9:34am Friday 2nd May 2008
By Staff Sports Reporter
Nicolas Anelka is banned from playing against Wanderers on the last day of the season, according to a report in The Sun.
It is a match which could decide if Chelsea win the title and whether Wanderers beat the drop.
But the report claims the £15m striker Anelka will not figure at Stamford Bridge because of a new rule introduced last summer which states a player cannot face his former team after moving on loan and then signing permanently for that club.
Although it was never made public at the time, Anelka actually signed for Chelsea on loan on the night of Friday, January 11, says The Sun.
That was because there was not enough time to arrange a permanent switch before the home meeting with Spurs the next day.
The deal was sealed the following week but the method of Anelka's transfer means he can only play one more Premier League game this season - at Newcastle on Monday.
The rule which has condemned Anelka to the sidelines on May 11 is the same one which prevented Jermain Defoe playing for Portsmouth at Spurs.
Chelsea asked the Premier League board on Tuesday for special dispensation but their case was thrown out.
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