The Ton chief sought legal advice on the situation and has been advised that the expense and time it would take to challenge the rule would render any appeal irrelevant.

Mr Rae has now conceded that Tidser, whose registration with the Ton will go through as scheduled, will not be available for selection for first-team duty until the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign.

He told the Tele: “There is nothing at all to report in the respect that I’ve taken legal advice and been told the rules are there and they really have to be upheld. There was another party previously who took them up in a court case, but before it got to the second hearing they had withdrawn because the costs were enormous.

“There is no point in me going down the legal line for the simple reason that it would take a year at least to get any response.

“He will be back in five months so it would be a waste of money. What is the point in chasing it if he is going to be able to play before then? He’ll be back in five months and that’s it. He’ll be back all right, this is only delaying it.

“He will be registered as a Morton player this season and has two further years beyond that.” The Golden Casket supremo refused to criticise anyone for the oversight and instead focused his ire on the ruling itself.

He expressed his anger at the statute, which he feels will be successfully challenged at some point in the future on the basis it contravenes European Union employment law.

He added: “There would have been no difference had we known the rule to start with.

“What would it have mattered?

“We wouldn’t have been any better off or any further on than we are now had we known.

“We still wouldn’t have been able to play Michael until July. I’m disgusted with the rule, because it’s a farce in the respect that it’s a constraint on trade.

“Michael is a professional footballer and he’s not being allowed to ply his trade. And he hasn’t done anything wrong. I mean, he could have tripped the referee up and got a lesser sentence.

“It’s a piece of nonsense that a player can sign for three teams but only play for two.

“Why would you bother signing for the third team if you can’t play for them?

“But I’m quite sure if one contested the case, one would win it.

“Someone will eventually challenge it but they will have to pay a lot to get the challenge and it will drag on and on and on.

“It’s a ridiculous rule, but whether we like it or not, that’s the ruling.

“The unfortunate thing is there is no other way.

“We tried to find out if he could be played as an amateur.

“The answer was no. We tried to find out if he could play three times as a trialist as well but that’s not allowed either.

“We also tried to get round it by saying that it was only a loan at Oldham Athletic but they wouldn’t accept it.

“We are hopeful he will be free to play for the Under-20s in the development league this season, but we are awaiting confirmation from the SPFL regarding his availability.”