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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Apologies, on my phone, last paragraph is the line from the zombies statement as it appearred.
Afternoon bhoys from a sunkist hun free mountain valley.
Paul 67
Delighted to see you are in confident mood re the LNS tribunal, I just wish I held your confidence.
I feel that when lawyers get together and fudges are on offer they tend to fudge, Legal argument and decisions are rarely predictable
On another note just read some Ulster Unionist politician stating that an independent Scotland should be partitioned betwwen the unionist’s and others.
Salmond will like that idea…
Tallybhoy
12:48 on 29 January, 2013
Do you think this King Billy will be up for sorting out this fleg problem his cousins are
having. Or will he take the baton up on behalf of those other sons of william and declare war if they are punished for their cheating ways.
There may be trouble ahead
dianakrallcfc
Let’s hope the rules are upheld and that the deadybears suffer the consequences.
gordon_
Their ability to selectively twist statements is alive and well.
Peter Lawwell’s statement about changing the rules mid season referred to Extensiongate, which of course was relevent to the then current season.
The proposed reconstruction plans are for NEXT season and don’t interfere with this season’s fixtures.
Stupid, stupid RFFFers.
C_F,
forget the cups, investigation into corruption at the SFA, either colusion or incompetence has rigged the sport in favour of one team, shareholders and supporters will have access to recourse :o)
Paul67
I assume that if prize money is reclaimed, it will be treated by UEFA and FIFA like the other outstanding football debt to the likes of Rapid. A debt that must be paid.
See what happens when you shout from the roof tops you are the same club…
The SPL team may do their job. They may proffer what is deemed a fair and just punishment. 2 things:
1. It will go to the SFA on ‘appeal’ (will that be BDO or Sevco?). No confidence on that process!
2. The SPL can take any action directly in relation to changing results, stripping titles, fining or exclusing a ‘club’. Which ‘club’ does this apply to since it won’t apply to a company that owns a club?
HH
Balotelli ——
Juve have reiterated their ” we have no interest ” statement..
Milan media outlets seem confident that he will sign for AC Milan..
AC Milan blogs seem big on remembering that, only 2 weeks ago ,Silvio Berlusconi said _–” No way —he is a bad apple ”
AC Milan fans will be able to file that with these ——-
” We are not selling Ibra ” [ cue selling him to PSG ]
” The price of season tickets is not being increased [ cue increase ].
Berlusconi -football or politics -no difference -lie .lie and lie again.
Auldheid-“Even with a guilty verdict I expect the line of technical error to be pushed because admitting wrong is the one hurdle they cannot jump to join the rest of the human race.”
Beautifully put.
greenjedi – 12:44 on 29 January, 2013
Good point. I’m not sure. If there was a requirement to repay prize monies does that fall on the liquidators? Or the purchasers of the goodwill?
Some quality posts this morning, well done CQN.
If you think about this logicly, they will be found guilty, and the consequence of a guilty verdict a plain for all to see.
But as canamalar states, if it goes internationally there will be scores of clubs looking for compo, and I doubt they will allow that to happen.
Thomthethim- Such a minor detail does not register in their closed wee minds.
Tallybhoy,
In time, the Netherlands won’t be the only country with a King Billy.
Is it true that old Charlie has set up every TV in Buck House to play the news for his dear old maw – just in case she missed it?
!!Bada Bing!!
Hope you didn’t fall out with me over my wee bit of ‘banter’last night.:O)hh
It’s no wonder we are all very sceptical over any verdict and/or punishment.
You simply need to look at the history and how their previous misdemeanours (including the sacking of Manchester) have been dealt with.
It’s usually a slap on the wrist and then a quick airbrush job by the MSM.
Why should we expect any different this time?
Representatives of ArabTRUST have met with Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson to discuss the ongoing league reconstruction.
Following constructive discussions, the trust advised the club that it was not in favour of rushing through the introduction of all of the proposed changes this summer.
“We believe that within the overall proposals to reconstruct the leagues there are some good principles, such as the redistribution of wealth and the simplification of the governing bodies,” a trust spokesman said.
“We see no reason why these should not be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.
“However, we think it is grossly unfair that clubs are being asked to vote on this matter, when little detail or any alternatives have been provided, and where it appears to be a take it or leave it scenario.”
The spokesman added that it was felt to be imperative that further detail is provided to fans on the league reconstruction proposals.
“How can we propose to buy season tickets for 2013/14 when we have no idea who we are going to see for the entire price we are paying?” he added.
“Given that clubs — and supporters — have not been offered any alternative structures to consider, or any vision on the longer-term shape of Scottish football, we call on the SFA to provide leadership by bringing a period of reflection and detailed consultation before any decision is made.
“As we have said before, supporters are the lifeblood of the game and whilst the authorities have mostly failed to listen to date, we are encouraged that United have listened to our views.”
Alex Thompson is being attacked, threatened and generally abused by the stormtroopers on RM today over his latest article.
WARNING: DONT LOOK IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED
Altogether now “Nimmo is going to get ye”.
79caps 12:02:
I would only expect Victor to go to Barcelona if they offload Song.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
The reality that is CO ,SR and ND are still in the positions of authority mean
they will get off the hook-guaranteed
last night Barca technical school director was blogging about how good Wanyama is, and how he would fit at Barca.
if Utd do make a move, I would expect Barca to do also.
but right now, and even after a poor performance (his worst mibbies) i dont want him to go.
and if he does, weres that younger brother he was raving about last week, go get him celts.
DontPatmadug
The aunties of William!
The two other sisters of Beatrix, Irene and Christina, have lost their rights to the throne because their marriages were not approved by the States-General. They both married Roman Catholics and Irene herself converted to Roman Catholicism, which at that time (the 1960s) was still politically problematic for an heir to the throne. An additional complication which the government wanted to avoid, was that Irene’s husband, Prince Carlos-Hugo of Bourbon-Parma (whom she later divorced), was a member of a deposed Italian dynasty who claimed rights to the Spanish throne. Traditionally, Dutch monarchs have always been members of the Dutch Reformed Church although this was never constitutionally required. This tradition is embedded in the history of the Netherlands.
On 28 January 2013, it was announced that the queen would be abdicating on 30 April 2013 in favour of her eldest son.
HH!!
I expect this week to result in a slap on the wrist for them. No titles will be ‘stripped’, no redistribution of prize money either. Too big a task for the SPL to deal with and the footballing authorities in scotland have already shown several times they do not want to challenge Charles green. Even though in theory this has nothing to do with his rangers tribute act.
Obviously I hope this is not the case. I would like them to be punished accordingly, I would also like the SPL/SFA to publicly clarify who is being investigated/punished and who’s history is who’s etc.
michael,
Regards the Hearts player’ s eligibility, I think that the SFA got this one right.
It is the relative Association’s responsobility to inform another if a player is carrying a suspension.
When the boy left for Liverpool, it was stated on his International clearance forms that he had a suspension hanging over him.
When he came back to Hearts, there was no notification of that kind in his papers.
Therefore, the assumption is that he was clear to play.
There have been reports that his first game for L’pool was a League Cup tie and that he should have been suspended for that.
However, it seems that in England, suspensions are not speciric to a particular competition.
Bottom line is that the FA issued a suspension free clearance to the SFA.
Have we signed anyone yet, apart from the junior and two prospects?
verdantvic,
were they no responsible for issueing a license during one of the years under investigation
Saint Stivs
Vic has been on Barca’s radar since the game at CP where he totally outshone Alex Song, who they had bought for £18 million(?) just a few months previously.
HH!!
ArranmoreBhoyLXV11, ha!
Big G, I hadn’t read that statement. He sounds like a worried man…….
LiviBhoy, who on earth are you listening to, “IF this commission doesn’t punish Rangers as expected”? Whoever it is, stop. The day of reckoning is near.
Gretnabhoy, heard all this about the establishment club getting into the SPL last year. See how that worked out for them.
EXILED TIM, we’ll know soon enough.
ASonOfDan, the SPL will only be able to enforce a penalty when the offending club is a member.
Apparent link to five-way agreement:
http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/single/?p=12014473&t=8748656
Paul67
No wonder they never want to join the SPL again… :)
Neil Canalmar
thats what i mean
theyre all innit up to theyre necks
Monaghan…,
cheers for that, the way its marked up, I suspect thats Tinkerbell FC’s copy :o)
Am I right in thinking that with prima facie evidence. The defendant has to disprove the allegation? Or is that too simple?
So as this is a SPL tribunal, it effectively lets the SFA off the hook, Yes…No…
Corrupt from the Top right down to Sevco…
After conducting an investigation of their own, French football magazine France Football – yes, the Ballon d’Or monsieurs – have claimed that they are sitting on empirical evidence that the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup was rigged in Qatar’s favour.
In a brief summary article posted on their website entitled ‘Should the 2022 World Cup be reassigned?‘, the magazine published the following passage:
“France Football has conducted an investigation on the appointment, without any apparent logic, of Qatar as the host country of the World 2022 , made twelve years before the competition.
“The result is instructive. Between acts of collusion and corruption that FF identifies in (our Tuesday edition), the designation has an odour of scandal that forces us to ask the only question that matters: should the 2022 World Cup vote be cancelled?”
The results of the probe allegedly prove that, back in December 2010, Qatar bought the votes of FIFA executives and won the bid – beating off strong competition from the USA, South Korea, Japan and Australia.
France Football claim the votes of Issa Hayatou and Jacques Anouma from the African Football Confederation (CAF) were purchased for $1.5 million each.
Also in 2010, Qatar spent $1.25 million to secure the four votes from FIFA’s African executives. In addition, the then-French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, asked UEFA president Michel Platini to support Qatar’s bid for “geopolitical reasons.”
France Football reckon that Sarkozy and Platini then met with Qatar’s Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss Qatar giving French football a little something back in return and, lo and behold, skip forward a year or so and the Qatar Investment Authority are purchasing 70% of Paris Saint-Germain.