Prima facie day is here! Neil Doncaster spent weeks telling us that the SPL had yet to establish if Rangers had a prima facie case to answer in connection with the alleged illegal registration of players. Today he confirmed to the SPL board and the media that they do indeed have a case to answer.
Rangers Employee Benefit Trusts have been the source of considerable controversy since 2010 when it emerged that HMRC had taken action against the club, at the time claiming in the region of £24m. EBTs had been recorded on Rangers accounts for a decade without much comment, so there was no reason to assume the club had made payments to players out-with the oversight of the football authorities.
On 22 February this year Celtic Quick News asked the question, were these EBT payments recorded with the SFA, or did Rangers hide them? There was little reason for the club to hide them, unless, perhaps, they had something to else hide, which was beginning to look the case.
Today we have our answer. Whatever is left of what some regard to be Rangers FC will be subject to some of the most severe disciplinary procedures levelled in the history of football. Appropriate penalties for subverting the game for over a decade are impossible to define.
Celtic fans are not the only ones to lose from this illegal registration of players but they suffered significantly. Five league titles went to Rangers, in 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011. All of these titles will be stripped from Rangers records and awarded to Celtic.
You can look forward to 12-in-a-row day soon, which is simply, CHAMPION!
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The situation with Rangers & Sevco is actually pretty simple, although unusual.
Rangers PLC (In Administration) are a football club who finished second in the SPL last year, won the Cup Winners Cup in 1970, the league in 2005, are a member of the SFA and the SPL, operated an EBT tax avoidance scheme and falsely registered players as a result. Unfortunately, they have been unable to reach agreement with their creditors on debt repayment and have therefore had to sell their assets to another company and will be wound up. As such, they will be unable to continue as a football club next season.
The Rangers FC Ltd is a new company that has bought the assets of Rangers and one day hopes to set up a football club. The Rangers FC Ltd is not a member of the SFA or any other football association and never has been, nor is it a member of any league or other football competition.
If I were a suspicious sort of chap I’d think that some loose use of language in the press is designed to help muddy the waters between the two and create some artificial complexity.
E.g. “Rangers are banned from Europe for 3 years”. Wrong. Rangers PLC are not eligible for European competition as they are in administration and have failed to submit accounts this season. The Rangers FC Ltd are not eligible for European competition as they are not a member of the SFA or any other football association and have not been in existence long enough in order to have submitted three consecutive years accounts. As such, they will remain ineligible for at least 3 years. There is a difference between not being eligible for somethign and being banned from something.
A spider-plant with lovely hair.
Ra Ra raputin
here is a question. Who has the benefit of the SPL money awarded for being second last season? To whom was it paid and where did it end up?
By the comments coming out of HMRC and the government re. EBTs it looks clear which way the FTT is going to go. Also,it is illegal not to pay tax on an EBT if you are an onshore company.
This has been explained very clearly on 5Live this morning. A big section of the programme right now being dedicated to it.
bournesouprecipe
I thought Samaras played well the other night he did not give their back line time to settle and held the ball up well.
I would still sell him tomorrow right enough…
ASoD
I understand all the arguments for seeking out pastures new and I think your analogy of a pee stained corner of Wine Alley is accurate but I just happen not to agree mate.
Maybe I happen to like Wine Alley :-)
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan
Guess:
Paid to Rangers FC PLC.
Ended up at Rangers FC Ltd. as part of asset sale, or was spent before it got there.
hamiltontim on 19 June, 2012 at 10:56 said:
I guess Wine Valley in Hamilton is long gone HT ??
Is there any chance that prior to July 4th that Doncaster and the SPL will decide that the old or new huns aren’t permitted to vote?
Starry
A Wine Alley in dear ol Hamilton??? Surely not, we’re much too cosmopolitan for such a ‘ting!!
Only WA I know of is at the back of the Celtic end at Ibrox :-)
HT no. The rules are written , the time taken to follow follow the rules is more open. Why is anyone concerned THE will not be voted into the SPL . They wannabe club12 the dirty dozen but it is not going to happen. The most difficult decision that teh SPL have is Dundee or Dunferline
From their statement last night Motherwell, like a lot of clubs, have not 100% made up their minds yet about the share transfer to Sevco United.
The difference now as I see it as the clubs need to be persuaded to say Yes, rather than persuaded to say No.
The shift in attitude is 100% down to how D&P and Chico Green have conducted themselves.
Stupid is as stupid does.
Ra Ra rasputin
Thanks for that. This makes things very interesting. I have not had sight of the clauses in the agreements between D&P and Newco which would explain why the SPL money was passed on from one to another (presumably) as simply cash in the bank?
Yet it means that New Co are effectively the ultimate beneficiaries of whatever Rangers football participation was last season, but they seek to escape all consequences of that football participation when it comes to league governance and compliance for the same season/
Hmmmmmmmmm? as someone else would say!
I am NL in NZ Tauranga on 19 June, 2012 at 11:06 said:
There are a lot of clever people on this site and yet despite this wisdom there remains a great deal of uncertainty over who actually owns this ‘share’ that is spoken about and whether the owner is in a position to use it.
I happen to agree, I don’t think that they’ll get the required votes as I believe that Celtic, Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hibs and St Mirren will vote no.
hamiltontim on 19 June, 2012 at 11:01 said:
In the seventies I worked at the TAO Quarry Street and all the black list people came from Wine Valley and Hillhouse, can’t remember the name of the street tho’
That was in the days before Hamilton went all posh!!
RogueLeader on 19 June, 2012 at 11:07 said:
I would say that their arrogance and stupidity in going to the CoS would take up at least 50% of the swing in opinion.
how can the SPL vote in a ‘club’ with no players, manager, coaches etc and expect them to be ready in 4 weeks ?
Tony McKelvie @TonyMcKelvie
If RFC paid a given player a sum of money that was not provided for in his contract, that is an unlawful payment according to the SPL Rules.
Tony McKelvie @TonyMcKelvie
If RFC gave a written undertaking to a player to pay him for playing, and the undertaking was not lodged, the player was Ineligible to Play
I wonder if Ole Neil Telecaster knows the SPL rules him been a lawyer and all???
Motherwell worried about falling gates if thems not voted backin…no doubt wee mcall having his say….ok vote them in and weel show you what falling gates are all about
Given the right conditions, and the odd dash of Miracle- Gro, our unwatered spider-plant could flourish.
Youths to play in Leonardo Da Vinci tournament
By: Laura Brannan on 19 Jun, 2012 09:42
CELTIC’S youngsters will join the likes of Sporting Lisbon and Benfica in the prestigious Leonardo Da Vinci tournament, which is being held in Portugal next month.
Clubs from across Europe and Africa will take part in the competition and Celtic are hoping it will be as successful as their first participation 18 months ago in Turkey.
Tommy McIntyre and John Kennedy will take a squad of Under-17s, along with a selection of 18-years old, for the fortnight-long tournament which kicks-off on July 14.
And the Head of Professional Youth, McIntyre, told the official Celtic website it is an honour to feature in the competition again. “This is Celtic’s second time in the tournament and it was invaluable to us the last time” he said.
“It was the Christmas period when the weather was particularly horrendous and that made it difficult to train. But in Turkey we got a nice climate, good training facilities and it gives the players an educational experience. That alone, we hope, will enhance their pathway to becoming a professional footballer.
“It’s a two week training camp which we see as a fundamental and integral part in developing players. One of our main aims is to develop players for Champions League football and Portugal is renowned for producing talented youth players.
“We must create an environment where the best play against the best. We’ll be playing three games over there and we are hoping to set it up as a four-team league. We want to challenge our players and put them into an environment where they will learn and develop.”
Head of Youth, Chris McCart, praised McIntyre for securing Celtic’s participation. He said: “A lot of credit is down to Tommy. He has put a lot of hard work into submitting the application and working with the SFA.
“It is ideal preparation for young professionals to go away for a two-week training camp prior to the season. It is going to be very challenging and it will set them up well for the Under-20 league.
“Preparation during pre-season is vital and it gives the coaches a good chance to work with the players over an intense period.”
The lower age groups in the Youth Academy will also be involved in pre-season tournaments towards the end of July.
The Under-15s will travel to Shanghai for the prestigious Nike Cup, while the Under-14s will participate in the Derry Foyle Cup, a tournament Celtic have been very successful in over the past three years.
The Under-10s will also repeat last year’s venture down to England where they were based in Carlisle and played a string of clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool and Newcastle.
The Under-10s, along with the Under-8s and Under-9s, will also play in the Glasgow District League, which will be based at Toryglen.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan
Don’t think it is suspicious to be honest, Rangers FC Ltd purchased all assets of Rangers PLC, and cash in the bank, along with other investments and holdings, would surely be regarded as part of the asset base.
Starry – Neil Telecaster?
My guitar is upset now.
Hail hail from an overcast Barca!
Many thousands of words have been written on what we expect to happen, so this is what I believe is going to happen:
Sevco FC 2012 will apply to get a membership in the SFL after the SPL vote them out and replace them with Dunfermline. Sevco FC 2012 will be a new company, without any footballing history. SFL will accept their membership in the 3rd Division level but not until after considering other applications from teams wishing to have a SFL membership. European football cannot be played as no license will be made available from UEFA for 3 years (until 3 consecutive years of accounts have been produced – as discussed above).
The club formerly known as Rangers FC will have their games played with improperly registered players awarded to their opponents as 3-0 wins. Any league titles won will be awarded to the second placed team. How UEFA and the SFA view this for cup competitions is anyone’s guess.
But that is it really. No transfer embargo. No financial handicaps apart from being in Division 3.
What happened to the prestigious Leonardo da Vinci tournament money?
Pantalonio- gently weeping?
hamiltontim:
I think every single team will vote NO. bar one.
I think it is clear that Rangers FC PLC (in administration) will be allowed to vote on 4 July. I don’t think it should happen, but it will.
Now who will cast the vote? Surely it has to be one of the administrators? Charles Green has no role in the club. And if he did then he would be involved with both sides of the transfer, which is surely a conflict of interests?
HT we get a bit caught up in our own world view. If you considered what the averagefan of the other SPL clubs think, and I don’t mean thenhuns without a busfair, they will be nearly as wound up as us. If there was a strategy to piss evryone off and say and do all the wrong things THE have done it. I am not sure why , stupid huns is one answer but at the end of the day I think they dug too big a hole and the only way through is to start again so might as well get to rock bottom asap. One thing is certain. There is NO team like the Glasgow rnagers
The club that is no longer, the Dead Bigots’ Society, is behaving like an abusive husband. I don’t mention this lightly as I know domestic abuse is a very serious problem, one that has wrecked and is wrecking many families.
Still, now that I’ve made the point, I feel I ought to explain.
As I understand it, women often stay with an abusive husband because he convinces her he’s better off, in spite of everything. “Where will you go? How will you get by? How will you pay your bills? I know I’ve not always been good to you in the past, but you’ve had a roof over your head. I’ve provided for you … .” Part of her wants to believe him. Part of her is terrified of the unknown. Then he hits her again …
The arguments Rangers people are putting forward for Newco to be allowed to take up their sorry identity are that they are not that bad and that lots of Scottish clubs will be far worse off without them: “Kick us out and you’ll be sorry for ever. You need us.”
Walter Rally cancelled! According to Leggo:
“Police were worried at the numbers who were keen to join the march to tell Charles Green he is not wanted.”
“And they feared they would not be able to cope, as their intelligence reports were telling them that anything up to 50,000 supporters were set to muster in Bellahouston Park before marching on The Stadium.”
“The star studded squad of Rangers heroes who were being lined up to add their names to the campaign, are disappointed.”
I’m gutted at this development. Absolutely guttet.
Gordon J- I expect it will be ole Sandy J, marchin’ up and down to exercise his right to vote, as the living embodiment of Rang#rsness.
Gordon
I think someone mentioned earlier that Rangers FC PLC (in administration) apparently has the right appoint a proxy to attend and vote on their/its behalf …
FF
Sorry, he convinces her she is better off.
The Pantaloon Duck on 19 June, 2012 at 11:20 said:
It was a cheap shot you’re right mate, sorry if I have made a good guitar weep..
Starry
An SPL statement read: “An application for registration of transfer of Rangers’ SPL share has been received.
“Consideration of the application will depend on receipt by the SPL Board of all required documentation and verification.
“A general meeting of all 12 member clubs has been convened for 10am on Wednesday 4 July 2012 for members to decide whether to approve the transfer.”
What is there to consider? As someone said last night: a vote on a New Club
(Yes- that is a club that has never existed before) gaining immediate entry to the TOP league ( thereby by-passing ALL THE OTHERS CLUBS IN LOWER DIVISIONS) should not even be a possibility. What is it I am missing?
Such a scenario shouldn’t even be contemplated never mind considered for voting…but then I live in another dimension of reality altogether…whereas Scottish football is a parallel world all of it’s own.
who and when will the first player break ranks and sign for another club?
.
Hydroponic Spider Plant..
Summa of Skunkaras