Yesterday the Scottish Football Association announced an independent inquiry into Rangers FC which will report to the SFA board within two weeks.
While it is welcome that the enquiry is independent, it is gravely concerning that the SFA refused to state the scope of the inquiry or indicate if the final report will be made public. An inquiry into the Fit and Proper status of Craig Whyte is moot. An inquiry into last year’s takeover of the club, or how it has conducted its tax business before and after the takeover surely cannot report within three weeks of Rangers going into administration and before the outcome of the tax tribunal is known. So what are the objectives of the report?
The important question the SFA must address is whether Rangers FC improperly registered football players. Rules on the legal registration of football players are clear and well established. All financial compensation offered to players must be part of their contracts, copies of which must be lodged with the club’s national association.
This audio file contains information from Player’s Union representative, Fraser Wishart, who correctly tells Radio Clyde listeners that “in football you’re only allowed one contract, all your earnings from football have to be on that contract”.
The same audio file has excerpts of football journalist, Darrell King, repeatedly telling Radio Clyde listeners that Rangers players involved with EBTs “had two contracts”. This assertion has not been subject to challenge by Rangers.
The major question for the SFA is whether, as alleged by Mr King, Rangers FC played improperly registered players from around 2000 until the expiry of those contracts, some of which are likely to still be active. While they are doing so, it would be useful to extend the inquiry to examine recent contracts.
My primary concern regarding the inquiry is the role of the SFA president, Campbell Ogilvie, in framing the scope of the inquiry. As we reported yesterday, Ogilvie was general secretary and director of Rangers until 2005. He will be able to answer many of the key questions and, as president, will not only have been able to influence the scope of the inquiry, but will be one of the few who receives the report.
Any SFA inquiry into Rangers FC must report on the key matter in this whole business, the proper registration of football players. Any attempt to exclude matters which could involve Mr Ogilvie must be resisted and would show the entire activity up as nothing more than a sham.
The sporting penalty for playing improperly registered players is a 3-0 defeat in each game. Sion have already tested national and international authorities on this matter and are paying a heavy price for trying to gain an unfair advantage.
The stakes are high for Scottish football. The SFA must demonstrate transparency and the highest possible ethical standards when an inquiry into a member club involves past activities of its president. It also has a responsibility to fans and member clubs to establish and report any improper conduct at the earliest opportunity.
My Ogilvie should step aside as a matter of urgency in order to provide evidence to the inquiry.
In a gesture which tests the boundaries of the word magnificent, the Celtic fan who paid £5000 towards the Vanessa Riddle Appeal for the signed Celtic jersey we auctioned last week asked us to put it back up for auction again.
Auctions are a magnificent way to help get Vanessa the lifesaving treatment she needs but the cost of participating at the business end soon gets out of the reach of many fans. With this in mind, we have started an eBay raffle; you can win the jersey for the cost of a £1, or the entire purchase price of Rangers FC PLC.
There are no excuses to sit this one out, Vanessa needs your help, you would like to own a signed Celtic jersey, and you too can afford the kind of money Craig Whyte used to buy Rangers. Click here to participate.
Thank you for the dozens of response to the request for writers for CQN Magazine. I’m still working through them, will be in touch soon. Issue six, our Fit and Proper edition, is set to become a landmark collectors item. You can browse the magazine online here but you can buy your own hard copy by clicking on the link below. Fill your boots…..
You can support the online edition by making a discretionary donation here.
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The Falcon says:
22 February, 2012 at 18:41
New website…..Save Rangers.com (no link but that without the space)
Get yourself over and pledge your financial supports.
Hours and hours of fun to be had.
Just been on. If you put in any old rubbish, you get a thanks page which asks you to spread the word via twitter and states… Dont post to non rankers fans or our app will get banned…
What A Trumpet Player
Hail Hail!
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream says:
22 February, 2012 at 18:47
Honestly, anything to cheer themselves up. I’ve heard two of the most ridiculous theories ever in the last week; this “Celtic are a NewCo” is daft enough, but the same people believe “Jelly & Ice Cream” is a secret IRA code phrase.
I mean JESUS. Their club is DYING … their club is going down the pan faster than Sunday morning sick. And they are obsessing over CRAP …
What is WRONG with these people?
—————
Errr – They support Rangers!
Darrell King – hunbelievable! If Rangers lose the big tax case they shouldn’t be stripped of titles because they didn’t break the law of the land!
And if they fielded ineligible players with 3rd party contracts…well that should be ok then, shouldn’t it!
Dunfermline are 18/1 – is that long odds?
Mon the Hoops
notthebus:
Yeah mate, I’ll be GUTTED on the day we win the title. I will positively be fuming at the moment when Neil Lennon, the man who suffered horrendous abuse and death threats, lifts the league trophy, having already bagged the League Cup. I will be so low, because Rangers fans are not suffering ….
AYE RIGHT!!!!!
It does not matter to me one bit, but they WILL be suffering. The sight of Neil Lennon as a title winning manager on the way to a treble will turn all their Dr Jekyll’s into their Henry Hyde’s … televisions WILL be smashed. Radios WILL be broken. The hate will erupt full-scale.
Cold comfort then for the man who wrote that post, but I can assure him he speaks for about 1% of their support … and 0% of ours.
Enjoy it? I won’t be sober for about a week!
Having taken time to consider matters, FF inmates have penned their responses to the news that they are to be investigated for sectarian singing again:
“F*** The Pope.”
——
“Call me cynical, but I smell a rat.
They deduct us points, then there doesn’t have to be the title decider in next old firm match.”
(Nurse, the screens please)
——
“F*** this I’m emailing as many people in authority as I can. Fed up taking the flak when they b******s can sing whatever they want. I’ll let u all know how I get on ”
(Please do)
——
“The media and celtc have ruined going to the football for us. It’s time we done the same with them.”
(There’s an outside chance that the ruination of which you speak has been contributed to, at least in small part, by other agencies.)
Controversial line-up…
Cha for Matthews, Izzy back in, and Commons for Forrest
(I’d have kept Matthews, and maybe brought Sammi in for Forrest, who has been a bit off of late.)
In Lenny I trust
STEVEBHOY
I feel a litte dirty after that…….
Fortunately couldnae register due to suspiciously Timmy sounding name and e-mail.
haha FF boys have Adeele the hun as a pin up
_____________
Re: Adele on rc
I got this text
“Pacific Shelf 595 Limited
The above Company was incorporated on 11 October 1994, with a registered office at 24 Great King Street, Edinburgh.
This Company subsequently changed its name and became “The Celtic Football and Athletic Company Limited” and currently trades as Celtic Football Club.
So let us start the campaign that as the old Company folded in 1994 and was replaced by this Company, that all trophies, including the big jug, won before 1994 be stripped from their official records.
The Company that Peter Lawell runs has a very very proud history going back all of 18 years and has won 7 titles, 6 scottish cups and 5 league cups.
Pass this info around every bear you know, get on the phone-ins and let us ensure the gloating fans of Pacific Shelf 595 Limited that we are not the first to think about a change of name, and that it doesnt necessarily mean that previous history is lost.”
David Murray then Craig Whyte is bad enough. But Dave King next? What is it about the huns that attracts – well exactly the type of person they deserve.
I’m betting on a partnership of Nick Leeson and Bernie Madoff to run the Newco.
izzy, commons, Cha playing tonight
Zybszek, I sent you a message re the football.
V
HH
BMCUW
I just made up a stupid rankerish email addy. It doesnt let you ffer, as I did, 18.88!
The celtic fans have a good respect for ally mccoist?? eh?! Since when Darrell?
When him and sue were playing at question of sport he was a novelty act, he STILL is and caannot shake that character..He was never taken seriously.
After last seasons behaviour, I think its fair to say he is a disgusting little pig.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap
link to potential research for Huns / journalists trying to make sense of the unfathomable world of financial shenanigans.
stevebhoy
I offered the full £75million, but you are limited to £5k.
Ach well they had there chance
James Forrest @ 18.48
Could we not re-write the Dead Parrot sketch to explain the concept to the uber-thick?
I’m off to the match- 3:1 to the good guys
CELTIC CAN BE INVESTIGATED FOR WHAT???
WHAT CAN WE BE INVESTIGATED FOR?
F@@@@@@ hacks …. All that clown should have been told was “Celtic fans have NOT sung sectarian songs.”
Again, NOT COMPLICATED.
That is one unexpected line-up.
Cha and Brown have, by and large, been pretty ineffective when paired down the right, Wilson and Mulgrew have failed to impress together, and Izzy and Commons suggests Lenny thinks this is going to be easy-peasy. Ki and Ledley are a very good, elegant central midfield, while Hooper and Stokes practically guarantee a win.
What may happen is that Brown, Ki and Ledley form a central three (better for exploiting Cha’s pace), leaving Commons to play behind the strikers, something Forrest isn’t cut out for.
notthebus says:
Lol.
Dont suppose you’re good furra tap! ;)
Steve
DK showing that he’s not too bright – yet again!
He says yes if the huns are found to have indulged in financial doping there might be an argument for taking titles off them but follows that up by stating the use of EBTs were not illegal !
If they were not illegal why would they have to pay tax on them now?
Does he still not get it EBTs could be legal if used correctly – yet our ace still doesn’t get the fact that they used them improperly!
Then again since the huns haaven’t broken any football regulations they shouldn’t lose titles!
So stealing from every man woman and child in the country isn’t a big enough moral imperative to take action!
Shocking but not surprising!
Fortunately the huns will also have broken football regs by issuing second contracts!
However we need to keep up the pressure on the authorities to do the right thing!
Of course these guys dont do logic – then he states if the huns aren’t winning then they wont turn up
Does this imply that Scottish football needs to ensure not only that the huns are in the top division but they need to be winning the top division to save Scottish football
Bhoy are thrse guys clueless or just hurting bad!
HH
MICK11 says:
22 February, 2012 at 18:59
**********************
Agree 100%
V
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream says:
22 February, 2012 at 19:00
ssssssssss
one caller on SNYDE asked what the ranjurz fans have actually done for their club? Dawwel said they’ve had meetings! Read back the minutes of the meeting between CW and VB. It reads more like a bowling club meeting!
the fact is that their supporters are in almost total denial about their situation. ‘We’ll come back stronger and fitter’, ‘someone will buy oor club’, The media have a fair share of responsibility in this but ultimately ranjurz fans can only blame themselves. This lashing out is typical denial behaviour, we should ignore it.
Is the game only on ch67 tonight? Can’t find it here in dubai
Paul67
I would also like to pass on my thanks for this site and your inspirational (and brave) role in the emergence of the New Media in Scotland. Superb that man. Well done. it’s great to see the dominoes finally tumbling, its amazing to realise the revolutionary potential of the Internet.
dawwel can’t see any defence! we should just wait and see!
jeeeesuuus!
the phone-in is so boring filled with morons zzzzzzzz
Hang on – the celts are about to play!
COME ON THE CHAMPIONS ELECT! Let’s win and set up an Ipox title party!!!!!
Found out today I passed my latest exam. 93.5% only 2 more to go, and on the day we could go 20 points clear. Im having a ball.
Hail Hail
Hi all.
Great article Paul. I posted something similar a few weeks ago. My feeling is still that until rangers accept liability/ exhaust appeals, it is arguable that the ebt payments were loans and so were correctly omitted from any contracts submitted to the sfa.
The inquiry to my mind can overlook this issue due to the ambiguity in regards to the status of the ebt payments. I think that the 2 week reporting time limit also effectively rules out the inquiry changing from this view.
In order for this inquiry to look at this issue they would in effect have to ask a what if question. I do not believe they will be minded to do so.
dave king eh? really? gies a brek!
Now that I’ve successfully bagged the podium, I’ll let you all know that the party has started in the next room.
Anyhoo at cp for the game with the girlfriend. It’s her 1st game. Mon the hoops!
SonsOfErin says:
22 February, 2012 at 19:14
Now that I’ve successfully bagged the podium, I’ll let you all know that the party has started in the next room.
You better have Jelly and Ice Cream :D
Hail hail
re: huns and this Pacific Shelf hunguffray.
Remember, grief usually follows a pattern of: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Acceptance.
They’re done with denial (“there’s nae tax problems, ya Timmy liar”) and anger (“Whyte GTF”).
Now they’re bargaining (“if we go under that means youse must huv gone under in 1994, right? RIGHT???”)
The final stage, acceptance, isn’t far off. (thumbsup)
New Article posted
“Dave King has lost £20 million of his own money in Rangers ….”
Actually, he has lost £20 million of the South African government’s money in Rangers.
This club attracts crooks.
Now they’re talking about “separating his business in South Africa from what he’s done at Rangers ….”
Oh right. So if he’d been a serial killer over there, that wouldn’t impact on him being “fit and proper” then?
This, right here, is why I have nothing but contempt for the media.
https://www.saverangers.com/
This HAS to be seen to be believed!
They’re still on radio snyde talking about Celtic changing names when Fergus came in and comparing that to their demise now!
Is it the schools?