When you have a potential loss to the tax payer of £75m, allegations of tax irregularities, political interference, alleged sporting malfeasance and stand of the brink of the largest corporate failure in Scottish history (discounting the bailed-out RBS) the profile of the story rises above the blogs and regular Scottish media.
Alex Thomson, chief correspondent for Channel 4 News, a man who reports from war zones, interviews prime ministers and presidents, decided to look into how the SFA were handling the current crisis in Scottish football. Yesterday he blogged on the subject, raising many of the questions we have asked in recent months.
On Twitter this morning he reported his experience in trying to get some sense out of the SFA, this is what he said:
“SFA say President Campbell Ogilvie is ‘distancing himself from the current Rangers investigation’ but did not explain how.
“Campbell Ogilvie ‘did not know’ about EBT contract when he was Rangers FC secretary?
“When we asked why not – that was his job – SFA said they didn’t know.
“SFA say their President and fmr Ranger secretary Campbell Ogilvie will not be interviewed by c4news about what he knew…
“SFA say their President Campbell Ogilvie ‘has no plans to stand aside from his job pending current Rangers probes…
“Interesting SFA have just accused me of ‘lying’, ‘pig-headedness’ and then put the phone down mid-conversation….
“all because I put their own statement back to them that Campbell Ogilvie denied knowing about EBTs at Rangers…
“And suggested there might be a perceived conflict of interest in his current position until the investigations are complete”
Three weeks ago we suggested that Ogilvie’s position as SFA president was untenable, saying “The association cannot have a president embroiled in a tax evasion scam which, even before a verdict has been decided, has already caused untold harm to his former club and the reputation Scottish football.”
The SFA have been able to dismiss pleas for sporting integrity and ethical standards from the blogsphere while the mainstream media have either chased the hapless fall-guy, Craig Whyte, or refused to take the Improper Registration of Rangers players seriously.
SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, was flushed out his slumber by Mr Thomson’s comments this morning, Tweeting to the reporter, “Please could you confirm who you have spoken to. thank you.”
Stewart, if you really need to ask that question, you’re in more trouble than I thought. There are several thousand CQN’ers who could help answer that one.
Campbell Ogilvie and the SFA cannot hide from the facts of this crisis. He is president of the SFA and both he and the association must acknowledge there is work to do. We can only hope Uefa finally decide to take a look.
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“Interesting SFA have just accused me of ‘lying’, ‘pig-headedness’ and then put the phone down mid-conversation….
Scotland, the home of professionalism. (thumbsup)
Reading Paul Murray yesterday he stated that Ticketus where their Biggest creditors even bigger than HMRC! Doesnt that contradict everything dumb and dumber have been feeding the hacks?
And why didnt the impartial pressmen pick up this
Then expert on Admin confirms what we all knew that the wee MBM cannot just be sidelined
Sort of blows out of water all those positives spins being fed to masses lol!
Sort of blows out water
Tony Watt booting down Lenny’s door for a place on the bench.
4 goals so far and not even half time
If the huns have set up a frightened fund 3 days before the Blue Oyster bar have to make their offer. It does make you wonder doesn´t it .
Hail Hail
Paul67
This is what was needed to keep legs on the story….a London based proper journalist asking questions that the Scottish press should have but won’t. The NUJ should take their cards off them.
They will start running for cover now.
The bus with the fat lady on it has pulled up outside the building.
HH
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 13 March, 2012 at 13:36 said:
Hun fighting fund
Walter Smith, Sandy Jardine, Jim Hannah and Rangers Supporters Assembly President Andy Kerr will control the bank account and pass on donations to administrators Duff and Phelps as and when the money is required.
+++++
I understand Walter Smith has just come out of WH Smiths with a brand new ledger book.
“It was originally priced £3.00, we but we managed to negotiate £4.5m and the book will be ready for Saturday’s game”.
An update on the ledger book swoop has revealed that it is missing numerous pages and someone has drawn big d*ck pictures on every page.
Smith was unavailable for comment but sources close to the Ibroke money man suggest he’s lining up a sensational £3m bid for a broken pencil.
paul, are UEFA watching this the same way I watched that pot of burnt porridge, or are they keeping closer tabs?
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo – I think they prefer to be known as The Blue Man Group. (thumbsup)
Paul67 –
Not the smartest thing Broadfoot has ever done … and his previous stupidity makes a long list.
Despite the best efforts of the people who have failed to run Scottish Football properly for decades, and what passes for media in Scotland – some proper journalists are prepared to investigate this scandal.
The truth will be exposed.
Vmhan Supporting Lenny! on 13 March,
2012 at 13:30 said:
WeeJoe no problemo, you can buy a kindle fire from a non amazon outlet in the US via timternet, that’s what we done.
V
Another cracking article Paul – you are in rich form!
It seems to me the SFA are either incompetent or complicit, between a rock and a hard place. A difficult choice but on balance the best they can hope for is incompetence!
HH
Shares in Greggs have dropped sharply after it emerged Ally McCoist won’t have access to the Hun-fu Fighting Fund’s bank account. (thumbsup)
Awe_Naw_
Why is this Alex Thomson character dragging the name of Celtic through the mud in his blog as if we had something to do with the duplicity between rangers and the SFA.
Sick of this ‘Old Firm’ p1sh!
shimmies33
they lying of course.
They are all in in together Murray, Ticketus & Whyte & SIr David & Dave King and Sir Minty Moonbeams
It is just appropriate at this time to make it look as if Craig Whyte has been sidelined.
It has to be asked though why D&P seem to have been very well schooled in the David Murray misinformation technique
He has never went away.
HAil Hail
how long before duffield smith gets a go at the spotlight ?
Well done Alex Thomson and channel 4,the light is beginning to be shone where it should be.
Bring on UEFA next.
Not used to difficult questions from journalists, are they?
And once again the Scottish media is shown up. Because these are the very basic questions they should have been asking a long time ago.
sure enough, more to come from Thomson
alex thomson @alextomo Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
BLOG TWO – Crime? And Punishment? Non-Rangers Scottish fans have their say – all new leads welcome people!!
Non-Rangers fans eh? Perhaps he’s taking note of the anti-Old Firm stance of our support as seen in the comments to blog one?
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 13 March, 2012 at 13:26 said:
Sorry, I’ll run it by you next time :)
Hail, Hail
Sir Paul
Nicely, Nicely, Mon Vieux..
Keep oan Truckin’..
Ah like the fact that a Steller Reporter,like Mr.Thompson, is taking
an interest .
Kojo
Still Laughin’
philvisreturns on 13 March, 2012 at 13:39 said:
“Interesting SFA have just accused me of ‘lying’, ‘pig-headedness’ and then put the phone down mid-conversation….
Scotland, the home of professionalism. (thumbsup)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~
Poor lad obviously doesn’t yet know how things work up here-I seem to remember a suggestion that a simolar comment was made to Stewart Regan.
In Regan’s case,I genuinely think he will have his sights set on clearing out the sables,then clearing out his desk.
There’s a book in this!
In Thomson’s case,he sees an opportunity to enhance his professional reputation,which means setting right a wrong in the face of Establishment opposition.
That’s what a REAL journalist does,Jabba,Leckie et al…..
Paul67 – as you know I travel down South regularly. The Scottish game is ridiculed down there. “Mickey Mouse League”. I am starting to have some sympathy for that view. The SFA’s behaviour is incredible for a professional governing body but also predictable and sadly this is not even an isolated incident.
The SFA and SPL are still behind the curve here and when this fully breaks the likes of Regan and Doncaster will look complicit solely due to their ineptitude as nobody could believe anyone so poor could have attained such a position.
They love a bit of Jock bashing down south, there is plenty of that to be had in this story. An utter shambles.
SPOT THE TYPO!
PHILVIS
The Blue Knights were they naw a German air squadron?
So they’re the BLUE NAZIS!
V
http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/rangers-punished-guilty-fans/884
pretty unequivocal, Rangers must be punished he says.
he does quote fans of the gang of 10 and their unrelenting use of the hated Old Firm tag is annoying; did he not ask any Celtic fans their opinions?
Serenity on 13 March, 2012 at 13:44 said:
about time too ;-)
Hail Hail
Regan and Doncaster need to get strong and do the right thing ,otherwise they are going be tainted forever by this corruption.
They are at the crossroads and if they take part in a cover-up they will be finished and their reputations destroyed.
St Martin de Porres:
You are correct re D+P. Those guys have found themselves in a” nightmare” albeit a nice little earner. They want it done and then exit quickly.
Paul67
It’s now looking more like the SFA could have been complicit rather than just turning a blind eye to the shenanigans of Rangers over the years.
If UEFA do investigate are we going to be the likely ones who suffer through European bans and if so is there any recourse through the courts to regain lost revenues?
Part of me would welcome it as it would once and for all show up the level of bias, bordering on corruption in our game.
Asonofdan
He is English …. Far more important that he gets the news to a wider audience .. one that pays their taxes .. than you being upset at Old Firm semantics
Hail Hail
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon – Are you suggesting famous Airdrie fan Jim Traynor is an incompetent, morbidly rotund clown of a man?
Or that Catholic schools bashing St Mirren fan Bill Leckie is a few lambegs short of an Orange Walk?
Or that the producers of “The Lord Of The Rings” could have saved a fortune in expensive CGI effects by casting Chick Young as Gollum? (thumbsup)
Paul,
to be fair you’ve been asking relative questions for years, no months
As far as I can make out from UEFA website:
Campbell Ogilvie is a member of UEFA’s “National Team Competitions Committee”.
Stewart “Twitter” Regan is a member of UEFA’s “Marketing Advisory Committee”.
Hunsure what to think about that …
And the hits ,just keep on coming.
Aye I started a sentence with ‘and’,big deal
AWE NAW 1340
Bkue Oyster Bar….
I’m still not convinced that rumour about Sally was true,though I was staying in Prestwick at the time,and it was a pretty hot topic in the local pubs.
Thanks Auldheid – me now comprende!
Rangers have launched a ‘Rangers Fans Fighting Fund’ to raise money towards the club’s running costs.
Manager Ally McCoist and his predecessor Walter Smith were joined by former defender Sandy Jardine in endorsing the move to urge supporters to make donations to help the club during administration.
Smith, Jardine, supporters liaison manager Jim Hannah and Rangers Supporters Assembly president Andy Kerr will control the bank account and pass on donations to administrators Duff and Phelps as and when the money is required.
RangersMedia announced they have donated a whopping £1872.00
How many hours of Duff&Phelps does that pay?
EVERY SINGLE FAN of a club who has entered administration tell you to donate NOTHING whilst there is an administrator as is it is just p1ssing money away. You keep your money for when they come out of administration, so the club has funds to help it recover.
Stupid huns…
Malone19 – Celtic, as the most aggrieved party in your scenario, would unlikely to be punished further by UEFA I think. I can’t see them banning all Scottish clubs over a scandal that involved only 1.