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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Declan’s back!
Paul
Apologies if this has been posted, but this is the lead article on UEFA website today. Have they been watching Channel 4 News?
UEFA and the European Commission have issued a positive joint statement on financial fair play
©AFP NewsJoint statement published
President addresses ministers
Strong support from MEPs
Talks at European Commission
European Parliament backs UEFAMoreSupporting documentationEuropean team sports federations statementSafeguarding the heritage of team sport in EuropeEU declaration on tackling racism in footballEU-UEFA television rights agreementMeca-Medina summary: a step backwards for the European Sports Model and the Specificity of Sport?Meca-Medina: a step backwards for the European Sports Model and the Specificity of Sport?UEFA’s position on Article 165 of the Lisbon TreatyJoint declaration by European team sports and French and Dutch ministersPACE-UEFA Conference – Play fair with sport: ConclusionsPlay fair with sport UEFA Calendar20 March 2012 – 21 March 2012
UEFA Executive Committee, Istanbul, Turkey
22 March 2012
UEFA Congress, Istanbul, Turkey
02 April 2012
UEFA Medical Committee, Nyon, SwitzerlandPublished: Wednesday 21 March 2012, 10.45CETUEFA, European Commission issue joint statementThe European Commission confirmed that UEFA’s financial fair play rules tally with EU State aid policy, with the UEFA President and the commissioner for competition issuing a joint statement. Read more
The European Commission today confirmed that UEFA’s financial fair play regulations are in line with European Union (EU) State aid policy.
UEFA President Michel Platini and vice-president of the European Commission and commissioner for competition Joaquín Almunia published a joint statement on the issue, emphasising the consistency between the rules and objectives of financial fair play and the policy aims of the commission in the field of State aid. This joint statement was annexed to an exchange of letters between Mr Platini and vice-president Almunia, following a meeting between them in Brussels in December 2011.
The UEFA President said: “I am very pleased that UEFA and the European Commission have together taken this decisive step to secure a prosperous and stable future for European football and for the European football community generally. Our statement confirms that UEFA’s financial fair play regulations are fully consistent with EU State aid policy and I would like to sincerely thank vice-president Almunia and the European Commission for their commitment, constructive spirit and cooperation in this joint process.”
Mr Almunia, vice-president of the commission in charge of competition policy, said: “I fully support the objectives of UEFA’s financial fair play rules as I believe it is essential for football clubs to have a solid financial foundation. The UEFA rules will protect the interests of individual clubs and players, as well as the football sector in Europe as a whole. I would like to congratulate President Platini for his leadership on this issue.”
Since the meeting between the UEFA President and the commission’s vice-president last December, the services of UEFA and the European Commission have been working together to analyse how the financial fair play measures fit within the framework of EU State aid policy. Today’s joint statement is the result of this work and expresses, in a concrete way, the common concerns and common objectives of both organisations.
As requested by the European football community and following consultation with all stakeholders, the UEFA Executive Committee approved the financial fair play measures in May 2010. These measures include an obligation for clubs to balance their books over a period of time and not to spend more than they earn, thereby curtailing the excesses that have endangered football’s health in recent times. In this way, the measures are designed to protect the long-term health and viability of European club football.
Both UEFA and the European Commission have also underlined the need to ensure that the rules are applied in a uniform manner to all clubs, to avoid any risk of discrimination or unequal treatment. Finally, the joint statement records that UEFA and the commission will continue their cooperation in this field, in order to address related issues of common concern.
folly a never went anywhere bud. coodnae mind my password. my mrs changed the password on ma email address aswell as she thought i was trying to chat birds up. i found the copy of the record ma password was wrotten on so now am back.
Emu
reading the first 20 or so lines from your above post I thought it was from RanchoFranco
Declan is Neil Lennon 1888 Hates being 2nd [capitalisation sic], any chance that, should Celtic ulitmately be successful in wrestling the SPL title back from the mighty Gers, you might consider changing your blog name to “Declan is Neil Lennon 1888 Loves being 1st”?
Celticinthesun O’Neils is your best bet for a good atmosphere, it might be on in other pubs but it will depend on which English games are on…
my mate beano said i should join twitter. i have no idea what it is though. i thought there might be some wee tidys on it so thought to maself why no.
or Declan
rara we huvnae won anything yet chief. dont go counting your turkeys before they are born. long long way to go before that. the gers are still in the hunt mate.
Declan you should join Twatter!
play
It is now 32 days since rangers fans were observed singing sectarian songs at ibrox during their game with Kilmarnock.
I am all in favour of conducting thorough,objective investigations but why would such a seemingly straightforward charge take so long to investigate?
A listen to radio commentary,a watch of tv coverage,a statement from the match observer and match commander would provide most,if not all,of the evidence required.Half a day’s work?
If something so seemingly simple takes so long,how long will an investigation take into whether players were properly registered or not?
TootingTim @ 15:02,
“Gideon has been up all night counting his magic beans and he thinks that he’ll get back more than he gives away, according to the commentariat on the wireless.”
You have to give it these guys, they live in a world of so devoid of logic and common sense you have to wonder
There was a guy from the IFS – an independant body – stating the although the Chancellor had given benefits to the wealthy the increase in personal tax allowances helps the lower paid.
So that would be £220.00 for the lower paid and £220.00 for Philvis & Co, now to my untrained eye it seems the same.
Apparently IFS stands for the Institute for Fiscal Studies – who’d a thought. With geniuses like that analysing our Economy why did it all go wrong?
I think we should have a good Celtic debate today, lets stop talking about how Stupid the huns are.
My idea for a topic is this.
Celtic have been at their best when we have a strong number 7
Who could fill this role?
Do we have any current players who deserve the number 7 top?
And if not who would we realistically love to buy?
The Onlooker @3:09
Thats the one, many thanks.
The Lizard King
In 2010/11 there was a total attendance of 3,117,334 at all SPL games. Rangers home games accounted for 860,793 of this. Based on a couple of teams average attendances and then attendances at Rangers games, we can assume they take approx 4,000 away fans to each game (or at least attendance at game increases by 4,000) so thats another 76,000 loss to other teams.
A team with an average attendance of 5000 taking 500 away fans to games brings an additional 104,500 supporters into the SPL.
Overall that leaves a shortfall of approximately 832,000 supporters and you also have to factor in the fact that most teams try to get extra money out of supporters by charging extra when Celtic and Rangers visit their stadia.
However all we really need to consider is the 76,000 away supporters that Rangers bring to away grounds as their home attendance has no impact on the rest of the SPL clubs.
Each club would therefore have to sell the equivalent of an additional 8,000 tickets across the full season to make up the shortfall that Rangers supporters bring to them. That works out at just over 420 tickets a game.
With more clubs challenging for honours and european places, this shouldn’t be too onerous a task.
In terms of TV money, SPL clubs are expected to receive a total of £16m per year as a result of the new deal. It is not an equal split as more favourable towards those teams who finish near the top of the table.
On average however a team could expect to get £1.33m from TV money (obviously it will be more if higher up or less if lower down). With tickets at an average of even say £20, each club would need to sell an additional 65,000 tickets a season. That’s definately going be much more difficult.
Obvisously without Rangers in the SPL, some teams will suffer a downturn in fortunes due to decreasing revenues across the board.
Most will be impacted upon but as you say, what price do you put on sporting integrity.
Mort
Alasdair MacLean on 21 March, 2012 at 14:33 said:
Aye, I’m home a week today. Passing time at the moment, (as I type), waiting for some decisions to be made. Drop me a line with a number and I’ll give you a call.
———————
Here you go ken
Edina – Yin
Wedgie – Wan
Or is it the other way about……….
Call awaited……….and nae heavy breevin
Paddy T
O
share
Heard that the Chancellor stated in his Budget Speech that he considered tax avoidance to be immoral. Anyone confirm this?
Hi Chairbhoy
As a percentage of salary, £220 is a bigger tax break for lower earners, and a smaller tax break for philvisreturns. You are, of course, correct in observing that those on lower incomes have less money than philvisreturns.
from the madhouse that is FF
Fitting quote from legendary coach Zdenek Zeman
——————————————————————————–
“It’s better to finish last than it is to win without any dignity”
Even has the makings of a banner I’d say.
They just don’t get it do they?
RaRaRasputin – Yup.
So the effect is “progressive”, which all my left-wing friends tell me is a Good Thing.
Also, when I immediately go out and spend that money on swan pate and Milton Friedman t-shirts, it circulates back through the economy. (thumbsup)
Joe Filippis Haircut on 21 March, 2012 at 12:24 said:
From recent personal experience Salmond is not too up to speed on replying to e-mails
FJIW on 21 March, 2012 at 15:38 said:
Heard that the Chancellor stated in his Budget Speech that he considered tax avoidance to be immoral. Anyone confirm this?
===
Looks like you heard right my friend..From BBC live feed.
1315: The chancellor says tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance are “morally repugnant”.
Gone yersel Hector!
HH
/Bishop B
Kayal33
If brains were dynamite the average poster on FF would not have enough to blow there nose .
After all that has been uncovered regarding ragers fc I think the word dignity should be confined to the dustbin forever
hail hail
No takers?
Sorry philvisreturns old boy, but I think your £220 might be almost entirely offset by the reduction in the threshold for the 40% tax band. Still, at least it is nearly bonus time. (thumbsup)
Chairbhoy,
Someone on £10k per year will gain £220
Someone on £100k per year will gain £220.
But someone on £200k per year will gain £2,720 because of the top rate tax cut.
And someone on £1,000,000 per year will gain £42,720 per year.
Thanks philvis that was a fascinating wiki read as it ‘appens.
IIRC, Oor Gordon and Mr Tony were discussing a 50p tax rate way back before the 1997 election…so to answer, no I don’t think scorched earth was the primary motivation, but that there was a genuine desire to raise revenue from a sector of society that had recently invoked elector and representative ire alike. Which brings us to the ‘symbolic’ value of the 50p tax rate.
Since it seems most of these extra revenues have remained on coys. books in anticipation of Gideon’s reversal and nothing even approaching optimal has been raised. Furthermore this would have been bargained for. So perhaps a move made to shore up the Labour vote, to bring in a few hundred mill extra (as opposed to couple of billion?), and also to be seen to be doing something, to lay down a marker etc was a worthwhile exercise.
Incidentally I have to agree with your assessment of Ed. His election was always an internally focused event. He does seem to have an authority bypass, yes.
Hey, ho. And hail, hail.
I’ll start the ball rolling, I think we get a good young player like Bas Dost and develop him if there’s nobody in our youth set up that can fulfil the role.
medtim on 21 March, 2012 at 15:31 said:
One of my unreplied to e-mails to Salmond that I referred to in a previous post concerned the Hearts/Rangers hatefest in the immediate wake of THEM going into administration
Afternoon all!
Don’t know if anyone has already asked this!
Ogilivie said he got 2 loans at £5000 a pop and a final lump sum of £70k (?)
When i get a loan i have to tell the bank the intended use of the loan, say..a new kitchen or something.
So what did CO use his `loan’ for? Any suggestions?
HH
PS. Paul67, can i be shared? MT’s
len brennan
He forgot to add ,unless you are our majesty’s 11
When it looked like CW was going to shaft the HMRC (49m) everyone was happy to go along with the charade ,it was only when the hordes found out that he had used future ST money that the hordes and the SPL/SFA/MSM began giving him stick
hail hail
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 21 March, 2012 at 15:09 said:
If the huns liquidate I will personally be prepared to strap on a saddle and carry on my back Dermot Desmond, Brian Quinn, Peter Lawwell and John Reid all the way from the tunnel to the flag pole.
:>)
Any room for WGS Ist.?
Gordon_J – someone on £100k will gain £15 actually, barely enough for a half pint of Sierra Nevada in the Canary Wharf All Bar One.
However, you are spot on regarding the £200k+ brigade.
FJIW on 21 March, 2012 at 15:38 said:
That he said it or that it is immoral?
Kayal
That absolutely takes the biscuit,is it any wonder their in the bother they are?
I’m trying to see from their pish soaked shoes how they have come to that view,is it Celtic’s fault David Murray ran them into the ground then sold them to somebody who is actually doing them a favour of what looks like trying to liquidate them?
Their views are so inward and twisted that I’m surprised their faces don’t pop out of their shoulder blades.
Art of War
A set of new Aprons
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 21 March, 2012 at 15:09 said:
If the huns liquidate I will personally be prepared to strap on a saddle and carry on my back Dermot Desmond, Brian Quinn, Peter Lawwell and John Reid all the way from the tunnel to the flag pole
========================
Reckon Fergus McCann should be in front of them all! Just saying like……
;-)
philvisreturns at 14:49
Alasdair MacLean – Have you been to Airdrie?
It’s like a downmarket version of Royston Vasey.
Love that!