BRUSSELS, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A court in Amsterdam on Tuesday threw out Feyenoord
striker Salomon Kalou's appeal for a fast-track Dutch citizenship, leaving
him unable to join the Dutch squad for this summer's World Cup.
A judge at the Netherlands' highest administrative court said there were
"no special grounds" to grant citizenship to Kalou, a native of Cote d'Ivoire,
Dutch media reported.
Dutch Immigration and Naturalization minister Rita Verdonk earlier turned
down the player's request for accelerated naturalization.
With 20 league goals in the Dutch first division this season, Kalou would be
an asset to any international squad, and after three years at Feyenoord he is keen
to commit himself to the Dutch national team.
Having already turned down Cote d'Ivoire, Kalou's last hope to play in next
month's World Cup is to pass a mandatory Dutch citizenship test. He failed the
first part of the exam in November.
The first chance Salomon would have to undertake the test again would be on
Wednesday. He would be required to take another part some weeks later.
Verdonk and Kalou engaged in a very public battle earlier this year following
her decision not to fast-track his application. She ruled he has to
pass the naturalization exam before he can be granted a Dutch passport.
Getting the court to overturn Verdonk's decision was Kalou's last chance to play
for the Dutch in the World Cup. National coach Marco van Basten indicated
there would be a place for the 20-year-old in the squad should he become
eligible on time.
Verdonk could have granted Kalou a Dutch passport on the basis of his
status as a leading sportsman. Van Basten and Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff
urged her to do so but she decided there was no substantial gain in granting him
fast-track naturalization.
Kalou's lawyer Jelle Kroes said his client could "in theory" still take
part in the World Cup, playing for his native country'steam. "But Kalou is not
even considering this," Kroes said.
The Netherlands play their second group match of the World Cup against Cote d'Ivoire
on 16 June. Kalou's brother, Bonaventure, is a key player for Cote
d'Ivoire. Enditem
