Bribery and Scottish football

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The Rangers chief executive, Charles Green, yesterday made an extraordinary bid to bribe his way up the Scottish Football League (SFL), saying, “I would … be prepared to guarantee other clubs the ticket revenue equivalent of 300 Rangers fans turning up for matches.”

The SFL will soon vote on reconstruction and amalgamation with the SPL with a 12-12-18 structure on the table.  If this is rejected, no reconstruction will happen.  Should they win successive promotions Green’s club are due to spend three years in lower league football but if successful his bribe could shorten this to two seasons.

In support of his claim Green cites Stranraer, who won Division Two in 1993 and were promoted to Division One the following season.  The league structure changed that summer, from three to four leagues, resulting in more teams being relegated from Division One than was scheduled at the start of the season, but clubs were only promoted to the league they would have entered without reconstruction.

The Rangers are due to be promoted to the Second Division next season but are asking for direct access to the First Division.  They have made no suggestion as to what should happen to the club who finish in second place in this season’s Third Division.  Although Green’s statement references the Stranraer scenario, and an insistence that “the principle of promotion and relegation… should be enshrined”, he does not explain that Stranraer won the league and were promoted from Division Two to One, or that he wants promotion from Third to First.

It will surprise no one that Green believes “the SFL has shown real leadership in proposing” colts teams from the The Rangers and Celtic, although he has surprised me with the news that his club did not lobby for this suggestion.

I am sure the SFL lawyers would have reverted to the Fifa rule book, which is pretty clear that clubs can only be promoted on sporting merit, and explicitly prohibits clubs from paying for promotion.  Which is a pity, as I am sure the financial security of Green’s embryonic club would be greatly enhanced by promotion straight to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

We have been here before.

Scottish Football League clubs will decide their only structure but now more than ever we have to stand together as a club.  The direction and leadership of Celtic, and the supporters’ organisations, tested by often irreconcilable challenges at every turn, are exceptional.  Fantasies that the World Order is controlled between Celtic Park, Glasgow City Council and the Vatican are just that. Running Celtic is like steering the Titanic away from the iceberg with a pizza box, although if you speak to any numpty who has never done it you’ll get a different view. Despite all this, for the first time in decades we have a successful and sustainable football model.

We recruit and develop exceptional players who achieved what few of us expected this season.  The challenge for Celtic is to win the league and Cup and apply all energies on recruiting players for next season’s Champions League campaign.

Enjoy your football; Stand up for Celtic.
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840 Comments

  1. Prestonpanbhoy – remember that the GB have accussed Celtic of passing over details (mobile phone numbers etc) – Les kindly confirmed that was the case (as well as also saying it was good the they knew that the cops knew who they were…….

     

     

    II’m afraid its guilty as charged for Celtic – unless they can prove otherwise.

     

     

    Boy Jinky – direct action in this case means bye bye Celtic Park until we get a Board who actually cares about the support……..

  2. prestonpans bhoys on

    NegAnon2

     

    00:28 on

     

    20 March, 2013

     

    Prestonpanbhoy – remember that the GB have accussed Celtic of passing over details (mobile phone numbers etc)

     

     

    Yip and if the Police request that info I don’t think we can say no. Offering that info without a request is totally different.

  3. prestonpans bhoys on

    wise chinese man says you should go to bed when your hamster wakes up.

     

     

    Night all…………………………

  4. Neganon

     

     

    I love celtic. .. massive thing in my life

     

     

    But im not gonna stand back and be peed on .. with their approval. .. and not gonna watch the young team get it either

     

     

    Its time to stand up and be counted. ..

     

     

    If the board dont support the supporters … the club is doomed

  5. That was cruel.

     

     

    What harm has Sandaza done us?

     

     

    Sounds like a nice bloke.

  6. Re tommy and Sandaza– Taking advantage of a man who is speaking in his second language who is obviously playing football not for rankers but for his livelihood. Hard to listen to. Tommy you are a prick. Craig Whyte is one thing but this crossed the line. Plastic bully.

  7. neganon said

     

    I’m afraid its guilty as charged for Celtic – unless they can prove otherwise.

     

     

    And in the REAL world, it just happens to be the other way round, and for very good reasons.

  8. Sorry but that interview is bothering me. Can anyone who knows “tommy” ask him to do the decent thing and pull that off youtube. It is really distasteful.

  9. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    Just listened to the latest “Tommy” interview.

     

     

    IMO,it crosses the boundaries. This wasn’t taking advantage of his anonymity and getting a former hun insider to spill the beans,it was just taking advantage.

     

     

    Sandaza might well speak better English than I speak Spanish-hell,he probably speaks English better than I speak English!-but it is nevertheless not his first language.

     

     

    It reminded me of the cringeworthy fiasco which was Tam Cowan “interviewing” Rudi Vata.

     

     

    I bet Tommy was furious when he saw that one………

  10. Valentine's Day on

    Good morning Timland.

     

     

    Budget prediction’s

     

     

    Bevvy up, fag’s up, petrol up, mega tax break’s

     

    for the super rich……….a shafting for the working

     

    man……….if your poor,or sick God help you.

     

     

    Away tae work……I know i’m lucky tae hiv a job

     

    if you call being a rat catcher in a child labour

     

    camp a job.

  11. Truly Farcical…

     

    A song/lyric dedicated to the SFA, SPL, Uefa & FIFA and all other Major Stake Holders in Scottish Sporting Integrity, (including the MSM and other political Parts) from,….

     

    One would imagine….

     

    ALL Scottish Fitba fans….

     

     

    Why did you have to break all our Hearts…?

     

     

    VeryShortSighted CSC

  12. Hi Guys, been reading the site for ages but not registered to post anything till now! What I want to know is why everyone in the SMSM is clinging to this belief that sevco are the be all and end all of Scottish football? I agree we need a challenge and a fierce rival, however if say Aberdeen or Dundee U were to put up said challenge does the MSM beleive we, as Celtic fans, would NOT view them as competition?? Are the teams already in the SPL not better placed to make this challenge rather than some no mark team from the 4th tier??

     

     

    I know they have a large follow following but this didn’t stop them going bust in their last guise and I see nothing in Chuckles blethering statements to suggest they’ve learned anything from the past and if anything they will go bust quicker this tiem round!! How can anyone view this as the way forward?

     

     

    Now I may just have been a Celtic fan for too long and have paranoia ingrained in me (Doesn’t mean they’re not out ot get me ;-)) but I am looking on from afar here in Melbourne and the sfa seems to have been doing the usual farryesque manouvers to hand any advantage going to them?

     

     

    Sorry to rant on my first post, but bhoy it feels good to get that off my chest! Anyway love the site paul and to all the regulars Keep on posting, keep the faith and keep on keeping on ;-)

     

     

    Hail Hail and GBNFL :-)

  13. Good morning friends from an unexpectedly dry and fairly bright looking East Kilbride.

     

     

    johnbud78 – welcome!

  14. Les Gray…thick company man ….all polis are great btw ….he’d give idiots a bad name

     

     

    Sadly there are many of his number in the ranks

     

     

    Orr…see above …just not as thick ..but nonetheless as dangerous

  15. What have the GB done to merit such excessive police attention ?

     

     

    Has that ever been explained .

     

     

    There a groups engaged in organised crime who have less resources employed against them

     

     

    Ill thought out legislation and an arrogant Govt too conceited to accept that

  16. If Celtic are asked to provide information on who sits in a certain seat , by the police.

     

     

    Then they have no option but provide it.

     

     

    The Tommy interview is pathetic.

     

     

    He should withdraw it.

     

     

    Poor,poor, stuff.

     

     

    TT

  17. P. S.

     

     

    I do think that Celtic are delighted to provide the seat information .

     

     

    TT

  18. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TINY TIt may certainly be in the club’s best interests not to get on the wrong side of plod by refusing to provide details without,say,a court order. But I don’t think they are legally obliged to provide them.

     

     

    Such details will be subject to Data Protection laws,and the police are bound by them,like it or not.

     

     

    So too are the club.

     

     

    There could be a case for the club being complicit in malicious prosecution.

     

     

    That would concentrate minds wonderfully……..

  19. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    OOOOPS

     

     

    Spongey keys syndrome

     

     

     

    Start of above SHOULD read….

     

     

    “TINY TIM

     

     

    It may,etc…….”

     

     

     

    Sorry for the unintentional and offensive error!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. Kurly u cut me deep man :-) I have all my own teeth! Does that answer your question lol!!

  21. The Boy Jinky on

    Bmcuw

     

     

    Classic typo…. best ive seen on cqn… ;)

     

     

    TT

     

     

    Sorry pal. .. had to laugh at that

     

     

    Not sure if cfc have to give plod details … unless a crime has been commited … but

     

     

    If they do…. why not just come out and say so

  22. Just listened to the sandaza interview?? No need, not smart, we’re better than that! Get it off YouTube u tube ;-)

  23. The Boy Jinky on

    Ylcru

     

     

    Black iced in eberdeen would read better

     

     

    Johnbud

     

     

    Its all part of the initiation ya big zombie…….. as you said in your post.. . We’re probably paranoid ….. doesnt make us dead people .

  24. Tim Malone Will Tell on

    I started listening to the Sandaza interview and had to stop – it made me feel very uncomfortable. Nice to see that I am not the only one…

  25. Caltontongues

     

    a wee joke ma mhan..take it easy

     

    as for growing up.im very grown up im even allowed to use the big toilet now lol…hey i aint sitting back and taking this crap from plod or from plc..action needs to be taken..issues need resolved or wont be a need to by season books next year..growin up doesnt even come into this when these guys have had their civil liberties abused h.h