I see a lot of argument exercised over the weekend on the double-jeopardy issue. Holding an inquiry into an event, then holding another when you don’t get the desired outcome. I have sympathy to a degree with this sentiment, but only within limits. Tax cheats who successfully wriggle out of their responsibilities at a Tribunal, may be called to a second, third or fourth hearing.
This will feel like quadruple-jeopardy, but it’s correct and often needed for the law to apply evenly. It’s also worth noting that the Crown successfully convicted its first double-jeopardy case in November last year, following the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act.
For non-legal cases, such as the SPL Commission headed by Lord Nimmo Smith, there is no double-jeopardy law, either way, the SFA source trying to influence the media late last week into thinking there was, was getting ahead of himself. Any organisation can ask any question of itself at any point.
What the SPFL (formerly known as the SPL) must now ask, is was the Lord Nimmo Smith Commission fit for purpose?
Auldheid, writing on Scottish Football Monitor last year, published his correspondence to SPFL solicitor, Rod McKenzie of Harper MacLeod, suggesting crucial information, requested by McKenzie as part of his case on behalf of the SPL, was not disclosed.
The implication being that McKenzie was unable to reference the material he needed to successfully prosecute his case as the salient information was withheld by Rangers. McKenzie wrote to Rangers on 5 March 2012 asking for relevant information but allegedly did not receive documentation on EBTs Rangers had already agreed with HMRC were incorrect and liable for tax.
The SPL Commission concluded Rangers gained no sporting advantage from their EBTs as, although they found the club acted wrongly in respect of player registration rules, the Commission found that even if the EBTs had been declared, no tax would have been payable, so no sporting advantage was achieved.
We now know that a considerable amount of tax should have been paid (subject to appeal to the Supreme Court), which flips the criteria Nimmo Smith based his decision upon.
I suspect nothing will happen between now and the expiry of the Big Tax Case appeal notification window in early December. Should no appeal be made, the SPFL will need to consider its position.
Football, to a considerable extent, relies on clubs issuing information openly and fully to authorities when required. If a conspiracy to withhold information from an inquiry exists, and is subsequently uncovered, the authorities must consider what action is appropriate.
At the very least, the national association should not be privately promoting a cover-up.
Jim Craig and Brendan Sweeney will be on CQN live from 19:30 onwards on Wednesday to talk about the fascinating topics covered in Brendan’s new book, Celtic: The Early Years. You can ask questions on the blog and Jim and Brendan will get straight back to you.
We’ve held a few of these events before and they’ve always been great fun, especially when we get to chat with one of the men who won the Big Cup. And Brendan, of course!
Ladies, the unique event on the Celtic calendar, Ghirls for Good Christmas Lunch, is now open for bookings. It’s a ladies-only lunch on Saturday, 12 December at the Kerrydale Suite, and I’m told the best day out of the year. You can book tickets, or a table of 10, here. No guys allowed!
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Canalamar
Pop across and visit the hidden Bute- golden sands, epic seascapes, constant sunshine – ok I lied about the last bit:-)
Martin O’Neill
_______________
Well done – COYBIG.
You ensured that I and thousands like me, enjoyed the most wonderful Celtic roller-coaster-ride since, the Magnificent Mr Stein era.
A savvy manager who, like Wim & Murdo…watched from afar as, Celtic were bullied off the pitch by the huns for almost a decade, you tooled-up and went into the ring with a ‘CELTIC’ team…your 6-2 skelping of the huns was the best day that I had experienced as a Celtic supporter since, the 4-2 game in the Jungle.
When you got Celtic into the CL group stages for the 1st time in our history…you got Timdom onto the same page.
The magnificent rise in Celticness throughout the entire club at that time, was down to what Davie Provan always said – “The ‘most’ important person at any club….has to be the manager.”….well, with all your joyrides that you treated us to….when your wife fell ill and you had to leave…you went up to lift the SC in your last game for us….grown men wept, openly that day…all understandable.
But….when, after taking our club to the dizziest heights we’ve reached since Mr Stein’s time….Didier Agathe, who you brought to the club for £35k was injured and, you wanted to bring in Peter Canero from Killie as cover and, the board said no….well, at that time you must have realised what, suspicious fans of the club like myself have been saying for years….Celtic FC will ‘never’ reach it’s deserved level in the game cos, every bunch of ego-tripping-tyrants who, will dine out on the success but, will not let go of their power unless, their gotten rid of by the folk who ‘really’ run the club….the paying Celtic supporters…I stopped being one of those when you left MON…it was said in public that you left to look after your sick wife…who wouldn’t?….But, like all the Tims in the dug-out before you…I think you left coz, life would be made impossible under PL’s downsizing of the quality of the product on the pitch….after a series of ‘puppet-managers’….look how many fans have been chased out the Parkhead gates?
Folk will say that we couldn’t afford to keep buying big?…We bought big in the 1st year of MON’s tenure it could be claimed, and will be by me that…MON had to sell a team to get the players that he wanted…there was ‘never’ any blank cheque book.
Folk will agree, folk will disagree…thats life.
Martin O’Neill – Roy Keane – Ireland’s amazing fans
I wish you nothing but the best of luck.
I chucked watching International football when, big Jack Charlton was finished with the ROI…but, I’ll be hoping-watching-praying for the guid ghuys from this point on.
God Bless All Celtic Supporters
….laters…..
Herbo
Fair play to you, drop them off couple Celtic scarves .
Open to all ✊
timaloy29 on 17th November 2015 10:14 am
‘Never listening to Alan Brazil again …….The guy is more English than he is a Scot and should be reminded to keep his mouth shut on all matters Celtic.’
#####
Quite right.
Only real, proper Scottish pundits should be allowed to voice an opinion.
Roddy Forsyth, Dickie Wilson, Chick Young, guys like that.
Jinkyredstar,
been there done that still suffering from flash backs :)
and still got the frostbite to prove it :)
Congratulations to Ireland on their winning through to the European Finals. That makes England, the Principality of Wales, Ireland and the Six Counties all taking part from these islands.
Even more incredible is the inclusion of Iceland which has a population of less than one million people, around 300.000 I think.
Could it be that the Associations running these teams had an unfair advantage over the SFA? Get the MSM on to it. Perhaps Wilson, etc., should look into it. There must be miles of coverage to be unveiled to conclude that those other teams had unfair advantage. After all those Associations did not have to save the fabric of the nation, deal with fraud, cheating, EBTs, letters moving around in mysterious circles, finding places at UEFA for people who had to be moved out of the country, dealing with courts and trying to understand the FIFA, UEFA rules on cheating, tax dodging, etc. Surely, thatis an unfair burden to place on any association, especially one whose players are not up to International Standard.
Of, just bit my tongue
Congrats to Ireland.A fantastic achievement.And to MON and Roy Keane.
Wont say anything about his time at Celtic.We had some wonderful times,and some horrors that still haunt the support.
His utterings about the Huns recently have soured me towards him.A great pity.
connaire12 on 17th November 2015 10:47 am
Guess you reckon that there is something rotten in the State of Hampden.
From the
Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players 2012 and before all the way back to 2001.
8 Application for registration
The application for registration of a professional must be submitted together
with a copy of the player’s contract. The relevant decision-making body has
discretion to take account of any contractual amendments or additional
agreements that have not been duly submitted to it.
Did Rangers in fact tell the SFA they had side letter they would not be including ?
Would this mean the SFA are complicit in tax evasion ?
The thick plottens even thicker
ernie lynch
I get your point
But none of them flaunt their credentials as big Celtic men
Proudbhoy
Thats a given :-)
See misser has signed on for another year with der hun!
Lurcy
jinkyredstar on 17th November 2015 10:32 am
Pop across and visit the hidden Bute- golden sands, epic seascapes, constant sunshine – ok I lied about the last bit:-)
Jinky,
Mrs. Emeraldbee and meself popped over to Bute in early October to walk the West Island Way – two days of glorious (and fairly warm) sunshine. Day two walking south with views over the Kyles would make even a Syrian smile!
Re the MON thing.Many people remember the 6-2 game,but a couple of months later we got gubbed 5-1 at the Bigotdome.The Motherwell game,we were 1-0 up,and were still attacking,with minutes to go.We all know how that ended.RD gets slaughtered on here for supposedly doing the same thing.
Any manager that had Henrik,was always going to win things.Add in Sutton,Hartson,Lenny,£18 million worth of players,that MON was allowed to bring in,we should have been winning things.
As I said earlier,many great memories,but many we would all love to forget.WGS every bit as good,while having to downsize the team.Lenny also did a fantastic job.
A lot of European horror stories for all of the above managers that many today seem to forget as they look back with the rose tinted glasses.
Enjoying a wee day off today in Czech Republic
17th of November is a National Holiday to commemorate the Struggle for Freedom & Democracy .
Gid bless them all
Turkeybhoy
Good post – the glory in Sevilla season came about mainly because we couldn’t beat Basel in the qualifiers for the CL group stages.
That was one almighty cluster-feck
Easily forgotten It seems…
Brilliant night in the Aviva last night. The capacity crowd got behind the team from before kick-off until well after full-time. One of those rare football nights you will always remember. Can’t imagine us lighting up the tournament in France on the football pitch but if it’s a party your after…….
Emeraldbee…,
try it in January or Feb and it will be a frozen grimace :)
jinkyredstar,
many mosques on Bute :
Canamalar,
Millions.
Mosquitos.
Ok….midges then :)
HH
TURKEYBHOY
Belated congratulations on your darts heroics the other night. I was reading back after an interweb failure, and it sounded like a thrilling night.
My da’s team. Shaw McNair Dodds Young Loaney Hay Bennett Mcmenemy Quinn Summers Hamilton
My team
Simpson
McGrain Connelly Gemmell
Hay Murdoch
Johnstone Nakamura Auld
Henryk Lennox
Subs. Chalmers McStay Kenny D
Le
Morning all.
Some discussion about the relocation of refugees to Scotland over the next few weeks.
Mrs Tally was telling me that there was a demonstration yesterday in Monkton – a one horse village right next to Prestwick Airport – by some of the locals protesting against the decision to house some of those poor desperate people there.
Anybody who knows the place will say -“Have they no suffered enough?!”
Bute?
Luxury compared to this place!
HH!!
Cowiebhoy ….good MHAN … !!!!
Patrick O’Connell to be inducted into Barcelona hall of fame
http://irishpost.co.uk/irishman-patrick-oconnell-to-be-inducted-into-fc-barcelonas-hall-of-fame/
HH
Canamalar on 17th November 2015 10:15 am
I’ll repost that on SFM to keep the balance right on the eligibility debate but in a way it just strengthens the case for an investigation.
No matter how much discussion takes place on blogs the Bryson interpretation should be tested against the intent of FIFA rules for future clarification and only a formal investigation would allow that.
Whether the mechanism is eligibility attached to registration or a new judgment based on the new reality (depending on appeal ) that an illegal method was used to provide unsporting ;) advantage is the reason an investigation is needed to clear a cluster#### of the SFA’S own making.
Syria or Bute? Not a choice really ..
Auldheid on 17th November 2015 11:59 am and Canamalar
Surely the crux to the whole debacle was Cambell Ogilvie and SDM colluding to blindside the SFA as to players recieving unregistered (and untaxed) payments?
That is a crime (FRAUD), the police should be involved, as well as HMRC (TAX EVASION).
Wow
http://www.scotsman.com/regions/glasgow-strathclyde/bank-of-scotland-bank-worker-faces-jail-for-40k-theft-1-3949939
I wonder how long Gavin Masterton will get ?
new article posted.
Afternoon Timland from a warm hun free mountain valley.
Auldheid~Canman
I honestly can’t see past what Bawsman is saying.
They committed a fraud by not declaring the side letters, end of.
No matter how they want to bend the rules, the huns committed fraud, as did the sfa by helping cover it up.
HH
Re: MON’s recent statements about the huns…..I’d have said the same if I were him.
Here’s why…..
Titles shouldn’t be stripped…it was so long ago???
MO’N is nobodies mug.
Neither is Neil Lennon who hasn’t been grilled yet.
But, MO’N who’s wife had to endure the hun-orc-animals planting the butchers apron in their family garden whilst, MO’N was at his work, managing Celtic in the LCSF v’s the huns….knows full well that there comes a point were, family is more important than Celtic.
Neil Lennons two most trusted folk on this earth, Martin O’Neill and deceased QC Paul McBride, whom I think died in suspicious circumstances….just as he was about to sink his teeth into the sectarian-racist-Scottish-establishment….hmmmm????+
To a lesser extent…Neil put up the white flag in his crusade against the establishment after the Kayal assault from elbows were Neil said – “there was no malice, just two committed players going for the ball.”……aye!
In the same game, he had little to say about David Healy’s attempt at splitting James Forrest in two.
The establishments ugly-sinister-orcness had got to Neil who, is only human after all.
MO’N protecting his family against the hun evil is exactly what I’d do.
Then again….maybe MO’N knows more about the levels of kowtowing at higher levels than he is letting on.
…..bye…..
HUNDERBIRDS ARE GONE on 17TH NOVEMBER 2015 11:49 AM
TURKEYBHOY
Belated congratulations on your darts heroics the other night. I was reading back after an interweb failure, and it sounded like a thrilling night.
Many thanks.It was brilliant.Stonking hangover.Played in the league last night,and won,but played like I had two left hands.Meeting up with the Fenerbache fans in Istanbul for the game.They are getting me tickets,so will be in with them.They have said,wear The Hoops,but not too sure about that.
Test
Tipped to be very popular in Glasgow this year.