We’ve not really discussed the enormous political and disciplinary matters hanging over Scottish football since before our Champions League campaign got underway but it moves to the fore today, as the SPL Commission, headed by Lord Nimmo Smith, sits to consider charges levelled by the league against former member, Rangers FC. The Commission is expected to conclude by the end of this week.
Rangers are charged with improperly registering players by allowing footballers to enter into contractually binding agreements to receive money in connection with the game, directly or indirectly, without registering these agreements with the SPL or the SFA.
Playing an improperly registering footballer voids the result of a match, no matter how innocuous the registration impropriety is, as Spartans discovered 14 months ago to their cost. They saw their Scottish Cup win over Culter overturned because a player’s registration form was dated only once, not twice as required.
As well as being awarded a 0-3 defeat, the improper registration of players will cost the offending club any prize money ‘won’ and will result in a disciplinary measure being imposed. Spartans were fined £4000, approximately 20% of their annual income, and were suspended from the competition for 12 months. A steep tariff for leaving a box on a form empty and fielding a player in one game of football.
Lots of speculation has centred on the so-called ‘stripping of titles’ but in the event the Commission upholds the charge the voiding of results will happen as a matter of consequence; it should not subject to speculation. What is more interesting is the size of prize money the league would seek to reclaim, and redistribute, and any penalty imposed by the Commission.
SPL teams receive prize money based on their final league position, funded by the league’s TV deal, which for teams finishing in the top two positions is well in excess of £1m each year. Any ‘stripping of titles’ is likely to be a headline grabber, but the repayment of prize money and disciplinary measures will be far more significant, for some.
Sir David Murray, who owned Rangers throughout the period of alleged improper registration of players, insists the club registered all contractually binding payments players received in connection with playing football. SFA president, Campbell Ogilvie, was an executive director of Rangers for some of the period under investigation and may have been responsible for some registrations.
Charles Green rejected an offer to limit the consequences of the charge being upheld in return for his company (then called Sevco 5088 Ltd) acquiring the SFA membership vacated by Rangers. We will soon discover if he is master of the Cunning Plan or an over-ambitious gambler.
I expect calls for SPL and SFA rules to be upheld without fear or favour to be met.
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1st
League Cup? So what?
2nd podium…awesome
Canamalar
I supect Vic will go to Barca in the summer. See what the Kenyan FA have said.
Jimmci,corkcelt-Alex Smith,who i am sure is Managers Union rep ,should have driven a coach and horses through Shiels’kangaroo court.Or probably the handshake has won the day again,criminal that Dallas Jr did not give evidence,when that was the whole crux of the matter.
come on LNS
the sfa gave sevco 5088 a league membership ahead on other clubs with accounts etc
another rule tossed to the side to acommodate them
how many other rules witll they be allowed to break with no punishment ?
last year brought all scottish closer together in regards rules being ahearded to
without fear of favor
time to take your medicine charlie
jam67
In Lennon we trust!
Podium chasers paaaaa
PAUL67
Off with their heads!!!!!!
I expect the usual fudging/coverup/effoff,Timmy.
Dunno why-miserable experience,maybe………..
Paul67
:o)
Alan Hutton off to Real Mallorca on loan.
Paul67
Heartening to hear you are optimistic on the outcome. I can’t see any wriggle room but fear that if there is any, it will be found.
Great lead article.Now let’s see how many honest men there are in Scotland.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP, Canamalar, Nuclear Bovril, I expect the Commission to play with a straight bat.
HH
What fun to support the Glasgow Celtic… Love it.. Great days ahead for us all..
It’s sink or swim time for Scottish Football, any more rule bending to accommodate David Murray’s huge ego will sound the death knell for our national game.
Get to it Lord Nimmo without fear or favour..
And while you’re at it can you gie Neil Doomcaster a slap fae me!!
I’m concerned LNS redefined the “club” concept ,divorced as a legal entity.
12:08 on 29 January, 2013
In a previous post there was absurd criticism of Neil Lennon and a possible weakness having his old pals as part of the management team in relation to a speech by Alex Ferguson at the recent funeral of Sean Fallon. Fergie made a point of having a strong assistant. Jock Stein and Sean Fallon were old pals and former teamates and it was no hindrance to a highly successful partnership.
And so it begins!
HH
/Bishop B
Paul67 –
I hope they do play it with a straight bat. But our experience suggests we should temper our expectations. Transparency and fair play are still the major issues in the Scottish game. Until there is a root and branch transformation there will be little or no trust from fans.
Paul67,
I posted earlier today that it seems suspicious (to me anyway) that HMRC have not yet been given the green light to appeal the FTT finding.
Do you think the delay is just coincidence? I doubt that there is such a thing as coincidence where the affairs of Deadco are concerned – but maybe that is just my nature.
Paul,
We all have the feeling that no matter what the SPL Commission reports, The Rangers and / or their previous incarnation,will emerge more or less intact.
If this is what happens, what in your opinion, informed or not, will be Celtic’s response and reaction?
Are they locked into the “good of Scottish football” camp, based on TV money, or, will they oppose any attempt to further undermine the integrity of the game.
For me, and perhaps others, it was always going to be about what Celtic will do.
It is a straightforward litmus test ——
The Hun is allowed to cheat / The Hun isn’t allowed to cheat. If the result is the latter – do as you see fit .
Hope your right Paul.
The boy jinky.
I passed on your regards to big gb.
He said hail hail to you to.
HH
Paul, your confidence is infectious. More please. It’s just as Celtic supporters we ve seen over the yrs and ESP this last yr, truly shocking ignorance of rules,registrations. Sure even the name of the Sevco/oldco remains unchanged down on the facade of the bad hoose, and in the MSM in general..
” move along Timmy, nothing to see” keeps haunting me..
Paul67
12:13 on 29 January, 2013
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP, Canamalar, Nuclear Bovril, I expect the Commission to play with a straight bat.
_______________________
What age IS your Granny, Paul ?
:¬)))
Why am I conditioned to expect that they will not receive justice?
However, I am willing to be gobsmacked if the patently obvious guilty verdict is announced.
Then again, I thought it was pretty much a certainty when a scumbag, live on national telly, in front of a crowd of circa 20,000 witnesses, that proof could be found that it was him what dun it.
I thought his sincere letter of apology to Neil Lennon was pretty convincing evidence………..what do I know eh?
As for being found guilty of ‘attempted assault’ for sending bombs in the post……it really is staggering.
And some would wish us independent? aye right, wake up please.
I think the complaints about posters on the site stems from a few who never seem to post when we are doing well and only come on after a defeat, or to repeat that the MSM have reported that Celtic will play in blue next season and replace the Celtic badge with a red white and blue flag…
Would be delighted if the prize money is redistributed based on the revised league positions. Thats the easy bit. The hard bit is where does the money from. The dead club don’t have any . Would be amazed if the SFA managed to get Sevco to pay up. Would be great though if this put them into liquidation! Just a fantasy!!
Starry P…,
Its the devil and the deep blue sea :o)
Guilty and punishment will incur international sanctions
Not Guilty will kill the issue internationally with an information containment campaign.
But likely kill the game in Scotland
I suspect the LNS commission will issue a verdict more or less in line with what we expect. It’s the inevitable appeal to the SFA that I’m worried about.
I am not very confident justice will prevail.
I think they will be found guilty of improperly registering players, but somehow they will slip off the hook in terms of the punishment and title stripping.
Just my feeling on it
Paul temporing expectations in this case and hope we’re not exclaiming ” this is just not cricket” at the end of this process. Compensation issues could have a major bearing on the outcome.
Now thawed out after Sunday’s game and whilst pleased that Colum had no major influence on the outcome by any wrong decisions I’m dissappointed with the score. I’m sure however that the players did not deliberately fail to turn up on the day.
Hail Hail everyone.
It was just a simple admin error and, for the sake of Scottish football, we must put the past mistakes behind us and move on. Plans are already under way for an exciting new league structure….blah, blah, blah.
I expect to hear a statement similar to the above given that we still have the chief Water Buffalo dictating things from the top.
……testing……
Paul,
I’m with you in that I expect the COMMISSION to do their job fairly. It’s what happens after that where the problem may lie. The SFA have already indicated they will leave it to the SPL to rule on ‘punishments’ (if any, of course) as they will be the Appellate for the Sevcovians (IF there is anything for them to answer, of course). Given past experiences, some of them fairly recent – past, I don’t think anyone in Scottish football should feel confident that there would be any suitable punishment imposed “without fear or favour” when a certain establishment club is involved!
Even if it’s not a complete annihilation of t’rankers, a complete excoriation of their rotting corpse, I would fully expect that Justice will be seen to be done and Green and his cohorts are humbled into acceptance of their invidious position by virtue of evidentiary truth.
As, for the sevcovians themselves? They are incorrigible, and nothing short of complete vindication of their brutishness will suffice to satisfy their orange swastika egos.
Hell mend them.
In a generation or two, they will be a pale and paltry minor annoyance, like a dying wasp on a window ledge.
Mr Green’s claims that he bought the dead club’s history are at the heart of this. If the judgement goes the way we expect we might find him coming out with a different line.