I think everyone on SFM knew that when the new club won its first trophy, whatever that trophy was, the old “same club” mantra would surface. Over the years, and since the nature of the debate is in the “santa exists” ballpark, we have largely discouraged discussion of it.
On the “old club” side, that reluctance to debate is largely because there is little value in arguing the toss with someone who either ;
- knows the idea is preposterous, but won’t admit it for whatever reason; or
- has been lied to by the person at (a) above and can’t be bothered to look at the facts for themselves.
On the “new club” side, the discouragement to discuss is mainly because we are in the main already equipped with the facts, and there seems little need to go over them again and again.
So why republish stevensanph’s blog and Hirsute Pursuit’s response from almost a decade ago?
Well firstly because it is an excellent piece of forensic scrutiny cutting through the fog which had begun to be induced by the MSM merely weeks after they had unanimously heralded the death of the old club.
Secondly because it was written as a response to the (at the time very unpopular) decision we made on SFM to close down the debate on the subject (for the reason stated above.
And lastly because the course of the truth – even if it is only shifted by a few degrees – can get completely lost as time goes by. Consequently, there are possibly many who take sides because of a leap of faith. This is a course-correction that demonstrates the absence of any need to do so.
So here then is a reprise of stevensanph’s remarks from 2013, on his own blog.
The Newco/Oldco debate has been ended over on TSFM, with the deletion of the excellent post from HirsutePursuit marking the end. While some think we need to keep reinforcing the message that its a totally new club, others are bored of the subject, so I can’t blame TSFM for wanting to move on.
Personally – I have read all the arguments – I am yet to be shown any factual proof that Green’s Gers are the old club. People will, and can believe whatever they want. For Rangers fans who want to believe its the same club, then, as long as they are happy, then fine. However, on paper, and in law, its a new club, and thats all that I care about!
TSFM posters wanting to continue the debate can do so below following on from HP’s excellent deleted post!
TSFM
This blog, as far as I have been concerned, is widely regarded as a forum for people who wish to highlight the inequalities and skewed reporting of the issues within the Scottish football arena. If it is not, perhaps you can make it clear what you see as its purpose.
Perhaps the biggest ever story within the Scottish game has been the circumstances surrounding the demise of Rangers Football Club. It is a multi-layered story and one that that is still moving. In many ways, it may be a story that is only just beginning.
Central to the debate (that should be completely on-topic) for this blog, is whether or not the authorities (at all levels) have acted in an equitable manner and whether or not the “free press” have given life to events in a truthful and balanced way.
With absolute regard to these matters, there is a fundamental issue surrounding the status of the club incorporated in 2012 and currently playing in the 3rd division of the Scottish Football League.
If you genuinely believe that the club incorporated in 2012 are the same club as was founded in 1872/1873 then you have every right to be outraged at the behaviour of the footballing authorities. You will probably accept that UEFA were right to “ban” the club from European competitions because of its holding company’s insolvency event; but feel completely persecuted by your fellow Scottish clubs who demoted your team to the arse-end of the game. You will see this “demotion” as a punishment far too severe for the actions of the rogue ex-owner of the club’s former “holding company”. To compound matters, you will see the LNS enquiry as just another opportunity for the clubs who have already revelled in meting out a severe punishment, to have another fly-kick. You would, no doubt, believe that whatever the previous owner of the club’s “holding company” did in terms of player payments, the trophies were won fairly by the club on the field of play and can never be taken away. You will be – in the main – satisfied with the narrative of the “free press” in referring to your club as the same entity as played in the SPL.
All of the attitudes and beliefs rely 100% on the tenet of a “club” existing as a separate entity from the legal entity (“company”) responsible for a football team.
If you genuinely believe that the club incorporated in 2012 are a different club as was founded in 1872/1873 then you will still have every right to be outraged at the behaviour of the footballing authorities. UEFA would rightly refuse European Club Licence for the new club – if one was applied for – as the new club do not meet the criteria; but you will feel completely let down by the self-serving nature of the SPL and the weakness shown by the SFA in attempting to place the new club in the top tier of Scottish football. You will see the new club’s fast-track acceptance into the SFL as without precedent and their award of full member status (of the SFA) as against existing rules. You will wonder how – when the members of the SFL voted to give them associate membership as new club – the SFL executive list them on their website as the old club. As the old club had ceased footballing activities in June, there should have been no SFA membership or SPL share to transfer in August. Since the old club is no more, you will not recognise any punishment for the actions of the rogue ex-owner of the club. You will see the LNS enquiry as an opportunity for some sort of justice in relation to years of outrageous cheating by the now dead club. You will think that trophies and prize-money were stolen from clubs who played by the rules. You will think that a correction of results is simply a consequence of the old club being found guilty of cheating. You will probably think that the LNS enquiry has nothing to do with the new club; but may wonder if the enquiry orders the repayment of the old club’s prize-money, would this create a new “football debt” that has to be repaid by the new club to continue using the old club’s SFA membership? You will be aghast at the apparent repeated mis-reporting of the situation by the “free press”.
All of the attitudes and beliefs rely 100% on the tenet of a “club” being the legal entity (“company”) responsible for a football team.
You may feel that these positions are “just a matter of opinion” and do not ultimately matter.
I disagree. The indeterminate status of the club incorporated in 2012 is a huge sore in the Scottish football landscape. This is the biggest story that just cannot go away. If the schism created by this sense of injustice is not resolved, Scottish football will implode. Attitudes may already be too entrenched; but that should not stop us trying to find a way forward.
The principal difficulty (again totally on topic) is that it appears – from both sides of the debate) -that people in positions of power within the game have made decisions that cannot be justified by their rules and articles of association.
We can – as you wish us to – stop talking about the status of the club incorporated in 2012, or we can continue to argue our respective positions as a crucial factor in this controversy.
In my view we can only hold the SFA, SPL and SFL to account if we insist that a definitive answer to all of the important questions are given.
The status of the club incorporated in 2012 is – in my view – a simple matter of fact. It is only because it is being considered to be a matter of opinion that we are where we are.
The Origins of the concept of a football club having an owner from whom it can be separated and its subsequent misuse by the SPL/SFA in 2012.
The following are taken from a well informed contributor to SFM who points out that pre 2005 no such concept existed in SPL rules and the meaning subsequently applied by LNS and The 5 Way Agreement is a danger to the fundamental integrity of the Scottish football industry and its member clubs.
The very short version of what follows is this:
The SPL articles state that its definitions and expressions need to be given the meanings as described in the Companies Act 2006.
The Companies Act 2006 says that an “undertaking” is “a body corporate” i.e. a company.
Lord Nimmo Smith has ignored this definition and instead accepted (or created) an alternative meaning for “undertaking” (as used in Article 2) which is fundamental to the concept of being able to separate Club from Company.
The principle of Club and company being distinct entities was expressly stated in the commissions terms of reference.
Lord Nimmo Smith has accepted the terms of reference as “facts”.
The SPL articles and rules apply to Clubs and to their “owners & operators”.
LNS asserts that the Club “Rangers FC” was owned & operated by Rangers Football Club plc.
He asserts that the Club “Rangers FC” transferred from Rangers Football Club plc to Sevco Scotland Ltd.
The Club (if found guilty) is still liable for the alleged breaches of SPL rules, even though the Club is no longer a member of the SPL.
He asserts that Sevco Scotland Ltd – as the new owner & operator of the Club – have a material interest in his commissions findings.
However…
Instead of his accepting LNS logic that allows the ethereal Club to be transferred between companies, the truth is – read in conjunction with the Companies Act 2006 – Article 2 really says that the Club is the “body corporate”. The Club is the Company.
The Club is Rangers Football Club plc. That Club is in liquidation.
Since Sevco Scotland Ltd did not purchase Rangers Football Club plc, Sevco Scotland did not buy the Club.
*On the simple basis of Sevco Scotland’s purchase of Rangers FC’s assets, the Commission cannot legally apply sanctions that would fall to Sevco Scotland for remedy.
This issue should have been fairly straightforward. We need to understand why it is not.
It is surprising to me that an experienced high court judge accepted the commission’s terms of reference without first checking its validity. It would be interesting to understand if the statement of reasons was really his own thoughts or a re-hash of the SPL legal advice that framed the commissions work.
It does not surprise me that the SPL have framed the commission in the way that they have. The “transferable Club” logic was first used to unsuccessfully argue that Newco should have Oldco’s share in the SPL. They are acting in their own commercial interest. Sporting Integrity has never been high on their agenda. We know what they are about.
It is hugely disappointing – but perhaps not surprising – that the SFA have not stepped in to clarify matters. Conflicted and/or incompetent probably best sums up its contribution.
Longer version.
The SPL – essentially as a trade association – will correctly do what they can to maximise revenue for their members. It falls to the SFA – as the game’s regulators – to ensure that the SPL’s existing procedures, articles and rules are adhered to.
It is almost without dispute that the SPL have not functioned well in following protocol. The SFA have been incredibly weak in insisting that they do so. In fact the SFA – by being party to the 5-way agreement – are themselves seemingly complicit in going off-plan. Again, regardless of your own beliefs and agenda, the SPL (by their actions) and the SFA (by their inactions) are not TRUSTED to act as fair brokers.
Lord Nimmo Smith is due to reconvene his enquiry in just over a week’s time. When writing my previous (and quickly deleted) post earlier in the week, my mind was already moving towards (what I consider to be) the insurmountable difficulty the retired High Court judge will face in steering his commission to a logical conclusion.
In football parlance, I fear that the SPL have given him a “hospital pass” that will eventually leave him just as damaged as the game. I had already prepared an outline of why I think his enquiry will ultimately flounder; but, wonder if this topic too will fall foul of the new censorship policy on this blog.
As I think Lord Nimmo Smith’s remit is an important point that needs discussion – and out of respect to those people who have supported this blog as the spiritual successor of RTC – I will attempt to post my thoughts here first. If this post gets removed or doesn’t get past moderation, I’ll do as TSFM (Big Pink?) suggested earlier and find another, more open, forum to engage in.
I apologise in advance for the length of this post; but the points, I think, are fairly straightforward. Please do bear with me.
We should probably start at the SPL Press Release of 12th September 2012:
Independent Commission Preliminary Hearing
The Commission has considered all the preliminary issues raised in the list submitted by Newco and points raised in letters from solicitors acting for Newco and for Oldco. It has decided:
1. The Commission will proceed with its inquiry in the terms of the Notice of Commission and will now set a date for a hearing and give directions.
2. Oldco and Rangers FC, who are named in the Issues contained in the Notice of Commission and alleged to have been in breach of SPL rules, will continue to have the right to appear and be represented at all hearings of the Commission and to make such submissions as they think fit.
3. Newco, as the current owner and operator of Rangers FC, although not alleged by the SPL to have committed any breach of SPL Rules, will also have the right to appear and be represented at all hearings of the Commission and to make such submissions as it thinks fit.
4. Written reasons for this decision will be made available in due course.
Further to the decision made today the Commission make the following procedural orders:
1. We set a date for a hearing to commence on Tuesday 13 November 2012 with continuations from day to day as may be required until Friday 16 November 2012. We will also allocate Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 November 2012 as additional dates should any further continuation be required.
2. We direct that the solicitors for The Scottish Premier League Limited lodge any documents, additional to those already lodged, together with an outline argument and a list of witnesses by 4 pm on Friday 19 October 2012.
3. We direct that Oldco, Newco or any other person claiming an interest and wishing to appear and be represented at the hearing give intimation to that effect and lodge any documents together with an outline argument and a list of witnesses, all by 4 pm on Thursday 1 November 2012.
4. We direct that intimation of the aforesaid decision and of these directions be made to the solicitors for Oldco and Newco.
No further comment will be made.
Couple of points worth noting:
1. The Commission will proceed with its inquiry in the terms of the Notice of Commission and will now set a date for a hearing and give directions.
2. Oldco and Rangers FC, who are named in the Issues contained in the Notice of Commission and alleged to have been in breach of SPL rules
So it is clear here that Oldco and Rangers FC have, in the terms of the Notice of Commission, been described as separate entities. It is important to realise that this distinction is made before the commission has had any opportunity to consider the circumstances.
This is a non-negotiable “fact” – as supplied by the SPL – that LNS either accepts or stands aside. He has chosen to accept it.
This “fact” was later given reasoning by way of the Commission’s Statement of Reasons and carried the names of the Commission members:
History
[3] Rangers Football Club was founded in 1872 as an association football club. It was incorporated in 1899 as The Rangers Football Club Limited. In recent years the company’s name was changed to The Rangers Football Club Plc, and it is now called RFC 2012 Plc (in administration). In line with the terminology used in the correspondence between the parties, we shall refer to this company as “Oldco”.
[4] The SPL was incorporated in 1998. Its share capital consists of sixteen shares of £1 each, of which twelve have been issued. Oldco was one of the founding members of the SPL, and remained a member until 3 August 2012 when the members of the SPL approved the registration of a transfer of its share in the SPL to The Dundee Football Club Limited. Each of the twelve members owns and operates an association football club which plays in the Scottish Premier League (“the League”). The club owned and operated by Oldco played in the League from 1998 until 2012 under the name of Rangers Football Club (“Rangers FC”).
…
[33] It is now necessary to quote some of the provisions of the Articles of the SPL. Article 2 contains definitions which, so far as relevant are:
“Club means the undertaking of an association football club which is, for the time being, entitled, in accordance with the Rules, to participate in the League
…
Company means The Scottish Premier League Limited
…
League means the combination of Clubs known as the Scottish Premier League operated by the Company in accordance with the Rules
…
Rules mean the Rules for the time being of the League
…
Share means a share of the Company and Share Capital and Shareholding”.
…
[37] It is also necessary to quote certain of the Rules. Rule I1 provides definitions of various terms in the Rules. Of these, we refer to the following:
Club means an association football club, other than a Candidate Club, which is, for the time being, eligible to participate in the League and, except where the context otherwise requires, includes the owner and operator of such club
…
[46] It will be recalled that in Article 2 “Club” is defined in terms of “the undertaking of an association football club”, and in Rule I1 it is defined in terms of an association football club which is, for the time being, eligible to participate in the League, and includes the owner and operator of such Club. Taking these definitions together, the SPL and its members have provided, by contract, that a Club is an undertaking which is capable of being owned and operated. While it no doubt depends on individual circumstances what exactly is comprised in the undertaking of any particular Club, it would at the least comprise its name, the contracts with its players, its manager and other staff, and its ground, even though these may change from time to time. In common speech a Club is treated as a recognisable entity which is capable of being owned and operated, and which continues in existence despite its transfer to another owner and operator. In legal terms, it appears to us to be no different from any other undertaking which is capable of being carried on, bought and sold. This is not to say that a Club has legal personality, separate from and additional to the legal personality of its owner and operator. We are satisfied that it does not, and Mr McKenzie did not seek to argue otherwise. So a Club cannot, lacking legal personality, enter into a contract by itself. But it can be affected by the contractual obligations of its owner and operator. It is the Club, not its owner and operator, which plays in the League. Under Rule A7.1.1 the Club is bound to comply with all relevant rules. The Rules clearly contemplate the imposition of sanctions upon a Club, in distinction to a sanction imposed upon the owner or operator. That power must continue to apply even if the owner and operator at the time of breach of the Rules has ceased to be a member of the SPL and its undertaking has been transferred to another owner and operator. While there can be no question of subjecting the new owner and operator to sanctions, there are sanctions which could be imposed in terms of the Rules which are capable of affecting the Club as a continuing entity (even though not an entity with legal personality), and which thus might affect the interest of the new owner and operator in it. For these reasons we reject the arguments advanced in paragraphs 2 and 6 of the list of preliminary issues.
Here we were introduced to a few new ideas:
1. That SPL members “own and operate” association football clubs
2. That “Rangers Football Club” was “owned and operated” by Oldco (Rangers Football Club plc).
3. Club means the undertaking of an association football club
4. An “undertaking” is “a recognisable entity which is capable of being owned and operated, and which continues in existence despite its transfer to another owner and operator. “
5. “A Club cannot, lacking legal personality, enter into a contract by itself. “
6. “A Club is an undertaking which is capable of being owned and operated.”
So, the principle, by which Lord Nimmo Smith, purports to connect Oldco and Newco is by the alleged transference of a non-corporate entity between the two owners and operators of the “Club”. The Club is the non-corporate entity he identified as the “undertaking” referred to in Article 2.
However, this is where he gets into some very serious difficulty. It is very strange that – when quoting the relevant articles – the retired High Court Judge did not notice or think the following did not have a part to play.
2. In these Articles:-
2006 Act means the Companies Act 2006 including any statutory modification or re-enactments thereof for the time being in force;
…
4. Unless the context otherwise requires, words or expressions contained in these Articles bear the same meaning as in the 2006 Act but excluding any statutory modification thereof not in force when these Articles or the relevant parts thereof are adopted.
The SPL articles make specific reference to the Companies Act 2006. Specifically “words or expressions contained in these Articles bear the same meaning as in the 2006 Act”
So when the articles refer to “undertaking” we must refer to the 2006 Act to check what meaning we should apply. If we do so, we find:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/1161
1161Meaning of “undertaking” and related expressions
(1)In the Companies Acts “undertaking” means—
__(a)a body corporate or partnership, or
__(b)an unincorporated association carrying on a trade or business, with or without a view to profit.
(2)In the Companies Acts references to shares—
__(a)in relation to an undertaking with capital but no share capital, are to rights to share in the capital of the undertaking; and
__(b)in relation to an undertaking without capital, are to interests—
____(i)conferring any right to share in the profits or liability to contribute to the losses of the undertaking, or
____(ii)giving rise to an obligation to contribute to the debts or expenses of the undertaking in the event of a winding up.
(3)Other expressions appropriate to companies shall be construed, in relation to an undertaking which is not a company, as references to the corresponding persons, officers, documents or organs, as the case may be, appropriate to undertakings of that description.
This is subject to provision in any specific context providing for the translation of such expressions.
(4)References in the Companies Acts to “fellow subsidiary undertakings” are to undertakings which are subsidiary undertakings of the same parent undertaking but are not parent undertakings or subsidiary undertakings of each other.
(5)In the Companies Acts “group undertaking”, in relation to an undertaking, means an undertaking which is—
__(a)a parent undertaking or subsidiary undertaking of that undertaking, or
__(b)a subsidiary undertaking of any parent undertaking of that undertaking.
Everything that LNS uses to connect Newco to Oldco relies on a Club being a non-corporate entity. Without that interpretation, his original acceptance of the commissions remit would look very foolish. In my opinion, the commission’s statement of Reasons were always poorly framed
Using the 2006 Act – as it appears it is bound to do – I cannot see how any interpretation of “undertaking” can be used in the context of the SPL articles, other than “a body corporate”.
If I am correct and the correct interpretation of an undertaking in this context is “body corporate”, SPL Article 2, specifically (and quite clearly) states that a Club is the company. Since the Club that played in the SPL is in liquidation and the current version of Rangers has never been a member of the SPL, any attempt to sanction the new club for the sins of the old will be laughed out of court.
The real question – for me at least – is why has this ridiculous proposition has been put forward in the first place? Perhaps we can assume that the SPL chose to frame the commission’s remit in this way for purely commercial reasons; but, more worryingly, why have the SFA allowed it to progress?
I also complained to the BBC for their reporting over TRFC’s championship. The email reply is pasted below – it won’t surprise many. Not yet responded as I’m not sure how you communicate with an ostrich with its head buried in the sand. And to note I didn’t complain about reports on “BBC Breakfast” (I don’t even watch it…) but about their reports on the BBC website. The Committees “conclusions” say it all:
“Many thanks for contacting us about ‘BBC Breakfast’, broadcast on 6 March.
We understand you may feel reports by Mike Bushell throughout the morning referencing Rangers football team being ‘on the brink of winning the Scottish Premiership title’ are incorrect, particularly in respect of changes which have impacted on the various companies which have owned and operated the business interests of the club since their liquidation.
In keeping with the BBC Trust judgement on the matter in 2013, we referred to, and will continue to refer to the team on the field as Rangers FC and only when reporting on the business matters pertaining to the club will we, when and as appropriate, refer to the old and/or new operating companies.
The BBC Trust finding on the issue may be accessed on page 25 of the document below:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/2013/apr_may.pdf#page=27
The Committee concluded:
that the choice of the right language by the BBC was highly dependent on the purpose and context of the output, including the intended audience and, for example, whether it was a sport story or a business story.
that, while there was no reason to treat the football club itself as “new” simply because the assets that make up the club had been transferred from one company to another, there was good reason to distinguish between “newco” and “oldco” when referring to the owning companies and the corporate transactions involved in the sale of the club.
In this light, we feel Mike’s reports were fair and balanced throughout.
Thank you again for contacting us. We hope that our reply helps to clarify matters and allays any concerns you may have.
Kind regards,
Ryan Johnston
BBC Complaints Team
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints“
Yup, that’s the standard BBC response when you question the same club stuff, Woking Celt.
Darkbeforedawn 12th March 2021 At 16:02
“As the member share was moved from oldco to newco then of course this is a transfer of membership and therefore Rangers were unable to compete in Europe for 3 seasons (which we were).”
The share was not moved or transferred and Charles Greens Sevco had never been or owned a member club, he bought a assetts from a liquidation sale, not the club or the history that went to the morgue.
“A “Licence applicant” is defined as:-
Legal entity fully and solely responsible for the football team participating in national and international club competitions which applies for a licence.
We then come to “Chapter 2: Licence Applicant and Licence”.
Article 12 – Definition of licence applicant
1 A licence applicant may only be a football club, i.e. a legal entity fully responsible for a football team participating in national and international competitions which either:
a) is a registered member of a UEFA member association and/or its affiliated league (hereinafter: registered member); or
b) has a contractual relationship with a registered member (hereinafter: football company).
2 The membership and the contractual relationship (if any) must have lasted – at the start of the licence season – for at least three consecutive years. Any alteration to the club’s legal form or company structure (including, for example, changing its headquarters, name or club colours, or transferring stakeholdings between different clubs) during this period in order to facilitate its qualification on sporting merit and/or its receipt of a licence to the detriment of the integrity of a competition is deemed as an interruption of membership or contractual relationship (if any) within the meaning of this provision.”
He would also not have had
“The membership and the contractual relationship (if any) must have lasted – at the start of the licence season – for at least three consecutive years.”
In response to Nawlite on the previous thread, you make a lot of very good points. I have never understand the reluctance to look into Res 12. In 2019 (I think) it was so long ago that the SFA could easily have opened an investigation. If it was found to be kosher then in which case it would have been put to bed and satisfied everyone. If there was wrongdoing, again they could have used the old fashioned “lessons have been learned, however the perpetrators (White, Reagan etc) have all now left so there is no point pursuing further. I don’t think anyone ever expected after so long for any real punishment to be handed out to anyone, but the refusal to investigate just makes the whole thing look fishy.
With regards the 5WA, I have always seen this as a formal arrangement similar to a personal insolvency event which agrees that any fines to come to light after the event cannot be pursued going forward (remember at that point we had no idea what else might have turned up that White or Murray had done illegally). In the personal insolvency (bankrupt) situation, if a debt from before the date of bankruptcy later comes to light, it is written off and I saw this as similar. It was a formal vehicle to manage a situation that hadn’t been imagined or accounted for before.
On the subjects of insolvency, I know Rangers are the example we all talk about on here because it is a football forum. But it is not unique. Sadly there are many unscrupulous directors who deliberately take everything from the company and fold it, screwing every other creditor in the process, only to set up a new company the following day with an almost identical name! The revenue keep trying to close the loopholes, but corrupt accountants will always find ways around it. Personal individuals often do the same, transferring any debts to their wife, going bankrupt wiping of hundreds of thousands of debt whilst still living the same life as before. A bit off topic but I guess just to demonstrate that the SFA, Rangers etc took advantage of various ‘schemes’ used daily in the country from the biggest companies to your Joe Bloggs in the street.
Darkbeforedawn 12th March 2021 At 18:55
Personal individuals often do the same, transferring any debts to their wife, going bankrupt wiping of hundreds of thousands of debt whilst still living the same life as before.
…………………..
A bit like Barry did. The thing is there are rules to stop Clubs doing this type of thing, if there was not every club in the world would do it, but then if every club in the world did it there would be no clubs as there would be no sponsors waiting to become creditors, there would be no advertising companies waiting to become creditors there would be no shareholders waiting to become creditors etc.
Hence the ibrox club and Green to his surprise found out you could not just dump the debt and take your seat at the top table. No club in the SPL had ever gone into administration and liquidation and if you believe it caught the SFA and The SPL and the ibrox club by surprise i have a bridge to sell. There was no stopping the club going into liquidation, the best they could do was to try and get some kind of franchise playing out of ibrox to stop the Armaggeddon and social unrest, but they made a right pigs ear of it.Green could only sell 250 season tickets and the SFA and SPL were wetting their pants and the best they could come up with was a 5 way agreement and if Green would pay the football debts and stop some other clubs going bust they could all sit round the camp fire and pretend the ibrox club never went Ti*s up, never happened. The thing is they unleashed Armaggeddon on scottish football and social unrest by their actions, and by their actions it is no longer a game worth the bother to many.
Club statement.
https://www.rangers.co.uk/Article/club-statement-1203212/1n9VyyP4LxhSY9QU13RWqF
Darkbeforedawn
I too am not that het up about the 5WA. A former, highly respected and knowledgeable poster on here, Campbellsmoney, referred to it as just a commercial agreement to protect commercial interests, and that the confidentiality was nothing unusual. Sporting integrity trashed perhaps, but I understand the priorities of boardroom folk are different from ours as fans.
The trouble with the 5WA, as is pointed out in the blog, and referenced recently by other posters, is whether the SFA/SFL rules at the time permitted the undertakings. Were any of the bodies involved acting Ultra Vires?
In respect of the many learned contributions we have seen on here for many a year, my judgement is that they probably were. The trouble is that it is not possible to have a JR without standing.
I do understand though, that some high net worth individuals representing fans of five different clubs, are investigating the possibility of buying a Scottish club as a project, which would of course give them standing to have a JR which may force the authorities to explain their decision to be part of the 5WA.
I don’t think this is over – in fact it ay never be.
Just for completeness, it’s probably worth adding a little further context to some of the terms used within the SPL’s articles.
When the SPL was incorporated in 1998 it’s articles stated that only association football clubs could be members.
Members were defined as being the holders of a share in the SPL.
As all the original members were corporate entities, the SPL clearly recognised Celtic plc, Ranger Football Club plc, et al as association football clubs. Each member of the league was a company which was an association football club. There was no reference then to an ‘owner and operator’.
So why the change?
Around 2002 talk began of SPL2 – effectively incorporating the top tier teams of the SFL into the SPL.
If all of the relevant clubs had been incorporated, there would have been no issue. However, by 2004 Brechin (an unincorporated association of persons) was in the SFL’s top division.
The technical position is that an unincorporated association has no legal personality – so cannot, by itself, take ownership of a share in the SPL. All assets of an unincorporated association are held in trust by one or more of the committee members.
This meant that had Brechin been accepted into the SPL (under the original articles), and allowed a committee member to registered the SPL share, that person would be considered to be the club.
The change in 2005 allowed the holder of the SPL share to be a natural person (committee member) or (possibly) an associated corporate body when the association football club itself has not been incorporated. In this context, the ‘Club’ and the holder of the SPL share (the owner and operator) are separate entities.
The new articles say that ‘except where the context otherwise requires, includes the owner and operator of such club’. In the context of an incorporated association football club, the ‘Club’ and its owner and operator are the same entity.
LNS allowed this change – relevant only to unincorporated associations – to falsely create a distinction between Club and company, when no such distinction exists.
HirsutePursuit 12th March 2021 At 20:29
I remember that explanation from way back but stuck to it was to get Romanov line when explaining the change, especially on Twitter.
Would be fair to say its purpose was to close an anomaly concerning one potential SPL member as well as provide power to discipline major shareholder but never to confer immortality on any member club .
That can fit into a Tweet. 🙂
The questions put to UEFA re 5 Way Agreement by Phil McGiolla Bhain can be read on his blog at
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2021/03/11/uefa-were-not-told-of-the-5-way-agreement/
The UEFA answer was a sort of no comment but in view of the questions why did they not ask to see the 5 Way or say they would make enquiries of the SFA?
What we now know is the governance of Scottish football is subject to an agreement that appears to be based on a false premise that UEFA were never consulted on, that undermines the integrity of Scottish football that the clubs we support don’t care a toss about.
Mind you why should they if the paying customer don’t care a toss about sporting integrity either?
Auldheid 12th March 2021 At 20:56
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HirsutePursuit 12th March 2021 At 20:29
I remember that explanation from way back but stuck to it was to get Romanov line when explaining the change, especially on Twitter.
Would be fair to say its purpose was to close an anomaly concerning one potential SPL member as well as provide power to discipline major shareholder but never to confer immortality on any member club .
That can fit into a Tweet. ?
……………………………………….
Auldheid, When the idea was first mooted, I couldn’t see how separating the ‘Club’ from it’s ‘owner and operator’ within the SPL articles would have helped the SFA ‘get’ Romanov. Still don’t.
I understand that Romanov was, in general terms, the owner/controller of Hearts, but he was not the personal holder of the SPL share. Therefore, under the SPL’s articles, he could not be properly described as the ‘owner and operator’. The ‘owner and operator’ of Hearts is the association football club, Heart of Midlothian plc. As a corporate body, it (the Club) owned and operated its footballing operations.
I don’t understand why this change in terminology would get the SPL or SFA any closer to holding Romanov accountable.
Unless I have completely missed something, the ‘get Romanov’ explanation for the changes I have described doesn’t really stand up to proper scrutiny. imo.
Darkbeforedawn 12th March 2021 At 18:55
“Sadly there are many unscrupulous directors who deliberately take everything from the company and fold it, screwing every other creditor in the process, only to set up a new company the following day with an almost identical name!”
No-one would argue this happens daily but you have hit the nail on the head, “set up a new company the following day with an almost identical name!”
TheRangers 2012 version attempt to seperate the two, club and company as if something that was recorded never happened or wishing never happened, but all the same, denying the fact there club was incorporated into a commercial successgul business until Murray got it, and when it went bust they decided to do as you describe, only difference they leave out the almost identical name part and claim same name as in same club,
Charles Green knows he never bought a club or he would have inherited debts, liquidation is the wiping out of creditors debts and creditors get the satisfaction of winding up that, that stole their cash. Two process, pay your debts or do not pass go.
Big Pink 12th March 2021 At 20:24
”…I do understand though, that some high net worth individuals representing fans of five different clubs, are investigating the possibility of buying a Scottish club as a project, which would of course give them standing to have a JR which may force the authorities to explain their decision to be part of the 5WA.”
+++++
Ah, BP, the very idea of that cheers me up somewhat !(smiley face, if that facility were available!)
I hope your understanding proves to be based on fact.
In the world of sports cycling the suspicion was ( and now today confirmed] that a certain doctor was buying performance enhancing drugs for ‘competitors’ a decade ago .
In essence, what we have in Scottish football is the suspicion that the governance body acted corruptly in 2012.
The fact that that governance body(and other bodies] refuses to explain its actions and uses the cloak of secrecy as an excuse for its refusal simply reinforces the view that they have something to hide.
What we need is a wholly independent examination into how the ‘TRFC is Rangers of 1872’ lie was created, endorsed by Scottish Football Governance and ‘sold’ to UEFA and the Stock Exchange as the truth.
May I live to see such independent examination!
HirsutePursuit 12th March 2021 At 22:39
As I recall the notion was raised by Easy Jambo and a report by the BBC about a year later gave credence to it and it was easier to get across linking to that report via Twitter so my intent was not to persuade or argue the case the motivation was to get Romanov.
I gave it a mention on the basis that whatever the purpose of the rule change it was not meant to be a device to provide immortality to clubs.
That is the meaning I took from the original discussion regardless of both examples that I accepted as credible.
It is important because if the change did not have that immortality intent I would consider it hijacked and turned to a purpose never intended to give legitimacy to an argument to meet a desired outcome.
If that meaning is true what we have is the integrity of Scottish Football has been bound up by deceit , that would not stand scrutiny by any external authority be it UEFA , FIFA or CAS. It suggests why the SFA would not take the non compliance charges of UEFA licensing breaches in 2011 to CAS and may also be the reason Celtic did want to pass Res12 in 2013 to involve UEFA and the adjournment agreed was on the basis any investigation be confined to the SFA.
Now legal opinion based on evidence all recorded on www,res12.uk is that the UEFA Licence in 2011 was granted as a result of false pretence.
When that evidence was presented to Celtic in 2018, having given the impression themselves and via apparently friendly bloggers until then that they wanted the matter resolved, their resistance to using it was puzzling until proof of their knowledge of the 5 Way Agreement emerged.
I don’t think it stretches the imagination to breaking point to come to the conclusion that the last folk Celtic and SFA wanted in 2013 rummaging around events in 2011/2012 was UEFA, who were unsighted on the 5 Way Agreement.
One of the phrases I copied on to Twitter from today’s blog was the impact of the agreement on sporting integrity because that is what is important to me, not the number of titles accumulated although 5 of those fail to meet sporting integrity standards,
It seems to me that anything that can be done to bring out a phrase BP used i.e the ultra vires nature of the 5 Way Agreement is a step towards ditching it even if the direction is unclear.
Much will depend on supporters readiness to watch a game where the result depends on which of two club’s turn it is to fill their diminishing coffers.
When I say supporters I include all clubs not just Celtic/Rangers ones, because the others are paying into a game whose integrity has been killed by ongoing deceit and dishonesty.
Auldheid
Up till 2004 every member of the SPL had a representative on the board. In the June of that year the board was trimmed down to I think just 4 or 5 club representatives.
From memory, the board included representatives from Rangers, Dundee Utd, Hibs and Kilmarnock.
The rationale behind the proposed changes to the articles of association in 2005 would have been set out in board papers – prepared presumably by the chief executive in conjunction with the chairman.
I would be very surprised if copies of those board papers do not still exist.
In addition, it is very likely that each member club was sent a written recommendation to approve the resolution that affected the change. That recommendation will have had a summary of the boards reasons for making the change.
If creating a franchise system was indeed the SPL’s intent, that will be clearly set out in the board and AGM papers.
The matter could easily be cleared up – one way or the other – by making those documents public.
Those documents are either the smoking gun that proves the SPL lied – or utter vindication of its position.
That those documents have never been produced tells its own story.
Incidentally, and perhaps it is just coincidence, Eddie Thompson was on the SPL board when the changes to the articles went through. Eddie died in 2008 and his son Stephen took over as chairman of Dundee Utd.
Stephen, by 2012 was on the board of the SPL, but was forced off because he was accused of leaking confidential information relating to the Rangers situation. One wonders if he had his dad’s SPL board papers from 2004/5?
…and of course, Stephen Thompson, voted to refuse Sevco Scotland’s application to transfer Rangers’ SPL share.
He would know what his father voted for in 2005. Did he betray his father’s wishes in 2012? …or did he honour them?
Auldheid 13th March 2021 At 00:58
Much will depend on supporters readiness to watch a game where the result depends on which of two club’s turn it is to fill their diminishing coffers.
++++++++++
This is the notion I will never understand, and find hard to believe. If ‘Rangers’ win the league again next year it looks increasingly likely they will go straight into the Champions League Groups. Given their excellent recent record against mid ranking European teams there is every chance they will also negotiate next seasons’s qualifiers with relevant ease. If they were to access two season’s worth of CL money the effect on Celtic could be catastrophic, unless someone with deep pockets was willing to pony up. Celtic are well run, and Dermot Desmond has invested heavily in shares, but he does not take a sugar daddy approach as is his absolute right.
I just don’t get why Celtic would ever want ‘Rangers’ to have access to that kind of money. As for ‘Rangers’, I think they would not care if Celtic were ever to win a single trophy again. I find it very hard to believe either club would ever step aside for the other to win.
‘Rangers’ took a gamble on Gerrard. In my opinion if Covid had never happened he would most likely have resigned or been sacked last season after a post-new year implosion. The fans were turning against him at the point the league was stopped. I also think empty stadiums this season have taken the pressure right off him and his players, but they have been the best team by several country miles. Celtic’s implosion is inexplicable. They have the players to have taken it to the wire, but there is no way I can accept it was some kind of ‘after you’ in terms of letting ‘Rangers’ get CL money. Sometimes shit just happens, Liverpool with their brilliant players and top manager being a very good example of that this season.
Upthehoops 13th March 2021 At 09:44
‘..I just don’t get why Celtic would ever want ‘Rangers’ to have access to that kind of money’
+++++++++++++++++++=
I’m pretty sure that what Celtic wanted in 2012 was merely to ensure that there was a ‘Rangers’ football club that would allow the continuation of the revenue stream that traditionally attaches to Celtic v Rangers matches.
That was one reason , I think, why they did not insist on an investigation into the UEFA licence award at the time, and why subsequently they were party to the 5-Way Agreement: they did not relish the prospect of there possibly not being a Rangers.
They would not have imagined that the new club they helped to create and ‘legitimise’ would thrive on the myth of being ‘continuity’ Rangers!
SDM’s tax cheating killed RFC of 1872.
The Celtic board’s part in the creation of TRFC may (as in your gloomy speculation !] lead to future financial troubles for Celtic.
We may be sure that there would be no cosy arrangement under which a liquidated Celtic would be ‘looked after ‘ by the Football Authorities.
It is emerging on social media that several Celtic fans are being visited by Police and warned not to go near Celtic Park on the 21st. They are going to be busy getting round 4,000 Rangers fans homes to give them a similar warning, or do Celtic fans just need reminded of their place in Scottish society? Not that I want any Celtic fan to go near the ground, but we have just witnessed state sponsored law breaking on a grand scale. We have also witnessed Rangers players giving two fingers to Covid rules, their manager supporting them doing it, and not one word of criticism for them from the media, government or police. Yes, definitely the best wee country in the world…aye right!
Upthehoops 13th March 2021 At 14:33
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: “In advance of any Old Firm match, it is common practice for us to visit individuals affiliated with both clubs and remind them of their responsibilities not to engage in any behaviour or disorder which might endanger public safety.
“Given the current pandemic, it is vitally important that people do not attend Celtic Park or any other locations on Sunday, 21 March, as this would breach coronavirus regulations and is irresponsible in terms of protecting the health of the wider public and our officers.
“We will do everything we can to reinforce this message to stay at home including, where appropriate, visits to certain individuals.
“Police Scotland will also support both clubs in urging fans to take personal responsibility, do the right thing and stay at home.”
Looks like both sets of fans have been visited by the police here and it appears to be fairly standard procedure coming up to a glasgow derby. I think it’s a very sensible approach and hopefully both clubs will put out their own messages demanding similar from the supporters.
Up the hoops
I’m not suggesting Celtic threw the league this season. For one thing Rangers would still have had a qualifying opportunity as runners up.
However if not qualifying endangered Rangers existence which arguably it did in 2009 and almost certainly in 2011 given only one club qualified in that year, then it creates the conditions where integrity comes under pressure.
It is the huge incentive that CL money provides that in my opinion is the creator of an incentive to cheat to get at it, PARTICULARLY if the ability repay the debt depends on getting the CL money.
My solution is to reduce the amount the participating club gets and increase the subsidiary payment to other SPFL clubs for younger player development and retention purposes. A few million in that direction is not going to harm the qualifying clubs chances of winning and who knows gasp, it might mean the league title is purely down to who wins the 4 Celtic v Rangers matches.
English justice versus Scottish justice. Gary MacAllister is assaulted on a street in Leeds at 4 a.m. ( what is he doing out so late) and the assailant receives jail time. Neil Lennon is assaulted at his place of work and I ask could someone remind of the penalty imposed on the assailant. Memory is foggy but I believe the sentence was very light. Also, Steven Gerrard tells Sevco/Rangers fans not to fret about his leaving any time soon. Isn’t that like a manager in a precarious position getting a vote of confidence from his board shortly before the axe falls.
Not down to who wins etc.
Hirsute Pursuit
Thanks for your response useful as ever.
If the intent was to create a franchise is that not questionable of itself?
If it wasnt then SPFL misused it.
Either way the SPL appear het, it’s just from when?
Vernallen 13th March 2021 At 16:18
I’m not sure of the relevance here but it looks like the man who assaulted McAllister received 5 months for that attack. Two men who assaulted Neil Lennon in the West End of Glasgow received 2 years each for that attack.
The Tynecastle incident seemed was a strange one. The guy was accused of a sectarian attack but the verdict returned was unproven and he was ultimately jailed for 8 months for a breach of the peace, I think.
Incredibleadamspark 13th March 2021 At 16:05
Interesting for the Police to say that, especially when they knew that Rangers fans would be taking to the street in numbers last week. It was getting discussed on social media for weeks. They will need to do much more to convince me that everyone is treated the same, especially when there is phone and video evidence of officers joining in the celebrations.
During the Capitol Hill riots in America it was noted how some police just stood back and allowed it because they were Trump supporters. Last week was just the same for me. It leaves an indelible impression that what is allowed depends on the colour of scarf being worn. In general terms though I sincerely hope no idiots from either side try and descend on the ground next week. If they do though, it will be interesting to see how the Police deal with it.
Auldheid 13th March 2021 At 16:15
It is the huge incentive that CL money provides that in my opinion is the creator of an incentive to cheat to get at it, PARTICULARLY if the ability repay the debt depends on getting the CL money.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Absolutely agree with that. Financial Fair Play in Scotland post 2012 would have been a good move, although the new Rangers would have suffered more than anyone because of it in my view.
Upthehoops 13th March 2021 At 18:39
Yup, it would be nice to just watch a football match and hope that no idiots take to the streets. It’s been a strange and frustrating time this past year but hopefully common sense prevails and fans will behave themselves.
Incredibleadamspark 13th March 2021 At 19:21
An exclusion zone needs to be be created around the stadium area. Given recent events I can’t see thousands attempting to descend.
IAP 13th March 19.21
Whereas everyone and their aunt was aware of how and where the Rangers fans planned to celebrate last weekends title win i am at a loss as to where the idea of attending Parkhead on the 21st comes from. One or two have suggested greeting the team bus on it’s journey to the stadium in much the same way as the Celtic support did for the first Old Firm game of the season. Apart from that i have seen no mention of hundreds/thousands descending en masse upon the east end of the city.
Upthehoops 13th March 2021 At 18:45
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Auldheid 13th March 2021 At 16:15
It is the huge incentive that CL money provides that in my opinion is the creator of an incentive to cheat to get at it, PARTICULARLY if the ability repay the debt depends on getting the CL money.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Absolutely agree with that. Financial Fair Play in Scotland post 2012 would have been a good move, although the new Rangers would have suffered more than anyone because of it in my view.
And there you have it. Canny have rules that hinder Rangers business model .
If the 5 Way created a franchise like McDonalds but selling hateburgers then sectarianism is only the sauce that goes on the otherwise tasteless moneyburger to make it tasty.
UptheHoops
On exclusions zones because supporters might turn up for invented reasons I think recognition of “knuckleheadessness ” as an all pervading human condition is necessary.
Knuckleheads.
I think it is an American term.
I quite like it, kind of onomatopoeic quality to it. Not so much sounds like but looks like.
Anyhoo it is a denial of reality that the support of Celtic and “Rangers” do not have their share of knuckleheads and they recognise each other.
The knuckle in the head stops the consequences of the emotions reaching the brain.
It’s a condition that most grow out of but it’s also one that we grow into before we grow out of it. A human condition.
So best not deny it and deal with it free from judgment of which support has the most knuckleheads or which kind of knucklehead is worse than the other.
Just say that anyone turning up at CP will be taken as evidence of knuckleheadedness to become huckleheads into a police van.
Set a perimeter around the ground and any one approaching without valid reason to do so will be huckled.
HuckleberryTim or HuckleberryHun.
Auldheid…
On the subject of a franchise…
Is that not exactly what the SPL’s (mis)interpretation of its articles amounts to?
There have been many analogies used over the years to try and make sense of what has occurred. One that I found most amusing is from a family member who tried to liken Rangers being the same club with a local MacDonald’s branch having been taken over by new owners.
“It’s the same business, using the same trademarks, selling the same food to the same customers.”
He opined that it is only logical that Rangers is the same club in the same way the local MacDonald’s remained the same restaurant. In each case, only the owners had changed.
In accepting the general premise, I asked him if he was happy that, if he truly believed what he was saying, the SPL’s ‘new owners’ trope meant his beloved football club was no more than a franchise?
“It’s not the same thing!” was his reply.
Reminding him that it was his analogy, I said that on the face of it, it appears to be a very similar thing…
…if you believe the current Rangers FC is the same association football club as the one controlled by David Murray.
I asked him if instead of likening a restaurant to a Club, should he not relate the restaurant (the physical building and related assets) to Ibrox stadium?
I suggested that he could think of the current Rangers FC as a new Club operating in the same stadium as the old club did, just as a new franchisee was operating the same restaurant as its previous franchisee.
He didn’t like that analogy ?
HirsutePursuit 13th March 2021 At 21:31
If David Murray had only been honest with the taxman there would be no need for that type of conversation. It is also highly unlikely there would have been any shouting about 55 titles right now either, as the fact David Murray was not honest with the taxman gave them a huge advantage. As a Celtic fan I would have loved a goalkeeper of Stefan Klos’s quality, or a midfielder at the level of Ronald De Boer. I believe both made more money going to Rangers than they could have at Man United. Wow!
HirsutePursuit 13th March 2021 At 21:31
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Auldheid…
On the subject of a franchise…
At the very least the possibility that the 5 Way Agreement has turned Scottish Football into a franchise should be explored by UEFA just in case.
On McDonalds I remember reading McDonalds Behind The Arches many years ago and one of the fascinating things to come out is that their wealth was not based on burgers but on the land and buildings owned . Kind of fits your point to your family member.
Auldheid – couldn’t agree more on the corrosive effect of Champions League money. This applies not just in Scotland but also the so-called “big leagues” where business models are built on assumed success. In the EPL Arsenal bemoan their “lost revenue” from not being in recent CL (forgetting that they never earned it in the first place to lose it). And Liverpool will be under pressure next season unless they win the CL this year as this appears only real route to qualifying.
I have always felt that “UEFA” money should be shared more evenly across the domestic leagues (yes, the earning club should get a bigger share) as otherwise the destabilising effects on local leagues risk ruin. Of course such distributions would need to be done on a scrupulously fair and transparent basis but overall I think a force for good.
Whilst not a fan of the US approach to sports team franchising, it always amazes me that the leading capitalist nation applies salary caps and other controls to professional sports and yet we don’t think we can learn from them that such controls may be necessary to nurture fairer competition.
A message from Steven Gerrard.
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/a-message-from-steven-gerrard-130321/2zAeGBJN0bgSKIfaJm00LT
As they (still?) ask at school: Compare and contrast policing methods between raucous celebrations in Glasgow last weekend with those used at a peaceful vigil demonstration last night in London.
The reason given for last night’s response was due to the risk of spreading Covid (which presumably was higher/same in Glasgow where rates I believe are higher/same and behaviour less restrained). And what mealy mouthed excuse did Police Scotland give???
@ Albertz11 – if I helped rob a bank last week but then told the gang not to rob another bank next week I am still a bank robber. There is only so much clubs can do and they will always be at the mercy of the “knuckleheads” (Auldheid – that post made me smile), but the simple facts are that Rangers were derelict (arguable wilfully negligent) in their duty in the run up and then actively complicit in law breaking on the Saturday. Maybe it’s something in the water at Ibrox that allows folk to think that they are above the law.
Albertz11 14th March 2021 At 09:40
‘.we must remember who we are, and we must remember what this club stands for.’
++++++++++++
Yes, Stevie boy you are the new club founded in 2012
Which ‘stands for deception’ in falsely claiming to be RFC of 1872, a deception which has left an indelible stain on the integrity of Scottish Football administration.
[I acknowledge that the quote I use from your link comes from Steven Gerrard’s ‘statement’ ‘A message from Steven Gerrard’ on http://www.rangers.co.uk]
Albertz11 13th March 2021 At 19:37
So none of the ‘Party at the piggery’ links from TRFC fans’ social media sites popped up on your FB feed, then? I’ve lost count of them on mine. I guess because I have occasionally clicked on posts from those sites to see the mad things their headlines imply, FB thinks I’m a TRFC fan. Shudder!
Nawlite 14th March 2021 At 14:39
I’ve seen some suggesting TRFC fans turn up disguised as the Green Brigade (black clothing and masks -who’s to know ?)with green pyros , etc . Just a bit of a laugh , right enough . The Toxic Two .
Nawlite 14th March 14.39.
I have never had a FB account and have no intention of ever having one. The example you give tends to indicate that my decision is justified.
Paddy Malarkey 15.42.
The Union Bears wear black clothing and masks.
The GB wear a olive type colour of clothing.
Not based on being a member of either group but having witnessed both.
Wed oct 26, 2006
Hearts fined for Romanov comments
Hearts have been fined£10,000 by the scottish football association after majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov’s criticism of match officials.
The Edindurgh side were also warned about their future conduct after being found guilty of disrepute on the clubs website
Romanov had refered to referees conduct during Hearts successful scottish cup run last season.
Hearts have not yet revealed whether they will appeal against the fine.
An individual charge against Romanov was deferred by the SFA’s general purpouse committee because he was unable to attend Tuesdays meeting.
His case will be delt with at the next meeting of the committee in December even if he does not turn up.
Romanov was critical of the scottish media and said “Last season you didn’t manage to protect the scottish cup and gave it to Hearts despite all the referees efforts and intrigues.
The SFA closed a loophole in May that had allowed Romanov to air his outspoken views with impunity because he has no official post at Tynecastle.
The resolution means every person holding authority at a club or control over the board falls under the SFA’s jurisdiction.
”””””
They set new rules so they can fine a person who holds authority at a club or control over the board.
Yet when you look back at Park and Robertson and some ibrox players last season for bringing the game into disrepute during the Dossier gate scandle there is still silence .
Cluster One 15th March 2021 At 00:11
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……..
During ‘dossiergate’ one began to wonder if there was concern that someone from the new club was about to betray a secret from years past that would place the SFA, and perhaps some other member clubs, in a difficult position?
The phrase ‘mutually assured destruction’ comes to mind.
Thanks for posting. It confirms that it was SFA rule changes (not the SPL articles of association changes discussed earlier with Auldheid) that were used to ‘get Romanov’
Apologies-“dossiergate” is not something I am aware of (maybe didn’t make it to the English-based MSM). Could someone post a link/point me in the right direction to help me understand. Thanks
Wokingcelt 15th March 2021 At 09:29
‘..dossiergate” is not something I am aware of (maybe didn’t make it to the English-based MSM). Could someone post a link/point me in the right direction to help me understand. ‘
+++++++++
This link might be use. It relates to the farcical Park and Robertson attack on the SPFL after the voting farce last season.
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2020/05/07/own-goal-fc-finally-produce-the-demented-dossier/
It was quite concerning to hear the views on Radio Scotland this morning of the head of the Police Federation. There was debate regarding the policing at the Sarah Everard vigil, compared to that for the Rangers fans gatherings. Referring to Manchester in 2008, he suggested the riots were the result of Greater Manchester Police ‘intervening’ in the Rangers fans party. It gives me no confidence whatsoever that if there is an attempt by fans to gather this weekend that there will be a robust response to what would be large scale lawbreaking. Anyone thinking of breaking the law in this way may just think as long as there is enough of us we can do what we like.
Thanks John Clark – had not heard these shenanigans referred to as dossiergate but do recall the fingering pointing from last year.
Albertz11 14th March 2021 At 16:10
Looks black to me .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E6g51jmh0M
workingcelt
march 14th 8:17
Interesting reference to the franchise system in North America. The leagues appear to operate in unison with interest in providing the paying customer with a positive experience. These leagues have committees established to discuss and improve rules, look at player safety, and seek better and more efficient equipment. The salary caps are vigorously monitored and teams exceeding the cap are subject to fine. The player safety committee, usually comprised of former players, monitors games and have contact with the officials on a regular basis when it comes to issues. As an example, in a recent NHL game their was a check that was not penalized at the time, but the player safety committee reviewed it in quick order. The outcome was a 7 game suspension for the offender. No offer of a suspension, no take 2 games now, and we’ll look at the rest later. The franchise owners realize that they are only as strong as their weakest link. It may not be perfect but appears to work for the most part. Something that could improve other sporting leagues around the world. There are huge dollar amounts at play but nothing like the stranglehold UEFA and FIFA appear to have on soccer/football.
Hirsute,
What was interesting about the SFA decision to change the rules to bring Romanov under their jurisdiction ….
Twice before, people who were “office bearers” at their clubs, all but called Scottish Football corrupt, live on TV.
Namely, Turnbull Hutton on the steps of Hampden and Craig Levein in the tunnel at Ibrox.
Both were never as much as censured. (If memory serves me correctly)
Of course, at the time Romanov was not an office bearer.
Romanov was the easy target.
HS
Hirsute,
What was interesting about the SFA decision to change the rules to bring Romanov under their jurisdiction ….
Twice before, people who were “office bearers” at their clubs, all but called Scottish Football corrupt, live on TV.
Namely, Turnbull Hutton on the steps of Hampden and Craig Levein in the tunnel at Ibrox.
Both were never as much as censured.
Of course, at the time Romanov was not an office bearer.
Romanov was the easy target.
HS
Higgy’s Shoes 15th March 2021 At 23:59
‘..Twice before, people who were “office bearers” at their clubs, all but called Scottish Football corrupt, live on TV.’
+++++++++++++
I can’t quite place the Levein incident, but Turnbull Hutton , honourable man, was bang on in his observation.
Another useless blog from the Scottish Football Supporters Association. Any anti-corruption fans should worry about his free use of ‘the Old Firm’ phrase. What are these guys on? Do they understand how that phrase annoys anyone who cares about corruption in the game, given its clear connections to the Continuity myth and the biggest piece of corruption ever seen in Scottish football?
https://scottishfsa.org/an-elephant-in-george-square/?fbclid=IwAR11cLhlEKXH0nyuYCf2zQEd4CR9UmRD6p4XltmDDOyvuEmWYZJXS74jkQU
BP, if you’re still friendly with this guy (even if just in business terms) you really need to give him a heads up imo
John Clark 16th March 2021 At 00:34
It may be this one .
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/rugby-union/craig-levein-launches-incredible-rant-officials-after-rangers-loss-197534
To echo the blog title , here we go again . Why should the rest of the leagues have to develop players for the two cheeks ? Leave the youngsters to develop at their clubs , even provide free coaching ,rather than sook up all the available talent and hoard it .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56412970
Paddy Malarkey 16th March 2021 At 14:06
To echo the blog title , here we go again . Why should the rest of the leagues have to develop players for the two cheeks ? Leave the youngsters to develop at their clubs , even provide free coaching ,rather than sook up all the available talent and hoard it .
+++++++++++++++++++++++==
Well, the clubs can vote against it then, if it doesn’t suit them.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/19162837.crown-office-opposes-release-files-24-million-rangers-prosecution-case/
…………..
Here we go again right enough.
………….
Crown Office opposes release of files in £24 million Rangers prosecution case.
A virtual hearing in the Court of Session heard that Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, a Scottish Government minister and head of the prosecution services, opposes the release of documents.
…..Some names we have heard before
wokingcelt 15th March 2021 At 09:29
Apologies-“dossiergate” is not something I am aware of (maybe didn’t make it to the English-based MSM). Could someone post a link/point me in the right direction to help me understand. Thanks
…………………………………….
Was hailed as a Dossier that would bring scottish football governance to it’s knees. Later to be laughed out the room, and still no charge for bringing the game into disrepute for those who pushed it. In the end the word Humiliation was branded about a lot.
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC and Police Scotland’s legal team argued the documents should be banned from being disclosed.
Now, Glasgow tribunal judge Muriel Robison has sided with Wolffe’s “public interest” request.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/whistleblower-cop-gagged-over-corruption-20894977
…………………………………………………………………………………………
I wonder if anyone will side with Mr James Wolffe in the above case…… release of files in £24 million Rangers prosecution case.
Agree PM. It’s just another example of Celtic and TRFC being treated differently to the rest of the SFA Clubs. What makes it worse is that because those 2 clubs carry most of the support, they can to an extent take it for granted that the small clubs will be at least tempted to go with it, knowing that even a second string Celtic or TRFC will still have a big following compared to a Stranraer or Cove Rangers, in addition to the prize money the Top2 will go without to bribe the small clubs to vote yes.
To follow up on my report of Lord Tyre’s hearing of David Grier’s action v the Lord Advocate and others, I’ve just noticed that his decision in the matter of whether the Lord Advocate had ‘ probable cause’ is:
” I decline the invitation to hold at this stage that there is no
relevant defence that there was objective reasonable and probable cause for the inclusion of
the pursuer in charge 1 of the petition.”
and ” In my opinion it cannot be decided at this stage that there was no objective
reasonable and probable cause for charge 5. “.
The matter now has to go to proof, and David Grier has to prove that the Crown acted without ‘probable cause’
The full decision can be found at
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2021csoh028.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Cluster One
Hirsute Pursuit
Thanks for the clarification.
I can see how the Brechin reason and Romanov reason got conflated back then so we can drop Romanov from the underlying issue to look at which is:
What was the argument in support of the change in SPL rules introducing owner and operator and if it was solely to deal with a potential problem in respect of Brechin having no “owner” of a share, how did that rule change in 2005 transform Rangers from being an incorporated single Public Limited Liability Company (PLC) earning its revenue from football to a Public Limited Liability Company (PLC) that overnight owned a club earning the same income from the same source?
In terms of conforming with UEFA FFP before 2012 was it Rangers FC PLC that applied for a UEFA Licence or Rangers FC as a stand alone club or was it Rangers PLC whom Rangers Football Club had a written contract with to be their operators? The application template suggests it was Rangers Football Club only.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9VnptRTJBR01RTEE/edit
Post 2012 if its not the current club (Rangers FC Ltd) applying for a UEFA licence but the football Company (Rangers International Football Club PLC) they have a written contract with and the football company’s (RIFC) main source of revenue is from the club activities, then how can a Company go bust unless the club ceases to be able to provide that revenue?
Now had UEFA seen the 5 Way Agreement there would be the satisfaction of knowing they were OK with it.
As it stands UEFA did what their rules told them to do, Waited 3 years to allow the club that had undergone a terminal change in its legal structure to satisfy UEFA requirements in respect of historical membership of the SFA before being eligible to apply to play in UEFA competitions in circumstances that were not to the detriment of the integrity of those competitions.
After 3 years, whichever club ie legal entity that applied for a UEFA Licence, it was not the Rangers Football Club (PLC) that last applied in 2012 (which was rejected because they had no audited accounts and the wee tax bill of 2011 was admitted , unlike March 2011 when described as a potential liability, as a payable that as the world and its wean knew in 2012 was outstanding.)
I’ve listened with interest and attention these last few days to the ‘Sportsound’ discussions on the proposal that ‘colt’ clubs (plus some Highland and Lowland league clubs] should be admitted to League 2.
I don’t think I’m being excessively critical when I say that our radio pundits are apt to add to confusion rather than clearly explain and justify their particular points of view: lots of heat, without too much light.
Tonight, the Brora rangers chap was a breath of fresh air with his succinct and clear exposition and enthusiastic advocacy .
McIntyre is not the best of ‘neutral chairpersons’, in that his aggressive, needlessly challenging manner gets people’s backs up, and he doesn’t attempt to summarise the arguments put forward by the different people, so as to keep the discussion focussed.
Apart from that, though, I was struck tonight that although it was mentioned that the proposals appear to include the proposal that the ‘colt’ clubs would not be involved in promotion or relegation, there was no discussion of that.
I’m not sure I understand that proposal.
Can anyone briefly explain how that proposal would work in practice , please ?
Can a match be truly sportingly competitive when it’s between a club for which every game is in effect a mere friendly while the winning or losing of points is vitally important in terms of honest competition as well as of finance etc for the ‘regular’ league cubs?
There’s a danger, surely, that a club with nothing to win or lose might accidentally prejudice other clubs by not playing seriously against , say, the league leader at any given stage in the league?
When I saw the Castore billboards I thought they were triumphing a new rock band coming out of Glasgow. How remiss of me to think this was a tribute to a tribute club that finally won a title of some sort. If that makes you a king, what does four trebles make you. Then again some clubs have grace and dignity while others have to clutch and grab at any form of recognition. Also the subtle reference to royalty in the billboards was interesting.
Similar rules apply in Spain with the second teams for Real Madrid and Barcelona. They can go as high as Segunda Division but can’t play in the Primera (strictly speaking they could get promoted but it would require Real Madrid getting relegated in the same season – the rule is that they can’t play in the same division). I guess they trust in professional pride of teams that they will compete in all matches.
Personally I think the issue is the Academy approach that replaced the reserve team football in many countries, with young players not getting the chance to play competitively against seasoned pros. I know it’s viewed as a challenge in England where Academy players viewed as too cosseted, playing lots of bounce games on 4G pitches and then literally not knowing what’s hit them when faced with less than perfect conditions and more physical challenges. Don’t think being farmed out to Cumbernauld did the young Dalglish any harm…
@vernallen
A little off topic but I was rather taken aback by Brendan Rodgers of all people being sought out in the MSM to advise others to show class…I imagine he had the engine running whilst providing the quote!
In my email inbox today is a decision of the CAS relating to Football Club Carlos Stein [Peru].
The ‘Stein’ reference caught my eye ( maybe someone knows whether there is any connection with our Jock?]
So I had a wee gander at Wiki.
[ so NOTin relation to todays reported case]
And fancy that! It’s an older club than TRFC.
It was founded as long ago 6 March 2012! (Wow, so long ago!]
It appears that in 2019 it was defeated in the ‘Copa Peru’.
Guess what! It appealed.
On what grounds? I hear you ask.
Why, what else but on the grounds that the other team had fielded a suspended player!
FC Carlos Stein went on the final Group stages.
Its final games in that stage were against Desportivo Llacuabamba.
The overall stage winner was Desportivo Llacuabamba.
Can you guess what FC Carlos Stein did?
What else but appeal?
On what grounds? Yep, you got it in one: on the grounds that Desportivo Llacuabamba had improperly fielded a player.
Oh, there’s something tugging at my tired auld man’s memory cells about a Scottish Club founded in 2012 which claims to be an older club, a club that all of Scottish football KNOWS fielded ineligible players for years and years as part of a monumental tax fiddle by a club which no longer exists.
I’m happy that an equivalent of Brysonism was not invoked.
Workingelt
March 17th/22:53
Perhaps his tongue was firmly planted in his cheek. Then again the way the question was phrased may have dictated the way the answer was given. Those media guys can be tricky when the need arises. Also, a little off topic but a tip of the hat due to the Rangers fan group for the donation, and, a substantial one, to the hospital. It’s not often their fans get something right.
According to a report in the Glasgow Times, extra subway trains will be added to this Sunday’s schedule because Police intelligence advises of a gathering at Ibrox. I hope the story is nonsense. If it is true, then God help us all, because Scotland may just have become a lawless nation.
Vernallen 18th March 00.41
The gentlemen concerned raise money for various charities on a regular basis and have done for many years, usually done under the radar with a minimum of media coverage.
You would probably be surprised at how often we get it right.
Albertz11 18th march 10:10
No intention of being flippant in regards to the charity donation and am aware of a number of groups/people who contribute all over the world without fanfare. Just thought it would be nice to acknowledge the act of kindness as these acts seldom get any positive press.
Paddy Malarkey
“John Clark 16th March 2021 At 00:34
It may be this one.”
Paddy, thanks for the link you posted for JC.
I forgot about that one.
But I was thinking about is this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0xHWIw_dPk
John,
How could you forget this
HS
Why am I thinking of Sam English this morning?
And a ‘sine die’ suspension for Roofe?
In all my years I have never seen such a brutal flying assault.
Higgy’s Shoes 19th March 2021 At 10:37
I’ve always liked Craig Levein and his straight talking. Here is what he had to say about Celtic and Rangers during the Football Daft podcast from November last year.
“I’m fed up with the two of them. Honestly, it’s all people think football is in Scotland, and the press play up to it all the time.
“This whole stuff last season with Hearts getting relegated was a nonsense, an absolute nonsense, and part of it was to do with Celtic getting the title so that they could try and break this record of nine-in-a-row.
“I just can’t be bothered with it. For a while David Murray ran Scottish football and Rangers were calling all the shots and getting all the good publicity and now I think Celtic are doing exactly the same.
“They call the shots with all the big decisions in Scotland and I think it’s really unfair. So I can’t be bothered with the nonsense.”
It would have been interesting to see what call a referee doing a Rangers game in the scottish league would have made on the Roofe incident last night.. Also interesting when you view the predictions of the DR writers on their view of the outcome of the game (blue tinted glasses anyone). Of course the various fan websites had it all down to the referee not controlling the game and shame on the Czech team for playing keep a way as they sat on a two goal lead. The alleged incident of racial abuse can not be overlooked as there is no place for racism in any walk of life. There are instances of getting in a player’s ear (Brown vs Morelos) to distract him for performing at his best and you walk a fine line in that area as well as some comments could be misinterpreted.
We have now passed the Ides of March and still no report or punishment for the Covid 5. Is the idea to delay, delay, delay and hopefully people will have forgotten.
trued.
Vernallen, the Covid 5 have been cited, but will be dealt with on 25 March I believe. We joked on here that they must know Tavernier will be fit by then so they can do without Patterson!
John Clark 19th March 11.09
Whilst the red card for Kemar Roofe was totally justified your talk of a “sine die” suspension for the player is a total over reaction to what was a dangerous, ill judged but ultimately accidental collision. Take another look and you’ll see the player doesn’t take his eyes off the ball, even for a split second.
Statement from the club.
https://www.rangers.co.uk/Article/club-statement-190321/3V4qEF786N7Oj0dEskpfld
Nawlite
If that’s the case suspension will probably only cover remainder of scheduled games. How fortunate they are.
Vernallen 19th March 2021 At 17:19
‘.. How fortunate they are.’
Nawlite 19th March 2021 At 13:22
‘..Vernallen, the Covid 5 have been cited,..’
++++++++++++++++
Were we ever given an expanation for the unconscionably long it took for the CO to cite them?
There may be a perfectly simple explanation, such as the CO being either too run off his feet or too incompetent or some such.
But the SFA and its history of misuse of its powers and procedures have given us enough reason to be instantly suspicious of ANYTHING they do that however remotely might help TRFC!
John Clark 19th March 2021 At 19:16
I’ve mentioned this before, but I think Rangers missed a huge PR opportunity. The league was pretty much in the bag by the time of the event. Suspending the players themselves would not only have been great PR for them, but would have made the SFA job a box ticking exercise. Instead we are left to quite rightly wonder why the SFA have taken so long while Rangers continue to play the players.
I think the events at Ibrox have highlighted that UEFA have a few things to sort out:
1. They can’t have the situation of players covering their mouths whilst abusing other players. A presumption of a “beyond the pale” comment having been made might stamp it out.
2. The incident in the tunnel. If any truth that the away dressing room was locked when it shouldn’t have been and this contributed to players being assaulted, the fault will lie with TRFC. No idea how UEFA would view this.
3. Roofe challenge. This was dangerously reckless and I don’t think that intent comes into it (just because he didn’t mean it doesn’t mean he gets free licence to do it again). I would probably cause serious mayhem if put into a F1 car – I can guarantee I wouldn’t be allowed back on the track. Question for UEFA will be whether their schedule of penalties for yellow and red cards is sufficient to cover such a dangerously reckless challenge. I doubt it notwithstanding the lesson they should have learned from Harald Schumacher in 1982.
Making the rounds again , from the Guardian .
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/11/the-unlikely-story-of-how-dundee-united-became-an-insult-in-nigeria
apologies, (big pink and all); albeit I have a sick note – the dog ate my covid jag….
it’s good to be off the bench. I must admit, I haven’t been tuning in for a long while. no excuses. t’internet is dreadful. as is deflection.
Parks on the field supporting manager in the aftermath of “he, I said”, perhaps he was having a word in Gerrard’s ear. Thank you Steven for losing us some valuable EL money and watch what you say as we don’t need a fine from UEFA. Oh, and thanks for not getting me another trip to some exotic stadium on the club’s dime.
The Nations game between UKraine and Switzerland due to be played last November was cancelled and not rescheduled, because on the day of the match, the entire Ukrainian delegation was placed in quarantine by the health authorities of the Canton of Lucerne.
Ukraine appealed.
CAS today dismissed that appeal, and upheld the UEFA decision that Ukraine should forfeit the match 3-0 in favour of Switzerand,
Interestingly, the “CAS Panel emphasized that, rather than being at fault, the UAF was an unfortunate victim of the COVID-19 pandemic and decided not to order it to pay any costs in favour of UEFA and/or SFA”[Swiss FA]
Something there that the SFA/SPFL might possibly mull over, having caused the kind of headless chicken fcuk-up they did with their stupid rigidity of thought and/or mindless panic?
wokingcelt
Question for UEFA
What kind of fine will the club from ibrox be given two players sent off alledged altercations after game, police now involved.
Cluster One 19th March 2021 At 23:0
wokingcelt
Question for UEFA
What kind of fine will the club from ibrox be given two players sent off alledged altercations after game, police now involved.
As the complaint was made via the Embassy in London, I don't think it would be unreasonable if it was requested that Scot squad are kept far away from the investigation, and Engerlunder plod take the reigns. It may even save the tax-payer millions in compo pay-outs.
The superiority attitude of Rangers on display in Barry Ferguson’s column today, ” the league title is back where it belongs”. This from an individual who shamed himself while on international duty for Scotland, received a lucrative EBT, and, when there was indications the tax man might be calling declared bankruptcy and transferred assets to his wife ..If the league title is deemed to be theirs forever why bother with league play.
I know it’s a small thing, but I see the press happily reporting SG’s quotes about standing toe to toe with Glen Kamara. That’s not right though, is it? I’m pretty sure standing toe to toe with someone means you’re fighting AGAINST someone. Surely he means standing side by side with Glen Kamara. I knew the SMSM were bad, but now they don’t even correct incorrect language?
@ Vernallen – I think that is BF playing to his audience (and not someone who identifies as a fan of BF I haven’t read it). But you touch on an important point which is what is the purpose of a football club. If it’s only purpose is to win all the time then it is setting itself up for failure as sport doesn’t work that way. There needs to be something more that sets it apart and attracts fans whether winning or not. Historically this was local community identity – not sure how that works now on a global basis, maybe that’s why the terms fans, customers and consumers are increasingly interchanged.
As a Chartered Accountant I should know the answer to this, but not having practised for a few years I am a bit rusty…
Looking at the accounts of Celtic plc and TRFC I can see that both capitalise player acquisition costs and amortise over the length of contract subject to impairment reviews. That all makes sense to me. But I see that TRFC have also capitalised their “Brand” and state that this has an indefinite life (why they didn’t just say “evergreen” I don’t know…). What I can’t get my head around is that TRFC doesn’t have a track record of generating profits, so how can the carrying value be justified? What am I missing?
wokingcelt 20th March 2021 At 15:58
What I can’t get my head around is that TRFC doesn’t have a track record of generating profits, so how can the carrying value be justified? What am I missing?
……………………….
At the start of the season they claimed the squad was worth over £100million, i would expect that they have added another £100million onto that now.
Workingcelt — March 20th –15:46
There have been some great sports dynasties on this side of the ocean and they have had great support during their runs. I don’t recall any member of these teams stepping up with such a claim as BF did today. Perhaps, this down to the franchise system employed by the various leagues and the difficulty ensuring you can retain the players that built said dynasties. Many of these athletes come to enjoy free agency in some form during their career and offer their services to the highest bidder.
On the accounting side an old adage comes to mind, “figures lie and liars figure” Creative accounting at its best.
Wokingcelt 20th March 2021 At 15:58
‘…TRFC doesn’t have a track record of generating profits, so how can the carrying value be justified? What am I missing?’
+++++++++++
Wokingcelt, Nice one!
What is being spoken of is NOT the capitalisation of the ‘brand equity’ of TRFC.
What is happening is a continuation of the ‘continuity Rangers’ myth.
RIFC plc falsely claims to be the holding company of the ‘Rangers of 1872 ‘( which may indeed have been ‘the most successful club in the world’ but which entered Liquidation in 2012 and is still there, its huge debts to the taxpayer and other creditors unpaid, and not able to participate in Scottish Football]
The truth is that RIFC plc is the holding company of quite a different football club.
That club is the not yet 9 years old TRFC, which has no tremendously significant record of sporting achievement to speak of, so their brand name has not been particularly enhanced.
So the effort has continually to be made to sell the lie that investment in RIFC plc is worthwhile because TRFC is the same brand name as RFC plc!
Deceit, pure and simple.
Or perhaps, impure and devious.
The world and his wife knows -and Walter Smith and Graham Sourness and James Taylor (God bless him,] know that SevcoScotland/TRFC never was, is not ,and never can be RFC of 1872!
And that as a brand name, TRFC is not so much famous as notorious , lie as they might.
Nawlite 20th March 2021 At 13:24
‘..I knew the SMSM were bad, but now they don’t even correct incorrect language?’
++++++++++
Ooohhh!
Don’t get me started on the grammatical, linguistic, interviewing skills of our BBC Scotland current affairs /news presenters, never mind football hacks!
Honest to God!
They are(I assume] graduates of some university or other?
But by the Lord Harry, I swear that they wouldn’t have [ or as Michael bloody Stewart would say ‘ wouldn’t ‘of’!] passed the bloody ‘quali’ of former years in the then much eulogised Scottish education system when that exam separated ‘senior secondary from ‘junior secondary’.
I listen to them every day: the Kaye Adams, the Mhairi Stewarts, the rugby guy, the sweetie wife, and the assorted rag-tag-and bobble -tail.
And I think: God help us, if that is the best that BBC Radio Scotland can provide.
We know of course that in matters football, it provides support for the Big lie!
And for as long as it does, it will not be criticised in any way!
RIFC issued 16.25m new shares at 20p on Friday. It equates to £3.25m, either in new money or to repay loans.
Perhaps they need the cash to pay for end of season bonuses.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC437060/filing-history
Nawlite 20th March 2021 At 13:24
I guess it is too much for the media to highlight the fact that Gerrard publicly backed Luis Suarez when he was guilty of racism. As always everything is very selective to the advantage of Rangers.
Upthehoops 21st March 2021 At 11:04
It was a nice touch by Scott Brown before kick off to embrace Glen Kamara. Of course you will be more than aware of his response to the racial abuse aimed at Shay Logan by his then Celtic teammate Aleksander Tonev. Here it is:
We all stick by him. We know he didn’t say it, so I think that’s the main thing and all the lads in the dressing-room believe him. I don’t think he needs to explain himself. We all believe him. He says he didn’t do it and we stand by him.”
“We know Aleksandar doesn’t come in and lie. He talks to everyone in that changing room, so we have no problem.”
Enough hypocrisy to go round when something like this happens. Trying to score points here is pretty poor, in my opinion. That’s where I’ll leave it as this is a very contentious issue that’s not exclusive to any one club.
Not sure I see the hypocrisy you talk about, IAP. In both the Kamara and Logan cases, it’s team mates and managers believing what a friend/colleague/team mate has told them based solely on their perceived knowledge of his character. Surely, when the exchange hasn’t been heard, that’s all anyone can base their views on? (Unless, of course, you’re the SFA and take the word of one party over the other for a reason they failed to explain as far as I know).
It will be interesting to see how UEFA deal with it, given that the Slavia player has denied it and his team mates/colleagues/management have believed/backed what he has said.
Nawlite 21st March 2021 At 13:06
That’s a fair point, hypocrisy is possibly not the best word to use so I’ll stick to selective. In this situation it’s pretty common for players/clubs to back their own and believe they were either victims/or not guilty of the accusations.
We could all point to examples where this has happened and selectively exclude using ones that could potentially undermine an argument.
16 250 000 shares in RIFC plc issued from 19 March 2021 according to Companies House.
Total shares now in issue 357 291 872.
Morelos finally scores against Celtic. Is this another record for Rangers to proclaim, the longest time for a Rangers striker to score against Celtic. Does this now increase his value in the transfer market. The title was wrapped up, no pressure on anyone and he manages a tap in.
Hugh Keevins saying Celtic should follow the structural model possessed by their biggest rivals. Would that be the one where the former team known as Rangers stiffed close to 300 creditors, or, is it the one following the mantra of the previous team in spending money they don’t have, living on loans from the directors, or continuing to issue confetti like shares, as John Clark points out earlier. The amount of total shares is unbelievable, what are they worth,
Incredibleadamspark 21st March 2021 At 12:27
Celtic were absolutely panned by the media for backing Tonev. Yet even though a court could not possibly have found him guilty on the evidence available, the SFA contrived to do just that!
Kamara was clearly abused in my view, and if it can actually be proven then it is to be hoped the punishment fits the crime. Having said that if Rangers have locked Slavia out the dressing room in order to attack a player in front of UEFA witnesses as is alleged, there might just be a significant punishment coming Rangers way for that too. I think this has a got a bit to run, and thankfully it will not be dealt with by the Scottish media or the SFA.
Further to my post of 18.34, I forgot to mention that the ‘Investor information’ page on TRFC’s website has not yet been updated to show any changes in directors’ shareholdings.
If Club 1872 has not been a buyer, their percentage holding will be down a little at 4.534% from 4.75%
The price[ paid up] per share was £0.2 , that is, 20p, raising a few bob for current expenditure.
I wonder if the Gibson chap might have been buyer? If he bought the lot, his holding would now be 11.54%, making him the third largest shareholder after King (18.66%) and Park(14.7%)
(But please feel free to check my figure-work!}
@Vernallen – an issue with the Scottish football media is a (complete) lack of financial literacy. You would think that with the financial meltdowns across Scottish football over past 20 years that they would learn some lessons.
I think it was Cluster One who made an earlier reference to a report that the TRFC squad was worth £100m. Firstly I would like to see a breakdown of that valuation. Secondly I would like to understand who the buyers are (no buyer, no sales price). And thirdly unless you are looking to sell the players (were some players being touted?) the number means nothing.
The transfer market across Europe is bandjaxed at this time. Real Madrid and Barcelona have deep seated problems, the French league has lost TV money and EPL clubs (outside of Manchester) are all looking at cost base. For me it makes no sense whatsoever for any Scottish team to keep hold of a high value player where that value drops daily as his contract runs down – so it made complete sense for Celtic to sell Frimpong for a large amount of money when it was clear he wouldn’t sign a new contract.
It will be an interesting summer to see who spends what (net) in Scotland. It will also be interesting to see how long before limited funds leads to that well known condition known as “frustrated manager syndrome”.
Upthehoops 21st March 2021 At 22:01
‘..Kamara was clearly abused in my view, and if it can actually be proven..’
+++++++++++++
I watched and listened to the pre-match discussion on the Sky Sport ‘Now’ feckin app [or whatever] and I think Burke and McFadden and the girl presenter had the alleged offender convicted and sentenced in a way that might expose them to a civil suit for defamation!
Have we not seen splendid examples of how the LAW works?
It doesn’t matter a tuppenny toss that ‘we KNOW he done it’:! If you say on TV that ‘he done it’ without being able to PROVE that ‘he done it’, you can find yourself in court on the wrong end of a substantial damages claim!
(As the Lord Advocate and Chief Constable have found themselves recently!)
If I were a lawyer I think I might be advising the ‘accused’ to requisition a recording of that ‘trial and guilty verdict by TV’ with a view to bringing a potentially lucrative defamation action against Burke, McFadden and Sky TV!
We may have our suspicions. But the minute we assert something as a statement of fact, we’d better make sure we have proof!
I speak as being indirectly/remotely a ‘victim’ of racist/religious abuse myself in this country, and of having been directly viewed with suspicion/hostility in an Australian hospital because I chatted to the ‘first nations ‘ mother of a wee girl with whom my 3 year old granddaughter was happily playing in the kids’ playroom, while her other new-born daughter and my new-born granddaughter were fighting for their lives in intensive care.
And, in the interests of truth, I have to say that I was annoyed at the fatuous stupidity of the commentator who has bought into the ’55 titles’ lie.
workingcelt march 2st 23:05
I think signs of frustrated manager syndrome might be simmering> Recent story had Gerrard mention a number of approaches but he had no intention of moving. Could this be a sign of a lack of funds come the summer and no more spending, live with what you have from the board.
John Clark 21st March 22.16
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/6821348/rangers-1million-investment-rail-tycoon/
Vernallen 21st March 21.51
Did it not occur to you that one of the reasons there was no pressure yesterday was due to the crucial goals scored by Alfredo Morelos at Aberdeen, Hibernian & Livingston in the month of January.
Nine points instead of two.
John
Two sides to every coin indeed.
Although I agree with most folks that Kamara was indeed racially abused, I believe that it will be easier for UEFA to prove what happened in the tunnel post match (especially if the ref was within range). Some may disagree.
In addition, most intriguing to me is whether ‘Gerro’ will be asked to shed any light on ‘tunnelgate’ (Slavia apparently claim he witnessed the kerfuffle) – in the interest of transparency and honesty ye ken.
Anyhoo, whatever happens to Slavia on the racial abuse issue, I feel the home side will be in deep **** with UEFA regarding subsequent events (and don’t forget their on field indiscipline aspect – finishing with 9 men).
Aside from this, I still cannot grasp how an almost 9 year old club can amass 55 league titles in that number of seasons, although I must admit that just over six titles per season is some achievement – especially as they weren’t in the top division for 4 (?) of them!
Could be as many as 11 per season then.
Upthehoops 21st March 2021 At 22:01
To use the Rangers manager supporting one of his players who has allegedly been racially abused as a point scoring exercise about media bias is really poor. Not only was the manufactured outrage quite disingenuous it was also demonstrably incorrect.
A while later the Celtic captain would be in the exact same situation as the one Gerrard found himself in. The media praised both men whilst offering no ‘selective’ advantage to either club.
https://content.invisioncic.com/Mrangmedia/monthly_2021_03/Screenshot_20210322-151228_Twitter.jpg.349bc131070002ff14932d78f230e434.jpg
3.25m could be used to pay bonuses for winning the league although I think the total figure for this achievement maybe higher than that , it could go to pay off the Close loan which according to the last published accounts was still owing and attracting interest , it could go some way to pay off King’s loan of 5m and the 400k interest pa , there’s also the memorial walls claim , the deferred wages , the deferred taxes and a few outstanding transfer fees to be taken into account, then there is Mr Ashley waiting in the shadows awaiting his settlement.
For all the hype in the SMSM about the quality of the Ibrox outfit I doubt it will have much impact elsewhere when it comes to raising funds once the transfer window opens.
It all becomes another balancing act for survival , they need the CL money to get out of the hole they have dug for themselves and they need to add to the squad in order to qualify for the group stages yet will probably have to sell anyone they can in order to stay afloat.
Winning the SPL means very little in performance indicators and losing to Slavia Prague while exposing themselves as hammer throwers won’t fool anyone they are a team of high value talent.
The one thing in their favour is the season tickets should sell out and they won’t hesitate to raise the prices and squeeze the blue pound til it’s dry.
There may also be a large upsurge in sales of mandarin tops but with their new found drive against racism they may want to drop that item ………. or maybe not.
As for Kamaragate it will prove very difficult to prove he was racially abused if Kudela continues to deny it which he no doubt will. Covering his mouth does suggest he was trying to hide his words and I think the abuse did occur but that in itself isn’t enough to convict.
I see the tough policing continued this weekend!
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/football-fans-bring-west-lothian-23772029?fbclid=IwAR0SdfZxHuBiSqGx9JH8JMQ3DuMnW-npQA_N4WaZdEviSDLf74K-jrVcaVI
albertz11 22nd march 7:32
Well spotted, however does not explain the not scoring in previous games versus Celtic. Ranger fans were keen to make noise about it and tied to their magical 55. With his ability to score against other clubs, you would have thought it would have happened sooner. Perhaps a certain Mr. Brown had something to say about it.
I think Stevie Gee gets good advice about his career moves from his PR folk and his business entourage. I’m also surprised, though not pleasantly so, that he has punched above his weight, as has his team this year. A quick exit may be the smart political move, but one thing common amongst sport people is that they tend to test themselves to destruction. Maybe because of the necessary self-belief they all possess.
Celtic stumbling on 10IAR twice is a fact which I submit backs that theory up.
Rangers effort this year has been monumental. No doubt about that. My guess is that SG will have advisors suggesting a quick exit to leave the Win Jansen legacy. But his own competitive instinct will see him stay to try to repeat the feat.
Next season, a revitalised Rangers will compete with a New Celtic, a New Aberdeen, a returning Hearts, and filled stands.
Covid will also become a financial leveller, hurting big salaried clubs more than those at the modest end of the scale.
If nothing else, the events of this year have made next years competition all the more interesting. All to play for.
@ Big Pink – agree on the self-belief and testing to destruction point. You could also look at Juventus this season (looking unlikely to achieve 10IAR) and any number of boxers who went back into the ring when already beaten by Old Father Time.
Jumping ship is fine if you have somewhere to land. First time round Lennon resigned with a pretty strong cv but the offers didn’t come – when the offer is there a hasty (undignified but understandable) exit is pretty much par for the course (Rodgers to Leicester is but one example).
I don’t share your confidence yet with regards to full stadiums next season but we can hope that some normality will return.
Vernallen 23rd March 00.42
Whilst it is true that Alfredo Morelos missed several opportunities to score versus Celtic throughout the years, it would be remiss of me if i didn’t mention the part the goalkeepers played in this. Gordon & Forster in particular were instrumental in prolonging this unwanted record.
It is of course now a moot point and joins a plethora of other subjects that provided so many with great entertainment during the past decade but are now consigned to the trash can of history.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56494598
Is it sweaty bum time in the SFA offices Countdown to March 25th and supposedly decision time on the Covid 5. Oh to be a fly on the wall.. tick tock
DD says:” One of Fergus McCann’s tenets was that the Club would be run professionally and that we should never return to the position he inherited where the entire existence of Celtic could be jeopardised by mis-management and unacceptable levels of indebtedness”
As happened, I believe, to the cheating SDM’s club.
A response to one of my letters to Govt re the ‘shameful’ weekend. Pretty standard imo and doesn’t really cover the specific issues I raised, but I guess it’s as good as I’ll get. The last para re the recent derby weekend is disappointing. I guess the Armadale street parade I linked to on here the other day and just the one murder don’t matter that much!
23 March 2021
Dear xxxxxx,
Thank you for your recent correspondence with the Scottish Government about the behaviour of some Rangers supporters earlier this month. Unfortunately due to the very high volume of letters received on this subject, it is not possible to give you a personal reply, but I hope you find the following useful.
The behaviour which we saw over the weekend of 6 and 7 March was disgraceful and the Scottish
Government utterly condemns the minority of individuals who chose to completely disregard the
coronavirus regulations, putting both the wider community and police officers at risk.
Rangers Football Club was asked to put out messages to persuade fans not to go out celebrating and encourage those who did gather in large numbers to return home but did not do so. It was very clear that the messaging from the club did not persuade their fans to celebrate safely and responsibly. TheScottish Government and Police Scotland discussed these issues with the club ahead of the game.
The club was robustly reminded of its obligations at those meetings but did not agree to ask
supporters not to gather. Ultimately though, as the First Minister said in her statement to Parliament on 9 March, “those at fault are those who breached the rules.”
The policing operation was consistent with Police Scotland’s approach throughout this pandemic to
maintain public safety and minimise disorder, disruption and damage to property. Where large
numbers of people gather at an unplanned event such as this the police use established crowd control to keep the public safe and manage those who are refusing to disperse. There were 28
arrests and seven people were issued with fixed penalty notices or will be the subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal.
The Scottish Government welcomed the referral by the Chief Constable of the Policing response to the Independent Advisory Group chaired by John Scott QC and looks forward to seeing its views on the policing response in due course.
Enforcement of the Covid regulations on mass gatherings are an operational matter for Police
Scotland, and the Scottish Government cannot (by law) direct Police Scotland in their approach. The Scottish Government will work with football clubs, local authorities and Police Scotland to ensure we do everything we can to persuade people that none of these scenes are repeated as the football season continues.
With the support of both clubs, the SFA and SPFL in giving clear and unambiguous messages, the
Old Firm match on 21 March passed off with no repeat of the scenes of the weekend of 6/7 March,
and as Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: “I’d like to thank the vast majority of fans from both clubs who took responsibility to prevent the spread of coronavirus by staying at home and not gathering at Celtic Park or anywhere else”, along with confirmation that there had been no arrests.
Yours sincerely
Michael Jackson
POLICE : Finance and Efficiency
Congratulation to Brora.
Not played for 10 weeks. Part time. Members of tier 5= .
Hearts
Full time. 3rd (?) biggest team historically. 3rd (?) biggest budget.
The most embarrassing/worst result in our history.
HS
Nawlite 23rd March 2021 At 18:43
I had to despair when I read the report from the QC that Police Scotland paid to investigate how they managed the Rangers fans gatherings spoke of ‘human rights’, in the rather predictable summation that Police Scotland did just fine over that weekend. I particularly despaired at the thought that the human rights of everyone else who had their Covid risk increased by these gatherings means nothing, I also took it as confirmation that if for example Rangers win the Scottish Cup, then the same gatherings will be permitted regardless of the Covid laws in place.
Higgy’s Shoes 23rd March 2021 At 22:09
We’ve all had embarrassing/worst results in our history. Doesn’t make it any easier when it happens to the team we support, but the way we all feel when it does happen is what makes us football fans. At least you will be watching top flight football again next season.
A bad result for a former supremo .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56508619
Paddy Malarkey 24th March 2021 At 12:29
“.A bad result for a former supremo ”
++++++++++++++
From the FIFA report:
“.This vicious circle saw three of them (Blatter, Grondona and Valcke) signing the amendment contracts of the others and approving the respective extraordinary bonuses, while the fourth (Kattner) was in charge of implementing the payment of such bonuses (as well as of keeping the matter “off the books”, by not reflecting the bonuses in the Fifa financial statements and NOT REPORTING them to the Fifa auditors).”
++++++++++
Well, well, well!
That ‘non-reporting’ has a familiar ring to it, does it not?
Oh, that the US soccer/the FBI had had an interest in Scottish football!
Are there any Sepp Blatters and his fellow rippers-off in our wee Scottish Football world, I wonder?
John Clark 24th March 2021 At 13:13
Scottish football now has some American owners so never say never !
Make of this what you will .
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/150-years-of-rangers-football-club/15xSSVGyaVsdkLMEXxk8rb
Something for the SFA/SPFL to bear in mind when complaints regarding referee’s performances come to light. A senior NHL official has been advised that he will never work another game as a comment he made regarding calling a penalty during a game was picked up by a live microphone, The incident occurred Tuesday night and the announcement regarding his termination came today. The league didn’t want the integrity of the game to be compromised. Now that’s a way league officials should be acting, not taking almost 6 weeks to decide the outcome of the Covid 5.
Paddy Malarkey 24th March 2021 At 20:28
‘.Make of this what you will ..'(and link)
++++++++++++
As the single biggest untruth ever facilitated and endorsed by any sports “governance body” and supported by a rotten corrupted “sports” press….
I give you, from the ‘ ‘rse’s mouth:
“IN March 2022, Rangers Football Club will celebrate the monumental milestone of the club’s 150th anniversary.”
In reality and Truth, a football club whose application for membership of a Scottish Professional Football Club was ,reluctantly enough, granted in 2012, and whose membership of the SFA dates from that same year ,
will be FALSELY CLAIMING to be 150 years old.
Absurdly so, given that in the papers and documents in the hands variously of D&P, BDO , the SPFL and the SFA will be copies of
the letter to the Administrators from the SPL asking for the surrender of RIFC plc’s share certificate and
copies of CG’s application to have his SevcoScotland admitted as a new club into the SPL/SFL, and
copies of the letter refusing such admission into the SPL, and
copies of correspondence relating to the desperate attempts by Mr Longmuir (was it?) to get them into even the lowest division :
not to mention a copy of the admission into SFA membership of the new club as a new club at a certain date in 2012, after a period of conditional membership as ‘Club 12’
Honest to God, you really couldn’t keep up with barstewards who can lie so unashamedly in face of he evidence!
The four honest young lads of 1872 will be turning in their graves at the deceit practiced in their HONOURABLE names by those who care not a whit about personal honour and integrity never mind the concept of Sporting Integrity .
[ Traditionally, of course, bad guys in general ,do not trust each other, or other baddies, so each white-collar baddie tends to keep bits and pieces in reserve to help him out of any potential future difficulty, being never sure that necessary shredding/deletion may have been carried out]
The lie is so bloody blatantly ridiculous that , as said before, I think I am more annoyed at being thought stupid enough to believe it than I am at the intention to lie!!
Paddy M, we all know that they protesteth too much. Between the 150th and the recent constant ’55’, they’re just trying too hard, which gives away their fear. They all remember crying when they lost the club so they have to shout loud to drown out that memory.
Vernallen 24th March 2021 At 22:12
‘..A senior NHL official has been advised that he will never work another game as a comment he made regarding calling a penalty during a game was picked up by a live microphone,’
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Geez, Vernallen, you had me going for minute there, trying to remember whether our Highland league had ‘National’ in its title!!
You mde me google and I see this :
“During Tuesday night’s game between the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings, referee Tim Peel was caught on a hot mic discussing a tripping penalty he called with a fellow official. Peel admitted that the action he called a penalty for “wasn’t much” but said he “wanted to get a f—ing penalty against Nashville.”
What a relief, that it wasn’t a Scottish football referee!
What a scandal that would be here! Nearly as bad as would have been a BBC radio sports editor making sure that anyone employed under him would not be of a differing religious background!
Would never have happened. Eh? Whit?
[Incidentally, I see the obituary of Alastair Alexander in today’s ‘The Scotsman’.
I note that in respect of his football commentator function, he ‘took his original inspiration from the great Peter Thomson.’
Being inspired by Peter Thomson ?
Not a particularly valuable recommendation, I would say.]
Nawlite 24th March 2021 At 22:51
‘..They all remember crying when they lost the club so they have to shout loud to drown out that memory.’
+++++++++++++
Yes.
They KNEW , as did Traynor and the other football hacks, that Liquidation meant the same for them as it had meant for Gretna and Third Lanark et al.
They knew of the huge efforts Hearts had made to avoid the death sentence of being liquidated, because liquidation of a football club meant the end of its history: it would be forever a club that had ceased to live , except in the fond memory of its supporters.
Baffled, disoriented, world upside down, the RFC of 1872 supporters fell prey to the likes of CG and his successors and happily swallowed the most absurd nonsense.
I have some sympathy on an emotional level.
But for the sport’s governance body to help create the nonsense and further propagate a fundamental untruth is simply unacceptable.
It’s an act worse than if that body’s officers were accepting ( like some in FIFA] personal backhanders!
John Clark 24th march 22:58
There is only one city in the NHL that comes close to encountering something close to your religious reference. The city is in a province with a strong French background and to be on the coaching staff of that team it is a huge bonus to be either French or fluently bi-lingual. They have had unilingual coaching staffs but the tenure has been short-lived. There no overt preferences based on religion in the workings of this league.
Picking up on Vernallen’s point on swiftness of process. I can’t for the life of me understand why a professional game is run in such an amateur fashion in Scotland, particularly when it comes to disciplinary matters and a level playing field. To take just one area as an example can anyone explain to me the reasoning behind the dispensing of penalties:
“Aberdeen pub night-out” – occurred on 1st August, dealt with on 28th August.
Bolingoli trip to Spain – came to light on 10/11th August, dealt with on 28th August.
Edmundson party breach – on 1st November, dealt with on 19th November.
Rangers COVID 5 – came to light on 17th/18th February, to be dealt with 25th March.
All of the above points, at best to an organisation that is not fit for purpose. In each case rules were clear and were breached (the Aberdeen players may have had some ignorance over the rules in thinking they could socialise together but ignorance is not a defence). There are no excuses for this shambolic and shameful administration of our game.
You may remember I complained to BBC Scotland a couple of weeks back about their 6.30pm Scottish News introduction talking about TRFC’s recovery from relegation to win the league. They have now responded admitting that their report was inaccurate. The pertinent quotes are…..
“In introducing Chris McLaughlin’s report on the return of Rangers FC, over the last decade, to be the newly-crowned Scottish Premiership champions, news presenter Laura Miller said:
“We’ll look at the club’s journey from financial collapse and relegation back to the top of the Scottish game.”
This was an introduction intended to succinctly summarise Rangers’ journey back to the pinnacle of Scottish football.
We acknowledge, however, that it was inaccurate to refer to Rangers’ “relegation” as the club were not relegated from the Scottish Premiership following their financial collapse but, rather, sought and gained admission to the Scottish League in Division Three.”
I’m glad I (and others probably) forced them to acknowledge the fact that that specific part of the ‘victim lie’ is nonsense. For me, it is very important to have that acknowledged publicly because it is a supporting part of the ‘survival lie’ and needs to be called out. While it’s good that they have acknowledged the lie in their reporting, they have ignored my request that they apologise for the inaccuracy in a future 6.30pm news broadcast, so I have gone back to them asking them again to do so. After all, it was that large audience of a flagship broadcast that they lied to so I feel it is only right that they set the facts straight to that same audience. If they refuse to do so, I will then refer the matter to Ofcom who will see my argument as fair.
As John Clark knows, the BBC admission mirrors the same admission I wrought out of the SPF in March 2015 when they stated “Had Rangers Oldco been able to agree a CVA with its creditors, then it should have been able to emerge from administration (as did Hearts and Dunfermline) without further sporting sanctions. However, a CVA was rejected by Oldco’s creditors. This led to Oldco being liquidated. Newco applied for membership of the SFL and was granted associate membership but on condition it started in SFL Division Three. Newco bought the assets of Oldco from the administrations and took Rangers FC into the SFL. Rangers FC were not relegated from the SPL.”
SO I have 2 official (?) bodies confirming Rangers were not relegated. Now I just need to work out a way of getting similar to admit that it was the liquidation of the club and not the (separate, bah!) company that caused them to start afresh in tier 3.
Nawlite 25th March 2021 At 13:28
‘..You may remember I complained to BBC Scotland a couple of weeks back about their 6.30pm Scottish News introduction talking about TRFC’s recovery from relegation to win the league. They have now responded admitting that their report was inaccurate. .’
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Very well done, Nawlite, to have wrung that admission of ‘inaccuracy’ from the scaredy-cats at Pacific Quay!
But, as you say, their lying propaganda about TRFC being RFC of 1872 is still there in this:
‘…We acknowledge, however, that it was inaccurate to refer to Rangers’ “relegation” as the club were not relegated from the Scottish Premiership following their financial collapse but, rather, sought and gained admission to the Scottish League in Division Three.”
They simply refuse to acknowledge the truth that RFC of 1872 actually lost its entitlement to be part of Scottish Football by entering liquidation and that it was a brand new creation , not the liquidated RFC of 1872, that was allowed to buy a share in the SPFL and qualify for membership of the SFA.
There is perversity there , a deliberate intention to lie, in the minds of those at Pacific Quay, because no intelligent rational being could possibly deny the fact of the Liquidation of RFC of 1872 or the fact that SevcoScotland had to apply for membership as a new football club!
People of that mindset have no legitimate place in publicly funded broadcasting, as being venal, cowardly, fearful, prejudiced people ready to sell their souls in a matter of Sport!
What would they do in really serious matters?
Why, what else but sell out Truth if that saved their miserable skins and/or lined their pockets. Ja wohl!
May those at BBC Scotland who are liquidation deniers and propagandists of ‘the same club’ nonsense never enjoy peace of mind , as being the minor ‘Judases’ [ is that a word? but you know what I mean] that they are.
John Clark 25th March 2021 At 23:33
Nawlite 25th March 2021 At 13:28
I remember the report you are talking about that spoke of Rangers ‘relegation’. I used to write to BBC complaints but gave up because the establishment, of which BBC is very much part, are hard to beat.
On a podcast recently Archie Macpherson once again referred to BBC bias against Celtic during his time there, and how Jock Stein reacted to it. No doubt anyone complaining then would be labelled paranoid as they are now, but just because you are paranoid does not mean they’re not out to get you. Going back to the original point someone in BBC determined that the word ‘Relegation’ was to be used regarding Rangers and the presenter was only delivering what someone who clearly has a personal agenda approved suitable for broadcast. I suspect a very pro-Rangers man who works in the background at BBC was behind it.
In 2012 I said to my friend that the liquidation of Rangers meant there was no longer any hiding place for their friends in the media. How naïve could I have been, and I should already have seen the warning signs given that people who condemned tax evasion on the front pages were demanding it be overlooked on the back pages.
UTH 26th March 07.25.
Tax evasion?
Tax avoidance as was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2017.
Big difference UTH.
John C, UTH, there is no doubt in my mind that people at BBC Scotland are choosing to propagate the Big Lie, both from a personal point of view and to keep the Rangers fans onside. Even the quotes I posted where they admit they lied about relegation read like they were written by a TRFC fan – “This was an introduction intended to succinctly summarise Rangers’ journey BACK TO THE PINNACLE OF SCOTTISH FOOTBALL.”
Of course, it was not at all intended to succinctly summarise the relevant events but was instead intended to place the relegation lie there in support of the Big Lie. The rest of their response to my complaint regurgitated the ‘BBC Trust says…’ response that I and many other posters have received before. I didn’t ask them to comment on the Big Lie though admit I did slag them off for being wedded to it. As you say, UTH, it is difficult to provide clear enough evidence to change their mind on the Big Lie, but I will continue to search for ways.
In my case, they HAD to accept they were wrong due to their having previously reportedly accurately on the Bookmaker case. I am now wondering if using their accurate report on the death of Rangers in 2012 and specifically complaining about their new stance of reporting it as the same club might bear some fruit for me.
To day, while reading about the investigation into Boris Johnson’s alleged ‘fag’ at Eton ,David Cameron, I learned that there there is such a thing as the “Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act” . (Cameron is alleged to have ‘engaged in unregistered consultant lobbying’]
For some reason my mind turned idly to the representations supposedly made by certain MSPs in the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the tax-defaulting FC plc in 2012.
I idly wondered whether any such supposed representations could be considered as ‘lobbying’ by ‘unregistered persons’ under the Act.
Sadly, I saw that the Act was passed only in 2014 so I suppose it wouldn’t apply to anything that happened in 2012.
[Unconnectedly, I don’t know what to make of the story of Major-General Nick Welch, except that he perhaps did not attend the right school, and folk were ready to blow the whistle.
I can think of number of folk in Scottish Football governance circles who deserve longer jail sentences for their breach of the trust put in them than that handed out to the Major-General for a ‘personal’ crime.}
Nawlite 26th March 2021 At 13:47
John Clark 26th March 2021 At 17:42
At the risk of going over old ground, I believe the BBC Trust ruling which is constantly referred to was made based on information provided by the SFA. It also ignored the absolute fact that there was no separate club and holding company at the time of liquidation. I think that says it all! As I say though, going over old ground, but that won’t stop while the Scottish media continue to spin downright lies.
Upthehoops 26th March 2021 At 18:58
‘..I believe the BBC Trust ruling which is constantly referred to was made based on information provided by the SFA. ‘
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””
As with the RES 12 issue , so with ‘Big Lie’ issue:
the Res12 matter raised issues of the possible complicity of the SFA in a financial swizzle with a cash-strapped club. Who decided that there should not be an independent investigation? The SFA. Is anything to be made of that refusal? It looks suspicious.
For a view on whether RFC plc ceased to be entitled to participate in Scottish Football on entering Liquidation, who was asked ? Why, none other than the very body that allegedly CREATED the BIG LIE that TRFC is RFC of 1872. Can anything be made of that? It looks suspicious.
And the mere passage of time does nothing to lessen the suspicion.
John Clark 26th March 2021 At 19:42
Again, this is old ground, but it has never been satisfactorily answered and I doubt if it ever will be. Many people think simple commercialism drove decisions but as one brought up in the West of Scotland and still living there I simply can’t accept that there was no bias at play either. There is a natural order in the minds of many influential people and that has been especially evident again these past few weeks. Rangers will always be viewed as the head of that natural order no matter what. Even if it costs the taxpayer tens of millions. Quite why the Celtic Board are willing to accept that is another matter. Ironically the only person to effectively state Celtic were not prepared to sit at the back of the bus was John Reid, who was disliked by much of the support. How I wish he had been around today to call out the appalling discrimination applied by the Scottish Government in terms of Covid Breaches in Scottish football.
Two items in the news today struck a chord with me. Firstly the teacher in a Batley grammar school in England being placed in fear of his life for displaying an image/caricature of the Islamic religious figure Mohammed and secondly that Fox news channel in America are being sued for defamation by Dominion (the voting machine manufacturer used in the presidential elections in the USA). There is an attempt to prevent the teacher in question from disagreeing with a minority faction who are trying to impose their opinion/will on the secular majority who refuse to accept the writings of the Koran as the absolute truth on the matter. I see an obvious parallel in Scottish professional football. Dominion are suing Fox for repeatedly calling into question the accuracy and integrity of the devices supplied to various states for counting of votes. Dominion to their credit are standing up for their reputation and calling out Fox and others as purveyors of lies, and of fanning the flames of distrust by giving air to ‘alternative fact’ propagandists on a regular basis. Unfortunately in this second instance I see no parallel.
Upthehoops 26th March 2021 At 20:55
‘..Many people think simple commercialism drove decisions but as one brought up in the West of Scotland and still living there I simply can’t accept that there was no bias at play either.’
+++++++++++++++++++
Well, at the very least, extraordinary measures were taken , secretly, and lies were made up, whatever the principal motivation.
Perhaps more importantly, we used to look to the ‘serious MSM’ to try to ferret out the lies of ‘business’.
But here in this wee country, the MSM are propagandists of the lie that TRFC is Rangers of 1872.
The fact that liars support the lie is evidence only of perversity of mind, not that the lie is the truth.
Old Galileo could chuckle to himself. He had unassailable facts, that no Pope, Emperor, King or resident on the south bank of the Clyde could refute.
We can chuckle likewise when we say ‘RFC of 1872’ ceased to exist as a football club participating in Scottish professional football.
And we know that those in football governance KNOW that they are liars, because they were the very ones who turfed them out of membership of the SFA when the SPL called in their share in that company!
At the end of the day, and at the end of their lives, that knowledge is and will be their punishment.
They are/will be a cause of shame to their seed breed and generation.
And for what? selling their professional and personal integrity for the sake of preserving the memory of a defunct football club by denying its death!
Honest to God, you couldny make it up!
Since Sevco/Rangers aren’t playing this week, I see the rumor mill has opened with what will no doubt a continuing saga of major clubs interested in their players. Seems it starts up about this time every year but I don’t recall them concluding any major transactions, outgoing that is. Whose name will come up next.
If Alex McLeish believes players will influence the Celtic board on a management appointment, he has lost touch with reality. Its hard to believe the board would take a major decision like this based on whether the candidate was liked or not. Were Ranger players consulted about Pedro, Warburton, etc.
I was amused to read in the ‘Scotsman’ this morning a moan about someone claiming “credit for others’ work” in the field of politics.
You might share my amusement when I say that the moaner is none other than a non-executive Director of Celtic plc.
Brian Wilson is the moaner. Yes the self-same Wilson who has nothing to say about the most blatant example ever of people in the field of Sport claiming credit for the work of others, that example being TRFC which as a nearly 9-year-old football club lies about its sporting history!
[ ‘The Scotsman’ today, page 21, ‘Scottish Perspective’ ]
Upthehoops 26th March 2021 At 20:55
Again, this is old ground, but it has never been satisfactorily answered and I doubt if it ever will be. Many people think simple commercialism drove decisions but as one brought up in the West of Scotland and still living there I simply can’t accept that there was no bias at play either.
.
The establishment need a flag waving establishment club UTH. It doesn’t have to be a real club. Anything will do. I will suggest it rises above bias. It’s possible to believe that the SFA and a Sevco re-hash of a club once called Rangers could hold sway over the sports pages, but we have seen that the sway is also held over a much broader, and more powerful spectrum than they can ever hope to reach.
The sums involved in the original deceptions are staggering, but the continued costs to the legal system and compo pay-out system(with more in the pipeline) are beyond belief……..Hardly a dickie-bird uttered. That comes from a level above Klaxon Jack it in son’s paygrade. Other, more powerful forces are at play.
.
Vernallen 27th March 2021 At 00:57
If Alex McLeish believes players will influence the Celtic board on a management appointment, he has lost touch with reality.
.
Maybe in his experience of managing and job hunting he is correct. : )
Well, I don’t know about anybody else, but that was a great game of football between Dundee and Dunfermline!
5 goals, with two really brilliant ones, some super saves, 100 % effort all round and plenty of good skill, nearly perfect refereeing, and sportsmanship all round.
As a neutral, I would have paid full whack for that entertainment any week of the year.
We still have the word Invincible being attached to the Rangers season. I believe it would be correct to loosely apply it to their as yet undefeated league campaign, but, to use in comparison to Celtic’s invincible season is wrong an more than somewhat lazy on the part of journalists. A league cup defeat would be cause to remove the term invincible from any story. The need to be constantly to have your name attached to a feat accomplished by another club is pandering to the lowest level. To have accomplished the treble in an undefeated season is truly remarkable, to have an undefeated league season (to date) is remarkable, but the overall season still has a blip on it and there may be more to come. The comparison in regards to points total, goals scored, etc is a little tedious as well.
Vernallen 27th March 2021 At 22:00
‘..The need to be constantly to have your name attached to a feat accomplished by another club ..’
++++++++++++++++++++++
Remember, Vernallen, that what we have is a club desperately living on a lie.
And supported in that lie by lying journalists.
They lied to the Market that they are the RFC of 1872. They now simply have to keep on lying, untruth being part of their genetic make-up.
As do the lying journalists.
Albertz11 26th March 2021 At 10:28
UTH 26th March 07.25.
Tax evasion?
Tax avoidance as was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2017.
Big difference UTH.
++++++++++++++++
Semantics. What Rangers did was ruled to be illegal. The fact so many Rangers fans think it was actually okay is quite incredible. They can claim to be the same club if they want. They can spout as much as they like about 55 titles. However, a court ruled that they illegally cheated the public purse out of tens of millions in order to give them a better chance against opponents who did not cheat the public purse. A lot of the 55 titles were won on the back of that tax cheating. What a stain on the history that they claim was never broken. Ironically the so called 55th title was celebrated with another huge illegal event, with zero consideration for others and a massive sense of entitlement, just like the tax cheating.
American businesswoman Leona Mindy Roberts Helmsley once said “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes”. I always think of that whenever the arrogance over Rangers tax cheating rears its head. Only in Scotland.
Vernallen 27th March 22.00
I don’t believe a loss in a cup competition affects the invincible status of any club, which may or may not include Rangers FC depending on the post split results
Arsenal lost in both cup competitions in 03/04 and are still referred to as the “invincibles” are they not?
UTH 28th March 10.22.
Not semantics at all UTH.
As you are well aware there is a difference between the two and as you, unintentionally i’m sure, chose the incorrect term i simply corrected it.
Surely one of the aims of the blog was to challenge any untruths and as your use of “tax evasion” and not “tax avoidance” falls into this category i am entitled to point this out.
Vernallen
Make no mistake, should the outfit from Govania go undefeated in the league campaign, it will be reported as emulating Celtic’s invincible (in all domestic competitions) season – implying, to the less informed, that this somehow would be ‘on a par’!
Just in case any of the SMSM are of a mind to cancel ( very fashionable in some areas of society these days) any of my club’s achievements, may I remind anyone with a short memory that Celtic won the European Cup in 1967 and are the only Scottish team to complete 91AR – TWICE.
Finally, a SEVCO supporting member of my (extended!) family came to visit the other day – triumphantly sporting an orange top emblazoned with RFC. I had a normal t-shirt on, but then changed into my quadruple treble top and sat beside him! Nuff said! He wiz ragin! – especially when my son took a foti!
Seriously folks. Invincible. Who gives a toss what they report. It’s Semantic Sunday after all. Invincible/not, evasion/avoidance.
Albertz’s Arsenal comparison is correct IMO, but the two achievements (if the latter is achieved) are apples and peaches. Both are outstanding achievements, ‘though one doesn’t emulate the other.
It’s all deflection, another squirrel on the loose. And all as a consequence of an absence of humility, the WATP mentality gone off the rails.
So there I am pottering about the kitchen preparing some vegetables for later on, listening ( in spite of the pain her strident voice causes me) to the general chat about tonight’s Israel game.
The last guest was Alec McLeish.
And guess what?
Jane’Absolutely’ gets his views on the prospects for tonight, and then, straight out of the blue [as it were] but no doubt scripted in advance, gives McLeish the opportunity to propagandise by getting him to talk about TRFC’s wonderful year and come out with the untruth that TRFC has won the 55th title.
I confess I never ‘liked ‘McLeish .
I now have no more time for him, or for anything he has to say, than I have for BBC Controller Scotland and the other broadcasters who have been cowed into becoming propagators of, and propagandists for ,the myth that TRFC is RFC of 1872.
Thankfully, I’m not likely ever to meet any of them in person: I would be scrubbing myself for months to get rid of the moral contagion.
We could be doing with somebody of this calibre tonight . From The Guardian .
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/mar/26/steve-archibald-barcelona-tottenham-terry-venables-diego-maradona-scotland
Albertz11 28th march 10:29
Enjoy the verbal sparring but surely a loss in any competition in the league calendar year puts a dent in the term invincible. as for Arsenal and there claim to this accolade does this not come from the English press who forever live in the land of the world cup of 1966 and believe they are the best league in the world despite English shortcomings in any major international tournaments. If not for the obscene television money foisted on them, how many of the teams in the top tier survive.
Bect67 28 March 12:22
Would have enjoyed photos of the occasion.
Might be the only team (ever) to go invincible in a title race with no red cards given against them and no penalties conceded. Some achievement and with no pressure been shown or felt, you would think someone had their back covered in that department.
Vernallen 28th March 20.25
Does “a loss in any competition” apply to domestic football only?. If not then the “invincibles” of 2016/17 were found to be far from it.
Going unbeaten through a league campaign is more common than I had realised (and in Europe the frequency seems to have increased in recent times, although this is almost certainly impacted by the increase in national leagues Eastern Europe, Balkans, etc). Steaua Bucharest actually did three unbeaten leagues campaigns on the bounce in the 80s (as did Lincoln Red Imps in 2009-12…).
Of course Arsenal were not the original “ Invincibles” as this term was coined for Preston North End who were unbeaten in season 1888-89, also winning the FA Cup that season (there was no League Cup to play for) so unbeaten through the season. As noted by Albertz11 Arsenal did not win the Cups in 03-04 so a pale imitation of the original Invincibles according to many.
I see RTC back on Twitter on same day as Sun comments on Mr McCann and his EBT bill of £700,000 having an effect on his divorce proceedings. Article actually states club went into administration followed by liquidation. Also stated Newco formed and had to enter third Div . Always good to here from RTC.
Albertz11 26th March 2021 At 10:28
UTH 26th March 07.25.
Tax evasion?
Tax avoidance as was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2017.
Big difference UTH.
Tax evasion means concealing income or information from tax authorities — and it’s illegal. Tax avoidance means legally reducing your taxable income.
It was tax evasion so illegal
Every player whos income went throught SFA was tax evasion
“Tax evasion is when you use illegal practices to avoid paying tax. This could include not reporting all of your income, not filing a tax return, hiding taxable assets from HMRC or using fake offshore accounts.”
Income hidden and side letters confirmed it, so taxable income was hidden and would be hidden on their tax returns.
See where the DR is at it again outlining the money Rangers may garner from a Champions League run. I thought there was another Scottish team who has an avenue to the same pot of money (although it may be difficult), still they have the opportunity. The $46 million could go along way to covering the losses incurred in recent years and maybe paying back some of the outstanding loans. Hopefully their directors don’t see the $46 million as a given and spend it today.
Everyone at Ibrox knew what they were involved in.
The players had indemnity letters…… Why?
Their true remunerations were not declared on their registration papers……Why?
The maj shareholder, Minty, lied when asked if side letters existed…….Why?
The club itself, shredded incriminating documentation………Why?
Dishonest claims were submitted on Euro license application(s)……..Why?
The president of the SFA, Campbell Ogilvie, mislead Billy Nimmo Smith……..Why?
Being pedantic about terminology makes it no less abhorrent. Rangers suffered the ultimate consequence of their deceit and fraudulent acts…..Liquidation !
Their victims are still seeking redress through the legal system.
It’s quite simple when one sticks to the facts and ignores the fiction.
A new club entered the league system, and changed it’s name to a Rangersy sounding one.
The original Rangers was wound up and no longer exists, other than on court papers.
Currently, two clubs called “Rangers” are in the court systems awaiting judgements on quite distinct and separate matters.
Good afternoon all.
I’ve not been on here for months, but received an email about funding ( I’ve donated small amounts before) so thought I would click in .
Glad I did . Sanity prevails.
My auld Da goes into a nursing home this afternoon, 91 years young, dementia and it’s impact has now brought on the need for some respite care at best , which might be permanent.
My mum (88) , the carers , myself and my sister have faced up to the the harsh reality , that he now needs 24 hr professional care .
My da would only shake his head in disbelief at the on going nonsense of 55 .
If only he was fit enough in mind , I could have offered my acknowledgment that what he’s been saying for decades is true. I often argued it wasn’t.
Celtic & Rangers ( old or new) only care about themselves and each other.
Two cheeks of the same arse , so to speak.
His opinion was broadly based on how they managed to be wasteful with young talent rather than nourish it .
It was always about money, and being the 2 bully’s in a wee school playground. His love is for the game rather than a team. Any game. Pass, move , challenge, compete . Expose full backs, and central defenders. Skin them with skill or pace , you get my drift. He stopped coaching beyond 14 year olds because the appearance of scouts on the touch line gave parents delusions of wonga or grandeur. The team became about the individual, in some parents eyes.
He seldom backed a favourite at the horses, a wee look at the parade ring would tell him if a horse was fit or ready. Scouts phoned him for an opinion on many young players.
He’s got an eye for both . Potential in players and in horses.
If only I could explain he was right about the Old Firm.The web of deceit that’s been sown . How it still exists when one , literally passed away is a thing of wonder.
55 or Santa coming down everyone’s chimney is roughly along the same lines .
Celtic and every other club are complicit in this nonsense.
If there was any justice ( don’t laugh) within the game, LNS wouldn’t have been a sham , it would have been the catalyst for change.
The latest judgement , a while back, not to send the European licence issue to the court of arbitration for sport, because the “ implications are to severe “ sums up the shit show that masquerades as sport.
It takes me back to a line in the 1st autobiography I ever read .
Bill Shankly stated that football in Scotland was dominated by politics , which came before the actual game itself.
Much like my dad , Shankly loved the game. The people that payed into watch from the Kop etc , were just as important as the players to Shankly .
Privilege was the word he used to describe to the players what it meant, to play in front of fanatical fans . They mattered.
Jock Stein said similar. Without fans , football is nothing.
The sad thing is , some folk believe it still is sport . Then again, for some, who control the game, sport never really mattered.
It’s all about a share price. It’s about some warped supremacy. It’s about power & privilege.
The beautiful game ?
Where’s the next World Cup ?
I think it’s Junior fitba now for me , at least it’s still got it’s soul .
Take care folks .
Angel Gabriel
Welcome. Fair old swishing about with that sword of yours. We could use it?
Excellent contribution which is pretty much I think where most of us are at.
Any news anywhere of the outcome of the Ibrox 5 investigation ? Nothing on the SFA Disciplinary Updates page .
A wee bit disappointed that Martin O’Neill in briefly mentioning RFC’s success and the relativities between Celtic and RFC of 1872 at tht time, did not take the opportunity of reminding the world of Scottish football that RFC 1872 cheated the taxman and lied to the SPL and SFA for a decade or more about what they were paying their players, in case that info reached the taxman!
Jane ‘Absolutely’ offered McLeish a wee platform to spout pis* about the 55 yesterday: no danger of Kenny McIntyre inviting MON to say anything about SDM’s ta evasion!
[Sportsound five or ten mins ago]
John Clarke 18.43pm
Martin is only following a trend that he’s kept for years regards EBT’s . He’s always maintained to the media, that the games were won & lost on the park.
I’m always suspicious that he’s towing the line of Celtics major shareholder who, avoids any contentious comments about the RFC implosion like the plague.
On the subject of EBT’s my mind was drawn back to the peculiar circumstances of Arthur Newman , who signed for RFC in 1998, and left in 2003.
When contract negotiations were made public, Newman’s agent declared that RFC had only offered half the salary that his then contract was worth.
A press release ( I used to read the papers then ) by RFC disputed what the agent had said.
RFC insisted they offered him the same wages.
I remember thinking this was a strange difference of opinion.
This was when we were blissfully unaware that a certain club decided to cook the books , dodge tax and not follow the proper registration guidelines for player contracts.
Did RFC offer the half his wage and promise that the difference would be supplied by an EBT ?
Was Newman on the list of EBT recipients ?
In answer to my question –
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19196217.rangers-five-players-wait-covid-punishment-hearing-breach-government-rules/
A wee birdy told me that there was a concerted effort by high heid yins to scupper the enquiry ,the conclusions and the punishments . Or just made representations .
Angel Gabriel 29th March 2021 At 20:29
‘.Was Newman on the list of EBT recipients ?’
++++++++++++
This guy was!
“Arthur Numan, £510,000: Dutch full-back arrived at Rangers from PSV Eindhoven in 1998 for £4.5million. Played 118 times.”
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-big-tax-case-who-6767682
I’m sorry I looked at that list, to see the names of BBC Sportsounds Rangers Former Players fan club-McCann, Dodds ,Thomson…..
To be fair to them, they’ve been very loyal in supporting the Big Lie myth!
My post of 21.32 this evening refers:
With appropriate acknowledgment I take this from a 2018 article at http://www.talkingbaws.com/2018/01/arthur-numan-says-rangers-offered-80-wage-cut-stay-club/
“Arthur Numan Says Rangers Offered Him 80% Wage Cut to Stay at the Club
Arthur Numan has revealed Rangers tried to stop him from retiring – but only offered him a deal which would amount to an 80% cut to his weekly wages.
The former Holland international moved to Ibrox in the summer of 1998 under manager Dick Advocaat, and went on to prove himself as one of the club’s all-time best left-backs before retiring after the victorious 2003 Scottish Cup Final.
Notoriously fit and healthy, Numan was 33 when he decided to hang-up his boots and could’ve easily managed another couple of years in the Scottish Premiership.
And in an interview with Open Goal and Simon Ferry, Numan has confirmed the club’s hierarchy tried to keep him at the club for the 2003/04 season – but the drop in salary just wasn’t appealing.
He said: “I was discussing another contract in the January with Martin Bain in the Dubai training camp and they offered me a contract but I thought they were taking the mickey.
“Before that I had spoke to them and I said ‘I know the situation with the club but I’m happy and I’ve always been treated well’ and I wanted to take a wage cut of 40%. But they offered me a contract that I think was 80% less.
“It didn’t feel good to accept that offer so unfortunately I had to leave. I had five great seasons and I had the best time of my career in Scotland.
“We won the Scottish Cup 1-0 thanks to Lorenzo’s header and it was a fantastic end to the season and for me because it was my last game for Rangers.
“I came to Rangers and won the treble and then after five years I won the treble again and it was brilliant.
“The sponsors Tennants made a banner for me ‘Thank you for the memories’ and when I held it and at that time it was strange because it was last game but I thought I would take my time before making a decision for the future.
“I had offers from PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord, from one or two English clubs and Spanish clubs but I thought I would take my time to make a decision because also in the July my daughter was born.
“I had an offer to join LA Galaxy from 18-months but I said ‘no I can’t do it I need to stay with my wife’.
“Then I thought I’ve got enough. I seen all the teams preparing themselves for pre-season and I thought I don’t want this anymore.
“Then I announced my retirement and it came as a surprise becasue they all expect me to play for another year or two.
“When I thought back on it when I was holding the banner ‘Thank you for the memories’ I didn’t know it was going to be my last game – it’s as if it was fate.
“My last two games of my career I won the league, the Scottish Cup and the treble so you can’t ask for more.
“When I got the chance to sign for Rangers I didn’t know what to expect here. But it says a lot that after I left I spent another seven years staying here.”
The writer of the article adds :’ Of course, Rangers didn’t hit serious financial trouble until around 2011, but perhaps Numan’s anecdote shows that the belt needed tightening way before that’
…….”
Albertz11 28th March 21:31
It maybe time to re-define what the term invincible refers to when it comes to football. As you state does it only apply to domestic leagues and to hell with European competitions. If any of the teams lost in any of the competitions the term invincible should not apply. However going a full league season undefeated has merit and should be acknowledged. If winning a treble, going undefeated, should merit extra attention due to the fact one off games can provide a slippery slope. Perhaps the journalists that keep throwing the term around could dig into a dictionary, old school, or google the definition of invincible. Based on the quality of writing from some of them it may be a job too far.
The SFA issued a notice of complaint against the 5 ibrox players The covid 5.
Aprinciple hearing date was set for March 25, 2021.
It has gone very quite on it.
Cluster One 29th March 23.05.
Will be announced tomorrow (Tuesday) CO.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ex-gers-chief-charles-green-23817200
Ex-Rangers FC chief Charles Green asked to testify in £56.8m claim that Ibrox should’ve been sold off
Green set to appear in a court case brought by liquidators BDO who allege iconic stadium should’ve been sold to pay off debts.
Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green is being asked to give evidence in a £56.8 million action brought by a financial firm over claims Ibrox should have been sold to pay off debt.
Green is being called in by the club’s former administrators, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, over allegations they should’ve sold off the stadium and other assets while in control of the club.
Rangers’ liquidator, BDO, have mounted the case against the pair, claiming the lack of an asset sale left less cash to split among creditors.
Lawyers acting for Whitehouse and Clark have asked Green to give evidence at the Court of Session.
Andrew Young QC told judge Lord Tyre on Monday that solicitors are awaiting for a response from Green, who is believed to live in France.
…………….
May the 4 2021 looks like a good day in court. Will you be there JC?
Cluster One 29th March 2021 At 23:59
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ex-gers-chief-charles-green-23817200
Ex-Rangers FC chief Charles Green asked to testify in £56.8m claim that Ibrox should’ve been sold off
.
Paul was so far ahead of the game.
https://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/?s=gratuitous+alienation
I don’t think the notion Ibrox should have been sold off is wrong at all, although the court will decide. A Rangers was always going to be playing and I am sure there are many companies who would have been willing to buy it then lease it to the newco. The taxpayer was well and truly shafted.
Cluster One 29th March 2021 At 23:59
‘..May the 4 2021 looks like a good day in court. Will you be there JC?’
+++++++++++++++++++++
If the Courts are open again, Cluster One, I’ll be there: wouldn’t miss it for the world!
It would be very nice to see the Charlie boy in the witness box.
I don’t know if he can be compelled to attend to give evidence? It would be exciting times for all involved in the Administration and the SAP and 5-Way Agreements, especially if Charlie is nursing any kind of wee grudge against anyone who might have profited a bit more than he did
[BDO have played a very long game very ,very carefully.
I wish I knew whether in such a case, there is scope for D&P (the company, not Whitehouse and Clark) to negotiate a deal and settle the matter out of court(without admission of ‘guilt,’] rather than see it going the distance?
Is it theoretically possible that all the money owed to all the creditors including HMRC could be won, the creditors all being paid what is outstanding to them, all costs of BDO paid, and RFC of 1872 brought out of Administration!
What entertainment that would give us! It really would make an absolute farce of Scottish Football Governance.]
Upthehoops 30th March 2021 At 08:0
‘..I don’t think the notion Ibrox should have been sold off is wrong at all,’
++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree.
The Administrators’ job was to do all that they could to save the club as a going concern.
They did not do so. The Administration failed because the Administrators failed to find a buyer prepared to take on the debt.
The Administrators’ duty was then to maximise the value of the assets .
BDO would argue , it seems, that the Administrators failed in their duty to do so.
And, I would argue, the Administrators subsequently played a part in the construction of the ‘5-way Agreement’ with the Football authorities under which the nonsensical lie was created that somehow they HAD found a buyer for the club!
One does not need to be a lawyer to see that BDO would seem to have an arguable case, more power to their elbow.
That whole mess occasioned (ultimately) by SDM has so blighted Scottish Football and needs to be faced up to.
[And on the matter of cheating, if the Celtic Board think even for a minute of hiring that sports cheat Thierry Henri as their coach, they will in my opinion, show themselves even more clearly as being of the SDM cast of mind]
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56580699
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56580699
So that makes it a total of 34 matches missed with 10 suspended for the two breaches of the covid- 19 rules by Rangers players.
@ Paddy Malarkey – thanks for sharing. It begs the question what took them so long. Six or seven weeks since all five were banged to rights by Police Scotland, fixed penalties issued and not disputed. It’s almost as though the SFA seek out opportunities to demonstrate their lack of competence (or worse). Now imagine if this involved five first team players who had been allowed to play through a tight title race, including a game against closest rivals? Fergus smoked out Jim Farry many years ago and yet, and yet… compare and contrast with how the NHL acted as referenced by Vernallen.
Looks to me like a managed outcome – they will all be available for latter rounds of the Scottish Cup and , of course , the final League game v Aberdeen at Ibrox .
Lots of comings and goings in the lower league pyramid (tier 5 and below) over the last few days.
The Highland League declared Brora as champions on a PPG basis, despite only playing 3 games this season (a couple of teams hadn’t played any).
The Lowland League declared Kelty as champions on a PPG basis having played 13 (of 32) games despite having previously agreed to Null & Void the league if less than 50% of games had been played.
Despite the apparent madness in those decisions there is some means to be had. Declaring champion clubs is the only way that the LL and HL could put teams forward to the SPFL play-off. Now the focus will switch to the SPFL. Will they put club 42 up for the play-off in a curtailed 22 game season (potentially Brechin or Albion Rovers) or will they again ignore their obligations to the pyramid? Alternatively there is the prospect of reconstruction, with or without Colt teams and and admit Brora and Kelty directly. Anything to save Brechin for a second season, perhaps?
Further down the pyramid at tier 6, the WOSFL has been declared Null & Void, as has the SOSFL. The EOSFL hasn’t declared their hand as yet in the hope that their top side might get directly admitted to an expanded LL. The top side in the EOSFL on PPG is currently Jeanfield Swifts, just ahead of Tranent. Both sides are licensed so would meet the entry criteria for the LL.
Finally, following a meeting of the SFA’s Pyramid Working Group earlier today, decisions have apparently been taken to facilitate the Highland League’s adoption of three feeder leagues, the North Caledonian League, the North Region Juniors and a newly established Midland League (predominately Tayside junior sides). All three leagues would be joining the pyramid structure.
If it goes ahead, then it will create a single structure for all semi-pro football in Scotland. It’s taken a long time, but it looks as if its just about within reach. Such a move would also mark the end for Junior football with all its history, which would be sad in many ways, but has been on the cards for a few years now.
Now the difficult bit begins to sort out reconstruction, league catchment areas, play-offs, promotion/relegation, finances, licensing requirements etc.
Now that the CL maybe a place too far for Scottish teams with the proposed changes looking to be accepted, the term “sporting integrity” now surfaces in the Scottish media. Where was the use of that term during the EBT years and the ensuing fall-out, i.e. potential administration, liquidation, and the current magical financial on goings at one club.
The SFA certainly took their time in getting the suspensions in place. Certainly helped with player coverage due to injury situation Then Rangers have the cheek to state we will review and advise. Who writes the rules.
Upthehoops 30th March 2021 At 08:0
‘..I don’t think the notion Ibrox should have been sold off is wrong at all,’
++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree.
The Administrators’ job was to do all that they could to save the club as a going concern.
They did not do so. The Administration failed because the Administrators failed to find a buyer prepared to take on the debt.
…………………………………….
D Murray rejected £33mill from Andrew Ellis for the whole thing in june 2010.
………
From 2003 The exercise increased the accounting value of the property from pounds 85mill to pounds 120mill a surplus increased by a further pounds 4mill by the elimination of depreciation.
……….
Green was later to value it at 80mill after an outlay of £5.5mill.
……………………
From BDO report Dec 10 2020
The joint liquidators had sought detailed explanations regarding certain aspects of the strategy implemented by the joint administrators during the administration. A substantive responce to our requests was not received and we continue to liaise closely with the committee in considering the further actions in relation to these investigations.
……
The administrators trying to get a new player signed when the club had just entered administration will not help them one bit
Interesting little football-related judgment yesterday.
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FAPL-and-SIS-v-Lord-Chancellor-judgment.pdf
Briefly, the English FA and a company called SIS won a private prosecution against guys who ran a big illicit TV screening scam of Premier league matches through a network of 250 odd pubs. Guys were jailed for 4 years fraud and breach of copyright.
The FA and SIS were awarded costs, but only the costs as from the date of commencement of proceedings.
They were denied other costs ( of £87,050.33 and £78,846.30 respectively] on the basis that these were costs or expenses incurred before the commencement of the criminal proceedings.
They appealed, and won.
Slavia crank it up a bit .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56595234
The complaints from Scottish media that their English counterparts downplay the Scottish game as second rate, certainly isn’t helped by comments surrounding the appointment of a new Celtic manager. Almost every name brought forward is mentioned as a blockbuster showdown with Gerrard. Don’t they realize there are other teams involved and this is a slap in the face to them. You only have to pit your wits against Gerrard and the other teams are only there to make up the league.
Some interesting comments on some Rangers site in regard to finances. One of the most telling is the use of the recent share offering is to cover current on going expenses and not to be used for the Ranger’s museum.
Vernallen 31st March 22.33
Given that it was season 1984/85 when one of the non Old Firm teams last won the league title is it not understandable why some journalists think this way?.
Why is it “telling” that money raised from the upcoming share issue (not offer) is being used to cover “on going expenses” as opposed to the museum?.
The share issue as mentioned in my previous post was for 11,000,000 shares to be issued at a value of £2,200,000.
Per Companies House,
RIFC plc : another Share issue from 30 March 2021, 11 000 000 @20p , bringing total shares in issue to
368,291,872……..
Running low on the readies…..?
John Clark 1st April 11.15
In 2015 Dave King said that investors, including himself, would cover any shortfall in the finances.
The the last set of accounts intimated that a sum of £8.8 million would be required by way of debt or equity funding until the end of season 20/21.
Therefore this latest tranche of money can’t possibly come as a surprise to anybody surely?.
Vernallen 31st March 2021 At 22:33
‘..One of the most telling is the use of the recent share offering is to cover current on going expenses and not to be used for the Ranger’s museum.’
Albertz11 1st April 2021 At 10:36
‘…The share issue as mentioned in my previous post was for 11,000,000 shares to be issued at a value of £2,200,000.’
+++++++++++++++++++++++
were you both referring to the same share issue of 30 March? or was Vernallen referring to the previous one on 19 March?
Geegs rewarded .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56604689
John Clark 1st April 12.43
I was referring to the 30th March issue John.
Paddy Malarkey 1st April 13.17
Richly deserved imo. Both he and Steve Davis set a standard and level of professionalism that should be a lesson to others in the game.
Looking at Companies House , it appears that RIFC has raised quite a bit internally since the revered Mr King left town .
Sept 30 , 2020 – GBP 3,028,819.82
Nov 1 ,2020 – GBP 3,221,969.12
Nov 17 , 2020 – GBP 3,272,418.72
Dec 10 , 2020 – GBP 3,409,918.72
Dec 14 , 2020 – GBP 3,410,418.72
March 19 , 2021 – GBP 3,572,918.72
March 30,2021 – GBP 3,682,918.72
Don’t you just love those wee 1872’s ?
By my calculations , that’s £23,599,382.54 raised in little over six months . A whole lot of staunchness going on , if so .
I always find it interesting when players get towards the end of their playing careers and it becomes a fairly public commercial assessment of the club as to how much longer to commit to the player. Always that fear that the legs will suddenly “give up” and the club left with paying for an extra expensive cheerleader.
I am curious as to game time for both Brown and Davies next season. Less obvious with GKs but reflexes and reach also drop off, sometimes alarmingly.
No room for nostalgia- just ask anyone who played for Fergie!
Regarding the recent share issues at RIFC
Stuart Gibson has increased his shareholding from 7.33% to 10.86% and becomes the third highest shareholder at the club.
The total number of shares he currently holds has increased from 25.000.000 to 40.000.000 which amounts to an investment of £3 million.
Paddy Malarkey 17.06.
Not quite what the figures represent Paddy.
Is it not about a year ago we had Tampergate ? Manipulation of brakes ? I can remember a man being charged with an offence but can’t remember or find any outcome .
Albertz11 1st April 2021 At 18:07
What do they represent then . I just copied and pasted from Companies House . Just bare figures with no background info . Or are you referring to the wee 18.72’s ?
Following ‘Off the Ball’ last weekend when the sea-shanty TRFC fan Nathan was given a guest spot to plug his wares, an old rugby player 9who now hosts a kind-of-a- news-current-affairs programme on BBC Radio Scotland0 had another TRFC fan on this evening to plug his new ‘rap’- and ,in it ,the big untruth about the ’55’.
Honest to God.
What are they like ,from top down to the sports hacks and others in their disregard for sporting truth and honesty?
Paddy Malarkey 1st April 19.31.
The figures are from the number of allotted shares after each share issue and not the amounts raised. The most recent (30/03) saw 11,000,000 new shares issued at 20p each raising £2.200,000. The number of allotted shares then increases accordingly from 357291872 to 368219872.
As i said previously Stuart Gibson has increased his % shareholding as have George Taylor, George Lethem and John Bennett.
Never watched any of the Scotland games lost interest in the SFA.
A Rangers musuem that stopped collecting arifacts 2012
Buying worthless shares to date among a board and best buds in a club that is in debt is strange logic, when do you stop digging or when does UEFA wake up and tell clubs FFP is in force, you either have the readies or you do not, and Therangers borrowing from each other and without a credit line it is clear they do not have the readies.
Radio shows and SMS media is best ignored gave up on all the imposters and that includes Celtic ones if they spout the same club lie and myth.
Albertz11 April 1sr/21/9:29
I believe, if I understood correctly, Club 1872 believed some of the funds raised where to go to the museum fund and appeared to be quite surprised when Stewart Robertson advised that wasn’t the case. What appears to be telling is 7 share issues since last September and the amount of funds raised which seems to be well in excess of the 8.8 million quoted to see out the year. It does not present a case of a club/company in robust financial health with repeated trips to the financial well. The closeness of the amount of shares issued in each case I would think quite a coincidence as well. I understand shares are issued on a sometimes regular basis and think it would be difficult to find a similar situation in other businesses.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19205631.judge-ruling-opens-door-criminal-action-prosecutors-police-malicious-rangers-fraud-probe/
Judge ruling opens door for criminal action against prosecutors and police over malicious Rangers fraud probe.
I am astounded that even for the media in this country there has not been far more pressure put on the authorities over this. What on earth were Police and Prosecutors trying to achieve and what was the motive behind it? I guess I’ve probably answered my own question because the media might not want to constantly ask a question they might not like the answer to.
My personal view is that it doesn’t matter how important a certain football club is perceived to be by the media and others with influence, when innocent people could have been jailed and the Scottish taxpayer is out of pocket by tens of millions then we are entitled to answers.
Vernallen 2nd April 01.45
As i’m not a member of Club 1872 i have limited knowledge of how they operate. I do believe that monies raised are split 47.5% each between buying shares and Club1872 projects, which could cover the museum to be included in the new build on the site of the former Edmiston House
The figure of £8.8 million was included in the annual accounts dated 17/11. If you include the share issues from and including that date, then a total of just over £9.2 million has been raised.
The club are fortunate to have such a loyal group of investors willing to back the club financially.
Albertz11 1st April 2021 At 22:08
I took the figures to be the value of the transaction . I’m not suggesting that the club raised all that money in cash , merely that they printed more shares and bought them among themselves to the value of £23,599,382.54 . The reasons and mechanisms would probably not be public knowledge .
Paddy Malarkey 2nd April 12.35
As i said previously the figures are NOT the value of the transactions.
They are the total number of allotted shares after each share issue.
As of 31/03 RIFC have a total of 368,291.872 ordinary shares.
If you look at the 23,599.382 raised in share offerings since last September, on average, this would come awfully close to the monthly operating costs of the team. What do these loyal group of investors get in return. In this time of a world wide pandemic I would prefer to keep my money closer to home and look for something where I can see a return in the near future, not, hopefully based on CL money down the road.
Vernallen – if the investors are investing as fans and not looking for a financial return then it makes sense that, if funding monthly operating expense shortfalls that they provide the cash on a monthly basis (as a private company the cost of doing so is minimal on the company). It might give the finance director a few sleepless nights waiting for the cash to arrive, but avoids the risk of money for operations being splurged on a new player.
For me the more interesting point is what does it mean for player transfers in the summer. Do TRFC stick or twist in pursuit of CL money? Without a line of credit how would transfers be funded – Ticketus? A further point which I think affects TRFC more than Celtic next season is not having the preliminary rounds to negotiate. I think both clubs have benefitted in recent years from these rounds by bringing confidence and fitness from winning those matches into the main Europa League competition (I know Celtic bombed this year but I believe other factors played a part).
Paddy Malarkey 2nd April 2021 At 12:35
‘..I’m not suggesting that the club raised all that money in cash , merely that they printed more shares and bought them among themselves to the value of £23,599,382.54 . ‘
++++++++++++++++++++++
The Companies House pages relating to the recent and previous RIFC plc share issues have the statement
” No shares allotted other than for cash”.
That is, not in exchange for shares in another company or for anything else.
I’m not sure whether it means that the purchaser has to pay the full purchase price up front, or can only part of the price for each share while being liable, of course, for the whole amount if the company calls it in.
A company desperate for cash is not likely to sell shares if that wasn’t going to raise the amount of money needed at the time of sale: I would think there wouldn’t be much point in doing that?
But perhaps someone will tell us if the recent issues were fully paid up?
Albertz11 2nd April 2021 At 13:03
Ah , got you now . Allocated shares
42,250,000 between 23/9/20 and 30/9/20
19,314,931 on 1/11/20
5,044,960 on 17/11/20
13,750,000 between 18/11/20 and10/12/20
50,000 on 14/12/20
16,250,000 from 19/3/21
11,000,000 on 30/3/21
All @ £0.2 and no shares allocated other than for cash .
That would be 107,659,891 shares yielding £21 531,978.20 ?
Color me surprised. Rangers to appeal Covid 5 suspensions. How long will it take the SFA to hear the appeal, render a decision, etc. I would suspect it may be a helluva lot quicker than the original process. They may add an apology for troubling Rangers with such minor issue. Did Rangers appeal the suspension of the earlier covid violators. Does the appeal allow them to play until a verdict on the appeal is finalized…
@Vernallen – I can only assume TRFC are following appeal process that they are allowed to. I won’t blame them for doing so but for me points to the SFAs processes being not fit for purpose. Suspensions were given for breaching two rules (rule 24, being a breach of Coronavirus rules, and rule 77, not acting in best interest of football). Given that the players were issued with fixed penalty notices by Police Scotland, this should be an open and shut case, with penalties for breaches clearly laid out by the SFA – there should be no room for dispute over the penalties imposed.
If the SFA had not laid out the penalties in advance this is sheer incompetence.
If TRFC is appealing because they can, but with no clear grounds of appeal such an appeal should run the risk of incurring a penalty.
If TRFC look to argue that they had suspended the players that to me is completely irrelevant as the clubs can’t dispense their own justice.
Completely off-topic, but enjoyed the feature on Athletic Bilbao on BBC football page. An approach that feels more sustainable and connected to fans than the two super clubs in Spain.
Vernallen 2nd April 2021 At 22:49
‘.. Does the appeal allow them to play until a verdict on the appeal is finalized…’
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Afraid so, Vernallen!
From the judicial panel protocol:
“Suspension of Determination pending appeal
14.12 Subject to Paragraph 14.10 once a Notice of Appeal has been validly delivered in terms of
the provisions of Section 15, the Determination against which the Notice of Appeal is
submitted shall be suspended until such time as the matter has been heard by the Appellate
Tribunal hearing the appeal, and its Determination has been communicated or delivered to
the Alleged Party in Breach, following which the suspension of the Determination shall end,
unless the Determination of the Appellate Tribunal hearing the appeal provides otherwise”
There appears not to be any scope for considering ‘an appeal’ by a Party against a decision of a ‘Disciplinary Tribunal’ just to be an attempt to act the madam! [although the CO can appeal against too lenient a sentence!]
Rangers appealing their covid bans seems to me that they are simply gaming the system. Arrogance doesn’t even begin to describe it. They should consider themselves lucky that the SFA and Scottish Govt. conveniently ignored multiple covid breaches by their management and players when they won the league. Then again their fans were given the free run of Glasgow by the Police at the same time, while the rest of us were being told to stay in the house.
One Scotland, many cultures we are told, but one culture is still clearly regarded and treated as superior over all others.
Would the idea of an appeal for the Covid 5 be in place if the injured Ranger’s player was available for selection. Surely with the amount of players they have available a juggle of the lineup could have been used and given some of the lesser players game time. Since they appear to be “invincible” and with the manager they have it appears to be a simple solution. However with the “namby pamby” attitude of the SFA nothing should come as a surprise. As I stated earlier if you put forward a 6 game suspension it should be the 6 games, not 4 with 2 suspended. If players follow the rulings on suspensions this can play into their hands and lead to ugly incidents down the road.
Happy Easter to one and all.
Just in the passing, there was an email in my inbox yesterday from the ICIJ.
I sent the following reply
“Dear Hamish Boland-Rudder
“..And so we truly learned the full and awesome power of collaborative, deep-dive investigative journalism” ”
That’s a sentence I lifted from your email of 3 April, an email which I read with interest.
But I read it with a kind of detached, ‘academic’ ,interest rather than with a deeply-felt personal interest.
Not that I do not understand that the big baddies in the world of high international financial skulduggery ultimately affect me and my family by their criminal money-laundering, tax-evasion and perhaps complicity in God-knows-what aspects of political corruption.
I do understand very well , in my intellect, that what the ICIJ Team do is incredibly important.
But somehow that intellectual understanding does not translate into the feeling of rage that is engendered when I learn that I have been ripped off by , say, a local second-hand car dealer or some such!
Or when so-called journalists (including sports journalists in the BBC) in a wee small country such as Scotland buy into and propagate a sporting lie!
Of course, this is small beer compared with the lies and deceit of FIFA that were investigated by the US soccer authorities and the FBI; and very successfully investigated.
Soccer fans worldwide rejoiced to see ‘bad guys’ in the sport on which they spend good honest money being nailed for being less than honest and true in their governance responsibilities and duties.
There was emotional satisfaction in seeing truth being sought, and dishonest people being brought to book.
I come to the point I wish to make:
There are suspicions here in Scotland that
a) the Scottish Football Association colluded with a particular financially distressed football club to ensure that that club , in spite of not being entitled under the Rules relating to tax indebtedness, nevertheless was given a license to compete in UEFA competitions, thus automatically gaining several millions of pounds with the possibility of gaining several millions more if the club succeeded in winning games.
b) there are serious questions to be asked about how a soccer/football club that was admitted , as a new football club, into Scottish Football in 2012 can be described for financial marketing purposes as being the very same football club founded in 1872 ,that is presently in Liquidation, having gone bust in 2012.
The Press in Scotland have totally refused to investigate these matters as have the football authorities.
In fact, the BBC has disciplined the occasional individual employee who has made ‘unacceptable’ observations.
Now, here’s the thing!
I understand that one or two Scottish journalists are part of the ICIJ team !
Would it be possible to ask those Scottish members of the ICIJ team to have a wee in-depth investigation into the SFA and the awarding of a UEFA competitions licence to RFC plc of 1872 and into SevcoScotland and the 5-Way Agreement of 2012?
If FIFA were called into question, is it too much to suggest that a wee national football governance body and a new football club could and should have a wee forensic light shone upon them?
Down at very basic man-in-the-street level an investigation at that everyday level carries much more immediate relevance.
Cheers,
upthehoops 2nd April 2021 At 07:07
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https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19205631.judge-ruling-opens-door-criminal-action-prosecutors-police-malicious-rangers-fraud-probe/
……………………………………..
Thanks for the link.
Never seen much of that reported, very quite.
Steven Gerrard explains covid appeal while praising Nathan Patterson:
“We don’t think everything has been taken into consideration.
“We’re talking about one of the brightest prospects ever in terms of right-back. All of the sudden the SFA want to ban him for that long”.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
I don’t think even Rangers under David Murray could have taken arrogance to this level.
@UTH – I don’t know where you got the SG quote from (not doubting you), but if true he should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute as he quite clearly is calling out the competence of the SFA proceedings. And to begin to suggest that, because Patterson has potential (in his opinion-I haven’t seen enough to form a view) that this should provide him with special treatment is beyond belief. Maybe someone can better explain the SG quote as something other than an iteration of WATP.
Of course we live in an Alice in Wonderland world – are the SFA processes robust and fit for purpose? Almost certainly not – but can you call them out as such? Of course not, as that’s bringing the game into disrepute…
I agree with UTH and Workingcelt in regards to SG’s latest on the Covid 5. Does the punishment not fit because he believes one of the accused is a future star who only got into the lineup due to injury. I stand to be corrected on that point but don’t recall Patterson having featured in any games prior to that. Were the first tow violators deemed expendable so no need for an appeal. I believe a firm rap on the knuckles should be in store for SG for far too long has taken liberties, starting with his first ever game, with the SFA. Also I think SG and the Rangers support in general are placing a lot on Patterson’s shoulders talking about international stardom, etc. Does this not sound like the praise heaped on John Fleck many years ago. The Rangers management team must be complicit in the activities of the Covid 5 and should have stressed time and time again, following the initial incident, the rules involving Covid and external activities.
Wokingcelt 4th April 2021 At 22:41
The Gerrard quotes are widely reported by several media outlets. Bizarrely he has also chosen to mention that Steve Clarke won’t be too happy if Patterson gets a ban.
Gerrard’s players broke the rules and also broke the law. I am sickened by Gerrard’s attitude, and equally sickened at the meek acceptance of it by the media.
It so smacks of WATP.
Upthehoops 4th April 2021 At 22:56
‘..and equally sickened at the meek acceptance of it by the media.’
+++++++
no, no! not ‘the meek acceptance’ , surely, but the wholehearted support of the lying media!
Nothing new there.
The latest appeal, even for the Newco Rainjurz makes a complete mockery of the justice system.
Covid restrictions broken . Police involvement. Fine . Cautioned . Given credit by the government for quick decisive action, now they’re appealing the ban that was handed out, on grounds of what ? Potential ? Dear Doctor.
Excuse my cynicism, surely yesterday’s cup draw and their captain being injured doesn’t figure in this development ?
As ever , other clubs will meekly say, he haw .
Strictly business after all .
Sport ? My arse .
@UTH – thanks, have now seen SG comments on the bbc. I am at a complete loss to be honest. If the manager of Motherwell, Aberdeen, St Johnstone or any other club made these comments they would be crucified by the SFA, Scottish government and MSM.
My most acute/crystal clear football memories are of getting back on the supporters bus in the 80s and asking how Aberdeen and Dundee Utd (and latterly Hearts) had done. Had dropping a point at Dens Park cost my team? Had Hearts won again? There was a team missing from the calculus and I can’t help but think it was for the best for Scottish football: we qualified for Spain, Mexico and Italy world cups.
We can choose to be small-minded as a country and have nothing to offer or we can be truly open and welcoming and embrace what differences can bring. However I think my ashes will be blown to the four corners of the earth before that happens as the “Establishment” only see what they may lose and not what we all would gain..
Wokingcelt 5th April 2021 At 19:44
I have been thinking of the media reaction if Neil Lennon had said Bolingoli’s career could be ruined by having to serve a ban. There would have been carnage. Now we have a manager saying it’s not fair on his player to serve a ban, because he is too good, and it might affect his career. How is a four match ban going to affect his career? It might just teach him a valuable lesson though. What a four match ban will affect though is Rangers being able to field a recognised right back in a crucial cup game.
Do the media have no shame at all though?
Upthehoops 5th April 2021 At 20:08
‘..Do the media have no shame at all though?’
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The puppet Gerrard is only doing what the puppet masters tell him.
At least, I would hope that he was only following orders: he would be less ridiculously despicable than if he made those kinds of statements off his own stupid bat!
For a brief period a little while ago the PR folk at Ibrox were coming across in a less aggressively hostile and more reasonable way.
They seem now to have reverted to type!
@UTH – media reaction to NL…nuclear. Let’s imagine if NL had been helped by a person well-known to the police to resolve a local difficulty and that person was subsequently shot dead in a “hit”…
On a lighter note, what a nice, wee clever goal by QoS defender Maxwell!
That was another splendidly entertaining game, and would really have been exciting if Willie the Ref had whistled for the penalty!
And I speak as being nearly as complete a neutral as having had a very good friend who was a Hibs supporter, and whose son in Oz is my own son’s pal, can be!
Sounds like Dafoe is lobbying for a contract extension ( is he on a rumored 60 k a week) with all his apple polished stories in the DR. If the 60 k is true or anywhere near that I can’t see an extension being offered to a 38 year old. Bologun referring to Celtic as the other team is interesting, I’m sure he was well informed before landing at Ibrox on the two clubs. Also his comment that a goalie refuses to watch them on tv. I think any player worth his salt would want to watch any of their opposition looking for advantages to use in upcoming games. And, finally we have Barry Ferguson offering his opinion on the potential new manager at Celtic and no news of a signing. The team he played for brought in a manager following an on line interview, Celtic on the other hand, except for this year, usually does their business in a, with no need to be professional and quiet manner with no need to be harping on about “world” records, and, media opinions of their latest triumphs. What is the status of their latest appeal to the SFA. Perhaps the backlash from most sources has caused them to pause and think.
Vernallen 5th April 2021 At 22:43
‘..And, finally we have Barry Ferguson offering his opinion on the potential new manager at Celtic and no news of a signing.’
+++++++++++++++
Ah! dear old sneaky ‘two -fingers-to-the Scotland-team and Scottish football’ Barry!
An icon of Scottish Football?
Barry of the £2.5 M EBT, the ‘bankrupt ‘Barry, with assets transferred to the wife!
The taxman might not get to him as easily as he may yet get to the ‘very frightened’ EBT recipient McCann!(And others who owe HMRC substantial sums of unpaid tax!)
But, course, to any ordinary decent and honest person, Barry’s name is in effect ‘Mud’.
His opinion on anything whatsoever is not of any greater significance than anything that comes from the pen of Keef Jackson; and that’s saying something!
johnclark april 6th 2021 0:08
Its a sad but true story for some retired athletes that once the adulation is gone and the back slappers aren’t around anymore they become pundits. Have the occasional article posted and some former player ( particularly Ranger players) get their name in the media and conjure up memories of what once was .. Funny nobody asks him about the EBT years, surely he could comment on them..
Dominic McKay to join Celtic on 19 April, but take up officially in July.
Most folk will have seen the (expected) plethora of negativity clearly aimed at undermining Eddie Howe’s potential appointment as Celtic manager from the anti CFC agenda driven posse of SMSM, Nicholas, Boyd, Rae, Commons (whit a right wee gnaff he is!) etc. Strikes me that therein lurks fear – that Celtic could restore the natural order of the 9IAR years, thereby depriving the 9 year old club of further league success next season. Time will tell I guess.
(As an aside, regarding the ‘age’ of said 2020/21 champions, I don’t see anywhere on their current emblems, badges, strips etc the date of 1872 to indicate that they have existed continuously since then. Is that a tacit admission that they are indeed a new club? A good few clubs have the date they were founded on jerseys. Am I wrong? If so – apologies! Ahm jist no sure!)
Anyway, back to Eddie Howe. Hitherto, before any links to Celtic, no one seemed to make any disparaging comments about his managerial and coaching abilities (wasn’t he linked with Arsenal at one point?). From most accounts, he received a great deal of praise and positive views.
What might have changed dear readers?
One of the stupidest and most pathetic comments to date for me is this extract from an article in Football Insider (Paul Robinson):-
“Howe, a natural introvert, could be put off being at a club where the expectation is to win every match”
Please read that again – whitaloadaguff!!!
Just noticed this from last Thursday’s Court Roll:
LORD TYRE – T Sadler, Clerk
Tuesday 6th April
Proof Before Answer (12 days)
CA72/20 David Grier v The Lord Advocate &c ”
I might try and listen in tomorrow.
This appeared today, JC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56651684
Nawlite 6th April 2021 At 17:52
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56651684
“Mr Whyte bought the company that ran the Glasgow football club”
Perhaps the investigation will reveal to the BBC that there was no company that ran the Glasgow football club. Then again perhaps they will keep looking the other way and pretend they didn’t notice.
Nawlite 6th April 2021 At 17:52
‘.This appeared today, JC.’
++++++++++++++++++
Thanks for that, Nawlite: I would probably have missed that report otherwise.
Macfurgly 6th April 2021 At 20:16
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56651684
“Mr Whyte bought the company that ran the Glasgow football club”
Perhaps the investigation will reveal to the BBC that there was no company that ran the Glasgow football club. Then again perhaps they will keep looking the other way and pretend they didn’t notice.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++
A little bit further on in that report and we have this ( in reference to Whyte):
” He was accused of using Rangers’ own money to buy the club while claiming the funds were his”
As ever, those who lie must keep remembering the lie or else they slip up, as whoever wrote that BBC report did even as he/she was writing it!
The relatively small fry who penned that report will probably be drawn aside and disciplined for writing that Whyte was buying the ‘club ‘
But it’s the top brass who, like so many self-seeking, self-protective, gutless ‘gauleiters’ under the Third Reich, so disgracefully accepted and obeyed orders from the BBC Trust in 2012 to LIE to the nation and propagate an insulting myth ,who should be disciplined.
The BBC Trust is no more, of course, but their lie continues.
John Clark April 6/21 22:10
I believe in most cases involving the on going story of Rangers/Sevco. or whatever name they appear to be operating under, as you get farther away from 2012, you get more lazy journalism. Why dig into the history/records when you scalp the information from previous stories, re-phrase a sentence or two, and ergo you have what they think is a new twist. Job done, everybody happy, except for those who have followed the saga and know the ins and outs and continue to keep the rightful version in front of the people. Don’t give up, there may be a dedicated, resourceful journalist out there who has a look and realizes that there is a helluva of story here and actually goes to print, tv, and radio with it.
wokingcelt 4th April 2021 At 22:41
@UTH – I don’t know where you got the SG quote from (not doubting you), but if true he should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute
…………………………..
Still wating on his charge of bringing the game into disrepute from this time last year, also for parks comments and Robertsons comments and releasing sensitive information that the SPFL said they would deal with but as yet nothing.
upthehoops 4th April 2021 At 22:56
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………………………….
What part of Red card did the lad not grasp? NS put it in terms that even players would understand was a no can do.
There was an old fan who swallowed a lie;
I don’t know why he swallowed a lie – Perhaps he’ll die!
There was an old fan who swallowed a myth
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled his girth
he swallowed the myth to feed the lie;
I don’t know why he swallowed a lie – Perhaps he’ll die!
There was an old fan who swallowed a rumour;
How absurd to swallow a rumour!
he swallowed the rumour to feed the myth
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled his girth!
he swallowed the rumour to feed the lie;
I don’t know why he swallowed a lie – Perhaps he’ll die!
There was an old fan who swallowed a fable;
Imagine that! he swallowed a fable!
he swallowed the fable to back up the myth
that fed the rumour that tickled his girth
to back up the lie that his club didn’t die
cause the men in the brogues were terribly sly
and sold him a dream to follow follow a team
that didnae exist or widnae be missed
by the rest of the world who remain rather pissed ……………..
to be continued
mibbees
Vernallen 6th April 2021 At 22:47
‘..there may be a dedicated, resourceful journalist out there who has a look and realizes that there is a helluva of story here and actually goes to print, tv, and radio with it.’
+++++++++++++++++
Well, we had high hopes of Alex Thomson, of course!
But I think he was frightened off by some gorilla of a sports hack in the mean streets of Glasgow!
Or, perhaps more likely, warned off by his own media bosses and told not to ‘interfere’ in matters that don’t concern his and their English viewers/readers.
And, to be fair to him, reporting on possible corruption in a sports governance body in what the rest of the world thinks is a nice wee part of somewhere in the north of England is not really going to win you any ‘journalist of the year’ prizes.
And why should he bother when ‘journalists’ living in the feckin’ place are on the side of untruth?[ That’s actually a much better story! But who’s going to write it? ]
There is not a liquidation-denying journalist in all the SMSM who could look me in the eye without embarrassment at knowing that I know that he/she is worse than worthless as a journalist -and also as a man/woman.
The truth ALWAYS emerges, sooner or later.
Timtim 6th April 2021 At 23:40
‘..cause the men in the brogues were terribly sly
and sold him a dream to follow follow a team
that didnae exist .’
..to be continued
mibbees
++++++++++++
Let’s have no mibbees!
Continue!
You have to work-in all the other evil-doers in the saga-the SFA, the SMSM, the LNS inquiry, good old Brysonisms, the cowed SPL and SFL .. but sing the praises of the only man to put his head above the parapet in the cause of sporting integrity and truth, Turnbull Hutton, God rest him!
You have talent there!
Rap? or maybe sea-shanty?
Maybe Stuart and Tam or big John Beattie will help sell your record by giving you free advertising [but using our licence money to do so?]
In a pig’s eye, would they! The BBC would not let them.
@ John Clark. Re Alex Thomson. I doubt he was frightened off given his track record, probably more that the story was told as much as the wider audience was interested.
Now perhaps he would be interested in the ongoing impact of tens of millions of Scottish Government money being spent on legal costs when public finances are stretched… if someone has the background details for the story maybe it could be pitched to him? May run well with the politics at this time.
Mr Moynihan qc taking pains this morning to emphasise to Grier and the Court and the media that nothing that he , Moynihan ,is asking is meant to imply that Grier is any way guilty of any offence, having been acquitted of all criminal charges.
Rather the questions he is asking are directed solely at trying to show that ,in the detail of the unusual financial arrangements under which Rangers loaned money (obtained from Ticketus by selling 3 seasons’ tickets in advance) to Wavetower to so that Wavetower could pay Lloyds there was enough to allow a Prosecutor to bring charges.
Grier very composed in his competently delivered replies.
Midmorning break
To reconvene at 11.45.
Court reconvened at 11.45.
A lot of referring to para this and para that of various documents in various folders, email-chains, and stuff that was learned during the English civil Court proceeding, about involvement of various people in ‘frantic communications’ about funds being available to complete the transaction, letter of comfort, people having ‘visibility’ of funds when what was required was absolute guarantee that the funds were there.
Two points of interest:
Mr Moynihan QC ended this morning’s proceedings with a clear allegation that Mr Grier had been misleading when he had ,in a witness statement, said that he had had no involvement in arranging for ‘show money’.
Mr Grier pooh-poohed that observation, but had in an email had merely been relaying the concerns of his client (Whyte).
Earlier, I was amused when Grier referred a couple of times to ‘the process of selling the club’- and not to some ‘holding company’.
I don’t think I’ll bother to try to tune in any further. The experience of virtual hearings is not quite the same as being in the court-room.
And there are things to do, and wifely orders to follow!
We’re in !
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56656500
Judging by something posted on another blog last night, the appeal and hearing etc for the Covid 5 might be sometime in the distant future. Writer was quoting from the guidelines and it got a little confusing. Apparently once the appeal is received they need to form a panel and the the group has 5 days to approve the panel, etc. Perhaps there is someone out there a little in touch with the guidelines and could take a look. By the tone of the posted item it might be well down the road and long after the upcoming Celtic/Rangers/Sevco games, allowing time for injuries to heal and let the latest rising star in Scottish Football show his wares.
vernallen 7th April 2021 At 17:39
Both sides have to agree on panel appointments. It will be some time down the road, the ibrox club know how to kick a can.
Cluster One 7th April 2021 at 23:26
Now that Tav has agreed to a contract extension the suspensions will probably carry over to the new season ensuring he is well and truly healed. Would be interesting should he pick up an injury and pre-season, would that lead to further appeals., The SFA may as well drop the rules regarding suspensions as the current system appears to be a mockery of rules. Maybe a re-write should be looked at after investigating other sporting organizations to see how they deal with suspensions, appeals, etc.
Rangers statement.
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/rangers-players-and-management-boycott-social-media/40OVL6DxYTOl0pbusoJ5e2
Cluster One 7th 23.26
Appeal date set for April 20th.
All players therefore free to play until then.
So the appeal for the Covid five will be heard on 20th April, which of course means Rangers will have right back cover v Celtic three days earlier. Utterly farcical that the initial hearing took so long in the first place, and it appears Rangers have been allowed to control the entire narrative. With a media willing to do its job that wouldn’t happen of course, but it’s no longer worthwhile even asking why they are not prepared to.
The recent photo of the Ranger’s brain trust brought to mind a couple of captions for each individual some kind some not. Opted for the kinder version, SG gazing into the future in regards to SFA ( Steve forever appealing rules), the coach with the finger in the eye ( we only need one eye to see them off on rules), the fellow with his finger in his, this doesn’t smell too bad coming from the SFA, and Gary MacAllister had to turn his back as he was laughing so hard, can’t believe we hood winked them again guys. What can we do to them next.
Celtic interim manager John Kennedy on delays in disciplinary process. Made me chuckle at how late he is to the party.
“…..Players played against us who probably should have been banned’’
” Kennedy cannot comprehend why the saga has become so protracted ..” reports Andrew Smith (The Scotsman”, today) about re-action to the 39 day delay in fixing the appeal hearing of the TRFC Covid-5.
It is clear from the Judicial Panel Protocol ( see Para 15 et seq] that in respect of ordinary appeals by players against a Disciplinary Tribunal decision the Judicial Panel Secretary (or his nominee) has absolutely arbitrary power to decide on the date of an appeal hearing, in that there’ no specified time period in which he must set up a Hearing.
The Judicial Panel Secretary can take as long as he likes over the process !
(The Judicial Panel secretary is appointed by the SFA Secretary( CEO))
And anyone in that position can act the madam with impunity, as can, of course, the SFA board.
Scottish Football governance was holed below the waterline in 2012 by the fabrication of the Big Lie, and holed again when the SFA simply refused to allow an independent investigation into the Res 12 UEFA licence matter.
I have no doubt in my mind about why the Covid-5’s appeals hearings were kicked into the long grass for so long!
I rather imagine Kennedy also has no doubts!!
The time for calling out the SFA was in 2012.
And Kennedy’s call will be met either with crap about the ‘independence’ of the Judicial Panel process and the people who operate it, or with some bureaucratic nonsense about unavailability of panel members or some such.
And nothing will change, because everyone is thirled to the Big Lie.
Don’t think there’s anything unusual about the the Rangers* appeal in the sense of “gaming the system”. In my TU days, I spent a lot of time poring through rulebooks looking for procedural loopholes that would allow an advantage at meetings, conferences etc.
I don’t think that Rangers* are any different from anyone else in that. The problem lies within the system itself, allowing the abuse to take place. With money and honours at stake, I’d expect any club to try to turn the rules to their own advantage.
With the league already won, and another trophy up for grabs, if a key player’s suspension could be deferred (at worst), I’d be expecting the same from my club/company 🙂
There is much to find fault in how Rangers * acquit themselves, including the ridiculous (if reported accurately) suggestion that discipline shouldn’t apply to a good player, but I’m not sure using the existing rules to you advantage is one such example.
John Clark
My instinct is to hope that the authorities do not systematically run their processes to deliberately give any one club an advantage. The car-crash over relegation last year gives me cause to think that there are some folk running the game who you wouldn’t send for a loaf or a pint of milk, and feeble minded folk have a habit of buckling readily in the face of any kind of assertive behaviour on the part of others.
However, it seems crazy that any club disadvantaged by the bendability of the feeble-minded would keep their own counsel in the matter.
As an example, Celtic (who might feel disadvantaged by the current shambles), who are often reluctant to go public about matters adversarial, are nonetheless quite adept at using the media to get their displeasure aired. On all matters involving both Rangers and Rangers*, Celtic (and others who have been cheated in the past) have remained silent.
That seems to me to be either an acceptance of what goes on – or a belief that everything is kosher.
Of course we have long been unable to explain the meek attitude of Scottish Football to proven cases of cheating by Rangers, so new club or not, at least some things appear to be no different.
Big Pink 9th April 2021 At 10:47
‘..My instinct is to hope that the authorities do not systematically run their processes to deliberately give any one club an advantage…’
+++++++++++++++++++++++
In which connection, maybe the upcoming Appellate tribunal will have a special look at para 15 of the Judicial Panel Protocol at
“15.9 Frivolous appeals and submissions
15.9.1 Where a Tribunal considers an appeal, it shall be open to the Tribunal to also
consider whether:
15.9.1.1 The individual bringing the appeal had no prospect of success;
15.9.1.2 The appeal is considered by the Tribunal to have been an abuse of
process or a delaying tactic for the sanction originally imposed; and/or
15.9.1.3 The appeal is considered by the Tribunal to have been a frivolous claim.”
It would be a brave tribunal which did not at least look at that para, with Gerrard’s fatuous and irrelevant comments in their minds as being nothing but despicable ‘gamesmanship’
[ps. I went to ‘Thumbs up ‘ you but my effort appeared and immediately returned to zero?]
https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/fraud-probe-into-rangers-was-based-on-panorama-documentary-court-hears.
…………………………………..
Fraud probe into Rangers was based on Panorama documentary, court hears
I listened into the Grier case this morning. Lord Mullholland (former Lord Advocate) was giving evidence. It was relatively short as he had submitted a written statement yesterday.
A couple of points of note: He distanced himself from the claim made previously by Gerry Moynihan in a hearing before Lord Malcolm that he had “his hand on the tiller” throughout the progression of the case. He acknowledged a supervisory role but was not involved in decision making. It sounded like he was prepared to throw Depute Advocate James Keegan under a bus. Moynihan objected to the line of questioning (the implication being that he had previously misled the court), but Lord Tyre overruled and allowed Grier’s QC to continue.
Lord Mullholland also made a brief reference to the sale of Rangers from administration, but quickly corrected himself by saying “sorry, the sale of Rangers assets”.
Big Pink 9th April 2021 At 10:47
My instinct is to hope that the authorities do not systematically run their processes to deliberately give any one club an advantage.
++++++++++++++++++++++=
I feel the issue is much broader than that. The rules on paper are the same for everyone. The wider attitude of the media and (in terms of Covid) the SNP Govt, have a major bearing on how those rules are applied. Both the media and Govt. have taken a far softer line with Rangers on Covid breaches than they have with Celtic. It makes it far easier for the SFA to rigorously apply rules when two such influential bodies are baying for the blood of one particular club.
We had a situation only four weeks ago where not only did Rangers management and players actively encourage Covid breaches among fans, they committed breaches themselves in terms of car sharing, social distancing, and mask wearing. Yet compared to the outrage from the media and Govt. over a poolside photo of Celtic in Dubai, there was zero mention let alone criticism of any breaches involving Rangers management and staff.
Had the media and Govt. created a huge stink about Ranger Covid breaches the SFA might just have felt they were on shakier ground in terms of how they dealt with the matter. Instead the entire situation is now beyond farcical, and whether or not it actually is, looks (to quote from a recent major political issue) to be ‘tainted with apparent bias”.
Another 20 million .Directors keeping their side of the bargain , it seems .
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/oPXIq1V9S7CCQPWPf9S-36RInwR2h88giwpQM_lWDjo/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3MRRX6QUY%2F20210409%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210409T162409Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEBsaCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJGMEQCIDs8LmvLcdwVfifBi1J%2FULzifLGWZwPcri3lst1dxyxfAiBvQeKiTuYH%2BhjEEyd6XGStGqfCO9CbPunpqUimYb7Nfyq0Awh0EAMaDDQ0OTIyOTAzMjgyMiIMKyDEiDOPj0f5anYsKpEDdYsbpaX%2BUI%2FZf7E7Buy0sqIvzxYYrrxrjx3%2BW1UI08dtErHusrun0Gr0VPvjMOPCYp5zCG2wGvZh5gC%2Bx3PT%2Bfh4DBw4rj5wuda7%2B6biQxE2iPSdaO7KzSWyt0BjUqdXt52iJFSA0QjOrNWgWwIo0tS4wiONsv%2FpDGs1lrUvbIHMT4Zxzz4%2BLmKsKcx4aHl8w7SIrsmXAgEnQ08s9yWqe1Fvgefz2RvvKrhXi%2BkFsE4RdtvBMcrHhlBpaviuWytC2gC%2FvfkfIr9Rq8LG8JYL9lNHs5bbXkGsXrTsMtqiD3YSFiOcM9I%2Bp7n0dmlJQgnAXjHEBygiK4%2BAaLLQCrAaVdPsDxauKsFQk3k37Cy1iz8IMoPck7bSMaGnUpL6upwLt7Spw170OdTf0%2BSBP8quCeSlBnjlQ6ykHUTFBUYmjvsFNOZPKH%2FIIW8Fy08x6Qw8XtB89bTSZPKmXV0DSsDbSiovL0kvTyql%2FAYJBWdF1Bnvs6zKdpc13voHknGl78BHWcZi65Q6M67fG5dQ%2F4UdlKAwmN%2FAgwY67AFJeB03kMpuBe%2Bv5rXxm54rKYfgrkcMfMXG48KjrQBxKNgcoNqbG%2FFp0PrFqT81cZdZ80RRjpmkDo9SHX280qe%2Bvo0rwY%2F5AZAxpQf5OgDxyl14dXEhuXgFy1R4qTuFgpyb7sCnBgPNRX%2BXUDaablxU%2B8EzHdRtvfE4p740Jinm9hH4%2Buc4cnGf0Zlea1%2F4b4k8TIkpaGLIgQI4KmDOtu8bOSTh4CzEeBPqY0BpoMLeDVwGWKYknIOdk5c87He1Y2r3ID4jTh3U2iv9GWfdb11qGbgr%2BAK9H%2F6SIacQad0JjlWLfPEw10RjIlaLyA%3D%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=63cc83558dcecfde9282c9c8caba30282833d1f19ea230c3618dea6fb23500e7
Paddy Malarkey 9th April 2021 At 17:25
‘ another 20 milion’
+++++++++++++
Gremlins got you there, PM!
Yes 20 million shares issued from yesterday @20p each.
Desperate need for cash, I imagine.
It’s a wonder they could stump up the appeal deposit for the Covid-5 @ £1000 a head!
Have they been told they’ll winm and get it back?
John Clark 9th April 2021 At 17:59
I read on social media that Carlos Pena won an unfair dismissal claim against them, was awarded £2.1m, and that another load of share confetti was required to settle up. No idea if fact.
I can’t fathom how the Celtic board cannot reach decisions on manager, DofF, etc. They are receiving plenty of advice from the likes of Kris Boyd, Craig Moore, who seem to have a pipeline to the Celtic boardroom. The best part of this unsolicited and basically useless advice is that it’s free. Only if all these ex-Rangers had come forward in the EBT years.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56688895
Perhaps Livingston should ask for tips on how to get round this.
John Clark 9th April 2021 At 17:59
Just a lack of competence , JC ! I still regard this stuff as being akin to magic . With one club in particular , that would be necromancy .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56694630
Upthehoops 9th April 2021 At 18:14
” ..I read on social media that Carlos Pena won an unfair dismissal claim against them”
++++++++++++++++++
Sadly, UTH, I don’t see any record of such a case on BAILLI (British and Irish Legal Information Institute)
http://www.bailii.org
which publishes even Employment Tribunal stuff.
I think TRFC referred in its statement at the time that Pena’s contract was terminated by’ mutual consent,’ which probably means that Pena did not do too badly out of it, or at least well enough to prevent him taking an unfair dismissal action.
(But perhaps BAILLII is not quite up to date-Pena left only in Feb 2019……..and BAILLII may not yet have got round to reporting. Unlikely, I’d say, with regret!)
Upthehoops 9th April 2021 At 19:44
‘But an insufficient youth system and lack of published accounts could bar the club from Uefa competition’
++++++++++
Apologies, but for some reason I’ve only just seen this post of yours, UTH.
Oh, I love it!
What do we have?
A serious, very serious matter!
‘Lack of published accounts’, eh, what?
Whoooofff!
What in heaven’s name would UEFA make of
-FALSE statements about social taxes indebtedness made by a club
-the uncritical ENDORSEMENT of those false statements by the licensing committee of the National Football Association of which that club has not been a very long member
Have there been allegations that such things might have happened?
If so, have those allegations been independently investigated?
In respect of one national association , I understand, the answer to question one is ‘YES’
and to question two, a not unpredictable ‘NO’
Honest to God!
And can I just say that the death of HRH Prince Philip is of infinitely less emotional significance to me than were the deaths of my mum and dad.
But obviously I understand that his widow and children and wider family may be affected as we all are at the death of a loved one or close relative.
I sympathise and condole with them as I do with any family that suffers a bereavement
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56694137
Senior judge Lord Mulholland gives evidence in Rangers damages case
A senior judge has been giving evidence in the £7m damages case brought by business expert David Grier over his prosecution in the Rangers fraud probe.
Lord Mulholland, who is now a High Court judge, was the head of Scotland’s prosecution service at the time Mr Grier was charged in 2014.
The former lord advocate denied having his “hand on the tiller” of the doomed Rangers investigation.
He said other Crown lawyers made the key decisions in the investigation.
Ally McCoist is right when he states the Covid 5 situation is not John Kennedy’s concern. It’s the concern of any club who has played the Rangers since the incident first surfaced more than two months ago, and it should be the concern of the clubs who will have to play following the split in league games. There is a lot at stake for a number of these clubs including the potential of European football next season. These clubs should follow the lead set by Rangers and swamp the SFA with letters demanding answers NOW, not two months or longer later. What took so long from the initial reporting of the incident until where we are today. As Bomber Brown claimed long ago “show me the deeds”, the clubs should be demanding “show me the paper trail.” Would it not be sweet justice if the undefeated season fell during the games following the split, and, for a double dose of sweetness, elimination from the Scottish Cup.
Hats off to Graham Spiers in his column today:
“…I commend Rangers FC, the club I supported passionately as a kid but have been extremely critical of in my working life, for their anti-racism stand in the wake of the Glen Kamara outrage. The rise of racism in our society is worrying — fuelled by social media — and football can play its part. But I do just want to check: Rangers FC are just as animated and passionate, aren’t they, about fighting anti-Catholic and anti-Irish bigotry, which have been blights around the club for decades? They are, aren’t they?”
Rangers of course are right to be angry about the alleged racism towards Kamara, but Spiers aside they are getting a very easy ride from the media. They are being portrayed as some kind of saint like trailblazers in the fight against racism, when the fact is if fans were currently attending games, the huge issue they still have among a section of their support would be laid bare.
I have completely given up on any hope of the vast majority of the Scottish media growing a set and actually doing their job. I actually gave up a long time ago, but it just gets worse by the week. They should be truly ashamed, but instead continue to act like a huge collective positive PR outlet for Rangers.
Reading the report on the conclusions reached by La Liga on the alleged racist abuse by Juan Cala I find it difficult to see UEFA reaching anything but the same conclusion re the Kamara case. To be followed by howls of indignation from “the pundits”.
With regard to the COVID 5, John Kennedy has every right to comment as the team which employs him is directly impacted. McCoist of course has the same right as you or I to comment as bystanders. Whilst TRFC may be playing the system would it be too much to ask that the grounds of the appeal are made public? Without further details one assumes appealing on grounds of a technicality rather than substance of the charges.
I suspect that TRFC’s appeal may be based on ‘disproportionate punishment’; commonly called ‘whitabootery’.
This may reference the refereeing team who went to Greece, didn’t obey protocols & weren’t cited, or even other teams that may or may not have played fast’n’loose with the rules & escaped the beady eye of the Compliance Officer (HAFC buses, CFC in Dubai etc etc. ad nauseam.).
Wokingcelt 10th April 2021 At 11:53
I believe in the case of Kamara another Rangers player claims to have heard what was said. Not sure if that makes a difference to how UEFA will deal with it.
As for McCoist I am sure he knows fine well Gerrard had nothing to comment on regarding Celtic breaches as none of his players had at that point been treated differently. Celtic have every right to ask why what appears at face value to be favourable treatment is being given to Rangers players in this case. I don’t believe they will get an answer though. Rangers and ergo the media are quite happy with the way it is panning out so the SFA are on safe ground.
I am not a lawyer but my understanding (delighted to be educated?) is that when you appeal a decision you have to give a reason/rational that supports the appeal. And the court grants leave to appeal based on the reason/rational given or not as the case may be. Surely a professional sport with multi millions at stake would have robust protocols in place to maintain (or should that be regain?) the integrity of the game…
Hearts are now promoted after one season spent in the Championship in the most acrimonious of circumstances. The top league will be far better for their presence. It would be good if the excellent Hearts contributors who used to post on here would consider coming back to the forum.
Upthehoops 10th April 2021 At 12:21
I think it is the media who are saying that another Rangers player heard the alleged racist abuse , and Stevie G is happy to go along with that . It seemed to me that the other Rangers playewr reacted to what Kamara was shouting as he chased Kudela . The UEFA investigation should clear it all up .
@Paddy M – that was certainly my impression (and I would stress impression) watching the TV pictures, that Kamara told a colleague what was said. It doesn’t change what may have happened but it does change the quality of the evidence if no one else heard first hand. Separately we await the judgment on the tunnel shenanigans; if as serious as reported then I wouldn’t be rushing into the transfer market on the back of CL millions this time next year Rodney…
Upthehoops 10th April 2021 At 22:06
‘..It would be good if the excellent Hearts contributors who used to post on here would consider coming back to the forum.’
++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree.
And I confess to having been too preoccupied [who said ‘obsessed?!] with what I considered(and still consider) to have been the DELIBERATE and calculated wrongdoing of our Football Authorities in the Rangers liquidation matter and the false claims of TRFC , to get too involved in a matter ,occasioned by Nature rather human badness, but which exposed our Football Governance people as being hopelessly blinkered!
A once-in-a-lifetime event that was no-one’s fault could surely have been dealt with in a way that did not punish any members of the business groupings that made up the membership of the SFA.
And I regret that I didn’t focus my SFM blog attention on that issue in support of the clubs that suffered.
I was very happy today that ( whatever other internal problems!) Hearts got over the line early , and will be back in the SPL.
I have just read this:
“The Guardian
“Cameron ‘lobbied senior Downing St aide and Matt Hancock’ to help Greensill”
Kalyeena Makortoff, Michael Savage and Ben Butler 14 mins ago”
‘The Observer can reveal that Cameron was in line to profit from a $30m (£21.8m) employee benefit trust registered in Jersey thanks to his role with the collapsed Greensill Capital.’
++
Good old EBTs, eh, what?
Honest to God: greedy, grasping, lying bast.rds!
In SDM’s/RFC of 1872’s case the EBT scheme was not licit.
Cameron’s EBT scheme was probably licit ( else he would have been a stupider Etonite ‘fag’ ( allegedly)of Boris than I think!), but the lobbying, the tapping-in to people in positions of influence (some of whom might owe their present jobs to him ?) reeks of that disgusting moral corruption at public expense so familiar to us in the humbler sphere of Scottish Football.
Really.
John Clark 10th April 2021 At 23:08
The former Hearts posters were good at keeping me in line…well if not quite in line, certainly good at presenting an alternative view on certain issues which made me stop and think. In terms of the league, Hearts are one of Scotland’s biggest clubs and the top league can only be better by their presence.
Paddy Malarkey 10th April 2021 At 22:46
‘..The UEFA investigation should clear it all up .’
+++++++++++++++++++
I’ve been trying to find on the UEFA website what the ‘standard of proof’ is that they use.
They have already made a preliminary ‘judgment !
” In accordance with Article 49 DR, the CEDB today decided to provisionally suspend Mr. Ondřej Kúdela for the next (1) UEFA club competition match for which he would otherwise be eligible for the prima facie violation of Article 15(1)(a)(iv) DR, without prejudice to any ruling that the CEDB may subsequently make on the alleged violation of Article 14(1) DR.
Further information about this case will be made available once the CEDB has taken a decision in due course.”
Your man has already been tried and convicted by BBC Sportsound etc ( I could not believe my ears that BBC people would not automatically use words like ‘alleged’-Kenny at his partisanship worst, I think, not checked by the producer)
We simply do not know for a fact what was said to Kamara. We have what he said was said to him. But that is uncorroborated by anyone except by hearsay from the victim.
I’ve tried to find from the UEFA website what is the ‘standard of proof’ they use in their disciplinary cases. I can’t find any reference to it.
So I can’t say whether they operate on the basis of ‘balance of probabilities’ or actual proven evidence ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.
Having myself been a ‘victim’ of racism, I am instinctively on the side of any other victim.
But allegations are allegations- not necessarily well-founded.
And allegations by a suspect football club itself founded on a lie are, perhaps, to be treated with caution.
Does Kris Boyd not understand the meaning of the word irony. He is quite willing to flap his gums on Leeds being successful due to the fact they spent a lot of money ( and I believe it was their own money). Does his memory bank not go back to the years when money was poured onto the Rangers in some what dubious ways allowing for their success.
Steve Evans now claiming Gerrard could be the next Sir Alex Ferguson. Where to start on that one. He wins one title and all of a sudden the world is his oyster. Can we give it a few years before going off the deep end with silly comparisons.
And, finally, SG says he is the only one who knows the details in regard to the Covid 5, If that is the case would that information not have been put forward to the SFA to alleviate all the aggravation that has arisen in the last two months. Of course SG knowledge of the details would have been completely unbiased. Should the SFA be asking for said information if it hasn’t already been presented. Where is the media following up on details.
New podcast. Very interesting proposals from the Celtic Trust worthy of wider audience
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/scottish-football-monitor-sfm/id817766886?i=1000516753435
Daryl Broadfoot really toiling desperately to explain the delay in the COVID-5 with a non-explanation.
Despicable.
John Clark 12th April 2021 At 18:07
Daryl Broadfoot really toiling desperately to explain the delay in the COVID-5 with a non-explanation.
Despicable.
+++++++++
He’ll be fine though, because ultimately it benefits Rangers and there will be no massive media backlash for that reason.
My post of 18.07 above refers: apologies for not saying what I was listening to at the time: the laptop had to come off the kitchen table or I! would have got my dinner o’er ma heid!
I was listening to Daryl on ‘Sportsound’
@ John Clark – guess that might have been heid bangers and mash then…sorry!
Wokingcelt 12th April 2021 At 22:38
‘@ John Clark – guess that might have been heid bangers and mash then…sorry!’
+++++++
I was certainly bangin’ my heid when Daryl (or is it Darryl?) came out with the ’55’ assertion, and Collins hadn’t any more guts than English( who of course long ago bought into the lie that TRFC are continuity ‘Rangers of 1872’)to contradict him!
When one thinks of the really quite brave journalists who exposed David Cameron as a wee chancer , smoothly oiling his way out of trouble as easily as he might use vaseline, one can have only contempt for our wee pretendy ‘journalists’ in the SMSM.
In their approach to ‘sporting integrity’ they are pretty much in the mould of those who work as ‘journalists’ for governments who subsidise the doping of their athletes.
That is, they are as dishonest and dishonourable as can be: and in the relatively trivial matter of sport!
It’s been a while since we heard the words ‘succulent lamb’.
But I think it is very likely that many of our SMSM people are still getting the odd wee bit of lamb tossed to them , with a draught of Rhenish, which ,as the tossers they are, they greedily swally with relish!
Where would they be, if they were required to lie about more fundamental matters?
Yep, you got it in one!
Jawohl , with knobs on!
Honest to God!
I’ll need to listen again to the latest podcast, and David Low’s ramblings.
The Celtic Trust seems to me to be kind of equivalent to Club 1872 in that it seems, to me at least, to be a tool of the Celtic plc board ,just as Club 1872 is a tool of TRFC. It is basically controlled by the Celtic Board as much as Club 1872 is by the TRFC/RIFC boards .
Am I wrong?
Answers, please, in a word.
Stopped listening to all the Scottish broadcasts, Clyde and Sportsound and TBH I am better off and more informed than i was when i used to listen to them. They talk utter sh*te and are made up of either huns or soup takers amd liars.
There was no escape out of Admin and no route out of liquidation, to pretend that a business is the same and was allowed to wipe off it’s creditors debts when it’s creditors agreed to have them wound them up is not just a lie, it is a fraud to the public who may in the future believe they are buying into something claimed to be an original when in fact it is not possible for it to be, every merchandise, media print that sells based on the lie is committing fraud and carrying it out in the knowledge they know it to be a lie and fraud.
The goods sold, are goods not as described, as they cannot be associated, for example there has been no 55 titles won, with an association to the club proclaiming to have won them, how could there be the club is only 10 years young.
Angel Gabriel 13th April 2021 At 06:37
Celtic did not break any rules by going to Dubai. They had the permission of both the SFA and the Scottish Government to go. I know for a fact that they spoke once again to the Scottish Government only three days before travelling and they still had no objections. The point Broadfoot made was they broke no social distancing rules of the country they were in.
He completely tied himself in knots on that programme. He tried to justify everything, including in his words that social distancing rules are broken almost every week at many clubs but everything has to be taken in context. He very cleverly slipped in at that point that included Rangers celebrations when they won the league.
He was clearly speaking for the SFA though (he still does work for them), and the real point of alarm for me was that it seems the SFA, despite the fact that the Rangers Covid-5 were fined by Police, allowed Rangers a lengthy period to allegedly carry out their own investigation. He tried to say it was not an open and shut case, despite the fact they broke the law and were fined by Police. This, along with Rangers making an appeal based on the grounds that a player can’t be banned if he is a good prospect. has led to the whole thing being a farce, and Rangers are hugely benefitting from it by being able to play a player who is their cover for a key player injury. 66 days have now come and gone since those players broke the law, and still they remain unpunished.
As for Broadfoot and his 55 titles statement, it was just a case of a Rangers fan (which he is for a fact) using his paid position on BBC to gloat. Humility is certainly not their strong point.
UTH 13th April 08.33.
Having not yet had the opportunity to listen to the episode of Sportsound in question i won’t comment.
On the subject of the Rangers appeal, do you honestly believe that it is based on SGs comments regarding Nathan Patterson?. According to the manager himself the quotes were taken out of context ,which isn’t surprising given the quality or lack of in journalism at present.
I see where the SFA are apparently calling two managers on to the carpet for recent remarks regarding officials> The SFA operating at almost warp speed to get this down. It appears that if you have an assistant manager you can get caught in their crosshairs, but, if you have a back up for an injured player, and, that player finds himself facing suspension the wheels will turn ever so slowly an almost glacial like pace. Gerrard has had a fair number of goes at the game, officials, etc and I don’t recall him being brought to task.
@Albertz11 – on what other basis are we to surmise an appeal has been made? All 5 players broke the law of the country. All 5 players were excluded from training/squad bubbles which suggests that TRFC acknowledged that COVID regulations within football were breached (I may have missed TRFC claiming this was done in error).
Simple fact is we lack consistent and robust application of what should be a straightforward set of rules. And we lack a media willing to hold these authorities to account on a without fear or favour basis. And if SG has been taken out of context – well it took a while for him to realise.
For me TRFC are shamelessly playing the system – they may benefit from this but do you consider such behaviour worthy of your support?
Albertz11 —– Gerrard has had a lot to say since coming to Rangers regarding officials, attitude of fans toward then, etc. Despite all the past comments we are led to believe his comments on Patterson were the first and only to be taken out of context. He is good with the media, maybe even slippery when he wants to make a point,
but to fall back on the old crutch, “taken out of context”, by the Ranger loving media is hard to swallow
Albertz11 13th April 2021 At 16:39
At the time of the press conference, which some media outlets played back in full, Gerrard’s comments about Patterson were the only justification he gave for an appeal. I am sure even some Rangers fans inwardly thought how good a prospect your manager thinks you are is stretching it to say the least as a basis for an appeal. It was at a following PC he claimed they were taken out of context. These players broke the law and accepted their fines. An appeal looks frivolous to say the least. However as others have pointed out Rangers are simply using the system. The SFA should have been swift and firm with them from the outset instead of letting them control all the timing. It doesn’t really take a genius to suspect it’s all about the fact the regular right back got injured around the same time and Patterson was the only right back cover. Even if their appeal fails, Rangers have got what they wanted. Plus ca change!
And propaganda meister Halliday continues the work of untruth:
Here he is in today’s ‘The Scotsman’ : ” .the most coveted win in their 149- year history” and ” the figure of 55 which has been notched up this season in their record collection of league titles”
What kind of diabolically perverted journalism stands facts absolutely on their head and comes out with untrue nonsense?
The very worst and most untrustworthy and self-seeking kind, of course.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56747993
Paddy Malarkey 14th April 15.46
A 10 game ban is the minimum punishment UEFA could have imposed for Kudela.
As Aamer Anwar has said it’s “making a mockery of UEFA’s claim on taking racism seriously”.
Glen Kamara was originally banned for 5 games before being reduced to 3 on appeal.
Disgusted but not surprised.
Albertz11 14th April 2021 At 16:19
My opinion is that Kamara was racially abused and Kudela should have been banned for at least a year . Unfortunately , it appears to be one players word against anothers’ . Stevie G stated that “Other players around it heard it. I will stand toe-to-toe with Glen Kamara.” , so I would imagine these players will be front and centre in the proposed appeal , or are Rangers only contesting the sanctions on their players ? In the midst of all this , it’s easy to forget that Rangers were sanctioned by UEFA in 2019 for their fans “racist behaviour” .
“How on earth do we rid football of this cancer?” screams Kenny Mac about the curse of racism.
And quite rightly.
I agree with him wholeheartedly and with all who condemn racism in whatever circumstances.
But where is the cry for restoration of truth in SCOTTISH football, which has been living an absurd lie since 2012 in accommodating the fantasy that TRFC (of special admission into football as a new club in 2012 ) is somehow 149 years old and entitled to claim honours and titles for football achievements that they were not in existence even to participate in?
Racism is unquestionably a far more horrendous matter with far more serious social consequences than any stupid lying by a Sports governance body or by any football club.
Nevertheless, such lying is scarcely acceptable just because it’s of lesser global consequence.
Untruth is untruth.
And folk who promote untruth are pernicious liars who must be called out.
Paddy Malarkey 14th April 16.19
I agree with regards to your proposed punishment for Kudela.
If UEFA are serious about eradicating racism from the game then the punishment must fit the crime and 10 matches is obviously insufficient. As SRTRC tweeted today ” Players can wear respect on their arms, but without zero tolerance of racist abuse, it stands as an empty gesture”.
I listened in to this morning’s session in the Grier damages case. The cross-examination of Det Superintendent Robertson continued.
I could only listen to the morning session, having other things to do in the afternoon.
The questioning seemed to be trying to establish whether ,once the English Court had issued an injunction forbidding access to and use of ‘Legal and Professional Privilege’ wrongly seized from solicitors in London and Manchester (I think) , the Scottish police had breached that injunction even though they ad apparently been told to stop any further investigation at that time.
That was about as far as proceedings got to by lunch.
Also on today was
CALLING LIST
Wednesday 14th April
CA71/20 Duff & Phelps Ltd AG The Lord Advocate
which, of course, I missed!
Again we have McCoist clogging up the media with the telling of a story how he negotiated with David Murray over bottles of wine and always seem to come out second best. If they had indulged in that much wine did he ever read the contract, or, have the ability to read it. As you will remember when his contact as manager of Rangers came to light he famously claimed he just signed the papers and didn’t read them. Poor Ally must have been hard done by during his playing time at Rangers if that’s how he really negotiated his contract.
The 10 game ban was the maximum allowed not the minimum , Kudela I imagine denied he said this and there were no Independent witnesses to the allegation. I have little doubt he did use this language but we need more than one person to verify it and a team mate is not Independent. We can have a situation now where people can make false allegations in order to benefit from them . Players are quite happy to dive and fake injury in order to seek an advantage on the pitch or have a player sent off , what’s to stop them claiming racial abuse for the same purpose ? If we are punishing people without evidence then this will end up being abused .
If the club from Ibrox were serious about standing up to racism then they should immediately ditch their “mandarin” top . Every man and his dog knows exactly what it represents and the type of bigot they are playing to . When they are happy to profit from racism then they can hardly complain when they come in contact with racism themselves.
Paddy Malarkey 14th April 2021 At 18:37
I have always been of the view Kamara was definitely racially abused. People can say what they want about proof but his reaction and statements following it make it pretty much a slam dunker for me.
While Rangers were absolutely right to demand appropriate action the absoute moral high ground they and their fans are taking over racism does not sit well at all with me. There is a significant problem with racism and sectarianism among a section of their support and this will become evident again when fans are allowed back in. It will also attract the attention of UEFA. They are not the only club with problems but they should have eased up on the holier than thou stance they are taking. It would be harder for them to be like that if more in the SMSM pointed this out to them, but so far only Graham Spiers has, who is of course banned from Ibrox. On another note I am hearing Michael Stewart is also banned now for having an opinion.
Timtim 15th April 13.17.
According to Article 14 Racism and other discriminatory conduct.
Any person under the scope of Article 3 who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender of sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at LEAST ten matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction.
A superb tour de force by Marvin Bartley of Livingston FC on Sportsound!
What a powerful, passionate speaker on a matter that is of supremely greater importance than mere football.
But it was amusing to hear Chick say how good it was that Marvin had this opportunity on the BBC to express himself!
Not making any equation between the Big Lie and the evil of racism, I wonder at the perversity of the BBC in refusing discussion ,even ,of the Big lie never mind giving permission to anyone to argue for the Truth-that RFC of 1872 was liquidated, cease to exist as a football club, and that TRFC is not, could not possibly be, RFC of 1872.
Some people are very selective about the truth, and such people have a bloody cheek to try to speak as honest people.
I managed to catch the beginning of the cross-examination of the lady Det. Inspector in the Grier damages action.
Kick-off was delayed until 10.30, and she was sworn in then.
The questioning was about the disks , which were in envelopes, that had been part of the material seized from the offices of HFW/DFW.
Further questions related to conversations between Det SUP Robertson and the witness, and communications with Crown office , and more senior police officers, an interview with Phil Betts at a time when he was regarded as a suspect, and a formal statement from Betts later when he was interviewed formally as a witness.
And so on, until Lunch.
I took some notes, of course, and could put down some more questions and answers. However, a condition of getting telephone access to the Hearings is that any reporting has to avoid being in any way prejudicial to the Hearing or any participants.
I’m afraid that I have no sure way of knowing where the line may be! And I don’t want to face a Contempt of court charge if I made a mistake in my notes!
Besides, I didn’t hear any more testimony from the Det Inspector because I didn’t tune in after lunch.
As an almost unconnected observation, I read a week or so ago an article by the Dean of Faculty in which, although he was all for streamlining Court procedures and was appreciative of the great boon it was that modern comms enabled virtual hearings to take place to let important matters be dealt with, he expressed the view that there is nothing to bet live, open court, face-to-face justice, even in civil matters.
I think I agree with him!
John Clark 15th April 2021 At 18:39
Another thing I am becoming increasingly frustrated with is the huge push within the Scottish Media for racism punishments to be increased after this particular incident. Racism is horrible – all right minded people agree on that, but discrimination and hate filled abuse has been around Scottish football for a long time, and the same media are often apologists for it. You don’t have to be a person of colour to be racially abused, and abuse based on a person’s religion is every bit as bad. Let’s see if that continues to be swept under the carpet when crowds return. I suspect it will be.
Upthehoops 15th April 2021 At 20:36
‘..You don’t have to be a person of colour to be racially abused,.’
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Conversely, uth there is no Constitutional bar on persons of colour INHERITING THE CROWN on grounds merely of their ethnic origins or skin colour.
Whereas there is an ABSOLUTE legal bar on RCs becoming King/Queen!
Under the laws of the UK ,these days a person of colour who is transgender/homosexual/bisexual/ lesbian and of the religious faith of Islamism/ Hinduism/ Taoism/ Buddhism/’atheism’, or whatever, who may happen to be the heir to the Throne is not , right from the off, debarred by Law from being crowned as Monarch.
Whereas his/her parallel ( except in not being a person of colour ] , but who is Roman Catholic IS absolutely barred!
That the Act of Settlement of 1701 is still on the Statute book is a piece of nonsense: and a pernicious piece of nonsense in that it betokens AN ATTITUDE OF MIND that has resisted change in ONE aspect of civic society when every other aspect of former discrimination has, thankfully , been removed by statute.
Upthehoops 15th April 2021 At 14:04
‘..On another note I am hearing Michael Stewart is also banned now for having an opinion.’
+++++++++++++++++++
Mmmmm.
I thought I had heard that too, on BBC radio Scotland?
And I thought , how come?
Stewart did not express an opinion.
The very opposite, in fact.
He said what I myself said at the time: we do not know what was said.
It could have been any kind of ‘noise-up’ abusive, insulting terms.
I myself can think of plenty of ways to insult and verbally ‘abuse’ a TRFC player, that would have nothing to do with racism!
In fact, by declaring that TRFC is a cheating club, claiming to be 149 years old, I am, albeit indirectly, ‘abusing’ the entire playing squad and management of the cheating club by implying that they personally ,wittingly or unwittingly, have bought into a lie!
But of course, I speak not ‘opinion’, but objective truth,… and not abuse.
And even UEFA would have to acknowledge that TRFC did not exist prior to 2012!
Honest to God!
That the lie should have continued for so long…..
And that so many journalists , print and radio, should be so thirled to the lie !
God help them square their consciences before the ‘Eye’
Pitiful, weak-minded, sheep-like sort of disgrace to ‘journalism’ that they are!
On Marvin Bartley, I think I heard that he had the support of big-name English premiership players ‘of colour’ to take direct action by walking off the field sometime soon in whatever match they were playing in to force their own clubs and the FA and UEFA to get to grips with racism in a meaningful way.
That would really get minds focussed!
More power to his elbow!
John Clark 16th April 2021 At 00:00
When Celtic last visited Ibrox the players were subjected to significant sectarian abuse when they exited the team bus, The police stood by and watched. The video is available on social media. They arrested one man some days later rather than deal with multi-offenders at the time. I do hope that now Rangers have come out firmly against all types of discrimination and prejudice that they will have worked with police to ensure no bigots are allowed near the front door on Sunday. Then again reading social media all of their fans don’t have a racist or bigoted bone in them, such is the anti-racism stance they have all taken these past few weeks. So there shouldn’t be an issue.
A sense of whataboutery on some of the recent posts. I think most would agree that Kamara was racially abused based on immediate reaction and that likely there were no witnesses. UEFA appear to have acted on basis of balance of probabilities rather than reasonable doubt, presumably based on their rule book.
Based on press reports (in England) the Slavia player made a singular racist comment. Given its singularity and no witnesses I understand why UEFA may have felt that going beyond the minimum sanction not appropriate otherwise it begs the question what would attract the minimum sanction. I am not justifying the level of sanction, just noting what is currently available per their rule book.
Let’s hold each other to account for our casual ‘isms each of which can be just as toxic and destructive.
And if not too sanctimonious maybe question why we want to hold on to our history if not to learn from it and disown it at the same time.
UTH 15th April 20.36
All types of discrimination, be it Racist, Sectarian, Homophobic etc should be highlighted by all sections of the media without fear or favour and then dealt with in a appropriate manner. If this should result in players/clubs being banned or stadiums being closed then so be it.
To be discussing this in 2021 is depressing.
Enough is enough.
On a personal level the look of disbelief, hurt & anger on the faces of Glen Kamara, Bongani Zungu & Connor Goldson will live long in the memory, as will the images of Glen being consoled by Steven Gerrard post match.
Just to say I accessed the virtual hearing in the Grier action this morning at about 10.50 ( presumably it had begun at the scheduled time of 10.00
When I tuned in, I heard the witness , a police officer, being asked whether he knew anything about Wavetower? Anything about Merchant Turnaround? Had he dealt with Mr Ross Bryant? Did he know anything about ‘the letter of comfort’?
Did he read any statement by Mr Betts? Did he have unrestricted access to the documentation in the whole case? How often was he briefed?
Next witness was a much more senior police officer.
He was asked to identify ( on a screen that only he and the legal chaps could see] 3 documents. These were from what he referred to as the Policy Management File, The first was signed by the witness himself and another officer(A DCI, not Robertson)
The second was again signed by that same DCI and had the words” decision taken in consultation with [the witness]
The third document was signed by the same DCI.
I’ve no note about anything the witness may have said, other than to confirm the document was from the Policy Management File. All I have is the QC saying “we see DCI Z’s name Would we be better asking him ..?
That was Mr Duncan’s last question to the witness.
Lord Tyre: Mr Smith?
Mr Smith QC: Thank you, m’Lord. Mr Y, I represent David Grier. First, can I ask whether you were watching evidence given by others?
W: No. The person assisting me has only just connected me. [ I presume that witnesses are assisted by a techy/ court official/ polis who makes sure that witnesses cannot access the proceedings until they themselves have to take the stand? I wonder how they prevent witnesses accessing on the phone right from day one, using a friend’s phone?]
QC: Look again at the document. Is it a notebook with details?
W: No.. (???)
QC: Reason ‘ due to ‘potential public interest and response by supporters of Rangers’… Do you remember that meeting?
W: No.
QC: About anticipating of potential response, the nature of it?
W: Well, it would have been about public order, and the safety of individuals.
QC: There could be trouble, verbal and physical abuse?
W: Yes.
Qc: You are an extremely senior officer-what did you think was the worst case scenario?
W: An assault on the Duff and Phelps administrators.
QC: You would ensure their safety. How many officers did you direct?
W: I didn’t. The officer responsible did.
QC What resource would have been reasonable?
W: I would ask those on the spot.
QC: Let’s speak hypothetically: I’m a police officer and I come to you…situation of high tension. how should I manage?
W: well, I would take advice from the people who run the Court. ..
QC: But it’s a matter of public safety.. it’s for the Police?
W: In partnership with Court officials.
QC: Did you ask for a formal risk assessment ?
W: I reassured myself that the people in charge had enough resources.
QC: But how and when did you reassure yourself? When did you satisfy yourself?
W: prior to the individuals’ appearance in court.
QC: But now you know that wouldn’t it be reasonable to take positive steps?
W: Yes, but it’s what I did do.
QC: Shouldn’t that be in the Policy Management Manual?
W: No.
QC: Where would we find that?
W: The Policy Management file was DCI Z’s.
QC: Did you make sure that DCI Z was in charge?
W Yes.
QC: When? at that time, how many police officers?
W: I can’t say.
QC :How many people might have turned up?
W: Maybe none, maybe many.
QC: I would expect something in writing: where will I find it?
[If there was a reply, I missed it! The QC, Mr Smith, suggested to the judge that since he had more questions this might be a good time to take a break.
So there was a break from 11.30 to 11.50.
And I will give you all a break as well, and resume again tomorrow.
[ I’m a one-finger typist, and can hardly read my own scribbled notes. I would have done this earlier today, but the boss said: Nicola says we can leave our own council area today, it’s a beautiful day, so get in the car and take me to Peebles!
Nice wee town, Peebles. ]
Ranger fans, players and management continue to drone on regarding their alleged 55th league title and that theme has been fairly consistent for many years. With a QF game in the Scottish Cup on the horizon you hardly here any mention of Celtic being on the road to their 40th Scottish Cup. Surely if the shoe were on the other foot the Scottish media and Rangers fans, players, management would be advising all and sundry of the next feat in their somewhat spotty history, and, possibly another world record.
I cannot imagine how I missed the announcement in February 2021 of the appointment of a new Editor for ‘The Scotsman’.
The appointment was announced on 21 February and I’ve just become aware of it.
“A senior BBC executive has been appointed editor of a flagship daily newspaper in the first major editorial appointment by its new owners.”
https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2021/news/bbc-boss-becomes-dailys-editor-as-publisher-begins-management-shake-up/
And he introduces himself on page 2 of today’s edition.
In his message he mentions “that it was impossible to resist the opportunity to ensure The Scotsman pursues vigorously its 204 -year-old mission..”
Will his feeing for true history prompt him to face up to the fact that the newspaper of which he is now the Editor deliberately fosters and promotes the ridiculous untruth that a football club that was newly admitted into Scottish Football in 2012 is 149 years old? And restore some notion of journalistic and sporting integrity?
Or will he happily lie along with BBC Scotland in continuing to promote the untruth that RFC of 1872 did not die, and that a 12-year-old football cub has 149 years worth of sporting achievement?
I think I can answer that question in a word of two letters..
Vernallen 17th April 2021 At 01:59
Vernallen, I commented on this ‘shouting’ about 55 a little while back, convinced as I am that TRFC and their fans (including those in the broadcast and written media) are ONLY proclaiming it so loudly (and, sadly, visibly too in the case of their fans with ’55’ flags and t-shirts!) because they are trying DESPERATELY to drown out the original voice in their head reminding them how they felt when the club was liquidated and they read the papers, watched the news etc.
I have family on my wife’s side who are Rangers/TRFC fans. They have bought ’55’ t-shirts for themselves and friends. I wind them up by asking “Have you still got your ’45’ t-shirts that you presumably bought when the old club reached that milestone?” They’re not happy, but then I guess any club that claims to be the world’s most successful when they can see the likes of Real with their Decimo, other Euro trophies and loads of higher standard league titles; Bayern with their domestic record in a much higher standard league as well as CL wins etc would have no problem celebrating a ridiculous number like ’55’.
I find it laughable! I can’t think of any other club who would celebrate a ‘-5′ honour in such a way, but that just convinces me that the ONLY reason for the hyperbole over ’55’ is to shout over that wee, horrible voice in their head saying ‘it’s not really the same club, but okay….’ It’s the exact same, of course, as the 140th anniversary celebrations soon after liquidation. It’s actually quite embarrassing, but cognitive dissonance will do that to you, I guess.
For anyone who may be interested
The David Grier action : my notes of the Hearing on Friday morning 16 April 2021 continued.:
Court resumed at 11.50
QC: [ instructs the ‘operator’ controlling the showing of documents on screen to show 6485 of Bundle 3.] Mr Y, who is that in the photograph.. the lady in black holding back a Rangers fan? We can’t tell she is a police officer. There’s another image at the bottom- car keys in her right hand.No indication that she is a police officer.
Not really a police presence?
W: Agreed. But the assessment would be made at the time, and resources could be provided very quickly by radio.
QC: But if there was a riot…you would expect to be able to say that risks had been properly assessed..?
W: Yes.
QC: There is a document about that?
W: There is a ‘strategic intention’… [ ed:I think this is a paper outlining the strategy that the responsible officer proposes to adopt]
QC: If we turn now to page 1054….. [silence while the operator gets it on screen]
. ’14 November 2014- intelligence received Whitehouse ‘flying to Portugal’. You knew Whitehouse had house in Portugal?
W: Yes. The SIO wanted all to be detained at the same time. If someone left the country that
wouldn’t happen .. and there might have been difficulties.
QC: But at that time European Arrest Warrants were available whatever the present position is, after Brexit.. Did he have a return ticket?
W: I don’t know.
QC: In 6839, 6803 [ of the witness’s statement] you can see “ I knew JR by name … met him once or twice….. I wasn’t aware of anyone raising questions about JR’s conduct or JO’N.
Is that so?
W: Yes
QC: “ if there had been any concerns about them it would have been noticed.No possibility of a ‘rogue cop’. It can be reasonable for officers to be robust in questioning..”
Let’s suppose that a colleague had broken rules like opening an envelope when the question of LPP had not been resolved…and Jo’N knew that the envelope ought not to have been opened.
What would you expect?
W: to report it to her supervisor or another senior officer if her supervisor was the person..
QC: She did give evidence that she reported to AB. What would you expect to happen?
W: An enquiry.
QC: A serious official matter?
W: Yes.
QC: Maybe even disciplinary ?
W: At least reported to the PF.
QC: And if AB ignored the report, it would be terrible?
W: Yes
QC: Even you would expect to be told?
W: Most important that the PF be told.
QC: How would something as serious as this not reach you?
W: I don’t know why that is.
QC: I’m interested in whether you would wish to amend your statement where you say “ at no stage has anyone ever highlighted any concern”.. the report would have gone up the chain of command from AB up to Superintendent T, then to C. and then to you?
W: Yes.
QC: Was there a question of taking JR off the enquiry?
W: that would be an option.
QC: This would all be in writing?
W: Yes.
QC What do you understand that police officers are obliged to tell the Crown?
W: the evidence they have obtained..
QC: It’s all covered by the Act? [ ed: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984] It’s not up to the Police to decide what to tell? Is that right?
W: Yes.
QC: Philip Betts during 2013 ,originally a suspect ,was interviewed for about an hour in the middle of March 2013 at Stanstead airport. That should have been disclosed.?
W: Yes.
QC: Mr Betts was a Director of Wavetower. He persuaded Mr Patel to change a name on the spreadsheet that was presented to MIH. Looks like afraud?
W: Yes
QC: It’s hard to see how Mr Betts could move from being a suspect to being a witness?
W: Well, it depends ..
QC: The Crown took JR’s word that there was no criminality in Mr Betts!
W: I’m surprised that the Crown simply accepted the word of JR
QC: You would have expected the Crown to ask questions about it?
W: Yes.
QC; It’s all right for police officers to be robust in questioning.But there are allegations that JR was inappropriately aggressive?
W: Mmnn, yes.
QC: In your statement you imply that a PC can’t be a snowflake when interviewing?
W: Yes.
QC: if we look in Bundle 5,page 3 paras 3,4 and 5. In context , this relates to the statement of Philip Duffy, managing director of Duff and Phelps, where he says “arrest was based on Panorama programme”
and that JR said “ you had better make sure it’s true’ and allegedly chanted Rangers songs and made remarks like ‘don’t get smart with me, sonny’ woudn’t that be considered as [inappropriately aggressive]?
W:Yes
QC: There’s another example at p.4, from Mr Paul Smith’s statement[ed:I missed that quoted extract and the quote from a Mr Chalmers, solicitor ]
the QC continued: these interviews took place after the indictments were served on people in Duff and Phelps along with others..a Crown witness is being interviewed!
There is more of that kind of stuff in Paul Smith. And Mr Raynford – solicitor in criminal law for nearly 40 years and a part-time judge recorded (on page 55)
“ What I recall we were all very close together to make written witness statements…..JR was ‘coming after us!”This was a complete shock. He was very aggressive , saying ‘I’m going to take you up to Scotland today’.”
Wouldn’t you say that that was completely unacceptable?
W: I agree.
QC: Andrew Gregory, solicitor for Duff and Phelps? If Mr XX believd that Gregory could not be trusted, you’d expect him to mention that fact?
W: Yes.
QC: In the matter of returning the D &P stuff ,was that a fairly low level task?
W: Not necessarily.
[There followed a brief discussion about why senior officers rather than junior officers took the bxes of dcuments that had been seized. The witness sad that it was a matter of balancing costs of taking officers off other duties against the convenience of using officers familiar with the investigatin.
QC: Document 35, statement of Andrew Gregory, solicitor of 37 years standing.Para 23: on page 39
“10 12 2014
DCI JR addressed me” He asserts that JR said to him “I don’t want to be locking you up”.
W: If that is true, his attitude is appalling.
QC: no further questions, m’Lord.
Lord Tyre: Mr Moynihan have you any question?
Mr Moynihan: No,m’Lord.
Lord Tyre: Mr Duncan.?
Mr D: Thank you, m’LordI
If we go back to the ‘spreadsheet’ and ‘fraud’ ,doesn’t that question have to be seen in the whole context, for example, what reliance the Murray Group placed on the change?
W: yes
Mr D: And on the matter of reporting the allegedly wrongfully accessing of material, that was in October 2017. When did you retire?
W: October 2016.
Mr D: 17 November 2014, did you know that Duff and Phelps had arranged private security for their people?
W: Yes.
Lord Tyre: Mr Duncan have you more questions?
MrD: Yes, my Lord. I’m conscious that we lost some time earlier, so perhaps ..
Lord Tyre: Yes, but I think we might stop for lunch now.
Court rose at 1.07 pm.
Very interesting indeed, JC. Please keep doing what you do.
So Barry Ferguson sees a Ranger’s win tomorrow creating space in the Celtic trophy room. Well that maybe true there is still a lot of room to fill in the Ranger’s trophy room. This year’s league title, the pre-season thing from France, and the outstanding Challenge Cup from early on in the journey. With the amount of column inches he garners weekly, how does he cope with managing a football team.
Vernallen 17th April 2021 At 18:58
Do ex-players such as Barry Ferguson actually write their columns, or are they ghost written by Journalists?
Nawlite 17th April 2021 At 18:51
‘..Very interesting indeed, JC.’
++++++++++++++++++
I just wish I had ‘Pitman’ shorthand skills!
However, I don’t think I have in the least misrepresented anything that was said by any of the ‘legals’ or witnesses.
I write what I hear, and if I haven’t heard, I make that fact plain .
And, of course, I carefully avoid comment of my own .
UTH 17th April 2021 21:30
No matter who writes them they aren’t exactly cutting edge pieces of journalism. The extra few bob a week must feel like receiving an EBT for non performance.
John Clark 17th April 2021 At 22:36
0 0 Rate This
Nawlite 17th April 2021 At 18:51
‘..Very interesting indeed, JC.’
++++++++++++++++++
I just wish I had ‘Pitman’ shorthand skills!
However, I don’t think I have in the least misrepresented anything that was said by any of the ‘legals’ or witnesses.
I write what I hear, and if I haven’t heard, I make that fact plain .
And, of course, I carefully avoid comment of my own .
+++++++
JC, I admire your note taking skills. I remember the good old days when people with shorthand skills would take notes at meetings and draft the minutes. Then when there was money to be saved it morphed into sometimes having to take your own notes and draft your own minutes. I retired late last year and by then meeting minutes (for some meetings) had become a lot less formal and detailed than they once were. To be honest a lot of it was long overdue.
Big changes in Europe , and maybe an uncivil war .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56794673
The latest news about a possible breakaway by Europe’s top clubs isn’t really a surprise, nor is it a surprise that there has been widespread opposition to the proposals.
However, if I was to play devil’s advocate, what is the difference in what is proposed in Europe with what happened in England in 1992 and in Scotland in 1998 when the EPL and SPL were formed? Both leagues had the same desire to break away from their existing league structures and for the biggest teams to benefit financially from the move.
The EPL and SPL relented to some extent by allowing promotion/relegation in order to maintain their dominance, control and status at home and with UEFA. However, both leagues are now the dominant voices in domestic football, along with their broadcasting partners, not the FA or SFA.
It would not surprise me if the super league came up with some compromise arrangement that would see the CL winners play off against the super league’s bottom side, in order to gain acceptance.
The super league is so far removed from Scottish Football that it should make no difference whatsoever here. In any event there appears to be a growing desire that Scottish football itself needs restructured again, to focus on the full time professional clubs and reduce the influence of the part time clubs. Colt or B team proposals are just another manifestation of that. Again the primary drivers are financial and self interest reasons.
Paddy Malarkey 18th April 2021 At 18:39
Lurkio 18th April 2021 At 18:49
++++++++++++++
I’ve just read the Joint Statement, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56794673 from which I lift this little gem:
“In a separate statement, the Premier League said it condemned the proposal as it “attacks the principles of open competition and sporting merit which are at the heart” of domestic and European football.”
Maybe at the heart of football in England perhaps, but certainly not in Scotland where the SFA created and continues to promote the biggest Sports lie in sporting history, and point-blank refused to have an independent investigation into a potential crime which may, allegedly, have involved officials in the SFA and/or officials of a football club .
No notion of sporting merit here, chaps!
The latest announcements regarding a European super league suggest to me that those clubs see the Harlem Globetrotters approach as the way to go – fully fledged entertainment business and to hang with the pesky sporting considerations.
It amazes me that so few in “big business “ (whatever that is) seem never to have heard of the story of the goose that laid golden eggs. Their greed will consume anything and everything it touches. Football as a closed shop with pseudo competition – not for me, it would make Giant Haystacks v Big Daddy look Olympian by comparison!
Wokingcelt 18th April 2021 At 23:01
‘.Football as a closed shop with pseudo competition – not for me’
++++++++++++++++++++++
Eh, even pseudo competition is a tad more acceptable than no competition whatsoever being required in order to gain sports titles and honours!
There’s TRFC being allowed ,by our ‘men of integrity in sport’ , our sport’s governance bodies, to claim honours etc won in competitions which they did not exist to be able even to take part in !
We must not be suckered by the passage of time to forget that rot at the heart of our ‘sport’
With that untruth at the very centre, who can trust that anything is honest?
Are games rigged? Are ‘draws’ rigged? Are ‘own goals’ or ‘penalties’ rigged by arrangement between clubs?
Am I paranoid, or was RFC of 1872 liquidated and TRFC founded in 2012?
I am not paranoid. RFC of 1872 died, and TRFC was born in 2012.
And we do have a very suspect governance body.
And every man jack on that governance body knows that.
SG moaning about the penalty awarded today. So would that be another record down the drain, a full season of Scottish football without a penalty being awarded against Rangers.
Can someone supply the editors of scottish papers with the definition of liquidation. Again we have reference to the potential of Rangers possibly achieving their first double since 2009. Since the club/company/engine room was placed in liquidation in 2012 would this not be there first double ever. Only if someone had the internal fortitude to report in the truthful manner.
Can we expect a press release in the near future about Rangers being invited to enter the proposed new Super League.
John Clark 18th April 2021 At 21:24
My instinct is yhat UEFA are comfortable with the franchise system , where the “big” clubs never die and can’t be relegated , and are happy to have the concept trialled in a lesser league . By not nipping it in the bud , they’ve allowed it to grow outwith their control , much like giant knotweed is now . They didn’t realise it could kill them .
On 14th April at 22.33 I posted a short note of the hearing I ‘virtually’ attended in the Grier damages action.
Although I had actually taken some detailed notes, the post was scarcely more than the briefest summary. That was because I was unsure whether I could freely report without being in any kind of breach, and had not typed up my notes.
Having read what the rules are on the Court Rolls page I felt able to post a report on 16th April a 17.19 about what I heard of the hearing on that day.
I have now typed up my notes of the earlier hearing on 14th April and post them herewith:
“Mr Smith QC: Mr Robertson , will you refer to a document in which it is recorded that Grier was lying about his knowledge of the Ticketus arrangement, in an interview in London in October 2011, signed by Grier: look at the paragraph where it says “from speaking to Paul I learned there was concern in respect of HMRC..I was made aware that Ticketus…..I would like to say at this stage that I had no knowledge of the Ticketus deal”
There is another document in Bundle 3, p. 6630, your statement Mr Robertson at para 66
“ ..Grier only had broad knowledge …of deal” Do you stand by it?
R: Yes
QC: You refer to Craig Whyte email and BBC transcript.. if we look at 36.10.12 [ ed: that’s what I wrote. I think it’s a reference number rather than a misheard date?]
R:WHat page…89?
QC: .back to the other page… “..aware of Ticketus deal, Betts mentioning £9 million , not the same deal,” which would suggest that Grier had no knowledge of deal at this time.
R: That is what I am reporting as what Grier is telling me.
QC: No. .. “I only knew from Bryant, Withey and CW totally relying on what I was being told”
On a different topic, Mr Robertson,…the ‘Black File’, schedule 9, 28.8. 2013, a search in the Shard and the Manchester Offices of Duff and Phelps and Legal and Professional Privilege. You are not claiming that there was no claim to LLP?
R: I didn’t have an email-activated phone.. I had left a contact..
QC: Who made the assertion?
R: I can’t recall at all…I do recall once we left the building we did seek advice .
QC: Who from .
R: Mr Coleman[ ed.(?)]
QC: So at least very shortly after, you knew!
R: What’s your time-scale? We travelled right away by train to Glasgow.
QC: What did you do with the items seized?
R: We made a list of documents seized, including the ‘Black Folder’
QC [referring to a a photograph on screen] Can you look at the photograph. How was it labelled?
R: Further down, a red star…I think that’s the file.
QC: The ‘Scott schedule’, contained 314 pages. We will hear a report from Jackie [Jacqui?] A legal claim.
R: I agree today, but not in 2013.
QC: About the execution of the warrant, the Injunction obtained against the Crown and the Police..
R: Cubbin [ed:?] had sent me an email.
QC: That email contained the warrant signed on 9th June 2015 by Justice Cox, stamped on 10th, and told you of the Injunction.
What did you do?
R: I sent it to my line-managers to tell them of the injunction and stop the van taking the documents from HFW.
QC: What were the terms of the Injunction?
Lord Tyre [intervening] Mr Robertson, when did you first see this warrant?
R: On the evening of the search, a midnight phone call. I must have looked at it then and called Jackie O’Neill and a DC to say ‘we can’t take the van’ and to make other arrangements to get people home.
QC: [quoting from the warrant] “If you disobey this order you may be held in contempt of Court..” This was a serious event taking place?
R: yes. That would have woken me up..
QC: [continuing to quote] “ You shall not read, inspect, or make use of any of the documents or give the gist of the documents etc to any third party..”
R: I couldn’t access them: they were in the van with the City of London police.
QC: You knew that you couldn’t use the documents or any copies or replications. Do you think you could have re-exercised the execution of the warrant?
R:If it was necessary; I would have to go through the same process.
QC: 10..12.2015, an email from Campbell to Eddy Thomson copying in Caroline McLeod of the PFS. – If read from “restricting investigations” down to Campbell’s signature as Interim Head of Legal Services, Police Scotland.
Do you recall receiving this email?
R: Is there a reply from me?
QC: No.
R:I don’t dispute it..
QC: You were anxious about things?
R: There were things to do-check out of the hotel , get across London..
QC: Mr Grier did not have access to police documents, and details very recently received;
“Op Stop, Stop, Stop. Jim to do nothing unless authorised by us”
Do you recall receiving that, very shortly after the service of the Injunction?
R: Yes, we had stopped the night before.
Q: Did you email back to Campbell or were things just left?
R. There was more correspondence. I would have been seeking legal advice, and I think I would have phoned Mr Campbell.
QC: Was there contact with Novae Insurance following HFW and the Injunction?
R: I tried to get the materials to cut through the difficulties..
QC: That would have been the Injunction?
R: No. Andrew was telling me that Duff and Phelps might not be insured. Isn’t there something in there?
QC: Hard on the heels of the warrant and Bill of Suspension?
R: Yes. I couldn’t understand why. It had nothing to do with trying to get access to ‘warrant’ documents.
QC: Did you go back to HFW?
R: Yes
QC What did you ask them for?
R: The electronic material- they said they would.
QC: Who said that? At this point the indictment had been served on Grier. Isn’t that the normal thing?
R: Yes..
QC: But you’re still trying to get information! . Why were you interested in whether Duff and Phelps were insured for legal claims ?Why did Andrew Gregory offer to help and then not?
R: I explained all that to Alec Moon.
[Adjourned for lunch]
On resumption,
QC: How was it you were asked to provide information about HFW? You spoke to Sheriff Wood?
R: Yes.
QC: By-passing the Crown Office. Have you ever been asked by a Sheriff to produce documents, subject sheet ? Being asked for a ‘subject sheet’ is not strange, but after a warrant has been issued?
[here the QC spoke to the operator “Bundle 3, p. 747, please,” and continued – “SPR: standard prosecution report. This is a report for which you are responsible , sent by you to the Crown is your end suggestions as to what should happen?
R: yes.
QC [reading] “ ..fraudulent scheme charge, you Mr Grier did formulate and…scheme to gain control of Rangers..”
You formulated that charge. Who would have assisted you?
R: Sally Clark, McLeod….
++++++++++++++++++++++++==
And at that point I disconnected , and took the wife to Peebles!
Nice wee town, Peebles.
Always interesting, the way other organisations in sport look at things:
” Christian Coleman’s appeal was partially upheld and he will serve a reduced period of ineligibility of
18 months as from 14 May 2020.
The CAS Panel in charge of the matter, composed of Mr James Drake QC (UK), President, Mr Jeffrey
Benz (USA) and Prof. Ulrich Haas (Germany), arbitrators, held a hearing with the parties by videolink on 15 February 2021.
In coming to its decision, the CAS Panel determined that Christian Coleman had indeed committed an
Anti-Doping Rule Violation under Article 2.4 of the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules, but found
the athlete’s degree of negligence to be lower than that established in the Challenged Decision: the
Athlete was not at home during the 60-minute time slot on the day of the out-of-competition doping
control (9 December 2019), as he should have been, and the Athlete should have been on ‘high-alert’
on that day, given the two existing whereabout failures against him. On the other hand, however, had
the Athlete been called by the Doping Control Officer, he would have been able to return to his
apartment during the 60-minute window and a test would have been concluded. Although a telephone
call during the 60-minute window was not required by the rules, it was nevertheless reasonable for the
Athlete to expect such a call, as a matter of standard practice among other Doping Control Officers.
In conclusion, the CAS Panel determined that an 18-month period of ineligibility was the appropriate
sanction in the circumstances”
I had to laugh .
I heard English on ‘Sportsoud’ saying a minute ago
“the sheikhs, the oligarchs don’t care about history” .
Why should they when they have the splendid example of the SFA and TRFC just creating it instantly?
We’ll hear a lot of guff about ‘sporting integrity’, ‘true competition’- from lying hypocritical tossers who have destroyed the integrity of football in Scotland.
@ John Clark – if that’s what English said then so much for ranting about racism. To say “the sheikhs” don’t care about history is a bang to rights racist statement – no question. Not sure if oligarchism exists so not sure if he’s an oligarchist too ?
Another share issue by RIFC plc today, according to Companies House
2 150 000 @ 20p each.
Total shares now in issue 390441872.
John Clark 19th April 2021 At 21:22
……………
The win bonus must be crippling the new club;-)
https://twitter.com/ClydeSSB/status/1384208263026069507/photo/1
……………………
SFA. Uphold the values and very fabric of football.
……………..
Blow Torch and red neck come to mind
John Clark 19th April 2021 At 13:05
…………………..
Thanks JC
I was told a while back that restructuring was being discussed by someone who has contacts at board level. it was implied that a euro league 1 and 2 could be on the cards and both the large Glasgow clubs were interested . This could explain why money is being thrown at keeping the club at Ibrox functioning if they believe that the gravy train will shortly be stopping at their station. Having heard these rumours on many a previous occasion ,Atlantic league etc I didn’t pay much attention and took it with a pinch of salt.
The news today has gone down like a lead balloon as far as the fans are concerned and I personally hope it fails massively . The CL is already a mockery of its title and little more than an elite experiment that paves the way for footballs version of Kerry Packers cricket circus.
If these elitists want to go it alone then it should be with the proviso that should it fail then their return will be entry to the lowest division of their respective leagues.
Well today (tomorrow) is the day the SFA announces the outcome of the covid 5 appeal. I suspect now that Tav appears to be ready to return to action and the road to the Scottish Cup has passed another hurdle the hammer will fall with the upholding of the original bans. ( no laughing at the back). Instead of gleaning reports from all over, again, regarding another Rangers win, perhaps they could look into the continual need to issue shares. Where is the money going at such an alarming rate. A couple of million here, a couple of million there,,the accountants could get jobs as buskers with the amount of juggling going on, possibly an appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.
Vernallen 20th April 01.23
The latest share issue raised £430k.
When Dave King and others gained control of the club back in 2015 it was made clear that any shortfall would be filled by investors including himself.
This is exactly what has happened and so i’m not sure why anyone seems surprised.
Self awareness isn’t a strong point with the SPFL or SFA .
The core sprit of sporting merit gets mentioned, as does holding up the values and very fabric of football. ?
Secret 5 way agreements.
Basic registration requirements being punted .
Fraudulent European licence.
Thistle & Hearts being relegated .
Aye right. Gie me peace .
BBC 5 live giving a voice to fans of English Premiership clubs.
This new European Suer League is seemingly a cartel ???
The “Champions “ League ???
Further to my post at 08.35.
Shares were bought by Club 1872.
On the subject of the European Super-League, a correspondent to the ‘The Scotsman’ today remarks that
“..the12 teams… have forgotten ..the vital element making for successful sporting competition-tradition.
All the money in the world cannot buy history.”
Money isn’t necessary, not, at least, where corruption of the Football Authorities allows a club founded in 2012 to claim all the traditions (and sporting achievements) of a club that in disgraceful circumstances was put into liquidation as a cheating debtor, in hock for tens of millions of pounds!
[ btw-that correspondent is not , for the avoidance of doubt]
MIne of a few minutes ago!
Missed a word! Should be ‘is not me!’
According to a tweet by David Low, Rangers have banned every newspaper from Ibrox because they don’t believe they get fair coverage. God only knows what they would expect positive coverage to look like.
So the government are promising to assist in strangling at birth the European super league. A strange position for a free market advocacy to take but it has obvious popular vote connotations.
I am all for letting these clubs or any club decide to play in whatever league they wish to join.
Cross border issues are ridiculous in a global economy. It is the fans of football who will ultimately decide if they want to subscribe to, and support , an American style franchise that rejects the excitement and thrill of the relegation battle and the depression of unexpected defeat at the hands of a lower league club in cup competition. There is a lot of hypocrisy and revisionism currently about the integrity factor…gie me peace.
Works ok when visiting the sfm site on Opera browser. But, when using Chrome, I get a scary privacy message saying that attackers might be trying to steal passwords, messages or credit card details.
It includes the following line – suggesting a problem with the site’s SSL certificate.
NTE::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID
Anyone else see this message?
HirsutePursuit 20th April 2021 At 15:59
I was getting similar error using Brave web browser but not after clearing web cache and cookies. It is possible Chrome has cached a security certificate which has since been updated.
Albertz11 — April 20/21 — 11:02
Wasn’t disputing the amount of the last issue of shares, just curious, as to the continual short falls that need to be addressed. There appears to significant recurring shortfalls on a regular basis. Surely the tap has to be shut off sooner of later.
Any news of the covid 5 appeals ? Good day to bury bad/good news .
European Super League
Man City and Chelsea blink first.
Both have withdrawn their application to join.
HS
Higgy’s Shoes 20th April 2021 At 21:24
Hearing that Barca, Atletico and Man Utd have followed suit , and that Ed Woodward of Man U has resigned – he was going at the end of the year anyway .
It’s interesting that club* 1872 have bought the latest tranche of shares , firstly they are not usually given the opportunity to increase their holding and secondly having already agreed to purchase King’s shares they have opted to first buy from the club*. I imagine King will not be too happy seeing £430 000 slip through his fingers .
They are usually lenders of last resort by this board so it could indicate their funds are beginning to dry up but it could also be an opportunity to get back at King as I imagine the relationship isn’t as happy as it once was.
£430 000 is not an insignificant amount for club* 1872 and it will take a while to refill the coffers to start payment to King . The recent announcement that the Ibrox entity are snubbing the media may point to trouble at mill and this 430k may be the source of the fire that’s emitting the smoke. Will be interesting to see if King still has some sway over his pet journos .
The Super League seems to already be holed beneath the waterline with a couple of EPL members having 2nd thoughts on participating . If Super League 1 is a non starter then Super League 2 is going nowhere soon and regardless of what a few locals may believe Celtic or Rangers* will not be elite enough to replace them in the eyes of JP Morgan .
One positive aspect of all this is if the fans begin to take back control from the oligarchs and return it to the people.
Enough ranting from me ,I’m away for a prawn sandwich.
SG on the bookies list for Tottenham. Makes for an interesting thought process, does he stay as the big fish in a little pond, or opt for the little fish in the big pond matching wits with many successful and proven managers. The backroom staff would no doubt go as well as they appear to have their wagon attached to his horse. Must be some concern in the blue room as it would be a step closer to Liverpool and would save blushes if it didn’t work out at Tottenham rather than tarnish his Liverpool halo. …. Covid 5 decision stuck somewhere in the “cloud”.
Albertz11 20th April 2021 At 08:35
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Vernallen 20th April 01.23
The latest share issue raised £430k.
When Dave King and others gained control of the club back in 2015 it was made clear that any shortfall would be filled by investors including himself.
This is exactly what has happened and so i’m not sure why anyone seems surprised.
………………………………………….
I am only surprised they are still doing it, as even Dave king at his last AGM in 2019 said they can’t keep doing it.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19244894.ex-rangers-chief-charles-green-unwilling-testify-56-8m-claim-ibrox-sold-off/
Ex-Rangers chief Charles Green unwilling to testify in £47.7m claim that Ibrox should have been sold off.
Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green has refused to give evidence in a £56.8 million action brought by a financial firm over claims Ibrox should have been sold to pay off debt.
The Court of Session has head that Mr Green has been unwilling to give as statement after being called in by the club’s former administrators, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, over allegations they should have sold off the stadium and other assets while in control of the club when it went into financial meltdown ten years ago
He knows where the bodies are buried.
In my post of 15 April at 19.57, I mentioned that I had on that day ” managed to catch the beginning of the cross-examination of the lady Det. Inspector in the Grier damages action.”, but I was hesitant about putting my notes of that on the blog.
But having now already put notes on the blog, for consistency’s I put the notes of that hearing of part of the DI’s evidence given on 15 April.
It’s entirely at the discretion of the SFM monitors whether they let me post them-I claim no special right to bore people who may not be at all interested!
But for those who have read the other bits, this bit adds a little more detail
David Grier v Lord Adcocate, David Grier v Chief Constable , Police Scotland,
Virtual hearing, 15 April 2021.
Witness, Det Insp Jackie ( Jacqui?) O’Neill 10.30 a.m
[Mr Duncan QC is ‘QC’ and DI O’Neill is ‘O’N”
Lord Tyre presiding Judge
Mr Duncan QC: Can you hear me?
O’N: Yes
If we look at Bundle (page 1721 for the operator, who put documents on screens of the legals and witnesses, but no one else)
{delay while operator finds the document and puts it on screen)
You see photographs of disks with elastic bands?
O’N: Yes.
QC: what are they?
Documents belonging to DWF/HFW.
QC: [to p.1719, please. Zoom in on image.] Are you able to read that?
O’N: Need to refresh your mind?
O’N: No.
QC: Were they opened?
O’N: Not at that time.
QC: Do you agree it would have been improper for those envelopes to be open.
O’N: Yes.
QC: Who was in attendnce at DWF- you, Robertson, Gregory, Logan..Anyone else?
O’N: No.
QC: This was to return envelopes. Something annoyed Mr Gregory?
O’N: Yes, disks had been removed from envelopes.
QC: There’s another view of the table..boxes, notebooks, disks…
O’N: yes.
QC: Did Mr Gregory take photographs?
O’N Yes.
QC: Whose notebook is in th photo?
O’N :Not mine.
QC: Who packed the boxes?
O’N: I would have been involved in it.
QC: Was there anything unusual
O.N Disks were in production bags.
QC: Are the bags transparent?
O’N: Yes.
QC: Could you see whether the disks were outside or inside the envelopes?
O’N: Inside.
QC: Nothing unusual..?
[ed: I missed any reply that was made]
QC: Did Mr Robertson say anything to you on the way down, to Manchester.
O’N: I honestly couldn’t tell you, with the passage of time.
QC: What was your understanding of why you and D I Robertson went down rather than a police constable just to sign certificate? An. Other enquiries to be dealt with ? Why did you and Mr Robertson go down
O’N: Because we had been involved.
QC: Did you and Mr Robertson return every production?
O’N: No..
QC: 20/10/2017.How did disks end up being outside the envelopes, on the table?
O’N: I had a list, sitting at the table. The boxes on my right-hand side on the table. Ticking off certificates etcetera, and labels, handing them to Adam Logan and (?), to put them in the box.
QC: Could you see what Mr Robertson was doing before handing over to you/
O’N: The boxes were piled up, like conveyor belt ,with the disks out of the envelopes
QC: Can you think of any possible reason why the disks would be out?
O’N:No
QC: On this other image..elastic band seems to be relaxed.[ ed: that’s what I think I hear]…?
O’N: Yes
QC: Do you recall Mr Robertson opening the production bag? How was it opened?
O’N: I can’t recall. Usually by scissors..
QC: There were spare elastic bands, so that Mr Robertson could put them on the bags. Any reason why only 3 had bands?
O’N: [ I could not make out what the witness said]
QC: [began his sentence with “What was ..” , stopped, and began again “ The disk should not have been taken from envelope.. What did you do?
O’N: Can I refer to my statement?
Lord Tyre (intervening) I prefer that you answer before referring to your statement.
O’N: [ed; again could not make out her response: it might simply have been a ‘yes,m’Lord’]
QC: and Mr Gregory was angry?
O’N: yes.
QC: So angry that he took photos?
O’N: Yes.
QC: Do you understand that Mr Robertson thought there was nothing wrong about what had happened?
O’N: Not sure.
QC: You acknowledge that something had happened that shouldn’t have?
O’N: Yes.
QC: You travelled straight back?
O’N: Yes.
QC What did you say to Mr Robertson.
O’N: I can’t remember
QC: What was Mr Robertson’s response?
O’N: I can’t recall.
QC: Are you saying you don’t recall?
O’N: It wasn’t a .[ ed: my scribble looks like the letters ‘lny’ or”lng’]..
QC: Did you say that it is out of order?
O’N: No.
QC: You’re a police officer of some years standing and used to asking questions- are you saying you can’t . Did you ask him why he opened the envelopes?
O’N: Possibly
QC: Did you or didn’t you?
O’N: Probably did.
QC: You’ve gone from ‘possibly’ to ‘probably’. You would need a full conversation took (sic)place so that you could report to Crown Office?
O’N Yes.
QC: But did you ask Roberson about the full circumstances when you were in the van?
O’N: I honestly can’t remember. We must have done if I could report it back to the Crown office.
QC: Did you take any notes.
O’N: not on that day.
QC: This was sticking out like a sore thumb, an event worthy of memory.
O’N: Yes.
QC: Look at 3937 (3934 for the operator….blow-up the top half) An email from you, 9th October to Caroline Mcleod of the PFS, copied to Robertson: Operation IONA update:
“ confirmation….. Did you see Mr Stevenson before Mr Robertson, did you speak to Mr Robertson over that weekend, email or anything?
O’N: [ed :If there was a reply I missed it ]
QC: Friday 6th October arrangements were made to return 45 boxes (containing about 4000 documents) to Duff and Phelps..
[There was a gap on my line for long enough to make me think connection had been broken)
then,
QC: Why did you record that Gregory began looking though the boxes?
O’N: ( indistinct response)
QC: Did Mr Robertson say it was unusual..?
O’N: [indistinct response]
Why was that paragraph inserted? Did Mr Robertson ask you to put that para iin?
O’N: No.
QC: [reading] “Boxes were checked..ticked off… Gregory asked why there were disks that had been removed.. Robertson said so that they could check the disks were present.”
Do you understand that explanation
{ed: I accidentally put my phone on ‘hold’ at 11.15, thought it was the court system that had a fault and did not discover the mistake until a full 2 minutes later)
then,
QC: Either you said nothing or raised it with a more senior officer? [Did you raise it with Eddy Thomson?
O’N: No..
QC: A serious matter: you had witnessed a senior officer doing that, are you telling me that you think it acceptable not to report it?
O’N: I can’t prove that it was reported. At the very lest it would have been on the Monday.
QC:[ed: missed what he asked]
O’N: If Det Superintendent Thomson had asked for written report…
Q:C: We have three statements from DSU Thomson and there is no mention. Is it your evidence that you reported ..it to DSU Thomson?
O’N: There is no way it would not have been reported.
O’N: Did you over the weekend email to Robertson?
O’N: I can’t remember.
QC: Did you hear from Caroline McLeod ? A reply from her? You can’t recall?
11.45.
QC: The witness statement from Philip Betts This was the first statement from Mr Betts.
O’N: Not necessarily..
QC: We see that , 2nd April 2013 at 10.15 , a statement
taken by DSR Robertson and DS O’Neill. Was this the first time?
O’N: No, we met him the week before.
QC: When was this?
O’N:[ ed : gave some details of meeting at Stanstead airport]
QC: What do you understand about a police constable disclosing information to someone who may be accused?
O’N:[ed: missed the reply]
QC: {reading] “Wednesday 27th March 201, Radisson Hotel..Phil Betts, JR…” How long did the meeting take?
O’N: About one and a half hours
QC: A good deal of detail gone into.. Ticketus deal, Betts… Why was there no formal statement obtained?
O’N: The formal statement was taken week later.
QC: But different date and place, and contains different details. Why did your notes not say that a statement was taken on that day? What was the difference?
O’N: (ed: don’t know what the witness said in reply)
QC : We have a man who is interviewed in the presence of his solicitor and that was not a ‘statement’?
Why did you not disclose that Betts had made a statement ?Did you submit your notes? Did you compare what he said at the Radisson with his ‘formal’ statement?
O’N: No.
QC : [reading next page] “… met me I St Paul’s and took me to Octopus offices. Don’t think John Ross, Bryant, NF [Nigel Farr, colleague of Betts] CW asked for pof (proof of funding)”
Right hand page…bottom right. [from 6th line of writing]
Ms O’Neill, …there’s a good deal of information in those handwritten notes abut what Mr Grier may or may not have known about Ticketus..
The obligation would have been to tell the Crown, who would no doubt have passed iit on to the defence. Why was this not done?
O’N: It was an initial statement..
QC: Why is it a matter of hindsight? As an experienced police officer..?
O’N:: Those notes were never intended to be a statement.
QC: Are you saying that Mr Betts would have right to change what he said?
O’N [ed: I could not make out what the witness said]
QC: but at the time Mr Betts was a suspect, not a witness.
O’N: I might not have taken any notes.
Qc; Are you saying that in an interview with suspect in the presence of his solicitor you would not have taken notes?
O’N: I…
[ed: I give the next couple of questions exactly as they are positioned on the paper I scribbled on.
QC: Did you know that Betts was a Director of Wavetower?
police decision or Crown decision
are you referring to
[ed: not entirely sure who said
was saying what]
QC 15/3/2013
are you suggesting that there had been dealings
with Betts before 20/32013
QC: did you have any doubt about Bett’s honesty?
O’N: No.
QC: Did you become aware that Mr Gilhooly of HMRC had doubts?
Statement taken 27th May 2013 by you from Mr Gilhooley, wth DC Gordon Black present. Just read that to yursef, please………………Does that sit well with your recollection?
O’N: Yes
QC: Page 1515,last paragraph. EBT and debt collection. 27/05/14 about honesty of Betts. What did you do? Who did you tell?
O’N: :It was highlighted to Crown
QC: You were at the Shard search?
O’N: Yes.
QC: A photograph of a file , the Black File, was seized. Where was it found?
O’N: In a cupboard.
QC Who found it?
O’N: I did, with Carol..
QC: It’s clear that this related to a ‘legal case’
O’N: Yes.
QC: What did you do?
O’N: Took it to the conference room
QC: And you would then put it into a documents bag, labelled…
O’N [gave a very brief description of the usual bagging and labelling process]
QC:314 pages-a substantial amount?
O’N: Yes.
QC: What were you looking for?
O’n: Evidential material to support the case.
QC: How long did it take you?
O’N A quick flick through.
QC: Did you start from the beginning and go through to the end?
O’N: Just a quick flick.
QC: It must have been obvious that it related to a legal case?
O’N: I wouldn’t be looking at it with any knowledge of legal PP.
QC: But you’re agreeing that it was obvious.
O’N: Yes.
QC: An ‘initial sift’ as opposed to examination of a file.
O’N: A quick flick is an initial sift, to see if related to warrant.
QC: How would you tell? Were Duff and Phelps given a copy of the warrant? Or were they deliberately not given a copy of the search warrant?
O’N: I don’t know.
QC: Schedule 9, Cash Flow forecast. Do you recognise?
O’N: Yes.
When did you identify that this, on an initial sift, that this was an important document?
O’N:The same day
QC: How?
O’N: The reference to Ticketus.
QC: Whereabouts?
O’N: About page 288.
QC: Did any prior pages give you evidence?
O’N:[ I think she said No,] while the QC continued “ Why did you continue with the sift once you saw that it fell wthin the warrant.? Did you call Mr Robertson over to say ‘look what I found’?
O’N: Yes.
QC [ ed; not heard]
O’N: I believe it showed that Duff and Phelps had that information.. A brief review of material to establish if it fell within warrant, if it was then it was not examined.
QC: Why did you keep looking at it while in the Shard? Bundle 1, page 1954. Can you confirm this email of 30th January 2014 shortly after Shard assertion of Privilege as at 30th January 2014 that as at 30th January 2014 the question of Privilege had not been resolved…
[ It was now about 1.55 pm and I had to disconnect from the hearing to attend to other matters}
Timtim 20th April 2021 At 22:42
If Super League 1 is a non starter then Super League 2 is going nowhere soon and regardless of what a few locals may believe Celtic or Rangers* will not be elite enough to replace them in the eyes of JP Morgan .
+++++++++++++++++++++++
I agree, but it should never be forgotten that the Scottish Media at one point in the late 80’s / early 90’s were more than happy to push the idea that Rangers would be in a European Super League. This nonsensical notion was of course driven by the now disgraced David Murray whose words were along the lines of “when it comes we will be in it, but Celtic won’t have a ticket to the party”. The media lapped this up of course and used it to deride and ridicule Celtic even further, amid forecasts of them being “left behind forever”.
Michael Kelly of the old Celtic board complained bitterly on his exit that football success is ‘cyclical’ and that success would have come to Celtic once again. Whether it would have under his watch is debatable, but come again it did under new owners, and none of it required a questionable relationship with a bank, nor did it require using taxpayers money to fund success on the pitch. It is also worth noting once again that the bank who funded Rangers, tried all they could to put Celtic out of business.
The lesson to be learned of course is that money from questionable sources under the stewardship of megalomaniac owners who are fawned over by an unquestioning mainstream media is not always what it seems. There is also a lesson that clubs should stand on their own feet financially, but that clearly hasn’t been learned in some quarters.
Ach, doesn’t it make one puke?
“Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister and Celtic caretaker boss John Kennedy both expressed their opposition to the [ super-league] project yesterday, echoing the feeling across the game that the closed shop nature of the breakaway competition was an assault on sporting merit” [ Phil Johnson, “The Scotsman” today]
Where was , is, their sense of sporting merit when it comes to accepting that the Scottish Football authorities can create a lie and award a football club ,founded in 2012, titles and honours that it never could even have competed for, let alone win?
Honest to God, the sickening hypocrisy of Scottish Football is worse than the wicked cheating by RFC of 1872 that caused its death as a football club, and caused the need for the lie.
[As an aside, the accompanying front-page picture caused me to chuckle: it shows a demonstrating crowd of football fans , a line of police officers, fans bearing placards .
One of the placards in the middle distance instantly caught my eye. ” RIP CFC” it said.
For a nano-second I was back in 2012 when our James Taylor’s newspaper had banner headlines about the death of RFC and the end of 140 years of history, and of how very quickly the truth of RFC’s actual liquidation and football death was quickly , to Taylor’s and his newspaper’s eternally disgusting shame and disgrace, was quickly denied.
The placard referred of course to Chelsea FC and its part in the ‘Super league’ agreement.]
@ John Clark – I find your court room reports fascinating (not least to see the hours the Courts keep – they don’t appear in danger of breaking many harnesses…). From a selfish perspective i would be grateful if you could point me in the direction of a summary of what the charges are against each of the various protagonists.
Thanks in advance.
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/19248396.rangers-add-major-new-shareholder-investor-information/
As an aside. My eldest daughter received football kit today from local team. Came direct from manufacturers and included their brochure for football trophies. I can get customised trophies from £1.99, free carriage for orders over £100 and dispatched within 2 days. I reckon by the weekend I could have the most successful football club in history for about £200…
Wokingcelt 21st April 2021 At 16:20
“..in the direction of a summary of what the charges are against each of the various protagonists.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thank you, Wokingcelt.
It’s important to note that this is a civil , not a criminal, case.
David Grier was arrested , detained and indicted ,wrongly, and any and all charges that he had been implicated in a criminal conspiracy with CW an d Whitehouse and Clark and a couple of others were dropped absolutely.
The Inner House (Scotland’s highest court of appeal in civil cases) decided in 2019 that the Crown had no immunity. Under that Court ruling, a person who has been prosecuted without sufficient evidence and maliciously has a right to seek damages,
Grier brought such an action for damages for wrongful ‘malicious arrest’ against both the Lord Advocate and the Chief Constable, and that is the action that is currently in Court.
It’s to be noted that the burden of proof is on the ‘pursuer’: that is , the Crown and the Chief Constable DO NOT have to prove their innocence-Grier has to prove their guilt.
As I understand things, part of trying to prove that there was ‘malice’ would require the pursuer to show that the Crown/Police had no reasonable, legitimate grounds for BRINGING a prosecution.
I’m not a lawyer, of course, so I may be fuzzy or plain wrong, but that’s what I understand .
I probably don’t need to, but I should perhaps mention that this present case does NOT involve a jury, and ,of course, the Judge will hear every last word of evidence ( not just bits and pieces!] and will carefully, determine the facts and apply the law to the facts, only after he has done that.
I hope that helps.
ps. When you see the number of pages of material that have to to read and studied out-of-court, I think it’s a wonder that the actual time spent in court is able to be so much.
These guys- Judges, Counsel, solicitors really do put in the hours .
What we see in the court room is only part of their day’s work.
Thank you Mr Clark. And apologies if any lawyers/legal folk took offence at my off-hand comment!
I understand that the Scottish Government/p
Police Scotland have already paid out compensation to some of the Sevco actors. Is the cost (of this leaving aside unpaid income taxes) to the taxpayer known?
Another major shareholder added to the ever growing list at Rangers. I would like to see what they envision as a return on their investment, and, when that might happen. I would put that in the category of the SFA’s verdict on the Covid 5 appeal outcome, somewhere in the year 2525.
Wokingcelt 21st April 2021 At 21:44
‘.. Is the cost (of this leaving aside unpaid income taxes) to the taxpayer known?’
++++++++
If I may refer you to this link as a starting point.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55983492
There is the possibility of claims from others!
And, apart from the sums in damages, there are the expenses ( as they are known in Scotland, ‘costs’ in England) of the court proceedings
All coming from the tax-payer, ultimately.
[quote]HirsutePursuit 20th April 2021 At 15:59
5 0 Rate This
Works ok when visiting the sfm site on Opera browser. But, when using Chrome, I get a scary privacy message saying that attackers might be trying to steal passwords, messages or credit card details.
It includes the following line – suggesting a problem with the site’s SSL certificate.
NTE::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID
Anyone else see this message[/quote]
Do you access via a bookmark from Chrome? I suspect you are using an old bookmark to https://www.sfm.scot/ which is still active (as an archive) but it would appear the https certificate on its web server has expired. In Opera I suspect you have https://blog.sfm.scot/ which does have a valid https certificate on its web server
Cluster One 20th April 2021 At 23:24
‘..The Court of Session has head that Mr Green has been unwilling to give as statement after being called in by the club’s former administrators,’
+++++++++++++++++++++++=
I missed that, Cluster One: I had kind of forgotten that case, which is of far greater interest in the scheme of things than the personal claims for damages by individuals, interesting enough as they were/are in throwing light on our legal system and how it operates.
John Clark 22nd April 2021 At 09:14
Cluster One 20th April 2021 At 23:24
‘..The Court of Session has head that Mr Green has been unwilling to give as statement after being called in by the club’s former administrators,’
+++++++++++++++++++++++=
I missed that, Cluster One: I had kind of forgotten that case, which is of far greater interest in the scheme of things than the personal claims for damages by individuals.
…………..
Isn’t this kind of missing the point John. Rangers Football Club was liquidated and Ibrox WAS sold off to help pay the debt, ……But it was sold off under-value.
On the subject of CG’s reported unwillingness to give evidence, I’ve been fiddling about trying to find whether anyone can be compelled to give evidence , in civil cases.
I note this link
https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_taking_of_evidence-76-sc-maximizeMS_EJN-en.do#toc_2_8
from which I have lifted ths:
“European Judicial Network
(in civil and commercial matters)Scotland
Taking of evidence – Scotland
2.8 Are witnesses obliged by law to testify?
Generally speaking, any witness who is cited to give evidence is required to do so.
2.9 In which cases can they refuse to give evidence?
In cases where a witnesses has privilege against answering questions e.g. communications between a legal adviser and his or her client. There is also a general rule in Scots law that a person cannot be forced to incriminate themselves. A witness is entitled to refuse to answer a question if a true answer may lead to a crime or involves an admission of adultery as an untrue answer could lead to a charge of perjury.
2.10 Can a person who refuses to testify be sanctioned or forced to give evidence?
If a person refuses to give evidence then he or she can be forced to testify under threat of a charge of contempt of court. It is also possible to lodge as evidence a previous statement the witness made if they now refuse to give evidence. ”
I wonder whether any one of these situations applies to witnesses in the BDO civil action who are living in France?
If so, would it still apply now that the UK is no longer a member state of the EU? Is there extradition for civil matters?
Can CG be legally compelled to give evidence as to how the purchase price of some of the major assets of RFC was arrived at?
What fun and games!
But shoosh, you’ll frighten the horses!
I am at a loss to understand how Mr Green will get away with refusing to give evidence in this case.
I have given evidence in civil cases a handful of times – criminal cases lots of times. It was always made clear to me that attendance in the civil courts was compulsory. I recall on one memorable occasion many years ago, having to give evidence in a civil case at the court of session in Edinburgh. I had been involved in this case where the incident had occurred almost 6 years prior to the court case. My part in it was extremely minor. The court appearance clashed with a final professional examination I should have been taking that day. My employer got in touch with the court to explain that to attend and give evidence would mean missing the exam. Their reply was almost, “…and your point is?” I had to attend court and missed the exam. It was infuriating because I was in the box for no more than 3 minutes and answered a series of yes/no answers before being dismissed. (“Were you in such and such a place on this date?”, “Yes”. And did you see so and so there?”, “Yes.” “And did you speak to him?”, “Yes”. “And did he say, such and such?”, “Yes”. “Thank you. No more questions my lord”. )
Had this been a criminal case, the procurator fiscal, unless there was a chance the case would have collapsed without my evidence, would undoubtedly have excused me given my minor role. I had been excused court attendance for much less many times over the years.
John Clark 22nd April 2021 At 09:14
I missed that, Cluster One: I had kind of forgotten that case, which is of far greater interest in the scheme of things .
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19244894.ex-rangers-chief-charles-green-unwilling-testify-56-8m-claim-ibrox-sold-off/
……………………………
It is all very hush, hush you would never know there was the case you reported on JC or the up and coming BDO case against the administrators, i only stumbled on the charles Green link while looking fore something else.
May 4th 2021 for your Diary.
Is it just me?
Has the whole RFC of 1872 saga turned me into a rank rotten cynical sod?
The misleadingly named ‘Rangers Football Club’ website tells us that ‘Perron Investments Ltd ‘has 16 million+ shares in RIFC plc.
It tells us that John Halstead declares himself to be the beneficial owner of those shares.
I’ve spent a bit of time looking at the Companies House register.
I cannot find any company registered therein in the name ‘Perron Investments Ltd’ (There is a Perron Ltd, but that’s a wee dormant company with one shareholder]
Perhaps I’m missing something?
I look up ‘John Halsted’
Well, there is a ‘John Combotekrash Halsted’, American,but resident in England, who is indeed a Managing Partner of Pamplona Capital Management, which the ‘Glasgow Times’ article (presumably having been told as much) reports him as being.
Now, I’m not making connections where there might not be any, but I had a wee smile to myself when I read this article by ‘moneynerd’ : https://moneynerd.co.uk/pamplona-capital-management-debt/?nab=1
” What is Pamplona Capital Management?
This is a group of investors who have collectively put up £100m to buy portfolios of loans and credit card debt.
US hedge funds, private equity firms and even pension funds are among investors. These United States investors secure debt packages from big-name banks and lenders here in the UK.
They are also known for buying debt managed by IVA agreements. For banks, selling IVAs is a way to reduce risk and free up capital. For the person paying the IVA, it means potentially being hounded by an unknown debt collection agency if they default on their payments.
Who Owns Pamplona Capital Management?
Pamplona Capital Management in London is not a solicitors or debt management company, but it is a capital management firm. They’ve got dozens of investors and have raised millions to acquire and profit on consumer debt.
95% of their investors are based in the US but their focus is on UK-based consumer debt.”
There is a delicious wee irony in the fact that a Managing Partner of a (whatever else) debt-collecting ‘investment’ company is the beneficial owner of the shares invested by another company which is a significant shareholder in a financially struggling football club living on borrowed monies!
Is it just me?
John Clark 22nd April 2021 At 12:53
Although it doesn’t meanhe can’t be President John C Halstead is listed as having resigned as a director of Pamplona Capital over 2 years ago. He has either resigned or the company has been dissolved in the case of his 6 other UK Directorships.
Isn’t there a lot of Bull in Pamplona? There are certainly a lot of Pamplona’s at 25 Park Lane. At least 4 Registerd Companies/Partnerships registered there with Pamplona in the name.
There is a Perron Investments LLC registered in Joe Biden’s backyard of Wilmington Delaware . You can do a search on Delaware’s state government web page https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/eCorp/EntitySearch/NameSearch.aspx (File number is 5687794). It doesn’t list directors/owners and it was only created at the end of last month.
Was it Dave King who inferred money laundering or other criminal activities amongst suspended shareholders?
Tykebhoy 22nd April 2021 At 13:50
”..Isn’t there a lot of Bull in Pamplona?”
+++++++++++++++++++
Nice one.
And this, about Delaware as tax haven:
“Delaware Division of
Corporations
Annual Report Statistics
A Message from the Secretary of State – Jeffrey W. Bullock
“Delaware’s business entity franchise saw another year of healthy growth in 2019. The total number of LLCs registered in the First State crossed the one million mark and we continue to be the domicile of choice for members of the Fortune 500 and newly public companies, with approximately 89% of all U.S. initial public offerings last year.
Statutory changes adopted by the Delaware General Assembly in 2019 consisted of relatively minor revisions to promote consistency and provide additional clarity with respect to business entity division. In keeping with longstanding tradition, the revisions were recommended by a panel of experts in Delaware corporate law and jurisprudence, and acted on by the Legislature in a process largely free of political influence.”
Image representing 68.8 percent of all Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in Delaware and more than 1.5 million legal entities are incorporated in Delaware.
https://corp.delaware.gov/stats/
‘Only fools and horses’ allowed us to laugh at DelBoy.
I suspect that the real life Delboys are nothing to laugh at, as they laugh at us and our naivety and the politicians who are their friends!
Appellate Tribunal Update | Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear, Dapo Mebude, Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu (Rangers FC)
Thursday 22 April 2021
Alleged Parties in Breach: Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear, Dapo Mebude, Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu (Rangers FC)
Date: 13/14 February 2021
Disciplinary Rules allegedly breached:
Disciplinary Rule 24 – A recognised football body, club, official, Team Official or other member of Team Staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall be subject to and shall comply with the Articles, the Laws of the Game and the rules, procedures and regulations, bye-laws and Decisions of the Scottish FA.
Disciplinary Rule 77 – A recognised football body, club, official, Team Official, other member of Team Staff, player, match official or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall, at all times, act in the best interests of Association Football. Furthermore such person or body shall not act in any manner which is improper or use any one, or a combination of, violent Conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.
Principal hearing date: Thursday, 25 March 2021
Outcome: Suspension of 6 matches applied as follows: 4 matches immediate and 2 matches suspended until End of Season 2020/21.
Determination appealed
Appellate Tribunal Hearing (on 20 April 2021) Outcome:
Appeals dismissed;
The Decisions of the appealed Tribunal are affirmed and the original sanctions are re-imposed.
Paddy Malarkey 22nd April 2021 At 17:09
‘..The Decisions of the appealed Tribunal are affirmed and the original sanctions are re-imposed.’ (Covid-5)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Good spot, PM.
Penalty immediately effective I would imagine.
Somewhat cryptic response .
RANGERS notes the outcome of today’s appeal.
We remain disappointed in the result. Furthermore, we believe this outcome highlights the inconsistency of decision making in the Scottish FA’s disciplinary process.
We are cognisant that the approach taken by other football associations across Europe has no resemblance to that of the Scottish FA. We urge the Scottish FA to be open minded to learn from other football authorities.
We now focus on Sunday’s quarter final at Ibrox.
If Rangers have banned all newspapers from Ibrox, why don’t the papers retaliate by not printing the countless press releases they issue. Most of them have nothing to add to the on going concerns, issues, etc, surrounding Scottish football.
In the honeyed words of a QC questioning a witness, perhaps someone will help me with this, so that I’m sure in my own mind of my arithmetic: I have been known to get my arithmetic wrong.
After the RIFC plc share issue of reported date 9 April 2021, their total shares in issue figure was 388 291 1872
And after the issue of 2 150 000 shares of reported date 19 April 2021, that total was increased to 390 441 872
Deep down in the bowels of the website used by ‘Rangers FC’ it is reported that the chap called John Halsted [ cf. my post of 12.53 today] is the beneficial owner of the 16,250,000 shares [4.16% of the total] held in RIFC plc by Perron Investments LLC,
I conclude that Perron Investments LLC is not a NEW shareholder, but must already have held such number of shares as an additional 2 150 000 would raise to that percentage level of the total that is required to be reported as ‘significant’ and the shareholder named.
Am I right or a meringue?
If I am right, then the managing partner of a company that[among other things] buys up IVAs ( Individual Voluntary Arrangements [=debt repayment agreements ] may personally have been a shareholder since the first day that RIFC plc lost any normal credit facility and had to resort to loans from this, that and the other quarter.
Loans that a perhaps worried lender sells off to , perhaps, such companies as Pamplona ,or whatever, to make sure he gets most of his money back.
I’ve no real understanding of these things, of course, but I think I’d feel a wee bit uncomfortable if I were a shareholder in a company alongside a shareholder who might profit if ANOTHER company, of which he is a managing partner, were in control of debts ‘sold’ to it by the company of which I am a fellow shareholder.
If I were a contributor to Club 1872, for example, I think I would be a wee bit annoyed!
If you can make sense of that.
I have made a note of the access number for the [final?] day ‘s Grier hearing tomorrow.
All other things being equal , I hope to tune in to hear any kind of final submissions on behalf of the pursuer and defender[if that is what happens?]
I gather from an informed source that an important witness appeared to concede that the prosecution case was ill-prepared ,ill-researched and sort of scatter-gun in approach.
If that is true, the question has to be asked: was that, could it have been, because of deliberate intention to ensure that any prosecution would fail?
or because of an unacceptable level of sheer incompetence?
Will we ever know the truth about the whole disgusting Liquidation ‘saga’ and its consequences, and all the many lying cheats and ,perhaps, some innocent folk involved or caught up in it?
The baddies themselves , of course, know who they are.
And know how much they are despised by the rest of us in the abstract, and how much more they would be despised face to face and in the flesh.
If Kris Boyd wasn’t a former Ranger’s player would he garner the press coverage for his comments regarding anything in Scottish football.
Rangers ask the SFA for consistency in rulings regarding suspensions, etc. Since it took almost two months to hand down a final verdict and Rangers having use of the players involved that borders on the comical side of things. If they want the SFA to follow the rulings of other European leagues, I see more dossiers being created as rules are followed.
And, finally the media still going on about the “invincibiles” as the league draws to a close. Again they fail to mention that they would be the second Scottish team to achieve that feat, as they were second to nine a row, have never achieved a quadruple treble, and the list goes on. Those achievements by another Scottish club stand far brighter than the alleged 55. Oops, almost forgot the trophy from 1967.
John Clark 22nd April 2021 At 23:34
Wasn’t it suggested Club18-72 bought the 215000.
16.25m were alloted on 19th March Companies House allotment of shares
which is 7 days before Perron Investments LLC in Delaware was Incorporated. A further 31 million shares were allotted between those two transaction and in total this RIFC Financial Year just shy of 130m shares have been alloted raising just under £26m or more likely converting debt to worthless equity
Just to say I that I had to go out early-ish this morning, and got back in a short while ago,
I connected with the ‘virtual’ hearing but only to hear Mr Moynihan questioning a woman witness (possibly a financial expert) about the basis of her calculation of the amounts of money claimed as damages by Grier [salaries, bonuses lost compared with the calculations of the figures in the Rawland’s Report (?)
I frankly lost interest after a few minutes!
Tykebhoy 23rd April 2021 At 10:15
‘..which is 7 days before Perron Investments LLC in Delaware was Incorporated.’
+++++++++++++++++++
Good point, and I’m happy to defer to your greater knowledge.
The saga, I’m afraid, has led me to be ready not to believe a word of anything that comes from Ibrox given the rotten foundations of TRFC?RIFC plc and how the fiction has to be maintained.
I think I would still not be happy as a shareholder in an enterprise which also had a shareholder with a ‘vulture’s’ interest struggling , debt-laden enterprises!
No personal disrespect to Mr Halsted, of course.
With regard to the COVID 5, a few observations from me:
1. There needs to be greater transparency such that the basis of the appeal is made public (even if after the decision if to do beforehand would be deemed unfair). Clubs might think twice that being the case.
2. No apparent jeopardy from making a baseless appeal for sporting advantage. In such cases an additional penalty should be applied – I don’t think the player(a) should bear this as it may well not be their decision to appeal. A financial penalty should apply to the club (based as % of that club’s turnover).
3. The timetable for the determination of sanctions and appeals should follow a weekly drumbeat (after all, last time I looked games are played every week during the season). Applying an amateur-game committee style approach to a professional game is untenable.
4. Sanctions for breaching any rule or regulation should be established and communicated to all at the start of the season, removing opportunity for “discretion”
SG is apparently upset he is losing some players for four games, but, has nothing to say about the use of said players during the long drawn out saga of awaiting a final decision. I know Patterson played in many games but did the other two members of the senior squad get any games, minutes, etc. Surely they must have been missed in such an illustrious season.
“Dear Sirs,
Are you yet in a position to favour me with a reply to my email of 11 March 2021?
I have no other email address for Mr Ceferin.
Yours faithfully ,”
I sent that as an email to Ceferin’s law firm half an hour ago.
Your man Ceferin has had plenty to say these last few days.
I wish he paid more attention to his law firm’s manager, who seems to have a staff who do not respond to emails!
Or maybe they did pass on to him my earlier emails, and he himself has opted to ignore?
Either way, black marks to him from me , and I will view him with the same dark suspicions with which I view the SFA.
Of course, obtaining replies is not the prime objective- it is the ‘putting on record’ of assertions that is important.
And a great example of that is the wonderful final exculpation of the post office folk , and the disgrace of those who prosecuted them. The Post Office has been shown to be ready to lie and have people sent to jail.
I believe that lies were told, myths created, by Football Governance in Scotland.
I believe that those who I believe lied, know that they lied, and may very well be afraid that somewhere down the line someone will be as ready to spill the beans as , it seems, was the late Gary Withey in the matter of the purchase of RFC by CW.
I may be long dead and gone by that time.
But the record will show that at least one person continued to insist on Truth, and future historians of football in Scotland will not be able to ignore that,
Unless , like what used to be called ‘linesmen’, they commandingly scream ‘Red Card, Red Card’ in a paroxysm of excitement!
[tongue a little bit in cheek]
Graham Spiers in his Times Column today is the latest Scottish football journalist to pour scorn on the ESL, and to savage the greed of the elite. Spiers is far from the worst, but like the rest he turns a blind eye to the utter corruption that has taken place in the Scottish game since 2011. In my view that makes his words as hollow as the rest. I have no idea if Graham reads this blog, but all I will say is cheats do win, and Scottish football is a prime example of that. Not only do they win, the Scottish media celebrate them winning.
If the ESL ever happens I don’t expect my club to have an invite. That being said I would gladly welcome any opportunity to escape the clutches of a Football Association and media that in 2021 still reflects the prejudices of the 1950’s. If that ever happens, the Scottish football media can influence nothing, no matter how many lies they support.
Nice piece from Gerry Hassan on super league and other football matters.
https://www.scottishreview.net//GerryHassan567a.html
Upthehoops 24th April 2021 At 10:33
‘… Spiers is far from the worst, but like the rest he turns a blind eye ‘
+++++++++++++++++
Quiet night tonight.
This allows me to mention again the extraordinary lack of interest shown by, for example, Douglas Fraser,[the undoubtedly very able and up-to-the-minute business chap on BBC Radio Scotland,] in trying to explain to us how
a football club in compulsory Liquidation in 2012 , deprived on that account of any entitlement to membership of the SFA , can somehow be alive and well?
I saw Fraser in Court twice in the early days, but I have never seen him give any explanation as to how that could come about!
I venture to suggest that he knows it to be an impossibility at least as well as he knows on which side his bread is buttered.
It is absolutely beyond doubt that RFC of 1872 was NOT bought out of Administration, but entered Liquidation.
Its hundreds of creditors were not paid what they were owed,
The club was not ‘rescued’ by restructuring, reducing costs by redundancies, or by selling off assets, or any of the other possibilities of avoiding Liquidation and carrying on in existence as the same club .
No. It went into Liquidation, where it still is.
Everybody of however low an IQ KNOWS that!
And it is absolutely unbelievable ,and unacceptable ,that financial/business journalists should meekly buy into what, at the beginning and at the end of the day, is a monstrous fiction.
The murdered Daphne Anne Caruana Galizia , journalist in Malta, would look not so much with scorn, but, WORSE , with PITY on such craven abdication of any notion of ‘journalism’ by our SMSM.
Honest to God.
What sporting times we live in!
And what journalistic reporting times!
‘After 150 years, the Spiders went pro in 2019′ says John McLellan in the piece he has in today’s [Saturday]’The Scotsman’ about the Super League.
And, God forgive me, my mind immediately came up with ” after 140 years the Glasgow Rangers of 1872 went into Liquidation’.
As it happens, both those statements are true!
I love it!
For weeks now we have had the Scottish media moaning about racism in football on back of the Kamara incident. Football needs to rid itself of racism, etc, as the stories rolled out ad nauseum. Yet today one of the papers referred to one of Ranger’s target as the Copper Bullet. I realize his national team is referred to as the Copper Bullets but to affix this tag to an individual player of color is hypocritical based on the recent stance on racism. It is not surprising as not many members of the Scottish media appear to be blessed with an iota of common sense.
Vernallen 25th April 2021 At 01:39
‘….to affix this tag to an individual player of color..’
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
I may be wrong, of course, but I think perhaps the team’s nickname is self-adopted and not in anyway intended to be a self-insulting reference to skin colour.
“The side is nicknamed Chipolopolo (the Copper Bullets) as copper is one of the south central African nation’s main exports”
https://www.bing.com/search?q=why+is+the+zambian+national+football+team+known+as+the+copper+bullets&form=ANNTH1&refig=316e40809e0c4004980e1313d47a145b
[that’s a helluva long link!]
I had an idle moment this morning in which to read the judgment of the English Court of Appeal(Criminal Division] in the Sub-postmasters’ appeal.
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2021/577.html
I was struck by this: ” .. two cogent lines of argument in relation to abuse of process were available to each appellant: first, that the reliability of Horizon data was essential to the prosecution and conviction, and it was not possible for the trial process to be fair; and secondly, that it was an affront to the public conscience for the appellant to face criminal proceedings.”
That little phrase ‘”an affront to the public conscience” EXACTLY describes the Big Lie in Scottish Football, in my opinion.
It is an affront to the public conscience that TRFC is permitted to claim to be RFC of 1872, while not being legally liable for the tens of millions of pounds of debt that cheating club owed to the public purse.
It is an even greater affront to the public conscience that the SMSM , including the BBC, not only buys into the Lie, but actively supports and propagates it.
We are as ill-served by such a Parcel of Rogues in the SMSM as was the nation of Scotland by the lying political masters slated by Rabbie:rot their bones. in their unhallowed graves
Can we now remove the adjective “invincibles” from any descriptions regarding Rangers/Sevco from the 2020/2021 season refer to the potentially the unbeaten league season. They have fallen in two cup competitions to clubs whose combined payroll may not even be close to that of Rangers. Perhaps the lack of nous from SG and the lack of same from NL in regards to the league led to an inflated sense of its ours because we are Rangers/Sevco. Looking back at their track record in Scottish cup competitions this should not have been unexpected. Too much focus on European success and not minding the store come to mind. I sense another round of share issues to cover the loss from this cup competitions. Also removes the Liverpool job from any conversations.
Well.
” I couldn’t believe the space I had.
I’ve had it against me many times, you’re just shouting for somebody to pick the keeper up but everybody’s got a man and you float about and try to get yourself on the end of it.”
So said Zander Clark, in his post-match interview tonight.
Numerically, of course, that’s not the case, The taker of a corner kick reduces the attacking team to nine outfield players , while the defending team still has ten, so there is a ‘spare’ in terms of man-matching.
I suspect that in future, when the opposition goalie comes up for a penalty in the dying moments, someone will be told specifically to mark him.
Calum Davidson is quite clearly much more of a savvy football game strategist and tactician than your man Gerrard,
John Barnes, [was it? ]the Sportsound commentator, annoyed me by a throwaway reference to ‘Rangers’ not having won the cup since 2009…as if it were RFC of 1872 that was playing tonight…
Honest to God,
What the hell is wrong with him and his like, peddling a ridiculous piece of nonsense as though their very lives depended upon it?
Bad cess to him for propagating the myth, fearfully doing as he is bidden by his heavily truth-challenged Pacific Quay masters.
Not that I’m any kind of Jim McLean, of course, I hasten to add.
Vernallen 25th April 2021 At 22:48
‘…Also removes the Liverpool job from any conversations.’
++++++++++++++
Unquestionably so.
Gerrard was appointed for reasons unconnected with his supposed abilities as a football team manager.
No harm to the man, superb player that he was, but he was not employed by TRFC for any reason other than that he was a ‘name’, a well respected name, but respected only as a footballer of great talent.
As a football manager/coach he has failed to deliver anything very much, and certainly not anything of such merit as would persuade any serious football club that he was worth hiring.
Apparently the SFA are considering introducing a new rule where teams with “Saint” in their names are not allowed to play in Cup competitions. I bet they would if they could get away with it….
Officials are looking into reports of a possible minor earthquake in sections of Glasgow last night. Fortunately after further investigation it was found to be Rangers fans falling off the bandwagon lamenting the fact that Cup competitions aren’t their cup of tea. The supposed double wasn’t to be and now some of their fan sites are looking to dump players as well.
In amongst a plethora of other ‘facts’, which he likes to give us, Jonathan Sutherland I’m sure stated on Sportscene that the victory by St Johnstone was ‘Rangers first domestic defeat of the season’. Did I hear him correctly? If so, a couple of points:-
Does Jim Goodwin know this?
Who is his fact checker ?
If I misheard/misunderstood Sutherland’s utterance, I will of course come back on here and apologise!
Maybe we are witnessing a sub-species of the cancel culture i.e the St Mirren defeat didnae happen coz it might mean wir no’ invincible!
On the subject of invincibility, ff TRFC go through the League programme undefeated, this will still be placed on a par by our beloved SMSM plus usual deluded Sevco apologists (too numerous to mention by ‘ye ken them weil’) with Celtic’s invincible season.
Not being a supporter of a team that hovers around invincibility , I looked up the word in various dictionaries and the consensus appears to be ‘too powerful to be defeated or overcome’ , so I can see it being applied to a current league campaign(if defeat can be avoided in the remaining fixtures ) but not to their entire season . RFC(IL) actually had a perfect league season in 1898/99 , winning all 18 league matches , if we are only considering league fixtures .
You’re right Paddy. I reckon, in short, that an ‘undefeated -in-the – league’ season would be spun to pander to Sevcoites as per the SMSM narrative.
Real relativity and comparability (with Celtic’s achievement) be damned!
Bect67 26th April 2021 At 14:35
‘On the subject of invincibility, ff TRFC go through the League programme undefeated, this will still be placed on a par by our beloved SMSM plus usual deluded Sevco apologists (too numerous to mention by ‘ye ken them weil’) with Celtic’s invincible season.’
Celtic did not have an invincible season. They were unbeaten in 47 domestic games but suffered five defeats in Europe.
Lincoln Red Imps 1 – 0 Celtic
Hapoel Be’er 2 – 0 Celtic
Barcelona 7 – 0 Celtic
Celtic 0 – 2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Celtic 0 – 2 Barcelona
No doubt Rangers fans will focus on the league season and proclaim themselves invincible (if they manage to avoid defeat in the remaining fixtures) just as you have ignored the defeats Celtic suffered in Europe to claim an invincible season in 2016-17.
A little light reading from Wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unbeaten_football_club_seasons
@Beck67 – thought I posted earlier so this might repeat. I would focus solely on the respective league campaigns. In 2017 Celtic gained 106 points, with 106 goals and +81 GD. With 3 games to go TRFC can gain a maximum of 102 points with a current 81 goals scored and a GD of 69,
So in any comparison I think my question would be “what’s your point caller?”
But then again, would I rather have 2017 or 1967 when we lost twice in the league campaign? Let me think about that ?… Tell you what, I’ll have both!!!
Here we go again indeed !
Saw this online – I thought it was still Al Ahly with 118 officially .
https://content.invisioncic.com/Mrangmedia/monthly_2021_04/Screenshot_20210312-183125_Twitter.jpg.d68a0291d1ae171b12c8b8e038d4713c.jpg
incredibleadamspark
I don’t recall anyone claiming an invincible CFC season which included Europe. That would just have been plain daft. You and I (together with anybody’s granny who may be interested) KNOWS I and other Celtic minded supporters were referring to the domestic scene.
So… ur ye hivin a laff?
Unless you have a jealous/envious agenda, you must know the context in which Celtic’s invincibility is placed. Having said that, I do concede that anyone who looks long and ungraciously enough (as you seem to be doing) will find an argument which suits a pre-determined narrative.
Out of interest, I wonder who first used the invincible tag regarding to Celtic’s achievement.
So … ‘geezabrek’!
I can’t see David Robertson being invited to Ibrox anytime soon after his recent media interview. Some of the better clips, “well short of invincibles, “not quite back to their best,” “not back as a dominant force”. Not the standard interview from former Rangers. It will be interesting to see comments on Rangers blog sites.
Bect67 26th April 2021 At 22:58
I reckon that everyone and their granny would know that any ‘invincible’ tag affixed to Rangers season (if they avoid defeat in the league) would know it would be in reference to the league. Unless they had an agenda themselves to manufacture some sort of outrage to suit a predetermined narrative.
Such manufactured outrage is pretty tedious and a waste of everyone’s time so let’s just take each other in good faith, shall we?
If Rangers can remain undefeated in the league then that would be some season for them. Celtic also has a fantastic undefeated domestic season. Both are worthy of celebrating.
Incredibleadamspark 27th April 2021 At 07:08
Surely there is no argument that to remain undefeated in three domestic competitions is a superior achievement to remaining undefeated in only one? Of course Rangers would be league invincibles should they achieve that, but from what I can see is that most Celtic fans are annoyed that the media keep shifting the goalposts in terms of the definition in a desperate effort to get parity with Celtic’s 2016-17 season. I am genuinely struggling though to think even the post partisan Rangers fan would not admit an invincible treble is a far superior achievement, although I won’t blame Rangers fans for the appalling bias of the Scottish media, apart from the Rangers fans in the media who perpetrate it.
Upthehoops 27th April 2021 At 07:31
No argument whatsoever. But I’d respectfully suggest that fans on both sides can be guilty of goalpost shifting when describing one achievement and another (potential) achievement.
I’ve read plenty of opinion on the subject and I’d say it’s far more balanced than your suggesting.
A video has appeared on the internet where what appears to be sectarian abuse is directed towards a St Johnstone player when they equalised against Rangers at Ibrox. There were no fans at the game so the alleged abuse must have come from someone acting in an official capacity either on or off the field. Many people on social media have shared the video with mainstream journalists, Rangers and the SFA. One video seems to show the fourth official turn round on hearing the abuse.
I expect there will be a full and immediate investigation into this by all three parties…there will be, yes? If not, why not?
@UTH – I’ve not seen the footage but if as clear as is suggested then a fourth party, namely Police Scotland, should also be investigating as such abuse is I believe classified as a hate crime. Interesting decisions to be made by many.
Workingcelt and UTH
Strange nothing has appeared in the mainstream media. This was major news for them a couple of weeks ago when Rangers were the aggrieved party and now the shoe appears to be on the other foot. Of course chasing major stories involving Scottish football ( especially ones that appear to be true) is not in their journalism background. EBT’s, etc come to mind. Now that the media are apparently banned from Ibrox it would be a good time to do some actual digging and see what lies below the surface, continual share issues, what is the financial situation, are payments to suppliers up to date, are transfer fees paid, on the other hand that sounds too much like work, they’ll just wait for the press releases.
I’ve been trying to find out about this and it appears it’s mostly Celtic blogs (absolutely nothing wrong with that) and their users who are commenting on this. From what I’ve seen the original video was posted on St Johnston’s Twitter and no complaint has been made by any player or the club themselves.
I’d urge anyone who’s interested to find the clip themselves and make their own minds up on what is shouted. My own view is that it’s very difficult to make out the words shouted at the end and it’s far from an open and shut case. I’ve only seen one clip but maybe there are others with clearer audio?
Incredibleadamspark 28th April 2021 At 06:58
‘..I’d urge anyone who’s interested to find the clip themselves.’
++++++++++++++++
My view, on the contrary, is that the onus is on posters to provide a link to the source(s) they use as the base for their comments!
Otherwise, their comments are of little more value than anything the hack journalists might put in their opinion pieces.
I for one have neither the skill nor the patience to go hunting for you tube clips or fan blogs. [bad enough having to read those that are sometimes referred to!]
Wokingcelt 27th April 19.06
Having seen the clip it is not clear what was said and who said it.
Having seen another video of the incident at Ibrox on Sunday.
Seems pretty clear that what was said was “How we not f*****g organising ourselves, picking people up.
Albertz11 28th April 2021 At 14:12
Having seen another video of the incident at Ibrox on Sunday.
Seems pretty clear that what was said was “How we not f*****g organising ourselves, picking people up.
++++++++++++++++++
Very plausible, except nothing is perfectly clear. Others are as equally clear that abuse including the word ‘fenian’ can be heard. I am sure the modern anti-racism, anti-sectarianism, and anti-discrimination Rangers will ensure everything is cleared up given the accusations.
If you listen carefully you can hear, quite clearly, and it has been suggested elsewhere that it’s Allan McGregor, screaming, “you’re having an F… orgasm ya F… Fenian C….”. If you can’t hear that it because you don’t want to hear. As usual nothing will come of it but substitute “Black” for “Fenian” and all Hell breaks loose.
Whatever was uttered is a lot clearer than whatever was whispered in Kamara’s ear. Only the reaction is different, but such language is in every day use in Scotland, so that is of little surprise.
However a clear opportunity has arisen for Sevco to issue a statement saying the allegations have been brought to their attention, alongside a full denial and the listeners have misheard the comment. This could be backed by an assurance that Sevco would never tolerate such behaviour and would have taken robust action if their “investigation” had found it to be true.
A clear condemnation of sectarian language with no admission of guilt….Perfect!….It would go a long way.
But they won’t. !
Albertz11 28th April 2021 At 14:12
Having watched a clip from Premier Sports, although the commentary gets in the way a bit, I don’t hear any sectarian abuse. It really does sound like McGregor saying “How we not f*****g organising ourselves, picking people up?”
I’m sure that will clear everything up…..
IAP 28th April 18.50
No doubt that was what was said.
Absolutely no sectarian comments whatsoever.
As previously noted I haven’t viewed any footage but I would be amazed if in the circumstances any professional football player would say “…organising ourselves, picking people up…”
“Picking people up” – did he really say that?
Wokingcelt 28th April 21.09
Having just conceded a last minute goal at which there was both a lack of “organisation & picking people up” then yes it makes perfect sense.
Now as for orgasms !!!! anyone want to explain that?.
https://voca.ro/1o1pVHPp5Seb
Having an orgasm ya fenian cnut 17 seconds in
Few folk complaining about being blocked tonight. probably a new spam prevention tool turned up to eleven. I have switched it off for tonight and will tweak tomorrow.
Apologies for the inconvenience
Bigboab1916 28th April 2021 At 22:01
‘…Having an orgasm ya fenian cnut 17 seconds in’
+++++++++++++
Thanks for that link, Bigboab.
If the SFA chooses to do so that recording could go straight to a forensic linguistic analysis lab to ascertain the precise words used.
Will the SFA bother its ar.e to do so?
No.
No more than it bothered its a.se. over the Res 12 matter or over making liars of themselves by the 5-Way Agreement.
Commitment to anti-racism? Oh, sure, they have the wonderful Marvin Batley as adviser.
Commitment to anti-sectarianism? They have a dismal track record, and a deaf ear.
As an organisation of any sort, the SFA is unfit for purpose not only in the field of ethics and morality but also in the practical business of the governance of football, as witness the whole bloody nonsense of the current play-offs ‘problem’.
Good God Almighty!
What John said at 00.13am. Here here . Thumbs up.
No players, match officials, St Johnstone representatives or the person recording the goal celebration have made any claims of sectarian abuse. Lots of online speculation, which we’re all doing now, about what people think they might have heard. Or not heard.
This really doesn’t seem like the most solid of foundations for an investigation. I genuinely don’t hear any sectarian abuse here. Not sure where this is going.
IAP 29th April 07.07
This is being driven by bloggers and fans on social media, no-one else.
No complaint from anyone at St Johnstone be it players, management or officials.
Let’s think about it. A goal is conceded in the last minute where the opposition goalkeeper gets a free header in the box with no-one picking him up. Shambles from a defensive viewpoint, no organisation.
Incredibleadamspark 29th April 2021 At 07:07
I fail to see why St Johnstone would need to make a complaint for an investigation to be undertaken, and many others claim it IS sectarian what is being said. I would have thought with so many accusations being made that Rangers would want to quickly clear things up, in particular as they are such a welcoming club that does not have any racists or bigots attached to them or among their support, as they have confirmed to the world several times since Glen Kamara was abused.
I see it said often that racism and other forms of discrimination is a big problem in football. Why is the world not learning from Rangers and asking how they don’t have any of these problems? Seems like an opportunity lost to me.
John Clark 29th April 2021 At 00:13
If the SFA chooses to do so that recording could go straight to a forensic linguistic analysis lab to ascertain the precise words used.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
If the accusation was that a black person was being abused then I am sure some sort of analysis would take place to clear things up. However in Scotland such alleged comments against Irish / Catholics rarely merit a second look with the SFA or the media.
How do you add an Avatar?
Albertz11 28th April 2021 At 21:49
Wokingcelt 28th April 21.09
“Having just conceded a last minute goal at which there was both a lack of “organisation & picking people up” then yes it makes perfect sense.
Now as for orgasms !!!! anyone want to explain that?.”
Would you agree that what is been said below is very audible and not what you presume to have heard or stated, and orgasm is very clear as is fenian cnut
https://voca.ro/1kgejws1Ocgk
Bigboab 29th April 10.10.
I am hearing exactly what i stated previously.
“How we not organising ourselves, picking people up”.
Organise not orgasm & people up not fenian c**t
Clear as day.
Bect67
“In amongst a plethora of other ‘facts’, which he likes to give us, Jonathan Sutherland I’m sure stated on Sportscene that the victory by St Johnstone was ‘Rangers first domestic defeat of the season’. Did I hear him correctly? If so, a couple of points:-”
I remember hearing something of that ilk, but it may have contained “at Ibrox” or “home”.
As for “orgasmgate”, the rant was allegedly aimed at the St Johnstone videographer who could be heard celebrating the late equaliser just before. But as has been said, you’ll hear what you want to hear
“Albertz11 29th April 2021 At 11:11
Bigboab 29th April 10.10.
I am hearing exactly what i stated previously.
“How we not organising ourselves, picking people up”.
Organise not orgasm & people up not fenian c**t
Clear as day.”
And so another myth is created in the mind just like the same club myth.
https://streamable.com/2ma9jv
Watch the fourth official 19 secs in stares straight to the incident and no doubt the venom.
There’s no way on earth that says anything about “fxnian cnts”.
“xxx fxckin organise ourselves, shouldnae be xxx” … though you can hear “havin’ a fxckin’ orgasm …” equally well.
Anybody hearing sectarianism in there is absolutely just hearing what they want to hear, though. And only on a Celtic-minded site would there be such in-depth discussion of it, with more than a hint of desperation for it to turn out badly for Sevco.
Interested to note that all pretence of being non-partisan has disappeared from this site.
only on a Celtic-minded site would there be such in-depth discussion of it. says Angus1983.
Well you wouldn’t expect to hear anything about it on a Sevco site. He/she also seems to make light of it. I wonder again if the discussion was over whether the words included “Black” would the attitudes be different. In my life experience many supporters of other teams have a leaning towards Sevco as their second team and that may be why they (Sevco) get away with so much.
BTW, I’m still waiting for someone to advise me how to add an Avatar, how about it “Upthehoops” as you have yours.
Ballyargus 29th April 2021 At 16:56
BTW, I’m still waiting for someone to advise me how to add an Avatar, how about it “Upthehoops” as you have yours.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I added my Avatar many years ago under a previous operating platform. It has continued throughout all changes and updates to the site. I’ve had a look and it doesn’t seem obvious to me how to add one under the current platform. Big Pink is the technical brains behind the site and may be able to help. Sorry I can’t help.
Upthehoops 29th April 2021 At 08:24
But there are no accusations, only online speculation. There is no general consensus as to what has been said, who said it or who it was aimed at. No person on or off the park who was involved in the match has suggested anything inappropriate was said.
How can an investigation take place when there has been no complaints by anyone? Because internet says so?
@Albertz11 – having listened through the links provided I can’t decipher what has been said.
I would however be surprised if the words are as you heard them (“how we no organising ourselves, picking people up”) simply because that’s too polite given the circumstances!!!
I’m off to play 7-a-sides this evening and if I don’t track back the abuse I’ll get will be of the industrial variety (and that’s in leafy Surrey!).
The Authorities have the technology to better detect what was said. I don’t know who decides next steps.
Incredibleadamspark 29th April 2021 At 18:29
Several people have e-mailed the SFA, and contacted them via social media. Complaints HAVE been made. It needs looked into. The SFA have said they accept complaints from anyone regarding cases to be considered for video review, so why would they not look into this? As I and others have said if the allegations were that a black person was abused then it would be looked into, even just to clear things up. As I also pointed out Rangers have been keen to tell everyone there is no racism, sectarianism or other discrimination whatsoever attached to their club. You would think having worked so hard to attain such an enviable worldwide reputation they would be outraged at people trying to tarnish it. Especially as we are told the rest of football has such a problem.
Upthehoops 29th April 2021 At 19:53
Complaints by anyone involved in the match. Why wouldn’t the SFA look into it? Because disputed online speculation surely cannot be the basis for a complaints procedure to kick in.
Wokingcelt 29th April 18.31
Here’s a link that may help you decide what was said.
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1387683818732146688/pu/vid/1280×720/PJ7awOwug9yNoNf_.mp4?tag=12
Two different microphones with one slowed down.
IAS, what makes ‘online speculation’ any worse than the speculation of people like Stephen Thomson, James McFadden etc whose views, it appears, form the basis of every other incident looked at by the Compliance Officer? You think they know better than reasoned, intelligent online posters?
Albion Rovers player David Cox has retired from football and left the stadium at half time after the Stenhousemuir captain told him he should have done it right first time referring to Cox having attempted to take his own life.
https://www.facebook.com/100004246595542/videos/2019976328153901
Thought i’d seen/heard everything in the game but this is beyond comprehension.
SFA didn’t dally when it came to suspending the Hamilton manager for 4 games with two reserved. Where was that action in regards to the Covid 5, one rule for favored club and another rule for others. If Rangers had been involved in a relegation fight and SG had been charged the hearing probably would have been held in 2022. One other thing, do Celtic really need a board of directors. It seems several former Ranger players have opinions and advice to offer. Get on with it DD and hire these people asap and put an end to the current regime.
Sampled through software getting clearer
https://voca.ro/1f21DFmj5Oot
Incredibleadamspark 29th April 2021 At 20:51
‘.. Because disputed online speculation surely cannot be the basis for a complaints procedure to kick in.’
+++++++++++++++++++++++
That’s not quite right.
There is a question of fact to be settled.
In the Kamara case of racist abuse, the matter was taken very seriously-even though the only evidence was Kamara’s assertion, supported by the unsworn testimony of some of his team-mates.
Perfectly legitimately, an investigation was undertaken, and a judgment was made on the basis of ‘balance of probabilities’. [ I have no difficulties with that concept]
In the present case of alleged sectarian abuse there IS a recording of what was shouted.
There are differing ‘speculations’ about what was shouted.
But the matter is at least as serious as the Kamara matter, in terms of the law
And recordings can easily be forensically analysed to establish what in all probability was said.
The SFA simply MUST have the matter investigated.
And they will, as others have generously acknowledged, have the full backing of the Boards of RIFC plc/TRFC in their honest endeavours to root out racism and sectarianism.
Angus1983 29th April 2021 At 15:49
‘..Interested to note that all pretence of being non-partisan has disappeared from this site.’
+++++++++++++++
Angus1983, I do not of course speak for this site or its operators.
I speak only for unalterable fact and truth:
RFC of 1872 died as a football club entitled to participate in Scottish professional football.
TRfC is a lying football club, created in 2012 by deceitful persons with the support of equally deceitful persons in the very Governance body of Scottish Football.
It is not ,and cannot be as a matter of simple fact and truth , ‘partisan’ to reflect the truth.
There is absolutely no TRUTH in the assertion that TRFC is the ‘Rangers’ of one of my grandfathers who was 21 years old when the 4 young men of Glasgow Green founded RFC of 1872!
To believe that it is , is itself partisanship of a ‘head-in-the-sand’ kind of simplicity that would be risible if not so dangerously indicative of perversion of intellect.
Nawlite 29th April 2021 At 22:31
I think pundits are capable of talking absolute mince just like online posters, myself included. They can also offer insightful comments just like online posters, mysel… I’ll leave that.
I don’t see the relevance of your comparison here, sorry.
John Clark 29th April 2021 At 23:47
A play