There has been a pattern for me in recent days. I’ve read a statement by a current/former football club director, then I’ve gone looking for corroboration, just in case the report is a sabotaged attempt to make the author appear foolish.
A statement was released by former Rangers chairman, Alastair Johnston yesterday, discussing the current SPL Commission looking into how his board administered football player contracts. I agree with him that any “capital punishment decision” should not be left to the SPL, but the SPL have no authority to impose capital punishment on a football club. The decision to terminate a football club can only be taken by the SFA (I am discounting the reckless behaviour of directors), and is perhaps a reason the SFA decided to delegate this inquiry to the league. It is interesting timing for Johnston to put this on the table.
Johnston’s main thrust is in connection with the SPL Commission, saying “the SFA wrote to us asking for more details about the public speculation concerning our financial and tax situation. The latter obviously referenced the impact of the EBT schemes as creating a potential taxation liability.
“The club responded accordingly and provided details, as it had done in previous years, by declaring player salaries, bonuses, benefits, etc., but also payments made to a Remuneration Trust. The SFA compliance officers must have known, both from the description and context of the reports, that such expenditures had some connection to player compensation.
“However, without any further investigation at the time, Rangers FC received its SFA license to compete in the 2011/2012 season. Rangers, therefore, were entitled to believe that they were not in breach of any SFA regulation requiring reporting of player compensation.”
Mr Johnston clearly implies that the SFA were in receipt of sufficient information to ascertain if Rangers correctly registered players (and considering the SFA president was on the board which sanctioned these decision was have to wonder), but the key point is missing from his testimony.
While disclosing this information to the SFA did Rangers reveal the existence of the alleged second contracts? For the purposes of the SPL Commission, it doesn’t really matter how much players were paid, or if they received this money through a Remuneration Trust, what matters is: were contracts submitted and players correctly registered? If not, then it doesn’t matter what else the club submitted to the SFA.
Sir David Murray, then Rangers owner, vehemently denied the existence of second contracts as recently as March this year, so it would appear unlikely that Rangers revealed these allegedly non-existent contracts at an earlier date.
Labouring this point slightly Johnston said: If the SFA now decide to adopt a more focused evaluation of the data they request from its members in order to be granted a license, they should ensure that the legislation upon which they rely for enforcement and the corresponding sanctions are more transparent and predictable.”
For clarity, the information the SFA requires in order to grant a club licence is not being changed in any way. The SFA and the SPL do, however, require clubs submit player contracts as part of the player registration process. It is not the club licence which is in doubt here, it is the registration of players, Mr Johnston, we have to wonder why you are trying to focus away from this matter.
Our own club was brought into the issue: “A lawyer representing Celtic recently was successful in having charges against that club dropped because of the inadequacy of the SFA’s prescribed rules, regulations, and sanctions. The same principle should apply here.”
Perhaps time is playing tricks on Mr Johnston’s memory. Paul McBride ensured a punishment imposed on Neil Lennon (not Celtic) was enforced in line with SFA rules. Johnston also meanders on the subjects of match fixing and financial doping, distancing his former club from both, but neither charge is of any consequence.
Despite his extensive diatribe on the subject, at no point does the former Rangers chairman deny the central allegation – that for over a decade Rangers gave dozens of players second contracts which were not registered with the SPL or SFA. Like Charles Green the previous day, he never suggested Rangers have been wrongly accused, he just complains about the club being accused.
There is a degree in Cognitive Bias in this matter if anyone is looking for material.
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Good to hear some measure of justice for the 96 being done, although those responsible for smearing their memory & putting the blame on the fans themselves wil, i hope, finally face the consequences of their disgraceful behaviour.
I don’t doubt for a minute though that the police action, & that of the Sun, was at best condoned, & i suspect encouraged, by the odious Thatcher government of the time, who were happy to metaphorically put the boot in to football fans, & prevent legitimate criticism of the forces of law & order being put forward. Will any responsibility be directed their way? Certainly not by Cameron, although he is to be fair doing well today.
Miki67 phil… Christian right wing extremists have been responsible for the greatest number of US terror attacks in 13 of the 17 years since the Oklahoma bombing…
WONKY RADAR 1347
Afraid that the stats suggest there are a significant number of those one-and-a-half million Muslims who want every non-Muslim eradicated from the planet,or converted.
By any means necessary.
Other religions are prepared to co-exist.
Ironically,in peace……
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/does-green-actually-buy-this-stuff-lets-take-a-look.18857922.
Sorry if already posted, this journalist does not diet on the succulent spam.
HH
OOOOPS
Million=billion==bedtime for bertie again!
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
13:44 on 12 September, 2012
Police need to declare membership of secret societies
That’s right. If they’re not in one, their hopes of promotion are fecked.
I for one will have Jelly & Ice Cream when she dies…
Access to Cabinet documents reveals that in an exchange about her [Margaret Thatcher’s] Government “welcoming the report”. The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher expressed her concern that the “broad thrust” of the Taylor Report constituted a “devastating criticism of the police”.
yorkbhoy13:55 on 12 September, 2012:
>>>>>>>
When I said fanatics I meant fanatics everywhere. The rule by fear and the targeting of innocents is abhorrent wherever it emanates from.
HH.
Utterly insignificant in comparison —– but
In 1964 , I [ and 3 others ] appeared in a Juvenile Court and listened to 2 of Milngavie’s finest tell lies about what we were doing and where we were doing it . A complete fabrication . We were fined £ 4 .
In 1968 , a mate and I politely requested that 4 policemen refrain from beating the shit out of a guy on Paisley Rd West . We were lifted and charged with Breach of the Peace . Went to court —-the 4 policemen lied , lied and lied again.. We were fined £15.
In 1974 asking 3 policemen why they were beating shit out of a guy at a bus stop on Hammersmith Broadway got me lifted and charged with failing to comply with the lawful request of a police officer and resisting arrest Went to court -the 3 policemen stuck to their concocted fabricated story and lied , lied and lied again .
Hi Paul,
“…perhaps a reason the SFA decided to delegate this inquiry to the league.”
That was a curious one.
If players were ineligable to play in the SPL, then surely they were also ineligable for Cup and CL games.
That being the case UEFA and SFA competitions would also be effected.
As the SFA are responsible for oversight of the SPL and the other Cups as well as issuing the licences on behalf of UEFA surely it is they who should hold the inquiry.
ASonOfDan
You won’t be the only one. She was/is a dreadful, immoral, disgrace of a human being.
greenjedi
13:51 on 12 September, 2012
– > Thanks for the info.
dbbia
I’ve only heard Cash’s version but I recently downloaded a few songs by The Blind Boys Of Alabama and I like the song Well Well Well.
wirecsc
A few further points on absurdity of Alastair Johnstons statement, specically his claim that Murray was rich enough and capable of settling the HMRC debt.
The problem with using the Sunday Times Rich List as an accurate measure of individual wealth, is that is nothing more than a semi educated guess at someone’s position.
Murray’s estimate would be mostly made up of the equity he held in various companies. These are effectively only bits of paper, that might provide salary or dividends until the shares were sold , in return for cash or shares in another company.
The reality is that every single one of Murray’s business’ are worth nothing. His equity value was incinerated systematically and quickly from 2008 onwards. Given what’s known about Murray, then it’s fair to calculate that as much as £400 million of this semi educated guess at his worth, was held in equity in private companies. The value of that now is £0
Rangers area good example. His shareholding was valued at £65 million, and changed hands for £1. This mirrors the reduction in value at MIH and other private business he held equity in.
That takes us to other assets. Privately held property in particular. Murray was addicted to debt, and the information I have is that his privately owned property was also very heavily mortgaged. The Sunday Times , do not and could not estimate the size of mortgage debt. However given Murrays propensity to debt, and the fall in property values since 2008, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume there was very little equity value in this portfolio .
Murray certainly received a large salary and dividends for a 6 or 7 year period. However given his lifestyle and overhead, I doubt this would leave much more than £15 million ( my educated guess) of readily accessible liquidity.
In other words Murray has no capacity , and never had, to settle a demand from HMRC on behalf of Rangers. Alastair Johnston is an executive at a large US Corporation. Nothing I am saying now would be a surprise to him, either now or from mid 2008 onwards
Johnston is at it. Green is at it. McCoist is at it. Deliberate deception is part of their game plan. However, it won’t work. Thanks to the efforts of RTC, CQN and other excellent blogs, , the public know that the MSM are not the source of truthful information and insight with regards to Rangers.
There are thousands of bloggers who are not bought off or deliberately blinded to the truth. Many many Rangers supporters don’t want to know the truth, or as Jack Nicholson said when playing Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men , ” they can’t handle the truth”
For the rest of us, including those Rangers supporters who are not blinkered, then the truth has to come out. The actions of Murray and Whyte have to be laid bare. The role played by Ogilvie, and others who were on SFA and SPL boards has to be detailed
And above all the appropriate price has to be paid. Then and only then will justice for Scottish Football have been done and it will have been seen to have been done.
Everyone deserves that, whether they can handle it or not
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS – No man should be expected to rake a midden unless he’s being paid for his time and trouble.
Did we lose a war or something? (thumbsup)
wonkyradar – I know, it’s outrageous that people are prepared to judge a religion on the basis of irrelevant scuttlebutt such as what its followers do and what its religious leaders teach. We should judge them based on fantasies, rainbows, and unicorn farts. And then wring our hands and look the other way. Maybe get ourselves worked up over awful Christian B&B owners or Cardinals who don’t approve of gay marriage. That’s safer. Christian B&B owners rarely resort to beating people to death.
These things are all very complicated and political. When they kill people over a cartoon they don’t like in a Danish newspaper, there are probably good reasons for it that it would be wrong of us to question? When they slit a man’s throat because he made a film they didn’t like, or send a man into hiding in fear of his life because he wrote a book they didn’t like, who are we to judge what they do in our country?
Did I mention that it’s the religion of peace?
Also, neocons. (thumbsup)
Thatcher : such a poisonous name ; evoking it causes such a furore…it’s akin to summoning Beelzebub, although I don’t think that entity could cause the stink that the wicked witch of the West raises.
Back in perth now after holiday in thailand.. Job searching and house searching. ZZZzzzzzz
Looking forward to celts this weekend
yorkbhoy – Miki67 phil… Christian right wing extremists have been responsible for the greatest number of US terror attacks in 13 of the 17 years since the Oklahoma bombing…
That’ll be why people are terrified to criticise Christianity…
Oh wait, it’s not Opposite Day, is it? (thumbsup)
Miki67
I 100% agree but I’m sure if you asked the average US citizen they would think the biggest threat is from “mad mullahs”
The power of nightmares is a brilliant doc…
Lennon n McMjallby- if you enjoy TBBOfA check out the Holmes Brothers; God and the Devil fight over who has the best tunes.
On the album ‘State of Grace’ there’s a terrific version of’ WHat’s so funny ’bout Peace, Love and Understanding’.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
13:48 on 12 September, 2012
‘ERNIE LYNCH 1326
Respectfully,he has handled it better than his predecessors.
Labour had a fair few years to open that enquiry too.
They didn’t.’
###
The Hillsborough Independent Panel was set up by the last Labour Government.
The source of most of the original lies was a Tory MP.
Cameron is an old Etonian PR man.
The naive and the gullible are impressed by him.
yorkbhoy – The power of nightmares is a brilliant doc…
Adam Curtis’s documentaries appeal to the sort of person who is eager to be seen as intelligent, but who has declined to exercise his grey matter rigorously enough to see through Curtis’ obvious bullshine and fuzzy logic.
In other words, the average Guardian reader. (thumbsup)
Everybody’s at it. Here’s to happier times.
Scatman and Satchmo….down Louisiana way:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBETGL409yU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Just a wee update, my gran has responded well to the medication and has been sitting up and talking. She’s still not out of the woods yet, just waiting on blood results.
So thank you all.
Hendrix
Philvis
You are correct I would be loathe to criticise the Muslim religion for fear of my life but I have been in places in the US where to criticse Christianity would be just as foolhardy…
“”Cameron is handling the debate with great sensitivity it has to be said.”
That’s an old Etonian thing.”
As much as I think the man’s an *rse his sensitivity today might just come from the fact that he recently lost his young son. It goes against the grain to give a Tory the benefit of the doubt but this maybe the exception.
iShortbread saying result of big tax case due ‘in October’.
I try to believe in hard evidence. It’s a measure of my naivety that I had to learn that the hard way. But I wouldn’t swap my idealism for anything. And I wouldn’t give up my belief in the essential goodness at the heart of the Catholic faith.
I’ve travelled a long way to return to the place I started from. That’s only my experience. Everyone has their own path.
HH.
yorkbhoy – Those US Christians do love a good public beheading with their Chick-fil-A. (thumbsup)
dwptom – As much as I think the man’s an *rse his sensitivity today might just come from the fact that he recently lost his young son. It goes against the grain to give a Tory the benefit of the doubt but this maybe the exception.
Careful, it’s almost as if you’re suggesting that Tories are actual human beings rather than blank screens onto which we can project our own inadequacies and class hate. That’ll never do. (thumbsup)
Philvis:
Christians, Jews, Hindus, etc. see their religion mocked and insulted every day of the year, and rarely decide to murder people for it.
Really? Have you ever lived in India?
South Of Tunis
I find that hard to believe…………………….not.
Same here ..Judge “are you trying to say an officer of the law is lying”?
Me ” change my plea to guilty ” judge sounded a wee bit like dallas ,
must be a masonic thing.
In my defence ,I was 16 and totally innocent (of this offence))
If anyone is interested in a ticket for the Befica home game next Wedneday it looks like I have a spare (NS 406 row S, unrestricted view on the halfway line). I bought the three match ST package for myself and my son (£20 consession) but he’s unable to go to the game.
I’ll be travelling down to glasgow early next wed to go to the ticket office around 5PM to upgrade this to an adult ticket, hopefully make it easier to move on. For some obscure reason they want the ticket back and wont allow me to do the upgrade over the phone. So if anyone is interested let me know. First come first served.
Contact me at dcsltd @ btopenworld.com and we can make arrangements.
HH
Philvis:
ANYONE whether that be the Archbishop of Canterbury or George Dublya believes in violence or condones war of any kind is not a Christian. Matthew 5:21- “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement. What then of war?
Those who use violence and claim to be followers of Christ ( and there are plenty) are not representative of Christianity, just as those in Al Qaeda are not of Islam.
I now have visions of Hitler dancing to this smokin’ tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1xDSwhsPY8
Any news on injurys to ledley,brown mulgrew ,stokes ,wanayma ? Back to fitness yet ?
Alastair no surrender Johnston
It’s incredible he felt the need to speak when he knew he couldn’t deny the central charge.
Philvis
Public beheadings versus shooting doctors in Church.. Both abhorrent both obscene both not representative of a belief system.
Jeg er Neil Lennon-Greeninbingley – Have you ever lived in India?
No, but I have seen “Reza: Spice Prince of India”, and he’s delightful. (thumbsup)
big beano telt me some of u bams are sayin declan has gone. nae chance boys am no gone anywhere. a had a wee disagreemnt wi a sherif and didnt get ma bru money so brighthoose took bak ma laptop. it is aw sortit noo tho as my uncle nos the manager and squared him up aboot me.
mon the hoops