“The tax default and reporting rules are an integral part of maintaining a fair league competition”.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, November 2014.
“A fair league competition”. Strong words. I wonder if Mr Doncaster is keen to apply his ethics as evenly when it comes to a team with more than a couple of thousand fans. Don’t bet on it.
I suggested last week you ignore the comments coming out of Hampden about there being little appetite to look into the enormous levels of cheating which we now know went on is our game for over a decade. There is very little appetite from those occupying executive positions at Hampden, but they will not decide what happens.
Ultimate authority at the SFA and SPFL lies with the clubs, and more than just Celtic are alarmed by what went on, and the apparent flippancy show towards it in recent days by those paid to protect the honesty and reputation of our game.
Instincts exist within any organisation to protect itself. We’ve seen this play out in the Church (against their own), the police (against their own), Fifa (against their own), so it should be no surprise that those who worked, and became friends with, some of the architects of Rangers EBT scandal had little appetite to open an investigation.
An SFA or SPFL commission could lead to the disciplining of two-term SFA president, Campbell Ogilvies, or Sir David Murray, men who have made friends in the game for decades.
It would inevitably lead to the examination of the Resolution 12 issue (how Rangers were granted a licence to compete in the Champions League in 2011 when they didn’t meet the criteria). And this one is current enough to involve many still active in their roles.
And then there is the weighty matter of dealing with the consequences of what went on in our sport for all those years.
The demand of an investigation into what went on sounds reasonable but you cannot look into something corrupt without consequences, and that’s where corrupt systems work against fair competition.
Rangers rigged the system, their practises are as clear-cut a case of Financial Doping as you will find. They were playing by different rules, different tax rules and different player registration rules.
They failed to disclose information which should have been disclosed, but could have incriminated them. Unlike Craig Whyte, who was banned from the game for his duplicities, the directors who embarked on this great subversion have never been called to account.
Nor will they unless voices are heard across Scottish football. Don’t lose focus on getting angry (not yet, anyway), right now, we need fans of other clubs to share our concerns and let their voices be heard. Winning allies is the first part of winning this debate, and that’s easier done by calmly making our point.
11 clubs suffered financial consequences of Rangers Financial Doping. Motherwell lost a minimum of £2.1m from not gaining access to European competition. How would they feel if they were a cyclist half a mile behind Lance Armstrong in every race? Would if be OK, as he didn’t get caught?
There’s a Christmas toy collection for Maryhill Foodbank at Wild Cabaret, THIS Saturday, 14 November, from midday to 4:30. Families who don’t have money for food don’t have money for Christmas toys. If you have something you can donate, drop it in. There’s mulled wine and mince pies on the go.
You’ll find Wild Cabaret at 18 Candleriggs (0141 552 6165).
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Everyine = Everyone
Tim Malone it would be a first
Hello again all you young rebels.
Hope all you ghuys over there aren’t under nuclear attack
yet, what an astonishing statement from the doomdome
bunker, anybody else having a vision of tinfoil heid and
Vladimir Putin wrestling over the big red button to see who
can push first, i can just imagine a big mushroom cloud
blowing all the way over here and big bits of they sh*ty big
blue gates landing on our lovely beaches and polluting them.
They have got me terrified.
As for them wheeling out ex Celts who supposedly get us but
take their filthy money to continually insult us well they were
never brought up like us fans who suffered years of intimidation
assaults and abuse just for who we are.
Those who were and decided to play for them and take an EBT
well I’m sure you’ll know what i think of them.
Me i could never go to that cesspit even now if they gave me an
MOT and believe me this auld body needs one.
Glad i got that off my chest , back to nice stuff, some of you guys
still to post your best Celtic eleven and three subs since 1965
you’ve got till Sunday and the winner will have the privilege of
wearing one of our clubs classy polo shirts.
Cowiebhoy
Are you waiting on some more clues or what?
ACGR.
Get back on here you don’t need to talk to us just post a team.
H.H Mick
I have spelt out my position over on TSFM and I paste it here.
I will pay not a single red cent to Celtic or any other Football club, senior , junior ar amateur if all of this is swept under the carpet.
http://www.sfm.scot/whose-assets-are-they-anyway/comment-page-18/#comment-21942
Morning Bhoys I dont think we should get concerned about any inaction against the cheats at Ibrokes time will be getting marked to see if there is an appeal forthcoming and the result of any such appeal.To get to where we are today in the big tax case HMRC will have spent a considerable amount of money and they will want to recoup that money as well as get as much of the unpaid tax back into the public purse.When this happens plenty of skeletons will come out of the cupboards. H,H
Hugh Adam – the only one with the intellect and self-awareness to tell the truth – and look how they dealt with him.
Was it The Herald that published the shameful obituary?
MELBOURNEMICK
Three subs anaw?
Ffs,yer having a laugh.
Gies a clue-is one of the subs a goalie?
Btw,my spellchecker autocorrects ffs to FIFA. I’m gonna train it to autocorrect to FTSFA instead.
BRTH
I haven’t since the 5 way agreement. To much chagrin on here.
Keep a low profile.
HH
I think their medals to them will be trivial…..they think more of their stashed away dosh from their Ebt
JFH,
Where is the ” In Ronny & Peter I trust” gone ?
HH.
Forster
McGrain McNeil vanDjik Kennedy
Johnstone Murdoch Brown Clark
Larsson Sutton.
Manager: Too obvious.
I realise that I have no chance of the polo shirt but that team would take some beating.
Also, I can almost guarantee I have left out some I have forgotten about.
JJ
CQN Trending articles are inappropriate for a family site?
On the EBT saga – feels a lot like deja vu…
Media denial – I thought Richard Wilson was going to burst in to tears last night – credit to Speirs – he was pretty candid – although he still feels that title stripping is not on. Sad to see so many Celtic ‘greats’ agreeing with this. I think they are all basically too stupid to differentiate between their own professional pride ( rightly see themselves as good as any rangers player) and what is morally correct.
Good on ODea for coming out and making that differentaition.
BROGAN ROGAN TREVINO. Fella the cheating and its outcome will only be swept under the carpet if we football supporters allow it. We should be keeping it in the public eye every chance we get I have already written this morning that the tax case in my opinion will not disappear.However,the football side as we both know is a different matter altogether.If it is not dealt with properly I think thousands of supporters will withdraw there support after all who wants to give there time and money to a corrupt set up. H.H.
If RC (ross county in this case) fans plan a boycott,,,,,,will the Celtic fans follow suit…..well I would say yes…..get the wheels in motion.
GREEN PINTA. I thought you would know my position quite clearly by now so have put it back in reserve for the next time it is needed. H.H. :- )
Speirs still talks about the “old firm” in the last weekends ragsl
THUNDERROAD
Yer Mum was a good judge,bud.
I’m having a beer wi my hun mate and he just said-bloody hell,yer favourite jockey’s dead!
He won me a quid or two. Made Dettori’s name too,by not trying a leg in the last at Ascot that day!
R I P Pat.
During the cheating years many people were cheated football clubs football players and football supporters to name a few. If certain ex-Celtic players cant see that or wont admit it that is up to them it changes nothing H.H.
TIMMALONEWILLTELL
It was. And it was indeed a shameful occasion for a newspaper with a proud past.
Been a downward spiral for them since,coincidentally.
BMCUW
Had to make 3 subs to stop all the arguing, Paddy will kill me
but no sub goalie, and if our team was picked today then big
Darren would be a cert to be in it.
Jungle Jim
Great team and thats all I’m saying.
H.H Mick
O.G.Rafferty on 10th November 2015 9:25 am
‘He gets bogged down in the deliberately complex application – the trust could technically ask for the money back at any time, so it’s a loan – as opposed to the common sense understanding that no matter how they dressed it up, it’s tax free earnings (disguised).’
You can just imagine the transfer negotiations for these players.
‘You’ll not actually get a wage, but don’t worry, you might, if you’re lucky, get a loan from a trust if the trustees are feeling generous’.
‘Aye, OK, where do I sign?’
Is it any wonder that judges are throwing a bucket of cold water on that kind of nonsense?
Top of the morning to you all from a dreich Dunfermline.
I see some fans on other football sites (not just Celtic ones) are floating the idea of suing Rangers (newco as they inheritted football debts of oldco) for compensation,
I don’t see much point in suing the dead company, but it has crossed my mind that there must be a case for shareholders of Celtic (or any other club) taking out a civil action against the governing body for allowing Rangers to cheat with impunity.
So the SFA, who’s officer Sandy Bryson, allowed player registrations on the basis of what can only be described as “Alice in Wonderland” logic must be liable for recompense to shareholders of those clubs cheated by trophies won in a rigged game.
I reckon that crowd-funding of a group of shareholders could be effective in raising money enough for a class action (one where an individual case is determined with the verdict applying to similar shareholdings).
Malfeasance on the part of the SFA or some such charge could surely be drafted by a competent solicitor-advocate or advocate.
If Celtic fans don’t do it then nobody will as the clubs certainly won’t.
The FFin’ hatred will never stop:
“I’ve come to the conclusion it will never stop,its like a horrible illness that always sits on your shoulder looking for a thread to pull ,its sad but I actually think the vitriol and hatred has ramped up as we make our way back ,its like a call to arms for all these clubs ….I did temporarily buy into the clubs narrative of building bridges , ****that now ,I’m hoping the clubs greater goal is to charm offend our way into the corridors of power….we have to take a selfish zero tolerance approach and fight fire with fire with the main difference being we are on the side of the righteous ,good over bad ,and that suits me just fine.”
——
“The way all big clubs are viewed. If it was any different, I’d be worried.”
——
“Our weakness brought the bloodlust to the fore, many want us (the OO, CoS and Freemasonry) dead. The whole integrity thing is bollox is simple hatred and jealousy.”
——
“at the moment we are fighting many enemies on many fronts.
This is not the first time these people have waited for such circumstances before attacking their ‘enemy’.
Last night on Radio Clyde Rangers were likened to Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong knowingly broke the rules of his sport, he knowing took banned substances and knowingly hid this from the governing body.
Rangers openly declared the use of a legal….salary sacrifice device, used on the best advice of an expert financial advice team”
——
“Our enemies are driven by religious and political hatred.”
——
“The solution is simple……litigate Scottish football into bankruptcy.”
——
” I would take the bodies to court and ruin them. In fact ruin the whole world of Scottish football.”
——
“Sue Darren O’Dea it’s that simple
Make an example of him, use the independent commission as the proof of no wrong doing.
See how many want to squeal ‘cheat’ then.”
——
“The simple truth
Our tax problems are being used as a stick to beat us with but never lose sight of what this is all really about. Celtic and their fans hate us for our Protestant History, nothing more complicated, they site a tax avoidance scheme to try and justify their hate, it is however simply mindless religious bigotry, a bigotry instilled in them at the state funded hate factories they’re educated in. No matter what we do or don’t do, this won’t change.”
——
“The have influence and power that goes way way beyond anything natural or normal in a country where they make up less than one fifth of the population.
Furthermore the government of this country is polluted by people of all faiths and none who who detest our club and would like to see us destroyed.
These are dangerous times.”
——
“There is going to be absolute carnage at some games when we get promotion.the media are whipping up a storm that will result in serious disorder and people being hurt or worse.”
Russia says…..
” We won our gold medals fair and square on the track and field.
World Athletics has suffered enough.
Let’s all move on for the good of the sport.”
My friends in Celtic,
When all is said and done, what do people remember. The winners. Through the passage of time gallant losers or injustices are forgotten about and the record books will only show the victors.
That is why the titles / thropies must be stripped. Nothing else will suffice.
We on here know that it’s tainted years, but let the records show it.
HH.
Reading back last night Cowiebhoy posted some of the individual taxes ” evaded” . Would certainly help with food banks.. If no appeal is forthcoming can I expect the consciences of the ” evaders” to be pricked and to do the dignified thing.?.
http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/rangers-cheated-football-fraudulent-silverware/10066
Greenpinata
I think you should change your Blog name to Greenpinta so that other posters no longer make mistakes.
Now, why does that remind me of the Offensive Behaviour Act?
JJ
MONAGHAN
Loonies led by donkeys,to paraphrase something close to their hearts.
From Monaghans FF,
its like a horrible illness that always sits on your shoulder looking for a thread to pull .
Eh,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Its like poetry.I think.
Jungle Jim Hot Smoked,
But a piñata is a big hinging donkey full of sweets. I couldn’t possibly change that.
Could change the colour of the donkey though. :-)
HH.
I’m curious (and therefore suspect HMRC might also be curious) about the EBT Players Agent’s financial role in this deception?
If Bawbag got a £2.5M EBT what % did his Agent get – 2% maybe 5%? That’s £50-125K. How did he get paid – lump sum/annual charge? Did it go through the ‘books’ @ net or gross? Is this an area that HMRC are now likely to audit?
If Agents knowingly participated in the contract deception element of the EBT scheme (to the Footballing Authorities) – should their licence be revoked?
I can envisage some ‘burning of the midnight oil’ for a few Accountants.
“But a piñata is a big hinging donkey full of sweets. -”
Sounds like one of my fat mates!!!
PRAECEPTA
Or using that midnight oil to burn the evidence…
Last night I said a boycott of the LC semis would be a way to make a protest.Some agreed,some did not.No problem there.I hate the thought of boycotting anything Celtic are involved in.
My point was though,that what else can the fans do?.I mean the fans,not the clubs.If the message is pumped out enough,I would think that most fans would see the benefit of this action.Even as some said,taking up their seats 15 minutes into the game.At the moment we are being hit with all sorts of fob offs,excuses,blatant support for the Huns case from all angles.Even idiots like Lambert joining in.This wont stop for the simple reason,they know it will all blow over with the majority of other teams fans.
As much as I detest the scum,they have come out all guns blazing,and issued warnings to the SPFL/SFA,that they will NOT strip them of any titles.The rest of Scottish football sits back and complains on Blogs and in pubs.If a boycott is not achievable then some sort of mass protest,if BDO dont appeal,is called for by all fans in Scotland.The LC semis are the place to do it.
You will have to excuse me today,I still have not recovered from agreeing with Neganon 2 Last night.
Just listened to the Sportsound podcast from last night and Paul Lambert was making the case that we need Rangers in the top division.
My question is apart from 40 odd thousand huns attending home games what do rangers bring to the top division. They just published results with £7.5m in debt, they owe MA £5m, they owe the current directors between £3 – 5m, they have 5 loan players in their squad that could potentially leave in January. They have no line of credit with any bank and are struggling to see out the rest of the season. We also have the various court cases coming up with no idea how that will pan out. There’s probably more but you get the drift..
We’ve got no idea how the land lies for next season, so what do rangers bring that I’m missing…??
Turkeybhoy on 10th November 2015 10:59 am
Sometimes it happens, but it’s never less of a shock.
TURKEYBHOY
I agree wi NEGANON more often than you do,bud.
I operate on the ‘stopped clock’ principle.
Btw,I agree wi yer boycott idea(!)