No illegal registration punishment, judicial independence scrapped

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The Daily Record today report the contents of a document drawn up after a meeting between the SFA, the SPL, the SFL and Sevco suggesting “punishments for Rangers for the Employment Benefit Trust tax dodge used by Sir David Murray’s regime to pay players”.

The document details that Rangers would be stripped of titles and trophies ‘won’ by the club while they fielded illegally registered players, described by the Record as “the harshest ever seen in football”.

While Rangers EBTs had been in the news for close to two years, it was Celtic Quick News who first raised the question of Rangers players being illegally registered in an article on 22 February this year.  Clubs are required to note all payments players receive in connection to football with both the SFA and SPL as part of the player registration process.  Failure to register EBT payments is completely separate to the legality or otherwise of how the EBT was conducted, and until we raised the issue, there was no question over player registration, and no possibility of league titles being stripped.

Two weeks after Celtic Quick News brought the matter to public attention the SPL appointed solicitors Harper MacLeod to investigate the case.  The subsequent report concluded Rangers had a case to answer.

There are a number of alarming aspects to today’s Daily Record report (the newspaper appears to have the main story but don’t notice its relevance):

Sevco should not be involved in any discussion around the guilt of Rangers or any subsequent consequences.  Fan  power in recent weeks had shown that we are not a Banana Republic.  Disciplinary issues are subject to establish procedures.  Any attempt to meet with a party acting on behalf of Rangers to agree an outcome with both the investigating body and the appeals body, before an independent inquiry takes place, contaminates all who participate.

Scottish football has independent judicial procedures for dealing with serious breaches of rules.  Executives from the SFA and SPL have absolutely no authority to set-aside these procedures, nor are they appropriate people to act instead of the independent procedures.

Stripping Rangers of titles and trophies if they are found guilty of cheating is not a punishment; this simply reflects the legitimate winners of past trophies.  When an athlete is found to have cheated to win a medal, his punishment is not the withdrawal of the medal, which is an obvious consequence of being caught, he will also face a sporting or financial penalty, often a ban.

There seems to be no end of attempts to subvert sport in Scottish football.  There must be no backroom deals, not even if they bring a barrel load of trophies to Celtic, we cannot be bought-off by bling.  Independent disciplinary procedures must take place.

Although Rangers failed to register players EBTs, this matter is separate from what the Record calls “punishments for Rangers for the Employment Benefit Trust tax dodge used by Sir David Murray’s regime to pay players”.

If the First Tier Tribunal (remember that?) rules that Rangers broke tax rules the club could yet face football disciplinary procedures for failing to pay social taxes.

Last month we reported that the SFA was set to remove independent judicial oversight from the game as its existence was getting in the way of their plans for ‘Rangers’.  Although the Daily Record seem to be oblivious to the fact, they appear to have found documentary evidence that this is the case.

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  1. O.G.Rafferty on

    PFayr, 19:41

     

    That’s LiNField, soon to be the world’s most successful club (50 titles), when the EBT findings unpick those 5 stars from the once proud Gers.

     

    No need to cheat for the Belfast Huns, when they have always been subsidised by the state in a way that would have shamed the former Soviet Bloc.

  2. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    ASonOfDan on 18 July, 2012 at 20:01 said:

     

     

    Where DO you get all your information ?…… Not that I’m complaining..LOL

  3. O.G. Rafferty, anything of note likely to be revealed in the near future to the best of your knowledge?

  4. stevenagebhoy on

    It’s a shame we never got Father Ted on the board – he would have been a great help to Celtic at times like this.

     

    ________________________________________________________

     

     

    And Fr. Dougal; ‘”Rangers- down with that sort of thing”

  5. When the ice cream van is in Larkhall does the whole family march out for their Curly Wurly’s and Screwballs?

     

     

    I’m forgetting that wee Chelsea and Oliver have been banned from eating ice-cream. They really HATE ice cream now. Ice cream is a Kafflick conspiracy. Banned from kids party’s in Larkhall.

     

     

    “See that Cornetto, he wiz a right fenian b*****d so he wiz…so wiz the guy rit invented the Banana split…aw these ice creams companies urra a network fur expanding Global domination for the Roman Catholic Church.”

     

     

    doublenuggetCSC

  6. Estadio Nacional on

    Who are linfeild?

     

     

    Another wee daft team of annoyingists that fail to annoy folk?

     

     

    Aye?

  7. Silver City 1888 on

    Doc is Neil Lennon on 18 July, 2012 at 19:29 said:

     

    Silver City 1888 on 18 July, 2012 at 19:27 said:

     

    If identical twins commit a crime, no DNA, no Finger prints,

     

     

    DNA would be the same but finger prints are different having a degree of randomness and suceptability to environmental influences.

  8. EN

     

     

    Rogue has a poor fitness record ….that is a problem …he can’t be relied upon to be fit

  9. leftclicktic on

    wonkyradar on 18 July, 2012 at 19:52 said:

     

    Can we no sign Kerkar?

     

    He would make a useful dribbling cone during training.

     

    —————————————–

     

    Think were to late :))

     

    Sky Sports understands that Salim Kerkar has jetted out to Charlton’s pre-season training camp and is hoping to earn a permanent deal.

     

     

    The 24-year-old playmaker is among those to have headed out of financially-troubled Rangers.

     

     

    He has spent the last two years on the books at Ibrox, having first linked up with them on a trial basis in August 2010.

     

     

    Kerkar caught the eye on that occasion and is hoping for similar success during his time with the Addicks.

     

     

    Following the decision to drop Rangers newco into the Scottish Third Division, he believes the time is right to make a fresh start.

     

     

    Championship new boys Charlton are prepared to offer him an opportunity to impress and have drafted Kerkar into their pre-season plans.

     

     

    Chris Powell’s side are currently in Spain readying themselves for the 2012/13 campaign.

  10. TT

     

    my wee cous goes to Dubai in August to start her career as a teacher(well 6 years here previously)

     

    let me know when you are going… she is/was a season ticket holder, sure her big brother glen daly of this blog will keep her ticket going..

  11. stevenagebhoy on

    So if Sevco win the Ramsden cup………….

     

    they can take the trophy to their nearest branch and see how much they can get for it!

     

    __________________________________________________________________

     

     

    Free refills all day? Maybe they could use that for the Ner’day’s toast instead of that hideous Loving Cup (which wouldn’t fetch a fiver on Bargain Hunt.)

  12. Estadio Nacional on

    PFayr 20:11

     

     

    Totally agree but discounting injury him and Muldini have their place.

     

     

    I like Wilson, watched him closely first two games of the season and he impressed me, the rest of the games were on TV and I think he ‘pooped’ it in the big games, thats understandable and I expect a second season like a lot of others have done.

     

     

    That leaves too many centre halves looking for a game, again, a settled two is the key, we F about too much in there. I blame Lawwell.

     

     

     

    EN

  13. What’s the story with the Nottingham based “Mullyinaire” and the improbably titled Guy of Gisbourne………………?

  14. I expect the SFA to accept all investors in the Green club at face value, he/they say they are millionaires so that must be alright

  15. …..You know what, I think I’m gonna hold fire till Chic has ‘run-the-rule’ over this guy……………….better safe than sorry, eh?

     

     

    ;)

  16. The Battered Bunnet on

    PF Ayr

     

     

    If Rogue spent more time training and less time posting on here he’d be a jolly good deal fitter!

  17. Steinreignedsupreme on

    fergus slayed the blues on 18 July, 2012 at 19:31:

     

     

    “Aye the auld skint knuckles ,do you think that’s where the auld funny hand shake originated from.”

     

     

    Good shout. It would explain the grip.

  18. EDB

     

     

    don’t worry, your not missing much,

     

    they have been in KSC Blantyre twice… o))

  19. Personally a think rogne is the best centre half at the club, a dont think mulgrew is the answer long term a don’t think he’s that great at actually defending when the balls in behind, hes better when the balls played in front of him,ad have wanyama in there before him any day

  20. Evening bhoys,

     

    see the latest fundraising idea on rankers media is to

     

    let them buy a square foot of the park for which they

     

    get a wee certificate,apparently they could make over £8 million

     

    if they sell it at £100 a go,only 84,000 to sell if there maths are correct

  21. O.G.Rafferty on

    ElDiegoBhoy, 20:06

     

    Alas, no.

     

    But a lot of slow-burning and longer lasting pleasure to be had in the longer term as the spit slowly turns. They will look back on these times as halcyon days

  22. The huns are preparing to protest against the the notion that there is not enough protesting, it’s called: The Walk against there not being enough Walking- it’s basic Objective is to increase marching for the sake of marching. Chico Young was going to turn up but decided to assume the role of Conscientious objector instead. Bomber Brown will take to his Bully pulpit like a John Knox for the neds. Tax resistance had been suggested as a form of protest but it was thought this had been overdone in the past. Book burning had also been put forward but it was soon realised that this was unnecessarily ambitions, considering none of them could read, even if Chico had offered up his Readers Wives Annuals. Jabba volunteered to display his obscene corpulence by protesting through Public nudity and turning up at Hampden in his union jack y-fronts in his “Campaign against the persecution of the hun”, but this was unanimously rejected by all who were present with a rarely seen enthusiasm for accord amongst the FC Sevco support.

  23. If Bundoran Bhoy & CRC are anywhere around : re. badges. Done the bizzo….awra best to all of you and especially the wee mhan. We hope he’s feeling a wee bit brighter.

     

    HH!

  24. 67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on 18 July, 2012 at 19:58 said:

     

    An easy life in prison is not the answer, again agreed, but neither is a life where a crime means a lifetime punishment, or a life plagued by that crime, murder and crimes against children apart, but we have to have crime and redemption, rather than crime and punishment. I don’t mean no punishment, I just mean not forever punishment.

  25. the go celticbus

     

     

    Saint Stivs on 18 July, 2012 at 16:06 said:

     

    someone asked last night for images of the new EERR road and Celtic Park. I was up on Sunday and I think its magic, the view going up the new road is magnificent.

     

    The new stadium and the parking arrangements there really should mean getting to and from the match becomes easier (well until Supercop get involved).

     

     

    So I went searching for images, hadnt seen these before, from the day the new road opened up. How good are these –

     

     

    http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/GCC003.jpg

  26. I remember when hampden was being demolished there was an article in the DR about Celtic buying second hand bulbs whilst on the back cover Ex FC had signed a big sponsorship deal… Now they can’t afford towels, that makes me very happy…

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