Petrie survival and Gary Hughes

Let’s be clear, the role of president of the SFA is one of the most sought-after in football.  Alongside the FA, FA of Wales and Irish FA, the Scottish FA hold one of the four permanent members of the International Football Association Board – the body which controls the rules of the game and exerts soft influence on all structures below it, including Fifa.

Current SFA vice president, Rod Petrie, has his sights set on the job when current president, Alan McRae, retires.  Rod has a problem, though.  He was chair of the SFA Licensing Committee in March 2011, when Oldco Rangers were licenced to participate in Uefa competition the following season.

That decision is now under scrutiny, as High Court evidence forced the Association to examine what happened at the time.  If Petrie is to survive in office long enough to assume the position of president, he needs allies who prepared to back him over what he did, or did not do, in March 2011.

How he is getting on with this I don’t know, but what we know for sure is that he backed Dave King’s call to have Gary Hughes removed from the SFA board over his “great unwashed” comment from years ago.  Petrie is no friend of Newco, but there is co-dependency there.  Gary Hughes was collateral damage.

Petrie should be recused from any work in connection with the awarding of a Uefa licence to Rangers in 2011.  This award was made under his supervision yet he has remained active in how it is examined – a concerning governance failure.  If the Licensing Committee is found to have failed to uphold its responsibilities, Petrie must go.