Webster cleared to play for Wigan

ANDY Webster finally received clearance to play for Wigan Athletic yesterday after FIFA ratified his departure from Hearts. The Edinburgh club will have to wait, however, to learn how much compensation they receive, as a figure will be decided at a forthcoming meeting.

Webster could make his Wigan debut at Portsmouth on Saturday, and Paul Jewell, the Lancashire club's manager, said he was relieved he could finally count the Scotland international as a full member of his squad. "It has taken many long hours of negotiation for Andrew to become a player at this club, but I'm convinced all the hard work will be worth it once the supporters see him play," Jewell said.

"He is a confident and committed defender who adds a huge amount of competition to the centre-back spots, which is extremely healthy for the club. It has been a difficult time for him as he's not had a full pre-season under his belt, spending a lot of the summer training on his own. But he has worked ever so hard in training, which is a tribute to his desire to feature as soon as possible."

With the 24-year-old three years into a four-year contract with the Bank of Scotland Premierleague club, he invoked Article 17 of FIFA's rules governing transfers. Webster gave Hearts notice of his intention to quit within 15 days of the end of last season, allowing him to move to a club outside Scotland.

Wigan moved in, and the transfer was registered a month ago, which meant that it was unaffected by the transfer-window closure last week. If FIFA had denied the legitimacy of the deal, Webster could have been stranded at Hearts for a further six months, but none of the interested parties ever suggested that was a likelihood, far less desirable.

Webster's decision to hand in his notice followed a period in which the player was dropped from the first team at Hearts once it became obvious he would not sign a new contract. The first signs of a serious divide between player and club came in a match at Tannadice, when both Webster and Robbie Neilson were dropped from the team - on the orders of Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov, according to the then coach, Graham Rix.

Neilson came off the bench to play that night, and has since not only re-established himself as the first-choice right-back under Valdas Ivanauskas, but also broken into the Scotland squad. Webster's own international career, by contrast, has hit a hiatus. While he has trained with his new club and with Scotland, as well as playing for Wigan reserves, Webster has played little top-level competitive football over the past few months.

The completion of his move to the Premiership club will therefore also be a relief to the Scotland manager Walter Smith, who has made it clear he would not be able to select Webster or any other player while they remained in limbo.

Hearts declined to comment yesterday. They, too, would appear to have moved on from one of the most unsavoury disputes between a footballer and his employers in recent years.

Christophe Berra has taken over from Webster alongside Steven Pressley in the centre of the Hearts defence, while the signing of Christos Karipidis has added further cover.

Taken from the Scotsman