Campbell Ogilvie was interviewed in today’s Scotland on Sunday but he singularly failed to deflect the central criticism of him continuing as president of the SFA despite being a director of Rangers during the period they introduced the controversial EBTs and, allegedly, illegally registered players with the SFA, which Ogilvie was also a director of.
Interviewer, Andrew Smith, asked “Can you see there being an issue with you being SFA president at a time when there is an ongoing SPL investigation into non-disclosure of payments at Rangers that you are directly linked to? You were a director and the secretary who signed off the accounts in November 2001. At that time the EBT scheme was in operation and players were receiving payments that weren’t in their contracts.”
Ogilvie’s response laid bare how inappropriate the situation is: “I was secretary up until 2002. That’s correct. I was a director, that’s correct.”
All he could do in response to the question of how inappropriate his job as SFA president is when Rangers are under investigation for non-disclosure of payments he was “directly linked to” is confirm he was a secretary and director. He didn’t even offer a counter argument.
It was as though he’d been coached, badly, about what to do when you are asked a question you don’t want to answer. Simply not answering the question and making an irrelevant statement treats Scottish football fans like fools.
The truth is he did not and cannot answer the question. If Campbell Ogilvie cannot argue why there is not an issue for him continuing to be SFA president, why is he still SFA president?
Ogilvie confirmed that in March he told Andrew Smith that there were no side contracts and insisted this was “the case to the best of my knowledge”, despite Smith referring him to the recent BBC documentary, the assertions of which have not been challenged.
Readers would have been confused by this ‘knowledge’, that there were no side contracts as Ogilvie immediately denied involvement with player contracts.
This duel position, bearing witness that there were no side contracts, while denying knowledge of player contracts, is wholly inconsistent and, in itself, reasons enough to for his dismissal.
One of the most intriguing comments from Ogilvie was “I might have signed some documents from time to time. I certainly didn’t do the player negotiations, I didn’t do the contracts.”
He “might have signed some documents from time to time”. Oh dear.
If he signed some documents active in this scandal “from time to time”, for pity sake, just go. Pack your bags, apologise profusely and get out of Scottish football.
We await to hear who conducted the inquiry into Ogilvie which allowed Stewart Regan to clear Ogivlie, but if this shoddy testimony informed their decision, the scandal at the heart of the SFA has taken on a new dimension.
Rumours that the SFA did not conduct an inquiry into Campbell Ogilvie and that chief exec, Stewart Regan, spoke inappropriately in order to save the skin of his pal, remain unfounded.
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Peroni in Blontyre??
voguepunter on 10 June, 2012 at 17:50 said:
Bournesoup,I wasn’t trying to be interesting,
mmmmmmmmm
Gordon_J
So far the tournament has a familiar theme of one side ‘parking the bus’
Magnificentseven
Thought I’d throw him to the lions anyway:o)
Is Big Bad John the only one we can accept as a commentator?
Craig Turdley
.
Craig Burley column: Neil Lennon should bring in Gordon Strachan as Alan Thompson replacement
Jun 10 2012 By Craig Burley
NEIL LENNON faces the most important decision of his career in the next few weeks – and if he calls it wrong it may well cost him his job as Celtic manager.
I’m talking about who he brings in to replace Alan Thompson.
And if Lennon wants to build on last season’s SPL title success then he should do everything in his power to bring Gordon Strachan back to Parkhead.
Lennon needs someone with experience beside him. This is not the time for a “yes” man.
The Hoops boss made mistakes last season that cost his club the Treble. His behaviour on the touchline and towards referees also left a lot to be desired.
Now, more than ever, he must bring in someone who can control him off the park and guide him tactically on the pitch.
If he doesn’t do it then it may well finish him at Celtic.
In light of the Thompson sacking, it looks to me as if the Celtic board may well be giving some of the coaching staff enough rope to hang themselves.
Lennon has to be careful he doesn’t end up next in the noose.
Because I’m getting the feeling there could be more to come and the whole thing could implode. That’s where someone of Strachan’s experience would be invaluable.
The perfect choice would have been Tommy Burns but he is sadly no longer with us. Tommy was a class act and would have been perfect for Lennon.
But Strachan is also right up there – and I never thought I’d hear myself say that. I was critical of the way he handled himself when he was Celtic manager.
But I’ve worked with him in broadcasting in the past year and really taken to him.
He is a good man and is knowledgeable about the game, as you’d expect.
Strachan had four successful years as manager and talks opened up last October to bring him back as a “father figure” to Lennon. Celtic wanted it.
Strachan wanted it. And Lennon had no real objections but at that time he wasn’t in a position to argue as results were poor.
Discussions broke down over Strachan’s personal terms. Yet, I don’t think they were a million miles apart. A deal could easily be resurrected.
I know it will be a difficult call for Lennon because you need to appoint people you can trust. But you have to get the balance right as it can’t always be your mates.
He is not afraid to make big calls.
Thompson’s dismissal is proof of that. I feel for Alan – I don’t want to see anybody lose their job. Only Lennon knows the reasons why he got rid of his pal but I’m told Thompson wasn’t too popular with other members of the backroom staff.
He may also have left himself open by not grafting as hard. Being a coach is not a two-hour a day job, it involves many tasks, such as taking in games at home and abroad two or three nights a week and maybe Lennon felt he needed more from his coach.
So, this appointment has to be right. The real fight for Lennon is just beginning. He has Champions League qualifiers coming up and can’t afford not to steer Celtic through to the Group stages.
He will also need to be strong with his board when it comes to transfer policy.
He must stand firm if he doesn’t want to lose the likes of Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama. The same applies to getting his top targets in. That has to happen because he will also be aware that Rangers may just get their act together.
A new owner may emerge to pump a few million in to their transfer kitty. Celtic should not be complacent on that front.
Because Lennon will be aware that if results don’t go right then the fans will turn on him and the club will cut him off. He’s won the SPL but he’s not untouchable.
He is due credit for the title success but that doesn’t mean he’s a top manager.
I believe he is not within a million miles of being the best candidate for the job.
I understand Brendan Rogers was mentioned in the Parkhead corridors of power last season as a possible replacement.
That’s not going to happen now.
Lennon must not be complacent but the job is his to lose. Strachan can help
ensure he keeps it for a while yet
jude
non, C’est Cidre..
Wonder if Og hand delivered the EBT’s. Seems a waste of postage as he was going there anyways!!
bournesouprecipe,
Yes, but then it’s often like this in the first games. One team trying to win it and the other desperate not to lose.
Four sleeps till Christmas, bhoys and ghirls, four sleeps till Christmas!
;o)
Burley is lower than a worm.
Pathetic article with little or no basis in fact to back up everything it says.
I have sky but can’t.get the Spain v Italy on h d .how can I get I
If there were any doubt that Rangers would lose their EBT case surely in this interview Campbell Ogilvie has confirmed the illegality of the scheme by informing us all that his payments were ‘bonus payments’!
UL drink anything!!! o)))) Is Fowlers Wee Heavy still out there?
timbhoy
Lifes a bitch sometimes eh??
Bang goes that idea the BBC reporter so helpfully raised with Chuckie Green
From a poster on RTC (check the last few lines)
So Mr Charles is going to use SPL rule 6.20 to sign Rino and 5 others currently playing at Euro 12. Here’s what said rule says:
Except with the consent of the Board and that only where (i) the term of a Player’s contract of service with his Club has expired and such contract has not been renewed or extended or such a contract has terminated with the mutual consent in writing of the Club and the Player concerned and, in either case, the registration of such Player with the League in terms of Section D of the Rules has been cancelled and a replacement Player is sought to be registered to replace the Player whose contract has so expired or been terminated; or, (ii) where the Player sought to be registered is a temporary replacement for a goalkeeper who is unable by reason of injury or illness to play and that only where written confirmation of such inability shall have been obtained by the Club from a qualified medical practitioner and submitted to the Board and the Board is satisfied that the Club concerned has no other goalkeeper who is registered and able to play, a Club that has taken, suffered or has been subject to an Insolvency Event or Events shall not be entitled or permitted to register any Player with the League and the League shall not register such a Player in terms of Section D of the Rules until such Insolvency Event or events shall no longer continue or subsist.
Gotta Go
Seeya,Folks~
Kojo
Still, Laughin’
good old campbell
he knew the ebt would be tax free and the amount of money he would gain than by doing it through his salary
so he had the knowledge to make sure he lined his own pockets at the expense of the tax man.
then the player contract document he just signed them not knowing the info was all approved by another person at their behest.
then claims he signed them off in good faith
how you can claim good faith when you either know what you are signing or not
campbell my man were you duped also ?
campbell was a gate keeper to ensure all documents were keep in order and flag up any breaches in protacol.
by signing these off you failed your responsibilities.
now campbell is at the sfa he now has a more senior posistion which is compromised by his early failure and acceptance of an ebt
taxiforcampbell fc
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on 10 June, 2012 at 17:42:
My post at 17:46 was flippant and tongue and cheek. However, having read your post I wonder if Ogilvie and SFA have done a deal to allow him to remain President.
On your post I agree. I laughed so much this morning when I read Smith’s article, so much so I was still smiling when I got to Mass. Good faith, unbelievable, it was indeed dereliction of duty. I was the Secretary of a Supporters Club for many years and we produced a set of accounts and held an A.G.M. The Treasurer prepared the accounts, passed them to members who volunteered to check them and sign them off. They did sign them off AFTER checking them, sometimes asking questions of the Treasure before doing so. They did not sign them off in good faith!
Ogilvie’s assertion is that he did not know the breakdown of the EBTs, why did he sign the accounts off!! Our Treasurer would explain entries in the accounts to the volunteers who were going to sign off the accounts if they were not clear. He would also explain entries and take questions at the A.G.M, all of which were minuted.
If we are to believe Ogilvie, all that happened was he was presented a set of accounts and told to sign on the dotted line, he did not scrutinise them.
The Supporters Club I was the Secretary had a turn over of about £2k a year, granted not in the same circle as RFC(ia) but I would have thought Ogilvie would have been well equipped to deal with the accounts.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Imagine Messi getting the chance that Balotelli has just squandered.
Balotelli looked as if he didn’t want to score. Oh well.
In other news, a match-fixing scandal recently hit Italian football.
My Dear Kojo….
I cannot recall a time when the GA held greater sway over the MSM in Bonny Scotland…and Celtic had fewer friends,or even impartial observers ,willing to mind their backs…..
And I expect the situation to get steadily worse..not better…as the fortunes of the GA continue to decline..
Sure,we have the occasional lone voice in the wildeness,such as Mark Daley..and the occasional soul from South of The Borderline,who takes a passing interest in current events..such as Alex Thomson..
But it is in the alternative media,where the devil-dug bloggers and Phil McGio have made all the difference….
Incidentally….Not wishing to question the scholarship of a McGill’s Honours Alumnus….but (the) hoi polloi….Hmmm.
Better folk might suggest that the definite article is rendered superfluous..?
Yer Pal….Who Still Thinks You’re Swellegant..
BRT&H,
Opus Maximus. ( As Nero might have said.)
That was good enough to take my attention off the football.
Thanks.
Balotteli must be one of the laziest most self serving players I have ever seen.
Di natale on now for him.
bankie
Not even ‘us’, we are limited even in Celtic terms, to the singular voice of the one and only CQN but only periodically only on a Euro Sunday afternoon.
MSM as you know, as do I, have helped create the Ragers on the edge of abyss situation, and hell mend them.
With RTC, PhilMac, Alex Tommo and certain twitterers (who shall remain nameless) the pressure groups are certainly there, to the extent the the our hackles go up when we see the “our course we all know Ragers are going to get off don’t we – posts “.
They won’t get over all of the hurdles that they have to overcome, though the BTC might still be the mortal blow.
Even if they survive, in some form or other there has never been a time when Celtic deserve to be more supported than ever at this very minute, because a ‘real generation of domination’ is there for the taking.
Hail Hail
BRTH
excellent as ever ..and very pertinent
“The hoi polloi.” Izzat no a pleonasm?
This is a decent enough game, lots of end-to-end play and chances being created. Vamonos España!
………….has anyone asked those in receipt of these controversial bonuse……if any of them have ‘donated’ to the ranjurs fightin’ fun…?
Would seem reasonable……
HH
1-0 Italy
Di Natale
Game on
Italia!
well deserved Italy
Great goal from the Italians.
di Natale scores against the best defences y’know.
Peerless Pirlo does it again!
Spain getting what they deserve at the moment ffs get a striker on
Lennybhoy, previous pgae
very funny
what’s up with burley, hasn’t slagged stokes off 61 minutes into a game
Spain deserve to get pumped for their team selection.
Also, di natale is alright!