Blackburn ends pursuit of American defender John

FC Dallas says American defender George John will not be joining Premier League club Blackburn.

Dallas president Doug Quinn says ''Blackburn had significant interest in acquiring George; however, for the time being, they decided not to finalize the deal.''

The Major League Soccer club added in a statement that John will now be available for the U.S. Open Cup semifinal against the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday.

To avoid the necessity of obtaining a British work permit, John had traveled to Greece - his grandparents' homeland - to collect a passport from another European Union country.