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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Agent Scotland.
That is a helluva find, it places further pressure on the Administrators & supports views expressed to me on Friday. https://t.co/75zdaHkuja
Great find by @moo_ted
leftclicktic, 1:34 pm
Oddly, he is the one that comes first to my mind as well.
Roll on Dec 2nd
Thought with bawsman & ksv j also
away to write a short sharp note to
Honours and Appointments secretariat
ground floor
Admiralty Arch
London
SW1A 2WH
about minty moonbeams knight hood getting ripped aff him,
will post the same again on the 2nd of December.
thank you barrach o bampot for the address
That guy JJ gets it, appols. If already been posted.
A Fan’s View
“Since we went into Administration and in leading up to it , I remember calling for the Club/Company to come clean and to make a fresh start, by accepting fair punishment; but also standing up when it felt unjustly treated. I still stand by that and feel we must stand up and defend ourselves when all around want to squash and ridicule us.
We have missed golden opportunities since administration to put our house in order, to build a better club, a club we can be proud to say has been rebuilt from the train wreck that was left when we were at our lowest ebb; but we have missed that boat by a long way and continue to stumble from one crisis to the next and with no end in sight, it’s very disheartening for honest loyal fans who pay hard- earned cash and give of their time to support the club.
When Murray took over from Marlborough in 1988 we all thought it was a simple natural progression as clubs all around were going down this ‘new ownership’ route, courting huge investments from those who could afford it. That’s what we believed we were getting when one of, if not the, richest man in the country at the time, took us over and promised huge investment and he had the companies and the clout to deliver. Too good to be true, it couldn’t be any better and things were looking great. Take the arrival of Souness and a raft of huge names and we were flying high….winning and playing and attracting investment and sponsors to match our standing.
When Auchenhowie was first opened, my very on son was one of the first apprentices in the door and with the Dutch managing team things were looking fantastic for us, Gazza, Laudrup, Alberts, Tugay ….the big names kept on coming and life was great. I am as guilty, and innocent, as ANY Gers fan at the time in seeing us blossoming into a really big club within Europe, never quite getting as far as we should, but competing every year and a real feel good factor about the club.
All of us, while loving what we were getting for our money, were complicit in not questioning just how we were being funded and run, but it wasn’t our place to question it…we had a Board of Directors who would be looking after our interests and who would not allow things that shouldn’t happen….hell I can barely remember Hugh Adam leaving, never mind his old statements around what was going on, I mean why should I, we, any of us, we had a very rich owner and a Board that were honest true hard working for the good of the club……or so we thought.
Does it make us, Rangers fans, bad or weak or anything else for not questioning things earlier…..I don’t think so, I think we were football fans and enjoying a huge resurgence in the game similar to what was happening down in England. We, the fans, were not responsible for the idiocy and greed of those who were in charge of running the club, they were honest ‘Rangers men’ with the best job in the world and we trusted them to deliver. That’s how I remember those days and how it came as a huge shock when Murray’s web started to unpick its self.
If you’re honest, you can say we were had, by a con man, walking into it with eyes wide shut and accepting it as a god given gift. So when things started going wrong and Murray was pretending to be the ‘Honest man’ caring for the club, not selling to who he thought was not the ‘right man’ …again we believed him and took him at face value, I mean lets face it having owned us for all those years and giving us so much pleasure, why would he do anything to harm us? We were let down then by a number of people, and while they are not solely responsible for what happened, being complicit at the time has cost us almost everything.
The first ones under the spotlight for being complicit are of course our Board of Directors, those custodians we had in place to ensure our club was being run properly and everything was being done to rectify what was happening….oh wait a minute, they were not doing that….they were dodging every question and deserting like rats from a sinking ship….lets face it…they were more complicit than anyone to believe and accept Whyte in the door…….where was their due- diligence on the next owner of our club? How much probing and investigating did they actually do…..or did they just take Murray’s word at face value that Whyte was the best man to take us forward? Again…what can we fans do, our Board of Directors wouldn’t do anything to harm the club…honest Rangers men and all.
The second who must be fingered for not doing their duty is the Football Authorities who knew the in’s and outs of the whole thing, had access to all accounts and how the club was being run and also had a Fit & Proper criteria that should and would catch out any ‘used car salesmen’ …but no it didn’t, in fact quite the reverse…..they couldn’t wait to usher in a Jim Traynor approved man with “Wealth off the radar” into Ibrox…TV deals needed the Old Firm to be strong and competing…just what they needed was a real rich Ranger man.
The third who must be fingered at this time are surely the media, who should have had the balls to do investigative work and to use their contacts in London to verify and back up this ‘unknown Scottish billionaire’ …… don’t you think a small country like Scotland would have known and heard of such a wealthy man before he arrived? But no, the red carpet was out and Whyte was heralded in as the new saviour of the club. Were we, the fans to blame for this? No, but I think we should have been far more vocal and asked who, what, how…..but all we heard was ‘mega rich, loads of cash to invest’ and anyway…we had a Board of Directors elected to keep our club on the straight and narrow.
Fast forward to Green and I, like I would say the vast majority of fans, were delighted he rode into town when he did, if he hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here now in any form or guise, and that is a fact. All the so called hugely wealthy Rangers men with deep pockets, and very short arms, stayed away….scared by the forthcoming tax cases. So Green did save us, whether you like the man or not, he was what was required at the time and we all bought into that, we were desperate and needed to survive. The fact that he was in it for one reason and one reason only, didn’t diminish our thanks, yes once back on our feet we could get him out and get someone with Rangers in their heart in to run us properly…for the fans.
And so today we are where? Another criminal in charge of the club, and this one is a convicted criminal, who with his fellow side-kicks have systematically destroyed what little in the way of credibility we had in the financial markets by delisting us from AIM and alienating anyone who could aid us in our quest to move the club forwards. We have a Board, who, like those in the past, are real Rangers men, who would never do anything to harm the club? Where have I heard that before?
We have a club and Board of Directors being hauled through every court in the land for various fiscal and criminal offences, with custodial sentences a distinct possibility for some. We have a club with no funding, despite wild promises about vast sums of money. We have a chairman with wealth off the radar? We have a complicit Footballing Authority allowing a criminal to be Chairman of the club. We have a media who will not investigate and or tell the truth about those running our club. We have honest fans who are not switched on with these things and expect that our board will do the very best for us.
This time our fans are guilty, and the blame in part lies on them for the state we find ourselves in now….and there is no hiding from that one.Our chairman, from his SA bunker is lobbing grenades over the wall and ducking down again and our fans are hanging on his every false claim and bluster statements doing nothing at this time but bring scorn on us from everyone. There are ways of saying things, and times to say them, our Glib & Shameless is complicit and stupid and takes things to a whole new level of stupidity. I agree we must defend things, what’s the point of surviving if you do not stand up for what the vast majority of fans think…..but you don’t lob a grenade like he did with that ridiculous statement yesterday.
My guess is this is part of his big ‘sweep and deflect’ tactics again, moving attention to things that at this moment are really second in line to what is happening and being said in court…..and the up and coming court cases in which our Glib & Shameless will be in the dock, along with what bombshells come out at the EGM…..again I feel he is rallying his troops to deflect from what is coming out.So, are we, the fans guilty for EBT’s, administration and Green….no we are not, but we most certainly are guilty of supporting the regime now in Ibrox, doing their best for the fans and the club like always; where have I heard that before?”
I would like to thank Gordo for another contribution which provides a fan’s view of the past and the current unfolding drama off the park. Six years after David Murray’bought 92% of our equity with £6m that he borrowed from The Bank of Scotland, CFC were one week from receivers being appointed by the same bank on a debt of £2.5m. Mr McCann gave five years of his time and risked his fortune (of circa £20m?) to put this club on a stable footing. At the same time Murray was borrowing millions to provide the success that we were enjoying on the park. However, with his MIH debts escalating towards the end of the century, he engaged in creative tax efficiency schemes to maintain our success on the park. His words, not mine. His first attempt, the Discounted Option Scheme, did not withstand HMRC scrutiny. It also alerted HMRC to Murray’s willingness to engage in what can best be described as tax impropriety. Mitigating your tax responsibility with effective planning is acceptable. Exploiting a tax loophole carries inherent risks. Paul Baxendale-Walker had found a loophole. He offered Murray a subscription service where he would set up the trusts, and sub trusts, for a fee. David Murray chose to do it on his own and to charge Rangers £500,000 per annum for his services. The fact that Baxendale-Walker had been struck off by The Law Society of England and Wales apropos to malpractice involving a company that used one of Baxendale-Walker’s EBTs to loot its own pension fund, evidently escaped Mr Murray’s notice. Baxendale-Walker gave a character reference to a bank for a “person” who did not in fact exist. David Murray pushed on regardless and later hired Baxendale-Walker’s co-author of a book on the loophole, Andrew Thornton QC, to defend his decade of tax impropriety.
Those who believe HMRC were informed of this practice are clearly deluding themselves. HMRC lost out on National Insurance payments from the club of £6.5, and circa £25m from the beneficiaries.
Other clubs who lost out during these years of tax impropriety want reparation.As difficult as this is to accept they have a case. There are allegations that CFC lost out on £17.2m in domestic prize money during this period, with Aberdeen and Dundee United missing out on circa half of this amount. This is excluding UEFA ramifications. There is an appetite for title stripping.
It is our great misfortune that we have a current chairman to whom financial propriety is a foreign country. In his four decades as a career criminal he has faced 328 charges. He has decided to renege on a £5m debt and is attempting to silence Ashley’s opposition by stripping him of his voting rights. As opposed to building bridges with the disadvantaged clubs, he has threatened to expose their financial shortcomings.This in the current circumstances is analagous to pouring gasoline on a fire. As one commentator stated, is King threatening to drop his £30m war chest on other chairmen’s toes
King is dragging what we have left of credibility into court, at our expense. As he instructs solicitors to oppose RIFC meeting Green’s obligations, he does not stint on using our money to defend actions that the club should not be a party to.
Gordo the fans are not to blame here. It’s the stupid shareholders who voted for King at the EGM on 6th March. The RST and Rangers First were established to stop charlatan spivs like King, but they sold us out for a blazer and a better pre-match meal. They are the real culprits in this debacle. I have little doubt they will continue to back King as he leads us off a fiscal cliff.
In other news, Ben Johnson says he wouldn’t be bothered if Carl Lewis was found to have been taking drugs at the 1984 Olympics and certainly wouldn’t want his medal.
And the FAI have said they hope Ireland lose tonight as they would have to pay those pesky bonuses.
(None of the above is true btw!).
The MSMs take on EBTs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjK2Oqrgic
Proudbhoy,
The article is in here, probably a bit of trawling as it was published a few weeks ago or maybe more.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info
See you in court Ex-Gers stars sue over holiday pay
RANGERS are heading for a tribunal in their bitter fight with former stars of last season over PFA Scotland-backed demands for HOLIDAY PAY.
SunSport revealed on July 2 that Ibrox chairman Dave King was facing a stunning showdown with up to half of the 12 players who were released by the club in the immediate aftermath of the play-off defeat to Motherwell.
Now after four months of failed attempts to reach an agreement, it’s emerged that the entrenched parties are now preparing for an employment tribunal hearing for a ruling, with a date for it due to be fixed soon.
Several of the original group of agitated ex-players have since backed off.
But we understand four remain totally committed in their determined battle for payments which, if successful, could amount to a combined bill for the Gers board of a hefty five-figure amount.
The contracts of the players in question ended on May 31, the same day as the two-legged showdown with Well ended in a 6-1 aggregate defeat.
They are convinced they are entitled due to a clause in last season’s Ibrox player contracts which read: “Holiday leave entitlement is 35 days per calendar year.
“Holiday leave shall be taken during the close season, or exceptionally at other times, but always on such dates as may be approved, in advance, by the club. In the event of employment for part of a year the entitlement shall be pro rated.”
The players — supported all the way by their union — were advised that because the only paid holiday time they are entitled to is during the close season then the abruptness of their release left Rangers owing them cash.
Meanwhile, bus tycoon Douglas Park has returned to the board, having stepped down in August to concentrate on business commitmnents.
http://www.thescotti…oliday-pay.html
It’s Phil.
Collective responsibility can be difficult when you’re not in the loop.
It is not easy when your organisation speaks to the world in words that you find difficult to defend.
I understand that the chaps who actually funded the March Putsch at Ibrox were gobsmacked by this statement.
This morning a well-placed source said to me that:
“I think that the penny is finally dropping that their chairman might not have the wherewithal. They’re also now realising that there was a REAL billionaire who would have worked with them, but not now.”
It remains to be seen if a charm offensive will cut any ice with Big Mike.
Noises from inside his Shirebrook GHQ suggests that General Ashley will accept nothing less than Sevco’s unconditional surrender.
Of course, it is entirely possible that he would find it easier to deal with the New Regime if they installed another leader.
Meanwhile, another statement from an empty wine cellar in South African exhorting the depleted ranks onwards to final victory might not be far away.
BAMBOO 947
Unbelievable but true.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_Energy
I demand to know the names of the ex players who are suing the club!
Their only crime was disloyalty
FORMER Rangers players are ready to take the club to a tribunal in a dispute over holiday pay, according to the Scottish Sun.
It emerged in July that six players, with the backing of the player’s union, were challenging the club.
It is understood that after months of failed negotiations, two of the players have decided to forget about the conflict, however four are willing to take it all the way.
The claim will state that because the 2014/15 season ended on the same day the contracts expired, those released didn’t have the opportunity over the course of the working year to take all 35 days entitled.
There is no real precedent for such a movement and should the former stars be successful then it will be a landmark case, with other footballers potentially benefiting.
If the players are successful then Rangers will be liable for a five-figure bill to pay across the four claimants.
The date for the hearing has yet to be set.
Read more: http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/rangers/ex-stars-to-take-rangers-to-tribunal-over-holiday-pay-1-3949328#ixzz3rfDfFFsn
The way some of those huns played youda thought they were on holiday awe the time.
Tony D
The glib and shameless liars chest (not war) beating statements are usually followed by a begging for others to “over invest”
As phil is hinting at another statement ,i for one wont be suprised if he is pleading for OTHER PEOPLES MONEY.
Philbhoy on 16th November 2015 2:16 pm I demand to know the names of the ex players who are suing the club
————
Probably the ones who GASL branded “failures” for not getting promoted.
Although I never figured out how it could only be the ones whose contracts were up who were the failures.
The very fact that they are trying to avoid payment of “a five figure sum” shows that the new cash strapped club are pretty damned cash strapped.
I came across this little gem written by a guy called John Bhoy almost three years ago, good read.
……………………………….
There are those who maintain the myth that the Rangers FC formed in 1872 is the same club pre and post liquidation 2012. Here is why Rangers FC no longer exists.
MAIN STREAM MEDIA (MSM)
When it became clear that liquidation was inevitable for Rangers the overwhelming response from the msm was that Rangers, including its history, would cease thereafter. Here is a small selection of quotations, succinctly capturing this widely held view in the media:
– The Herald: “Air of unreality as 140 years of history is formally ended in less than nine minutes” (The Herald, 15 June 2012: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/air-of-unreality-as-140-years-of-history-is-formally-ended-in-less-than-nine-minutes.17876625).
– Roddie Forsyth: “Rangers in crisis: the final whistle sounds on Rangers’ 140 years of history” (The Telegraph, 12 June 2012: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9327256/Rangers-in-crisis-the-final-whistle-sounds-on-Rangers-140-years-of-history.html).
– Jim Traynor: “Rangers FC as we know them are dead. It’s all over. They are about to shut down for ever…They’ll slip into liquidation within the next couple of weeks with a new company emerging but 140 years of history, triumph and tears, will have ended… No matter how Charles Green attempts to dress it up, a newco equals a new club. When the CVA was thrown out Rangers as we know them died.” (Daily Record, 13 June 2012: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/james-traynor-spl-will-not-be-able-1129166).
Of course, journalists are not the most reliable barometer of definitive opinion, but why would they express such an unambiguous view in the first place? Even Charles Green held the same categorical viewpoint [speaking to the BBC]: “…the history, the tradition, everything that is great about this Club, is swept aside.” This leads us on to the crucial piece of evidence contradicting the idea that Rangers FC still exists.
INSOLVENCY LAW
When a company is liquidated its business activities cease to exist. The business of Rangers FC Plc was football. When Rangers FC Plc was wound up, so were the football activities of Rangers FC Plc i.e. the football club and associated merchandising etc. The BBC recognised this fact when they observed that “The Rangers Football Club PLC is a public limited company registered in Scotland (company number: SC004276) and was incorporated on 27 May, 1899. When the current company is officially liquidated, all of its corporate business history will come to an end.” It is now clear why the main stream media, including Charles Green and the alleged journalist Jim Traynor, held the unequivocal belief that liquidation signalled the demise of Rangers FC.
Change of company name or ownership, or indeed a combination, does not in itself represent a cessation of a business’ activities. Manchester United changed owners when the Glazers took over but there was no claim that Manchester United FC stopped existing as a football entity. Similarly, when Craig Whyte bought Rangers FC from Sir David Murray, Rangers FC continued to exist. When Fergus McCann bought Celtic FC there was not only a change in ownership but also a change in corporate status, from The Celtic Football and Athletic Company 1888 to Celtic Football Club Plc. Owners come and go, as do corporate names, but provided liquidation has not taken place the business itself continues with an unbroken, seamless history.
If company status altered the historical timeline of football genealogy then Manchester United Plc became a new club when it changed its company status from Manchester United FC Ltd to Manchester United Plc in 1991; similarly with Celtic under Fergus McCann; and with Rangers FC when Sir David Murray changed the company status in 2000 from The Rangers Football Club Ltd to The Rangers Football Club Plc, in which case there have been three Rangers clubs: one before the Plc, one immediately after, and a third after liquidation. The reason the allegation that change of company status alters a company’s historical timeline has zero credibility is because business continuity is not dependent on company status, unless liquidation has occurred.
Furthermore, if a new company is formed – using assets bought from the old, liquidated company, for the purposes of operating the same type of business – it is not only a new company that has come into being but also the start of a new business venture, irrespective of the nature of that business. In the context of Rangers, the Rangers FC plying its trade in the SFL is a new football club and not the same club as that which played in the SPL. To deny otherwise is contrary to insolvency law. If it were otherwise then insolvency law would be a meaningless legal instrument.
NO PRECEDENTS
Legal matters can be determined by statute (Acts of Parliament) or case law. In terms of statute, there is no law that permits a liquidated company’s history to continue unbroken after liquidation: on the contrary, there is one to prevent such an event taking place – The Insolvency Act 1986. In terms of case law, there is no legal precedent to justify the claim that a liquidated company’s history can legitimately resurface under the guise of another company. Once a company is liquidated, its name, historical timeline and associated business activities immediately cease.
In the case of a football club, there is no club in the UK that has been liquidated and resurfaced, after liquidation, with its history intact. In Scotland for example, Airdrieonians, formed in 1878 (under the earlier exotic name of Excelsior Football Club) went into liquidation in 2002. In the same year Airdrie FC was formed but because of insolvency law could not lay claim to the history of its previous incarnation, which to their credit they accepted with good grace. Other examples include Gretna and Clydebank.
Rangers’ fans erroneously point to the case of Leeds United FC as evidence of a club that has a continuous historical timeline intact after liquidation. In 2007, Leeds United AFC Ltd, under the threat of liquidation, was sold to Leeds United FC Ltd, but with the important proviso that HMRC would agree to a CVA. HMRC did eventually agree to a CVA and Leeds was saved from compulsory liquidation. The club suffered a points deduction and after paying off the creditors and the proper and orderly transfer of assets from Leeds United AFC Ltd to Leeds United FC Ltd, the old club company was voluntarily wound up. If a CVA had not been agreed and Leeds United AFC Ltd had been forced into compulsory liquidation then Leeds United FC Ltd (i.e. the new company) would not have been able to claim the history of the old club. Rangers FC is a very different case indeed and Rangers fans cannot point to the example of Leeds FC as an exemplar of club survival after liquidation.
SALE OF ASSETS
Listed below are the assets of Rangers FC Plc bought by Charles Green:
Assets Price
Goodwill £1
SPL Share £1
SFA Membership £1
Leasehold Interests £1
Player Contracts & Registrations £2,749,990
Stock £1
Plant & Machinery £1,250,000
Nowhere is Rangers FC listed as an asset. Nowhere is the history of Rangers FC listed as an asset. Yet, a thesis has been postulated that a company’s history can be sold as a separate item in a company asset sale. This is manifestly absurd. In the case of Rangers, the bizarre logic of that position is a) Craig Whyte had the option not to purchase the history of Rangers when the club was sold to him, or parts of the history that he did not like, thus wiping out any potential tax liability or creditor debt; b) after Craig Whyte, someone could have purchased the stadium while another party could have submitted a successful bid to own its history; c) if a club’s history was a saleable asset then it would also mean that a club, even as a going concern, could sell off its history to another club in an effort to raise money. All of this, of course, is unheard of, and for good reason: a club’s historical events are tied irrevocably to that club and a club separated from its history loses its identity and meaning. Crucially, when insolvency law kicked in and consigned Rangers FC Plc and its football activities to the past, the club and its history thereafter ceased to continue, except as an historical footnote.
There has been an attempt to conflate a company’s goodwill with ownership of its historical timeline. HMRC define goodwill as “the value of the attraction to the customers which the name and reputation possesses”. The value of purchasing Ibrox stadium and playing in the same colours as the old club, given the record of achievement of the old Rangers FC, was obvious to Charles Green, but equating goodwill to ownership of Rangers FC and its historical timeline is an incredulous sleight of hand that flies against both the common sense definition of goodwill and the concrete clarity of insolvency law.
To then argue that insolvency does not breach that timeline is to employ Alice in Wonderland logic. The effect of which would be to ensure that no football club could ever be compulsorily dissolved. By extension, companies about to be liquidated could adopt the same law-defying approach: sell off the core of the business under the asset “goodwill” and resurface under a new company name but with the same core business activities as before, claiming an unbroken historical timeline. Of course, this is nonsense because it is unlawful.
Lord Nimmo Smith has been used in evidence in support of the notion that old Rangers FC survived liquidation. He said that a football club can exist separate from its holding company. Now we have the bizarre position where not only can a football club be separated from its history and its history be sold on (even if the club is subsequently liquidated along with its holding company), but a club can also exist without an owner. If the Manchester United Board decided voluntarily to liquidate Manchester Utd Plc then Manchester Utd FC would no longer exist, except in the minds of its supporters. To argue that Manchester’s history could be auctioned either pre or post liquidation defies interpretation in the real world of insolvency.
Lord Nimmo Smith was also wrong when he said that Rangers FC still exists. He was reflecting the view of the SFA who, we know, know Sweet FA, not least their own arcane humpty-dumpty rules. Dr Gregory Ioannidis, a leading authority on Sports Law, agrees that “the history of a club cannot pass from one company [into liquidation] to another”. The import of LNS’ claim was that the new Rangers FC could be punished for the sins of the old Rangers FC, if they were one and the same club. If he had maintained that claim and punished the Rangers currently plying their trade in the SFL then a court challenge would have immediately nullified that punishment on several grounds: 1) such a punishment would harm newco and newco had nothing to do with oldco 2) the Rangers in the SFL is a new club (insolvency law saw to that) and, like newco, had nothing to do with the sins of old Rangers. In the end, LNS strayed clear of punishing newco in any shape or form and, instead, levied a futile fine on oldco. HMRC, like Dr Gregory Ioannidis, and consistent with insolvency law, also recognise that newco has no connection whatsoever with oldco. Unlike insolvency law, LNS’ philosophical musings are not legally binding; nor do they set a legal precedent.
SFA MEMBERSHIP AND EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
When Charles Green bought the assets of Rangers FC Plc he also purchased the old club’s SFA membership and SPL share. Prior to liquidation, Rangers had full membership status within Scottish professional football. After liquidation, the club playing in SFL Division 3 was allocated associate membership status. The reason for that was very simple: the Rangers playing in the SFL was a different club than the one which previously played in the SPL.
Importantly, the new Rangers applied to join the SPL but their application was rejected, despite a mysterious 5-way agreement. If Rangers was the same club pre and post liquidation then an application would have been completely unnecessary, particularly since they claimed to purchase the old club’s SFA membership and SPL share. Of course, Rangers was legally dissolved after liquidation – hence the need for a fresh application from the new club. Similarly, the new Rangers then applied to join the SFL and this time their application was successful. Remember, if an existing SPL club changes ownership or its holding company changes from a Ltd to a Plc, it has no bearing on the club’s membership status and therefore there is no requirement to re-apply for SFA or SPL membership – it is liquidation that forces that event.
Furthermore, because Rangers post-liquidation is a new club, it is unable to compete in European competition for three years. It is a stipulation of EUFA that a license to play in Europe can only be given to a club that has been a member of a national association for three consecutive years. The old Rangers did have a EUFA license but the new Rangers do not. When Rangers FC expired, so did their EUFA license.
The fact that the SFA has allowed The Rangers FC to pretend that their history is continuous, contrary to insolvency law, has no bearing on the facts of the case and will forever remain a stain on the SFA’s reputation.
WHO ARE LIVINGSTON PLAYING IN THE THIRD ROUND?
[The credit for this further piece of evidence on why Rangers FC is a new club belongs to Gordon Johnston: http://gordonjohnston.wordpress.com/2012/11/02/livingstone-provide-proof-that-the-rangers-are-a-new-club/%5D
The third round of the Scottish Cup 2012/13 consisted of 16 ties between Scotland’s smaller clubs, after which, in the fourth round, the 16 top clubs from the previous season – 2011/12 – then joined the fray. The 16 top clubs included the 10 clubs in the SPL from season 2011/12 and the top four from last season’s SFL First Division: Ross County, Dundee, Falkirk and Hamilton Academicals. Looking at the SFL First Division from 2011/12 it is clear that Livingstone finished 5th and therefore should not be considered to be among the “16 top clubs”:
Position Team Points
1 Ross County 79
2 Dundee 55
3 Falkirk 52
4 Hamilton Academicals 49
5 Livingstone 48
Yet, Livingston got a bye into round four when they should have been playing in round three! Why? The regulations for last year’s third round were quite clear and ought to have excluded Livingston:
“The clubs which, in the previous season, were members of The Scottish Premier League and those clubs finishing in The Scottish Football League First Division league positions one to four, shall be exempt from playing in Round Three of the Competition.” (http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/SFAPublications/ScottishFAPublications2012-13/SFA_HANDBOOK_169-200_Cup_Competition_Rules.pdf)
The reason that Livingston got a bye was because one of the clubs in the SPL – Rangers FC – no longer existed. If they existed, irrespective of their current league or position in 2012/13, they would have been entitled to enter the competition in round four courtesy of the previous season’s placings. The SFA considered The Rangers FC to be a new club. Hence the creation of a spare slot, duly allocated to the team finishing 5th in the SFL First Division, i.e. Livingston.
CONCLUSION
The club formerly known as Rangers FC is as dead as a dodo. The new club masquerading as the old Rangers FC is just that: a new club masquerading as the old club. Unfortunately, when conclusive proof of the demise of Rangers FC is brought to the attention of Rangers fans, there is an apoplectic response: one is either deluded or a Rangers Hater, or both. Fortunately, insolvency law usurps personal insult. The Celtic Story, a glorious club built on charitable foundations, winner of the Big Cup and welcomed throughout the global football fraternity, is quite another story altogether, but that is for another blog!
John James is knocking it out the park. Though I suspect he’s a timposter.
That said, Phil still banging on about “General Ashley”. We know who’s feeding him info right now.
•.
• tonydonnelly67 on 16th November 2015 9:38 am
It’s all down to greed, they all knew it was dodgy, and it was like a runaway train they couldent stop, rules where not ad heard too, pieces of paper juggled and shredded, dodgy characters all over the place, from porn kings to of the radar billionaires, and a milk boy fro Castlemilk.
*you forgot about the Harold Steptoe wannabee macaroni.
Blog by Roger Mitchell, former chief of the SPL. Staggering in its contempt for fans, laissez-faire attitude to the rules, and sheer all-round cynicism.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hate-convenient-help-forget-how-uncompetitive-you-really-mitchell
TIMALOY29
Mibbe so,but Phil was ahead of the curve long before Mike Ashley arrived on the scene.
Wi a few tanks,etc.
Bobby Murdochs Curled Up Winklepickers
Its shocking isnt it. Murdoch is pushing a war-mongering agenda for his own personal greedy ends.
You only have to look at his face to see evil written into every line and wrinkle.
Is John James Donald Finlay Jnr?
he context of all discussion in Scottish football since 2011/12 is that one of the two main clubs went into liquidation, leaving a paucity of competitive football to entertain the many passionate followers. Scotland can perhaps claim to have the highest per capita interest in football in the world, but for 4 years they have had no competitive sport. Or indeed any quality football at all. The remaining serious aspiring European challenger, Celtic, and the national team, Scotland, have been “battered” up and down Europe with gay abandon.
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The article which this comes from is by Roger Mitchell. It has been posted by a few people now.
Mr Mitchell,one year after your starting point of four years ago,Celtic celebrated their 125 Anniversary. They then followed it up with a legendary stadium-wide tifo,in a packed ground.
And handed the best team in the world their first defeat of the season.
Did you forget about that,ya wee nothing who has done eff all in his life but allowed the ruination of our game?
Cos let’s face it,you were in charge when the shit hit the fan,but got out before it got spread all over the game that you profess to love.
If I’d been such a failure in my job,I’d have kept my head down and hoped that everyone had forgotten my role in it.
I had.
I had to google you.
No-user moron,in charge of Scottish football. And your name come up
Prick.
BMCUWP
I still respect Phil and read his blog. Just feel he seems a bit cosy with Sports Direct right now.
ItaliaBhoy
“The remaining serious aspiring European challenger, Celtic, and the national team, Scotland, have been “battered” up and down Europe with gay abandon.”
Celtic haven’t lost every game in Europe since the huns went bus. We actually had a couple of famous wins. He sounds like a hurting hun
BAMBOO
I was genuinely surprised at that info,mate. And very grateful to have it.
Good man,and my thanks.
I’m no fan of Murdoch, but the article linking him with an energy company with rights in the Golan Heights and his apparent support for military action in Syria is preposterous.
For one thing, it’s not even claimed he is an investor. He is an non-exec along with a host of other worthies (including Jacob Roschild, whose name, unsurprisingly, his been picked up on in every article on this I’ve read… wonder why…)
For another, what, precisely is stopping drilling in Golan at the moment? It hasn’t been under Syrian control since 1967. Would a war making exploration easier?
And perhaps the most obvious… Oil s currently sitting at 44 dollars a barrel, barely a third of what it was 2 years ago. There is a glut of several billion barrels in the system right now and the slowing of China means that demand for oil and hence its price will stay low for quite some time.
Oil companies are going bankrupt left right and centre. Short of running a football club in Govan, owning an oil company is just about the surest way to lose money right now.
I love these conspiracy theories, but this one is ridiculous. Murdoch does’t need to own an oil company to argue for war, and its not at all clear that a war would enrich said oil company anyway…
BMCUW wee bit harsh on Mr Mitchell at least a prick is useful!!! H H Hebcelt
Hebcelt,
Great point, a prick usually helps you get rid of pish
Timaloy29,
I agree on Phil. Bit too uncritical of Ashley, who is most definitely a bad egg…
ItaliaBhoy on 16th November 2015 3:02 pm
Plus anybody that would think that should look at Gulf Keystone Petroleum (ticker GKP) for a tale of an oil company in a conflict area – in this case Iraq. Over 400p at the start of 2012, currently 26p. Mostly due to the difficulty of getting the oil out of the country.
South Of Tunis on 16th November 2015 1:38 pm
Off oot ——– taking the last load of Olives to be pressed -sick of the sight of f****** Olives .
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Life is indeed a bitch eh…. ;)
Been lurking, as I am now back in my adopted homeland for a few weeks/months………. The link may well be of interest to some.
Was my ‘game’ so to speak for more than a day or two……..
Geophysical and seismic in more ways than one……….
http://www.worldoil.com/news/2015/10/07/israeli-company-reports-major-oil-find-in-golan-heights
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM
Canalmalar had’nt thought of that angle nevertheless a complete waste of space is Mr Mitchell.H H Hebcelt
Italiabhoy
The idea is that Syria will fracture into different territories meaning Syria as a country will no longer exist.
At the moment the UN recognise the Golan Heights as part of Syria.
But if Syria no longer exists how can it stake a claim to the Golan Heights
BAWSMAN on 16TH NOVEMBER 2015 1:02 PM
I think the topic should be addressed (due to the depth of corruption & fraud) in the first instance by: http://www.gov.scot/About/People/Ministers/Sport-Health-Improvement
He can then take his findings to the Justice Minister, although past Nationalist Justice Ministers tend to enjoy ‘party atmospheres’ created by the huns.
Good first paragraph and pointer,let down badly by your labour and hunlike memory nonsense in the second.Ask you ex livi mp or mp for cunnighame or davidson from govan what they did?nothing! all well controlled and good little unionists are Tony the war criminals fake socialists.
Do Ireland have any injuries or players suspended for tonight’s game ?
I think Mr Mitchell may have scored an own goal by his musings on LinkedIn.
A whole different type of responders may be welcomed to the debate by his crass and ill thought through words.
Cambridge graduates putting him in his place with succinct factual arguments can’t have helped the movealongtimmynothingtoseehere brigade.
Notice that Richard Wilson of BBC was notable in his support of Mitchell, funny that eh!
EC67