Arsenal youngster Omar Rekik’s loan move to Servette FC has hit a major snag. An administrative error has left him ineligible to play for the Swiss club, turning what should be a promising loan spell into an unfortunate setback.

Arsenal youngster Omar Rekik signed for Servette on loan on deadline day during the January window and an admin error will now likely see him blocked from playing for the Swiss side for the rest of the season.

Omar Rekik started the season on a short-term loan with Wigan Athletic after playing for the Latics in the second half of last season. When his loan this season expired, instead of renewing it for the remainder of the season, Arsenal brought him back to the club and arranged another loan, this time in Switzerland with Servette.

In a recent development, Servette failed to register Rekik, along with two other new signings, before the transfer deadline. As a result, the trio is barred from playing in any matches, likely until the end of the season. Swiss league spokesman David Barras confirmed, “We have not received anything at all.”

A report from the Swiss site 20min suggest Servette believed they had created squad space for Rekik and the other players following recent departures. However, with limits on non-academy players within Swiss squads, Servette were required to notify the league of the players being removed from their list to free up this space. Crucially, they did not do that before the deadline of February 15, 11:59 p.m.

Servette is appealing the decision, but Swiss media outlet 20 Minutes regards their chances of successfully overturning the ruling as slim, describing the situation as a “huge and unlikely blunder.”

This news is a major blow for Rekik, who was seeking valuable playing time at Servette after stints with Wigan Athletic and Sparta Rotterdam.

Arsenal have not made any statement regarding the situation and if they will cancel his loan, aiming to get him some minutes back in London. Servette have also not made a statement on the situation which they could address by loaning out some of their players, who weren’t trained locally, to free up space. That is their only option unless their appeal succeeds.

The transfer window is still open in Poland, Estonia, Slovakia, China, Senegal and others with the Swiss 2. Liga Interregional (5th tier) also open until 28 February.

Should Servette convince some players to leave, the first spot they can free up would o to Takuma Nishimura, according to the Swiss report. That means Servette would need to convince more than one player to drop down a level to allow an Arsenal loanee some game time.

Swiss League rules on non-academy players

• Swiss football teams have limits on the number of “non-locally trained” players they can register within their official squad list. “Locally trained” typically means players who spent at least three seasons at a Swiss club between the ages of 12-21.
• These rules are in place to encourage the development of young Swiss talent and prevent an over-reliance on foreign players.
• To bring in a new non-locally trained player, a team must first remove someone from their official squad list by either a transfer or loan deal. Crucially, this removal needs to be officially registered with the league.

Why this matters for Servette

Servette assumed that the departure of other players automatically freed up spots for Rekik and the other signings.

However, they failed to file the necessary paperwork to formally remove those players from their squad list. As a result, the league does not recognise those spaces as open, which makes Rekik ineligible to play.