Waiting goes on for Bosnich

Mark Bosnich, sacked by Chelsea for testing positive for cocaine and suspended from football worldwide by the Football Association, faces a wait of weeks or even months before discovering if he has a future in the sport.

The Australian goalkeeper is in limbo because, despite two months of haggling, his legal team have been unable to finalise dates with the Football League appeals committee and the FA for the two hearings which will decide his fate.

Bosnich is appealing to the Football League appeals committee over the Premier League’s verdict that the termination of his contract with the Blues did not represent unfair dismissal.

The 31-year-old served notice of his appeal on February 11 and the hearing was meant to take place within a fortnight.

But, despite eight weeks elapsing, there is still no date agreed on and the meeting is now expected to take place after the end of the season.

An appeals committee spokesman confirmed that no date had yet been set.

The FA’s personal disciplinary hearing for Bosnich, at which he faces a year-long ban if he fails to convince Soho Square chiefs he took cocaine unknowingly, was scheduled for February 10 but postponed when the played failed to turn up.

FA bosses suggested a rearranged hearing for a date at the end of this month but Bosnich’s legal team, headed by lawyer Keith Schillings and QC Michael Belof, have not yet agreed the date and the FA believe the hearing could be moved again.

FA spokesman Andrin Cooper told the Press Association: “We do not yet have a confirmed date for a hearing but continue to be in contact with Mark Bosnich and his representatives.”