Pogatetz hearing delayed

New Middlesbrough signing Emanuel Pogatetz will have to wait until next week to appeal his 24-week ban after his hearing was postponed.

The 22-year-old defender from Bayer Leverkusen was due to plead his case in Russia tomorrow, but the authorities there have now said the appeal will be heard by Wednesday next week, although they have been no more specific than that.

Pogatetz, who cost Boro £1.8m (€2.6m), was due to return to Teesside for pre-season training on Monday, but it is more likely that he will be given extended leave to attend the hearing.

The Austrian international was on loan at Spartak Moscow from Bayer Leverkusen when he broke Shikkin Yaroslavl player Yaroslav Kharitonsky’s leg in two places with a bad tackle.

He was immediately sent off and expected a regulation ban, but having flown to England to tie up his switch to Boro, he was stunned to learn that he had been banned for six months.

The Teessiders believe the punishment was severe because the Russian authorities felt that the full-back had left the country with indecent haste, and they have enlisted the help of the Football Association to argue his case.

Pogatetz flew back to Russia last week to formally launch his appeal and visit Kharitonsky in hospital, and is hopeful of a more positive outcome.

If the ban was to stand, the FA have admitted they will have little choice but to enforce it under FIFA regulations if details are included when the player’s international registration is received.

Manager Steve McClaren and the rest of his squad returned from a week on the Algarve last night, and after a day off today, are due to resume their preparations for the new campaign tomorrow.

Both McClaren and 20-year-old winger Stewart Downing are expected to sign new contracts during the next few days with the former revealing before heading for Portugal that he had agreed a new four-year deal, while the club confirmed last Friday that the England midfielder had agreed in principle to sign a lucrative extension.