Quite apart from this week’s admission by First Minister, Alex Salmond, that he has been arguing with HM Revenue and Customs to “for goodness sake get a settlement” with Rangers, I continue to receive reliable assurances that HMRC are coming under pressure from all political angles to effectively offer state aid to Rangers FC PLC (in administration).
In short, if HMRC acquiesce, Rangers will have their debt zeroed and will be out of administration with only their 10 point penalty to show for years of financial doping.
Fifa guidelines explicitly prevent governments from interfering in football. State aid to any one club is about as explicit a contravention of Fifa rules as there can be. This jeopardises the places of Scottish clubs in next season’s European competitions and could lead to the Scotland national team being banned from the World Cup qualifying group, due to start later this year.
It is the SFA’s job to insist that all state intervention in football stops immediately. I urge you to write to the SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, stewart.regan@scottishfa.co.uk
Celtic have an excellent chance of Champions League football next season and we don’t want politicians of any colour getting Scottish teams banned from international competition. The silence of the SFA on the subject, despite extensive media coverage, is very disconcerting.
It’s time for you to play your part in these important times.
Fancy writing something for CQN Magazine? Drop me an email and let me know what you would like to write about before you get started, just in case someone else has the same angle covered: celticquicknews@gmail.com.
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Mort at 14:23
More details here:
https://twitter.com/#!/celticfc
Mort
bruce says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:20
It be better for all if rangers can find a solution. the scottish league would not survive as tv would not be interested, and gates would fall.
———————
Absolute and utter nonsense – no evidence to support this highly contentious save Der Hun theory. Many other credible scenarios exist ; it will strengthen Scottish football being one. Why isn’t this argument sported by any of the Media? Vested interest in Der Hun surviving that’s why.
Ticketus don’t get vote –
yes sorry of course. Not thinking straight. But ST money is lost to current RFC. Hurrah.
So the other question – does the sale of STs relate to RFC exclusively or any newco ‘owned’ by parent company or playing at Ibrox?
What I’m trying to say (and not making a very good job of it) is that the Ticketus deal seems to make liquidation more likely BUT what would be rights of Ticketus to tickets for the new club?
For a long time now, superb CQN nightshift poster, Margaret McGill has been banging the drum of, away bhoycotts from us ink as, THEE most potent and, REALISTIC weapon that the Celtic support have at our disposal!
I think that, this course of action should be thrust into the public domain as a, reminder to any hun sympathisers that they will suffer in the pockets as well.
As PL said “We stand ALONE!”
Hail! Hail!
Mort says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:23
Thanks for the reply. Let’s hope that it goes as simple as that. It was raised on the SSB panel last night and someone commented (Dawwyl?) that he’d be asked about it today at the media conference. I think he should comment only on Celtic matters.
.
My Reading of the octopus Statement..
Is Whyte 100% is trying to Kill off Rangers and Sell the NewCo..
PrePlanned..
Summa
I thought I’d hunt around and see what fans of other clubs in Scotland were saying:
I quite liked this (from http://www.afc-chat.co.uk/):
Was just emailed this:-
Hallo Sir,
Due to a resent successful bisness opportunity, I have come into my possession the sum of 24.4 MILLION POUNDS. Unfortunately due to the tax controls in my country, I am unable to deposit this money into my bank account. My country is not safe, there are mobs of the peepal who want to kill me. God has teld me that you are a trustworthy perrson – I need your help.
Pleese send me your bank account numbers so that I can place my money with you. For this gernerous action, you will receive 5 MILLION POUNDS.
I also hav a big house for sale if you want to buy. Verry cheap, altho the neighborhood is not so good, you get used to the smell quite soon I think.
Thank you for helping me.
Mr C. Whytie
StMichaelsBhoy2 says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:16
+++++
Some good points. I would ask the following of anyone, any club and any political and footballing body who are feeling the need for a strong Rangers FC PLC (in administration):
Rangers have been ‘strong’ on the field since 1998 on the back of quite astonishing losses being underwritten by a number of external sources including, but not limited to: IR/HMRC, MIH and ENIC. Such an underwritten phase in their history enabled them to gain tens of millions of pounds from footballing sources including Champions League, Uefa Cup and Europa League revenues. In total, it is likely that they have benefited in the region of £200,000,000 since 1998. In the absence of such backing enabling the additional sporting revenues, how much of your money are you willing to hand over to support this business?
Typo!
Aplogie’s.
While I think there is no chance of HMRC wiping out the tax I would recommend taking maximum trouble to block that possible escape route.
I appreciate Paul 67’s request to e-mail the local & European football authorities I’d suggest another route to ensure exposure of this scam.
You may have seen a spokesman for The Taxpayers Alliance on both Sky News & SSN recently giving it laldy about corporate bodies generally & ‘millionaire owners’ of football clubs avoiding tax payments or when brought to book, expecting to cut a deal.
Seems to me if they got wind of a weakening of position by HMRC as the result of political pressure they would not be slow in bellowing from the rooftops.
Furthermore if it is seen Scottish politicians (from a susidised state no less) are pressing the UK, yes the UK Revenue & Customs to surrender their claims the bellowing would be still more strident.
I suspect the folk behind the TPA don’t have much in common with me politically, but in this case I suspect we are as one.
Why not blow the gaff by shopping Alex & the huns at:
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/contact
GRRRRRrrrrrr
Apologie’s.
musters says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:23
MORE BREAKING NEWS AT Ibrox
http://forthewaywelivetoday.blogspot.com/2012/02/rangers-face-fresh-secretarial-charges.html
………………………………………………
OMG. Don’t tell me their poor secretaries had to sit on their laps while taking down their dictation!
I have bad news for us I think rangers may come back stronger than ever, which means we may have to buy better players and get a better manager, so this is all going to cost us more, no wonder lennon is getting angry.
sparkleghirl 14.25 – that is the 24 million pound question :-)
IMO this 24 Million means the current Rangers are finished. And HMRC would go after Newco, as might Ticketus. I’ll stick by my Rangers are finished forever opinion.
hen1rik says:
17 February, 2012 at 13:49
‘Bhoys in any help in what to write in this emails would be appreciated.’
Ask them for their views/assistance.
Don’t berate them, and don’t tell them how to do their job.
This is my effort. Don’t just copy and paste it, otherwise it loses effect. Adapt it if it’s of any use.
####
Dear Mr Platini
You will no doubt be aware that Rangers Football Club plc has now been placed in Administration as it is unable to pay its debts.
Media reports suggest that the debts include unpaid taxes of up to Seventy Five Million Pounds Sterling (£75,000,000).
There appears to be a concerted campaign underway here in Scotland to save the club from being liquidated (wound up). Both the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, have spoken in favour of this campaign.
It is being suggested that to save the club from liquidation the British tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, should write off all or part of the unpaid taxes.
It occurs to me that such a move would amount to state aid to a football club, which I understand is prohibited by UEFA.
I would be grateful if you would advise me how UEFA would react to any such proposed move for the tax authority to write off taxes properly due, and what sanction could be imposed, and upon whom it would be imposed, should such a proposed move be implemented.
Thank you for your attention.
Bruce – which team you going to support next season ?
Bruce, computers are for grown ups.
The Legend Johnny Doyle says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:24
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Too true m8!
Die die die die, ya hun….
Hail! Hail!
jock steins celtic says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:21
You are right. If they come out of administration they will have none or at least heavily reduced ST income for 4 years. But ultimately this makes liquidation more likely
Is it the school half-term, or is wee Bruce dogging it?
Ticketus now in pole position?
They own the revenue from 50% approx of the capacity at Ibrox for the next 3 seasons.
Either they take CW’s £18-22mill to square their books and the deal is then off.
Or they hobble the TFOD as is for 3 seasons big time.
They are now the 800ld gorilla in the room.
The HMRC are the 800ld gorilla at the bottom of the stairs.
At least Edinburgh Zoo will be watching with interest.
If the pandas get homesick these could be their next star attraction.
no wonder there are so many problems with views like that. my friend said that trying to talk sense into old firm supporters is like trying to teach a Dog Physics, I now think he may be right.
Again borrowed from RTC
Night Terror says:
17/02/2012 at 2:07 pm
8
0
Rate This
A Dundee United fan is having a go at a letter to his chairman:
http://www.eastfootball.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=36884
Below is the draft of what I will send to ST. To be clear, especially for those on this forum who are not keen on posts longer than two sentences, it’s quite long and I’m not asking you to read it. It is here for anyone interested in how I intend to communicate the poll results to ST. I’ll send it by around midday tomorrow……….
In response to the developing financial crisis at Ibrox, one theme almost universally adopted by newspaper, radio and tv sports “journalists” has been that “the SPL need Rangers.” Mysteriously these journalists have either missed or chosen to ignore the angry reaction of fans on message boards across the country to this propaganda. If these strongly held views are overlooked there is a danger that those responsible for making key decisions about how the football “business” in Scotland responds to the situation will miss an important factor, the impact their decisions may have on the appetite of their “customers,” the Scottish football fans, for their “product.”
On a United forum (East Football) users were asked how they anticipated the immediate re-admission of a newco Rangers would impact their attendance of SPL games. 101 users responded as follows (link to website poll):
Votes %
Much less likely to attend SPL games 47 46.53%
Less likely to attend SPL games 15 14.85%
Won’t make any difference 37 36.63%
More likely to attend SPL games 0 00.00%
Much more likely to attend SPL games 2 01.98%
Total votes 101
Of course it does not necessarily follow that nearly two thirds of United supporters would be less likely or much less likely to attend SPL games, but the poll does indicate (with the sentiments expressed on the site) that an immediate re-admission of newco Rangers would have a significant adverse impact on attendances at Tannadice. This response is in line with sentiments expressed on other sites, for example “Aberdeen Mad” where there is considerable support for an open letter asking those responsible not to let a newco Rangers straight into the SPL and Hibs net where a poll currently has 53 votes out of 66 against Rangers being immediately re-admitted to an expanded 16 team SPL.
As the Chairman of our club you will naturally weigh in any decision the commercial interests of United, including the stance adopted by Sky television. From both the perspective of their image in Scotland and that of the SPL one would hope that they would not insist that Rangers and Celtic are essential to any SPL TV contract, with all that would imply for the sporting integrity of the competition.
You have rightly been given credit for your approach to our finances, ensuring that we cut our cloth with an aim to break even and responsibly look to pay down our debts. In contrast Rangers have adopted an irresponsible, reckless approach to financial management. It is shocking that over a number of years Rangers attempted to avoid paying the PAYE and NIC obligations met by the other honest taxpaying clubs in the SPL to maximise their chances of winning the league, cheating in the eyes of many. To compound this by choosing not to pay £9m of taxes to HMRC since last May, treating tax obligations as if they are optional, is simply outrageous.
Potentially a new debt free Rangers 2012 could emerge following liquidation. HMRC, as a creditor, would have been stuffed, not to put to fine a point on it, to the tune of £75m. What message would immediate re-admission of brazen tax cheats send out to Michel Platini, architect of UEFA’s financial fair play initiative, or to businesses everywhere through the UK struggling in economic adversity to honestly pay their taxes to fund our schools, hospitals etc, or to the other clubs in the SPL who have foolishly paid taxes and sought to honestly pay down debt rather than take an apparently far easier option?
Above all, what message would it send to the supporters of clubs in the SPL? Apparently there would be a favoured pair of teams within the “competition” who could never finish outwith the top 6, let alone be relegated, however they played on the field and however they financially cheated off the field because of the interests of commercial expediency. To be candid, the SPL would rightly be perceived as a “rigged league”.
There is another flaw with the current media chorus of the SPL need Rangers. They are suffering from amnesia. They seem to have forgotten that only recently Rangers were seeking to leave the SPL. Was there a deafening chorus then that the SPL need Rangers? Even worse, they have forgotten that in the early to mid 1980s the Scottish Premier Division was a vibrant competition where Celtic competed for the title with a number of clubs including Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts. Rangers were not essential. Since those days, changes have steadily concentrated income on just two clubs, progressively contributing to the draining of the spirit of competition from the top division as clubs failed to compete with one club determined to spend the most, whatever the price. Those hoping to see the present situation used to promote a move to a more competitive, exciting SPL would see those hopes crushed by immediate re-admission.
In May 2008 our then manager exploded with rage after a game at Ibrox where referee Mike McCurry denied United a stonewall penalty, failed to send off the Rangers player concerned and later chalked off a good goal. Recalling Craig Levein’s words that day, would it be any surprise if a significant number of supporters, faced with the prospect of a competition which had blatantly lost any pretence of being fair or sporting, asked themselves what is the point in turning up?
Bruce, are you
a. Bruce Grobelaar? (notorious for corruption in football)
b. Bruce Willis? (Die Hard actor)
c. Bruce Forsyth (comical national institution, figure of fun, on last legs)
TJ
Any government bail out will happen after Euro 2012. No way will the huns want to be responsible for England being banned from that competition. Think of all the Chelsea fans that would upset.
Read the latest article with growing anxiety. More than happy to contact Regan and Platini. Mind you, in such serious circumstances, would like it to be as germane and articulate as possible. Would some literate CQNer give me a few pointers?
Rieperman,
I don’t listen to Clyde but I wish you well in your pursuit of Keevins.
bruce – away back to FF – your club’s going bust HAHAHAHA!
email sent
We don’t do walking away – says the rangers manager as they attempt to walk away from £10,000,000 of debt.
Celtic know all about their troubles sing their fans – its just a pity they didn’t know all about theirs
Embdy want to buy a blue carpet and a bike?
Neveralone – good call on the Taxpayers Alliance – similarly the Public Accounts Committe and the National Audit Office are looking into HMRC’s “sweetheart” deals with Voafone and Goldman Sachs, so may be worth alerting them to this?
In my view, although I would be happy with them being liquidated, I think the best solution would be for them to avoid this. Let’s be honest, they would be allowed back into the SPL as a Rangers NEwCo – the finance arguments are bound to convince the other SPL clubs (and maybe even our own – though they’d likely vote against knowing it wouldn’t make any difference except to placate us supporters) to allow them back. So they’d come back, debt free with only a 10 point deduction as punishment.
Instead, what we want is for HMRC to agree a deal where they pay back what is owed over a long term – they are already (according to the Whyte Knight) spending £10m per year more than they earn (or is it £19m per year more given they haven’t been paying PAYE/NI/etc?) so they need to make real cuts anyway – better a Rangers with little or no finance than a new company bearing the brand who don’t suffer any consequences!
Then we should do everything we can (within reason – we don’t want to go bust) to win 10 in a row and beat the 52 or whatever their “world record” is – wipe out thier “we matched 9” and world record successes and their financial doping was for nothing!
Paulus LXVII, Salve Salve;- Benedicamus te, sorry, I got the spelling of your name wrong before, Don’t post much nowadays. Anyhoo, Emails sent.
Greenwells.
Alea iacta est
bruce says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:29
I have bad news for us I think rangers may come back stronger than ever, which means we may have to buy better players and get a better manager, so this is all going to cost us more, no wonder lennon is getting angry.
+++++
I agree.
Which reminds me: NURSE, WHERE’S MY MEDICATION???????
Wibble Wibble!!
bruce i have been trying to tell them the same thing for weeks now. dont let them hound you form here. they will call you a hun. you have to keep tellnig it like it us. we are the conshuns of the celtic support. some of them wont wake up until it is too late. keep truckin pal
hail hail
no! I am just concerned that rangers have won 164 trophies to selliks 124, and if they go bust we wont have the opportunity to pass them.
bruce says:
17 February, 2012 at 14:35
no wonder there are so many problems with views like that. my friend said that trying to talk sense into old firm supporters is like trying to teach a Dog Physics, I now think he may be right.
————————–
May I suggest that if you wish to receive a non dismissive reply that you try and engage in the adult debate. Posting nonsense such as Scottish football needs Rangers or fantasies about Rangers miraculous resurrection with a team full of top players would lead one to suspect that you are either delusional or a 12 year old?
A copy of what I have just sent.
stewart.regan@scottishfa.co.uk ;
marion.haap@uefa.ch ;
scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk ;
huntj@parliament.uk ;
enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk ;
harmanh@parliament.uk ;
margaret.curran.mp@parliament.uk ;
michaelmooremp@parliament.uk ;
To all those in the above addresses
My name is James Forrest and I, along with Paul Brennan of Celtic Quick News, (celticquicknews.co.uk) edit the monthly CQN Magazine, a digital publication produced and written by and for Celtic supporters. We have been hugely successful since launch – we are now working on issue 7 – and our recent front page featured a picture of Craig Whyte and Fergus McCann and asked “Fit & Proper” person questions. That issue has had 600,000 views this week alone.
You can view it here; http://www.calameo.com/read/000390171c1ea04287bcd
I am writing to you today because of the current situation regarding Rangers, and the interference by various political figures in the business of the Scottish game and their public, and private, efforts to get HMRC to back away from pursuing the taxes owed to them by that club.
Paul is urging many on the CQN forum to do the same, but I want to draw your attention to a couple of things in addition to my main point.
Stewart Regan, the Celtic Quick News website, and now the magazine, are swiftly becoming the most influential forums for Celtic fans which exist, either in Scotland or beyond. You have been the subject of much discussion on the website, and in a number of the magazine pieces. The reason for this is that Celtic fans, in the main, broadly support you in your objectives and find you to be a more transparent and forthright person than your predecessor, who was frankly hopeless and has gone on to prove it as the World’s Worst Tour Guide at Murray Park, where his job appears to be pointing reporters in the direction of the manager and saying “ask him.”
You have brought professionalism and stability to the post, and you have at least attempted reform – all of which is excellent, and good to see. You also took a difficult, but necessary, and correct, decision in the case of Hugh Dallas, which must have been tough considering the intolerable pressure you were placed under to arrive at a different decision. This won you much respect, and many friends, amongst our community.
The challenges you are about to face are going to be the biggest yet, as Rangers slips further into trouble and the depth of what has happened at that club becomes known. The SFA will be tested to the full, and you have to consider all the possible consequences of whichever decision you take. Celtic fans have a very strong view on the prospect of Rangers being given special treatment, as I am sure you can imagine. A decision which treats Rangers in a different way from you would treat a Motherwell, or a Dundee or a Livingston will not be acceptable, and could lead to many fans boycotting games altogether.
People tend to forget that Scottish football is not just about two teams. Those who say the game here needs Celtic and Rangers do a grave dis-service to every other club in the land, big or small. They play a role every bit as important as the two Glasgow giants, and almost all do so playing by a very simple set of rules, the one which Rangers don’t seem to believe apply.
Now, to the main point of my email, and the reason I have sent it to so many.
It is apparent that political pressure is being brought to bear on HMRC, for all we know other creditors, and the football authorities, over the future of Rangers. Politicians of various shades – from members of the Labour led Glasgow City Council to the Conservative and Unionist Prime Minister, through to the pro-independence Scottish First Minister, have offered their support for the club in the last few days and have urged HMRC to come to an agreement with them.
First, are all of these people completely unaware of the nature of what they are engaged in? Other Scottish clubs, and many in England, have suffered administration events in recent years, and the silence from the political class was deafening. Furthermore, other companies have suffered events like this, and some of them through no fault of their own. This kind of pressure on a major creditor is unprecedented, and could be construed as some form of State Aid, which, as I am sure you are all aware, is against the law. In case you need reminding – many of you have high pressure jobs, which I fully understand – here are the 5 “Key Questions” which have to be answered before action can be considered a provision of State Aid.
1) Is the measure granted by the state or through state resources?
2) Does it confer an advantage to an undertaking?
3) Is it selective, favouring certain undertakings?
4) Does the measure distort or have the potential to distort competition?
5) Is the activity tradable between member states?
In the first instance, we are talking about political representatives trying to secure what is the equivalent of a tax exemption for a football club. Political pressure can certainly be construed as a “measure granted by the state”, not to mention being seen as an attempt to influence the running of a government department. Furthermore, the money Rangers owes here is public money; to allow them to keep it would certainly tick box number 1.
In the second instance, it certainly confers an advantage to Rangers. It is a tax exemption. It writes off huge sums of money, which otherwise it would have to pay. The government’s own advice website on State Aid states that this “includes the direct transfer of resources, such as grants and soft loans, and also indirect assistance – for example, relief from charges that an undertaking normally has to bear, such as a tax exemption or the provision of services, loans, at a favourable rate.” Box number 2, then, is certainly ticked.
In terms of number 3, it is certainly selective, as no such pressures have been brought to bear in the past, and if Rangers were not a football club it would be unprecedented for politicians from all the main parties to seek to influence a government body in such a fashion. Even a measure which sought to exempt all football clubs from their tax liabilities would be considered a form of State Aid. If the parties wish to make this legal it has to be a nationwide policy, affecting everyone, and every sector, the same way. Box number three is ticked.
Box number 4 deals with distortion of competition. Stewart Regan, you already know that the effects of Rangers present policies have distorted competition in Scottish Football, and this is what has led us to this pass. Can you realistically argue that allowing Rangers to default on its taxes, or even a majority of them, and to re-emerge from this process as a debt-free entity would not be a further distortion of competition, to the detriment of everyone? Can any of the political figures here claim, with any degree of credibility that if two businesses in the same field were to run into trouble and one was to be helped with a nudge and a wink from government and the other was not, that this would distort competition? Could you say that it would not distort competition if two companies in the same business were competing for contracts, whatever, and one ran into trouble and was then bailed out that this would not distort competition? I know which way the EU would see this, and so I can safely say this tick’s box number 4.
As to the fifth point, I will simply quote the government’s own advice, in its entirety. “The Commission’s interpretation of this is broad – it is sufficient that a product or service is subject to trade between member states, even if the aid beneficiary itself does not export to the EU. Consequently most activities are viewed as tradable.” Tick box number 5.
The guidelines also helpfully give some examples of State Aid, for the record. These include:
# Loans and guarantees below market rates
# Free or subsidised consultancy advice
# Cash injections to and writing off losses of public enterprises
# Discretionary deferral of or exemption from tax, social security and other payments to the state
# Legislation to protect or guarantee market share
Further to all of this, political interference in football is specifically prohibited by UEFA and FIFA regulations, and there is a sliding scale of punishments which fall on the associations themselves, if they allow political entities to involve themselves in matters devolved to the game, which is why I have taken the liberty of including UEFA in this communication.
I am sure I do not need to remind people of what we are talking about in the Rangers tax crisis. This was not a company which ran into trouble because of bad economic conditions, or because of well-intentioned but nevertheless disastrous decisions of policy. What we are talking about here, if you remove the footballing aspect from the equation, is a business which sought to distort or ignore tax law in order to gain a competitive advantage. It was a wilful, possibly criminal, decision, and one which is as worthy of condemnation as the practices of Enron, AIG or Barings – a bank I mention very specifically, in context of my next point.
This is a company which not only flaunted tax law in the UK, but appointed to its board of directors a man who is accused of, and has been found guilty of, multiple tax frauds in another country (Dave King, South Africa). He is, in fact, the second largest shareholder after the present owner. Their club secretary during much of the time the original EBT scheme was being run is a man who went on to be a director of another club which set up a similar scheme, Heart of Midlothian. They too are in a long running dispute with HMRC over tax arrears. His name is Campbell Ogilvie, and he is the present first Vice President of the Scottish Football Association.
Rangers is presently run by a man named Craig Whyte, a man of what I shall euphemistically refer to as a colourful background, who has been in charge for a mere nine months. In that time he appears to have mortgaged season ticket revenues, has quite possibly put assets beyond the reach of the receiver and run up further tax bills of £10 million that we know of. He is currently the subject of one criminal investigation, again that we know of, and is the central figure in several non-criminal probes, but which have the capacity to become larger and more encompassing events. Notwithstanding the outcome of these probes, the example of Barings Bank is used because what happened there was the result of a break-down in corporate responsibility, regulation and governance and the action of a rogue trader.
Rangers is not where it is today because of one individual or one course of action. This is not the action of a single “rogue owner” but a long-standing perception inside the cultural heart of the club that it does not have to abide by ordinary rules. Shame on all of you if you pander to, or encourage, that appalling mind-set to continue, and grow.
Rangers Football Club has been at the centre of multiple tax evasion schemes, over a long number of years, involving numerous persons who have been suspected of engagement in widespread practices which, if the UK had a version of the RICO Act could possibly have resulted in the entire upper echelon of the club being indicted for racketeering. In many ways, with his background, Craig Whyte is actually the owner Rangers Football Club deserves. Their entire recent history made it almost inevitable they would enter into a relationship with such a man.
That many people in politics are ignoring these facts is ludicrous, and when I sit down to a write a full accounting of them for the magazine later this year I will be sure to name those who have given their public statements seemingly without thought to this.
All of it is now by the by, because things have come to a point where these events have caught up with the football club and those associated with it.
Political figures have no business interfering in this process in any way. The Exchequer is doing its own sterling work, and needs no advice or assistance. Such assistance could be a violation of the law and runs contrary to UEFA guidelines on government interference in the running of football, and it brings great peril upon everyone involved, from the head of the Scottish Football Association, who’s organisation could find itself in trouble, to the politicians who have to worry about perception and being seen to side with people who have defrauded the taxpayer and possibly worse.
I urge some wise-heads to prevail here, and for people to let things take the proper course, within the law and in keeping with the regulations as they would be applied to every other football club, indeed every other business, in the land, as well as in the spirit of fairness.
Surely that is not too much to ask.
Yours sincerely
James Forrest
Bruce
Have you had your jelly and ice cream today? We’ve got plenty if you would like some.
THERE IS NO FEASIBLE VIABLE ACCEPTABLE POSSIBLE BUSINESS PLAN AVAILABLE THAT WILL ALLOW THE HUNS TO PAY THEIR DEBT BACK OVER A PERIOD OF TIME