Since Stewart Regan’s letter to the 93 SFA member clubs was uncovered by STV yesterday evening I’ve read what feels to me like unfounded concern at the news. Regan asked clubs to declare “any written agreement(s) falling within the scope of Article 12.3 which has/have not previously been lodged with the Scottish FA in the previous ten years, in respect of any current or former players of your club.”
The most pleasing point is that the letter was dated 9 March. A look at the chronology of events is perhaps useful.
Rangers troubles with HMRC have been public knowledge since 2010 but it was only on 22 February this year that questions were first raised (here, of course) as to whether the club registered the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) payments with the SFA. Everyone knew Rangers players had EBTs, we knew HMRC were contesting that these should be taxed, but there was no reason to believe Rangers did not to declare them to the SFA (unless you count the “sniff test” on Sir David…).
The EBTs were noted in Rangers audited accounts so it appears clear that Rangers at least notionally believed they were both legal (which they were) and legally executed (which we will soon find out). When we took a shot in the dark on 22 February and posed the registration question, there was no reason to assume the SFA board had even considered the issue. I’m sure they hadn’t and like the rest of us, were caught cold by the question.
Earlier that day the SFA announced an inquiry into Rangers headed by Lord Nimmo Smith. His report was considered by the board on 8 March, when they presumably decided to send letters out to the member clubs the next day. In short, this issue has been active at the SFA every day since it was first raised.
Had we known this at the time I suspect our view of the (apparent) SFA inactivity would have been different. Maybe a PR lesson there.
Several friends and one brother have suggested that Stewart Regan’s letter is a prelude to an amnesty. I doubt this. The SFA chief exec does not have the authority to offer an amnesty and in his letter Regan says, “the Scottish FA reserves the right to refer any Club to the Compliance Officer, which might result in proceedings before the Judicial Panel”.
The letter is an attempt to establish if the problem is prevalent in one, or more than one club, a perfectly reasonable step at this stage. I’m guessing around 90 clubs will be able to respond within minutes.
As a result of this letter, the phoney war is over. Comments like “there were no double contracts” can no longer be reported as though they have some validity to questions over unregistered payments to players. Even those reporting from the back of the class will now have to recognise the validity of the questions we have been asking for weeks.
More on the nature of these questions later, specifically, is it cheating?
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Timabhouy
Luck has everything to do with it.
Where did you learn Spanish BTW ?
setting free the bears on 21 March, 2012 at 20:41
Benny is always changing the pictures that he has up on the walls,
and he does have a fair old collection, especially ones with his father
or Big Jock, will ask my mate who is the no 1 man to ask about things and
people that frequent QPC.
HH
Timabhouy
I know you are funny guy and your house must be the centre of amusing.
Is that you?
TIMABHOUY
exiled tim
mojacar en espana y tu
the long wait is over, 21:57
Yes – two separate items (one quite funny in it’s brazenness).
Por favor bye the way!
Anybody able to post The Laughing Policeman just for Kojo as he cannae stop laughing?
There is a massive moonbeam of success coming to Rangers. It’s going to happen.
We’ve got big plans.
David Murray, 2006
Dos San Miguel por favor:o)
Dick Byrne
Thanks, I’m well. I hope you are doing well, mate.
Will write email to you soon.
zbyszek
very funny ! see i do have a sence of
houmor ! not like some on this blog
johann
Daughter is here next week with the grandweans, so the Beautifull One has decreed that everything that doesn’t move needs painted.
Three rooms down and half way throught the kitchen, and no more, I have put the foot down, it’s handy enough with the spray gun and compressor, but the mist still gets through the masks, coughing up green paint.
Then I have to tackle the outside, which is my domain, we have pillars at the bottom of the drive which will have the Celtic crest on each one, thanks to your drawings, I have managed to get stencils made out of plastic so I can use them again and again.
Zbyszek
All well with you and the family my friend?
Stephbhoy
I would sincerely hope that other fans would be against this, I want that to be the case.
I would also be gutted if Our club did not prevent this scenario.
However, this is Scotland, they are the establishment team and as Mr McLeish said 2 nights ago they are too important to be without. There is still that uncomfortable wee bit in me that says they’ll wriggle free, if that were to be then no money from me.
Wish they would FOAD and we could crack on!
As I write the Spanish Huns score ….bassas
A Grande beer wee man :-))
THE EXILED TIM on 21 March, 2012 at 22:21
Sounds good mate
HH
O.G.Rafferty on 21 March, 2012 at 22:18 said:
the long wait is over, 21:57
Yes – two separate items (one quite funny in it’s brazenness).
———
Hmmm…
I thought you were just flying a bit of a kite rather than alluding to something more concrete.
Are you in a position to say any more?
Hh
Tlwio
i can exclusively reveal that I reckon that Jim Traynor is behind the the @celtictaxcase twitter account.
So are the trhoops dressing as clowns and having a minutes laughter at the weekend?
matte
Whos the spanish huns ?
ET..sounds wonderful you must post pics…easy with the emulsion!!!
Regards mon amigo glad to hear the prints were of use ..hh
Spanish Huns = R Madrid
ET – How is your boy? – Best regards to you and yours amigo!
I have noticed a few posts tonight re the QPC
do any of you guys go in regular or just on days
when we have a game at Hampden, just curious.
HH
matte ref :real madrid club de football
no way ! how have you come to that
conclusion.
Paddysmarket on 21 March, 2012 at 22:29 said:
Like the QPC always go b4 Hampden games
Is it likely that Ronaldo will be voted player of the year this season? He is having one heck of a season.
Timabhouy
They don’t speak Spanish in Mojacer do they, last time I was there it was dan saff accents everywhere :>)
Royal Madrid , the establishment side.
Barca the Wee Sellik
EDB
Thanks, we are fighting as usually.
I hope your good ladies are doing well.
I think I will have to get a CQN badge the QPC is where I
drink , and if I knew that other fine men from this site were
on occasion having a refreshment there I would seek them
out for a blether.
HH
the exiled tim
I just said mojacer as i thought that was where
youve exiled yourself i must be getting mixed up
with someone else i picked up my spanish in madrid
and i go to murcia most years as i have a villa
there which i try and rent out
YYYYEEESSSS! Villareal score
Hah, reading back today I see Declan made a welcome re-apprearance.
Developing into the best comedy invention since the man himself, Craig “Kangeroo Jack” Whyte.
Hats off to whoever it is. Looking forward to catching these tweets :))
the long wait is over, 22:24
No, no kite flying.
I knew of one item’s existence last week and found out about the other recently, and it’s a smoking gun.
There are efforts underway to take them into the public domain. It have a few ideas why they haven’t featured yet
Mourinho sent to the Alfie Conn. He thought it wasn’t a foul by Altintop.
the exiled tim
I just said mojacer as i thought that was where
youve exiled yourself i must be getting mixed up
with someone else i picked up my spanish in madrid
I can definately smell sh1te …………………………
BB/johann
I will put some pics up when it’s finished, we are getting there, I got a couple of trees last week for flagpoles, so taht will be first on the list.
……………….
PaddyG
He is ok, still can’t see out of one eye, but hey ho, he needs to learn that cities are not like the backwater we live in here, and some places the hoops are not welcome, a harsh lesson, but a lesson all the same.