could help the rest of SL get their act together, and without delving too deeply into the politics of it all, the RFL have dug themselves into a corner on this one.

lets be honest, whats the guy done, hes awaiting trial, if convicted the rfl should withdraw his registration from the league, but until then should anybody be stopped plying there trade over what at this moment in time is an allegation.

The RFL had no option but to accept his registration. He has the valid necessary paperwork to play for Catalans, they wouldnt have a leg to stand on if they refused to register him.

At the end of the day, if Catalans want to fill their quota spots with criminals and troublemakers just for the sake of it, let them do it - it wont do them any good in the long run.

If he does get convicted for assault and the RFL do as you say, surely that must mean Feka gets his registration withdrawn over his GBH conviction?

It would have been nice if Catalan had voluntarily refused to sign him in the interests of SL harmony but all clubs act purely out of self interest.

It's just one more joke in the comedy performance that is Superleague, I'm afraid.

How different people's opinions would of been had he signed for Wigan

Not mine pal. You'll find plenty of posts on here recently by me that are anti imports.