Campbell Ogilvie’s appointment as president of the SFA was always controversial. As general secretary and director of Rangers, Ogilvie was the club’s chief administrator during the final 11-year period they refused to employ Catholic footballers. In many other walks of life, this background would make him an embarrassing relic of a former era, but in Scottish football it was enough to see him promoted to the ultimate honour position.
He remained in position at Rangers long after the new regime of Sir David Murray arrived and set aside the decades-old sectarian employment policy but left the club in 2005, joining Hearts as operations director two months later. All of this puts the SFA president in central position regarding the on-going tax tribunal, which is charged with deciding if Rangers illegally evaded tax from a period starting in 2000 and going on well beyond Ogilvie’s departure.
If the First Tier Tribunal finds against Rangers the SFA must ask for Ogilvie’s immediate resignation. The association cannot have a president embroiled in a tax evasion scam which, even before a verdict has been decided, has already caused untold harm to his former club and the reputation Scottish football. The scale of the damage to public finances has yet to be definitively established but it will not make good reading.
The SFA has just embarked on its first proper investigation into whether directors of a football club, in this instance Rangers, are fit and proper persons to hold such a position. Office holders at the association cannot exercise power over the game if they are not subject to the same standards they demand from clubs. Pending this investigation, and the outcome of the tax tribunal, Ogilvie should temporarily step aside. Scotland is not yet a banana republic, public bodies must have robust ethics and must not allow the shadow of contagion to be cast over the body charged with ensuring legal and moral standards are adhered to.
The SFA has some enormously important months ahead. Its president is currently in a position to influence which course it takes and, if the tribunal verdict falls against Rangers, could be implicated in the scandal which precipitated the crisis. While I am sure Campbell Ogilvie will be shown to have acted with impeccable ethical standards, the SFA must quickly establish a structure clear of contagion.
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Neil Lennon joins Celtic Charity Fund Trustees
By: Newsroom Staff on 21 Feb, 2012 09:12
CELTIC manager Neil Lennon has joined the Celtic Charity Fund Board of Trustees as the hugely successful Charity Fund aims to build on all the great work it has done since its formation back in 1995.
The reorganisation of the Celtic Charity Fund Board of Trustees is to support and monitor the implementation of a new strategic direction for the Charity Fund.
Following the recent announcement of the appointment of Ian Hughes to the position of Celtic Charity Fund CEO, we are now pleased to announce the formation of a new and extended board of Trustees.
The new Trustee Board will be made up of Chairman: Chris Traynor, CEO of BE Capital Group; Peter Lawwell, CEO Celtic Football Club; Neil Lennon, Manager Celtic Football Club, Eric Riley, Finance Director Celtic Football Club, Adrian Filby, Commercial Director Celtic Football Club, Gavin Kelly, CEO of Kinmont Advisory Group, and Craig Paterson CEO Football Aid.
Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: “Celtic was established with charity at its core and I am pleased that through the great work of the Charity Fund we are able to continue to uphold the ambitions of our founding fathers, 125 years after the club’s formation.
“The essence of our club will never change – a club open to all and here to play its part in helping others within the wider community. This is our heritage and will be something which is with us forever.
“Celtic Charity Fund has enjoyed tremendous success already as one of the world’s leading sporting charities. We now aim to build on this success, to develop this work further and ensure we do more and more to support those in need.”
It is the Trustees´ ambition that Celtic Charity Fund will build a new comprehensive fund-raising capability and supporting infrastructure, which will allow it to deliver increased ongoing support to our chosen causes, and make a persistent and lasting difference in terms of tackling poverty and social deprivation.
The recent Celtic Legends match against Manchester United, which was attended by in excess of 55,000 fans and watched by close to one million television viewers and generated over a third of a million pounds (£372,000) to help the starving people of East Africa.
This single event demonstrated all that is great about Celtic Football Club and was a dramatic example of the way in which the Celtic Family has the power to come together as a force for good.
We thank everyone for their continued support of Celtic Charity Fund.
Awe Naw
Fair enough – you are the master at amending publications!
Hail Hail
Tombola
Hail hail cqn
SFA appoint judge to look at rANGERs insolvency
Just updated on stv news online 12.40pm
The plot thickens
Havingapartywhenthehunsdiex csc
KJamBhoy says:
21 February, 2012 at 12:23
Reagan will not be tweeting this week after the retarded bigot fest at Ibrokes at the weekend.
Hail Hail
Paul,
Good to see this issue being addressed at last. I worry we have a few false expectations and hopes that won’t amount to much. It’s all too easy to forget that Rangers aren’t quite so easily described as an entity. That is to say that they are a business, a cultural entity, a football team/club, and a social focal point amongst many other less flattering things. You can’t actually punish all of those things, and like them or not, nor should you.
The collective failings of the Rangers community are so complex it’s hard to know where to start, but, whatever we say their failures will be punished by the outcomes. The actual club, as we all know, will go on in some form – Rangers, in their various guises, will remain.
Anyway, as to the false expectations. We do set ourselves up sometimes… There must be 30 posts on here today that include the lines – this could never happen in… after describing something quite commonplace, or at least not so exceptional that it could be described as unique to Scotland. It sounds great for about 10 seconds before you think to yourself, but didn’t Real Madrid get bailed out twice over by the government… isn’t there a Spanish team who have adopted a home town only signing policy forever… isn’t there an endless list of tales of unpaid wages, 3rd party contracts, administration, fraud, and cheating from around the world.
Football has it’s troubles. Clubs like ours who are steering a safe path and doing so honestly and with an eye to the future are the exception. We are correct to rail against the cheating, doping, and stupidity which casts a shadow over the game, and thoroughly undermines our best efforts. We are correct to press the point where Rangers are concerned, if only because it’s morally correct. However, let’s remember the imperative is what is correct, and moral, and hate fuelled wishful thinking is not reflective of our clubs values (not remotely) nor the example we seek to set.
At all turns we should be the good guys, not just when it makes us look good compared to Rangers. Indeed the regular failure of some fans to be good for goodness sake is why so many people are happy to say we’re as bad as they are… when we’re not. That might mean that some of us have to drop the emnity and focus on where the law and morality takes us.
Btw, 3rd party contracts are against rules in all home nations, but commonplace on the continent. Simply put the registration of a player, must be wholly held by the member club. There’s a good chance this will change in the future though… so don’t expect this crime to be viewed too harshly.
what exactly is the point of this SFA investigation ?
12:15
We could all have done better. But don’t give me this nonsense about new media leading the way. Rangerstaxcase has been excellent and we all have to learn the lessons. But the rest of them have printed utter garbage all the way through. So, good journalism and bad journalism and good bloggers and bad bloggers
I did not need to read anymore after this…
SFA judge (former) billy smith
Your having a laugh
Findings to be made in 2 weeks
Took them 9 months to find out if the mbb was a fit and proper owener
And still no decision
Asclearasmudsfa
jock steins celtic at 12:55
what exactly is the point of this SFA investigation ?
In laymans terms, its an investigation to see how the barn door can be locked following the horse having bolted.
Mort
RogueLeader says:
21 February, 2012 at 12:39
‘Panel appointed by SFA for enquiry into Rangers. Lord William Nimmo Smith leading it’
aka Lord Dimmo Smith.
##############
‘Bogus reporter investigated in Magic Circle case
BRUCE McKAIN,ROBBIE DINWOODIE
Fiscal investigates bogus reporter in Magic Circle case
THE duping by a bogus journalist of the senior counsel inquiring into allegations of a gay conspiracy in the legal world is being investigated as a potential fraud, the fiscal’s office in Edinburgh confirmed yesterday.
The QC investigating claims of a so-called Magic Circle was visited by a man who admits he is suspected by the police of involvement in the break-in at the Fettes headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police which took place last July.
Mr Derek Donaldson, a member of the city’s gay scene, told Mr William Nimmo Smith that he was a London-based reporter from the Daily Telegraph seeking a background briefing. But the results of the meeting at Mr Nimmo Smith’s New Town home, secretly taped by Donaldson, were splashed across six pages of yesterday’s Sun newspaper.
Some of Mr Nimmo Smith’s colleagues in the Faculty of Advocates expressed astonishment yesterday that he had allowed himself to be duped in this way, particularly without double checking Donaldson’s true identity. But it was being stressed that he had deliberately adopted a policy of openness to the media as crucial part of the inquiry.
The Sun’s story was headlined ”Fettes ‘Thief’ Cons Gay Judges Probe QC” and Donaldson boasted of ”making a mug” out of the Queen’s Counsel who, along with Strathclyde fiscal Mr James Friel, has been carrying out the ”gay conspiracy” inquiry.
The Lord Advocate set up the inquiry after the contents of a leaked police report were published in a number of newspapers. The police report gave details of five cases in which it was alleged that senior lawyers had used their influence in the homosexual community to pervert the course of justice.
A Herald investigation into the affair concluded that there was no hard evidence of a conspiracy and that the report was riddled with errors and rumours masquerading as fact.
A senior fiscal said yesterday: ”We are looking at the matter. We have discussed it with a senior police officer. An inquiry is being conducted under the auspices of this office.”
Explaining the legal background, the fiscal said that without referring to any individual person or incident it was the case that if someone obtained any advantage by a false pretence then a crime of fraud would be committed.
.
He added: ”If a person pretends to be another person and achieves a result which he would not have achieved had he told the truth the actions are likely to be construed as fraudulent.”
Asked if it would make a difference whether a newspaper paid money in relation to such an incident, he said it made no difference. The point of law was whether an advantage was gained by the pretence.
The Sun claimed that Mr Donaldson had ”tricked Nimmo Smith into spilling the beans on parts of his confidential inquiry,” but the transcript consists mainly of non-committal and highly circumspect replies by the QC to lengthy leading questions by Donaldson.
At one stage Donaldson asks: ”Do you get the impression, I get the impression, that the report was leaked as an act of vindictiveness, not just against the senior command of Lothian and Borders Police, but also to have a damn good go, and this was an excellent opportunity to have a damned good go at Regent Road (the Crown Office)?” Mr Nimmo Smith replied: ”Probably, yes.”
Early in the conversation Mr Nimmo Smith said: ”This stuff is unattributable but you can use it for background,” adding later that he would welcome the publication of the ”reporter’s” personal views on the affair ”after the report is public.”
One of the critics of Mr Nimmo Smith granting the ”interview” was West Lothian MP Tam Dalyell, who first raised the question of a Magic Circle conspiracy with Lothian and Borders Chief Constable Sir William Sutherland. He described himself as ”open-mouthed” at yesterday’s revelations.
”Those conducting inquiries for the Lord Advocate or any other Minister are profoundly unwise to go on the record or say anything off the record in advance until such time as the inquiry is complete and in the public domain,” he said. ”I would have thought it was extraordinary, even if he had spoken to a distinguished journalist from The Herald.”
However, unattributable briefings for journalists in advance of the publication of official reports are not unusual, since given pressures of time they enable more informed reports to be produced.
Mr Nimmo Smith’s policy of openness towards the media was made clear at the outset of the inquiry, which was originally intended to be produced anonymously. It was largely at the QC’s insistence that he and Mr Friel were named. The kind of general information given in the Sun, for example detailing the workings of the inquiry, has been given to other journalists seeking background.
The QC has made it clear that since journalists’ background knowledge and contacts have formed a central part of the inquiry it was vital for the integrity of the investigation that he remained accessible.
He also felt that if the workings of the inquiry were open to scrutiny by journalists it would help offset early allegations that the whole excercise was a whitewash designed to protect the legal establishment. Those close to the inquiry are convinced that nothing in the Sun report has compromised the lengthy investigation.
This view seemed to be confirmed by a short statement on behalf of the Lord Advocate stating: ”Mr W. A. Nimmo Smith, QC, and Mr James D. Friel completed their report early this week, and the Lord Advocate is now considering it. The inquiry was formally instructed by the Lord Advocate on September 18, 1992. The remit was to review the decisions taken in a number of cases in order to ascertain whether there was any evidence to suggest that those decisions had been taken for improper reasons.
”As he indicated when he instructed the inquiry, the Lord Advocate intends to publish the report. It is envisaged that publication will take place in late January 1993. No further comment will be made in the meantime.”
Twice I’ve tried to ask Tom English if he intends to ask the questions he says Campbell Ogilvie has to answer.
Twice my question has not made it through mediation. Other questions I have asked have been answered.
Gordon_J, that’s an interesting rule…
‘D9.3 No Player may receive any payment of any description from or on behalf of a Club in respect of that Player’s participation in Association Football or in an activity connected with Association Football, other than in reimbursement of expenses actually incurred or to be actually incurred in playing or training for that Club, unless such payment is made in accordance with a Contract of Service between that Club and the Player concerned‘
All other current discussions aside, where does that leave the EBTs? The players with the EBTs either broke this rule or the payments ‘from or on behalf of a club’ were in accordance with a Contract of Service ergo the registrations are null or the EBT contracts, as we suspect, actually do exist and not only that but the SFA must have been aware of them (as contracts).
I think this rule might well be a silver bullet.
Well said captain, eye on the ball.
Scott Brown at media conference: Everyone has banned talk of the treble and i’m not thinking about lifting any trophies as the captain.
Mort
Mort,
you can add the official verdict of ‘it wisnae us, big boys did it and ran away’ to the conclusions.
Revealed: Whyte and Ticketus meet Rangers administrators, confirm source of funds
By Nick Harris
SJA Internet Sports Writer of the Year
21 February 2012
Craig Whyte, the absent former owner of Rangers whose takeover and nine-month period of control at Ibrox is currently under investigation, broke cover to hold a meeting with administrators Duff & Phelps at their London offices in Portman Square (below) yesterday, Sportingintelligence can reveal.
We can also reveal that job losses at the club are not imminent and that normal monthly wage payments have been sanctioned in the past few hours for this month and will be paid within the next few days. Job losses have not been ruled out but are now unlikely before next month.
Whyte, 41, has effectively been in hiding since the club went into administration last week as a result of up to £9m of unpaid PAYE contributions and VAT owed to HMRC since he took control of Rangers in May 2011 having paid former owner Sir David Murray a £1 nominal sum for his shareholding.
Whyte also repaid Lloyds bank £18m owed by Rangers as part of the deal, and as Sportingintelligence reported on Sunday it was suspected that Whyte had made that payment from £24.4m received for selling some of Rangers tickets for the next four years to brokers Ticketus.
That suspicion has now been confirmed (see today’s Scottish Daily Mail story).
Sportingintelligence can reveal that visitors yesterday to Duff & Phelps at their London office for separate meetings that were held to try to find the full facts behind Rangers’ demise, were:
Whyte, 41, who continues to insist via a spokesman that he has done nothing wrong. Sportingintelligence understands, however, that Whyte misled even some of his close associates about how he funded the £18m to Lloyds.
One or more representatives from Ticketus themselves, who passed on details to the administrators about the deal that saw them pay Whyte £24.4m. It is understood that Ticketus director Ross Bryan was at Portman Square at some point yesterday.
Phil Betts, Rangers director and tax specialist, was also interviewed by Duff & Phelps in London yesterday. Today’s Daily Record reveals that Betts “was paid more than £160,000 in eight months while the club were being dragged into administration”. Betts was Whyte’s first appointment to the Ibrox board after taking over the club last May.
The different parties are believed to have confirmed to the administrators that Whyte did the Ticketus deal and then paid off Lloyds.
Central to any potential criminal action against Whyte is whether he was dishonest in his dealings at any stage in official declarations. Strathclyde Police have confirmed they are ‘continuing to look at information’ but have not yet launched any formal investigation.
Mystery still surrounds the precise involvement in Whyte’s Rangers’ plans of former bankrupt Aidan Earley (more about him here), and why £250,000 was paid to Earley from a bank account also used to hold the Ticketus income and used to pay Lloyds. (Daily Record story on that here).
.
More from Nick Harris
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Sportingintelligence home page
Rangers midfielder Matt McKay is set to seal a permanent transfer out of Rangers to North Korean side Busan I’Park, STV understands.
The Australian international is surplus to requirements at Ibrox, having made just three appearances for Ally McCoist’s side.
It is understood the player’s agent, John Viola, is in North Korea putting the finishing touches to the deal, which is expected to be concluded within the next 24 hours.
It is also understood that Viola is trying to find an interested buyer for Rangers with Kim Jong-un showing more than a passing interest,
McKay arrived at the club in August 2011, moving from Australian side Brisbane Roar in a £250,000 move.
It is understood the 29-year-old has already said his goodbyes at Murray Park, as he becomes the first player to leave with the club in administration.
The club’s administrators, Duff and Phelps, are currently reviewing the budget at Rangers, with a view to potentially releasing players from their contracts.
McKay was left out of Australia’s latest squad for a World Cup qualifier with Saudi Arabia, which was announced on Tuesday.
The 2012 K-League season is due to start on March 3. McKay had a previous spell in South Korea with Incheon United in 2006, but didn’t make a competitive appearance during a short loan.
Do not know if this has been posted
Matthew McKay to leave ra gers for Korean team
£230000 for 3 games
Need to be having a word will my boss
Now wonder the Huns are going bust
Another one of super Sally’s signings
Havingapartywhenthehunsdiex csc
Every day of their travails is another grogger off my St Aidan’s blazer.
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon – Anything that helps unemployed people gain experience of work, get back into the habit of working, and hopefully get them out of the benefits trap, is to be welcomed.
Also, for that part of the population that keeps Jeremy Kyle in a living, anything that gets them off their lazy backsides is to be welcomed.
Cait Reilly, a geology graduate from Birmingham, is currently taking legal action, seeking a review of the legality of its forced labour. She was told that she would lose her £53 a week if she refused to stack shelves at Poundland for no pay.
But it isn’t “forced” and it isn’t for “no pay”.
If you’re on JSA you probably also qualify for housing benefit and council tax exemption, you also, of course, continue to enjoy comprehensive healthcare free at the point of need, and all the other welfare state goodies.
So these people are being paid. They’re just being expected to get off the couch to earn their benefits.
But unemployment seems to have a bad habit of rising under Conservative governments, doesn’t it?
Sadly this is true, because we usually get Conservative governments to pick up the pieces after a Labour government bankrupts the country and leaves it a pathetic broken mess.
It’s a thankless task given the number of deluded and self-entitled people in this country who think there is a magic money tree to pay for unlimited free goodies, or that “social justice” = subsidising idleness and anti-social behaviour.
As the former Labour Treasury Secretary put it in the cute little note he left to his successor: “I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”.
Every generation has to learn the hard way that you can’t trust Labour. (thumbsup)
Bont Bhoy said
Btw, 3rd party contracts are against rules in all home nations, but commonplace on the continent. Simply put the registration of a player, must be wholly held by the member club. There’s a good chance this will change in the future though… so don’t expect this crime to be viewed too harshly.
So why should we not expect the crime viewed harshly? If its against the rules as they stand then they (RFC in Administration) should be punished if found to be guilty
Just because the rules have a good chance of changing in the future should not mitigate non punishment
Stephen with a “ph”
Cheers awa naw
Beat me to the punch
jock steins celtic @ 12:55,
“what exactly is the point of this SFA investigation ?
Good question – Stewart Regan sataed on Friday:
“The Scottish FA can today confirm its intention to conduct a full independent inquiry into the activities of Rangers FC and, specifically, a number of potential breaches of the Scottish FA’s Articles of Association.”
Yet the panels seems to be comprised to concentrating on the insolvency event and Craig Whyte.
“Stewart Regan, the Scottish FA chief executive, met with Lord Nimmo Smith today to define the terms of reference for the investigation……………There will be no further comment on the investigation until it is complete and its findings presented to the Board.”
Terms of Reference MUST be published to ensure a FULL inquiry is taking place.
PS – I forgot to say:
Could Rangers sign a few players under this Workfare scheme?
I know the 99p shop wasn’t interested, but beggars can’t be choosers. (thumbsup)
Hey Big Nan, you kicking about?
Just to let you know that things are finally calming down on Barra after Rangers go into administration
HH
:-)
Dobbo says:
21 February, 2012 at 10:27
Peter Lawwel – the SSM. He has run celtic in such a way as to compel Rangers to spend their way into obliviation.
I’d put that on his tombsone as opposed to “In January 2009 he failed to sign Stephen Fletcher”.
====================================
Good point, well put.
PL has been slaughtered in the past, mostly based on little or no knowledge of what he does/has done, and the BS surrounding Fletcher was among the worse.
I hope his detractors have the good grace to acknowledge the good things he has done, backed up by hard evidence, and not ill-informed speculation.
SSMCSC
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo says:
21 February, 2012 at 13:04
‘Rangers midfielder Matt McKay is set to seal a permanent transfer out of Rangers to North Korean side Busan I’Park, STV understands.’
North Korea?
Shurley shome mishtake?
POLICE are to hold talks with the SPL over the scenario of a league title decider when the Old Firm meet at Ibrox next month. Celtic stand 17 points clear of Rangers following the Parkhead club’s 5-0 win against Hibs on Sunday and a 10-point penalty against the Ibrox side for going into administration. Should Celtic remain unbeaten and their city rivals drop two points between now and their next meeting, then Neil Lennon’s side could win the title at Ibrox on March 25. Strathclyde Police say they would rather the Ibrox title decider scenario was avoided in that fixture but admit pre-sales of tickets and hospitality packages would make a switch difficult. Celtic have the opportunity to increase their lead to 23 points with home games to follow against Dunfermline tomorrow evening and Motherwell three days later. Lennon’s side then take on Aberdeen away before the next Old Firm encounter. A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: “The game is going ahead as planned. “We are highly experienced in dealing with large events and as such any football match will be police appropriately. “There’s always talks with the SPL and the SFA over the policing of football matches, that is a matter of course.” In 1999 the Scottish Police Federation called for the fixture to be banned completely following violence during and after a title-deciding match at Celtic Park. Rangers clinched the league flag after an ill-tempered 3-0 win in the East End. Rangers visit Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Sunday, then it is a home game with Hearts and an away clash with Dundee United. The SPL has refused to speculate on the significance of the March 25 Old Firm clash. An SPL source added: “It is hypothetical that this could be a title decider. That match is a month away and there are still a lot of games to be played.” Meanwhile, Craig Whyte, who became chairman of Rangers last May, has resigned from several director posts to apparently focus on the club’s future. Mr Whyte stood down as board secretary of Bournemouth-based firm Pritchard Stockbrokers last week. His spokesman said the move was because Whyte was resigned to avoid “another distraction” from recent events surrounding Rangers. Mr Whyte, who became the main shareholder in Rangers Football Club, stood down from Pritchard after it was barred from further trading on behalf of clients. His spokesman confirmed his departure from Pritchard early last week. He added: “That doesn’t suggest any involvement in what went wrong at Pritchard’s. He resigned because he didn’t want another distraction from what’s going on at Rangers.” Pritchard was judged by the Financial Services Authority to have compromised the security of clients’ funds, by trading with their money on its own account and by using their funds to pay its own costs. The firm could appeal against the FSA ruling. Rangers were forced to call in administrators a week ago over an unpaid tax bill of £9million accrued since Mr Whyte’s takeover last May. Last week, the administrators revealed they did not have “visibility” of £24m which had come from a deal on future Rangers season ticket sales with the firm Ticketus. The administrators subsequently said they had new information on the takeover and running of Rangers which would help form a full picture of club finances. Rangers players and staff will learn their fate this week as administrators bid to haul the club out of danger of liquidation. Manager Ally McCoist said he remains hopeful job losses will be kept to a minimum as a review is carried out of the club’s 180 staff. Former Rangers director Paul Murray will meet with the club’s administrators this week, as he attempts to piece together a rescue package for the club. Murray has officially registered his interest in mounting a buy-out bid with administrators Duff & Phelps. A series of meetings with potential investors or new owners will also take place in the week ahead. On Saturday, a crowd of 50,268 packed into Ibrox with fans desperate to show their backing for the manager and players. Several demonstrations took place before that game against Kilmarnock … a match the Ibrox side lost 1-0 to add to their woes. caroline.wilson@eveningtimes.co.uk
ernie lynch says:
21 February, 2012 at 13:12
It is also understood that Viola is trying to find an interested buyer for Rangers with Kim Jong-un showing more than a passing interest,
Maybe not. Maybe Murray had been on the phone to him looking for a buyer with teh SFA having cleared it at first naturally
HAil Hail
Anyone any idea of the terms of refefence and scope of the SFA enquiry?
They will go for damage limitation but a full clearout of the Styggian (sp) stables in Mt Florida is what is needed.
SIMON LYNCH reckons Rangers don’t need to sign Sone Aluko because they already have the ideal replacement for Steven Naismith in Matt McKay. by Euan McArthur
Thank you simon
BontyBhoy says:
21 February, 2012 at 12:55
Btw, 3rd party contracts are against rules in all home nations, but commonplace on the continent. Simply put the registration of a player, must be wholly held by the member club. There’s a good chance this will change in the future though… so don’t expect this crime to be viewed too harshly.
+++++
Not sure what you mean by this – UEFA are considering banning any player signed on a TP-basis fromt eh Champions League.
‘Uefa has confirmed it will consider banning from the Champions League players whose transfer rights are owned by third parties.
Gianni Infantino, the general secretary of European football’s governing body, said the practice – which is already outlawed in the Premier League and France’s Ligue 1 – could not be allowed to continue.
“This kind of player ownership is a growing threat. We will ourselves look into this matter because it cannot continue in this manner.”
Third-party ownership is allowed in Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal. Officials from England and France have already complained to Uefa that clubs could use such investments to circumvent financial fair play regulations.
Infantino said he would “certainly look into” the possibility of banning third party-owned players from the Champions League and Europa League.
Fifa’s rules do not prohibit investors buying stakes in players, providing they have no control over when they can play or when they are bought and sold.
The Premier League is opposed to third-party ownership because “it threatens the integrity of competitions, reduces the flow of transfer revenue contained within the game and has the potential to exert external influences on players’ transfer decisions”.
It banned the practice in 2007 following the controversy over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano from Corinthians to West Ham.‘
philvisreturns says:
21 February, 2012 at 13:04
—————————————————–
Apart from anything else all this Slave labour is doing is giving big companies free labour which means they don’t have to employ people.
Sainsbury’s incidentally have retracted their interest in the scheme under pressure from Trade Unions opposed to people being exploited in this way.
\o/ Stephen with a “ph”:
Third party ownership is against FIFA rules. They appear to be strengthening their stance on this after the Tevez shenanigans rather than thinking about changing the rules.
Can you back up the comment about third party ownership being common place on the continent?
Auld Neil Lennon heid says:
21 February, 2012 at 13:15
Who cares this is our opportunity to get a UK league.
The SFA is not fit for purpose. UEFA agree. They demand the set up of a UK league. They merge Scotland and England together at the top FIFA table. Blatter gets revenge before Platini steps in his shoes. Platini promises to go easy on all the EPL clubs that will go bust after the EBT ruling. Dermot Desmond gets his wish.
HAil Hail
SFA appoint D.Nimmo to head inquiry, provisionally titled:
‘All Gas and Gaiters’
farce.sfa
Stephen
Yeah, that’s fair enough. I’m not too fussed whether it’s viewed harshly or not. I suspect it will be the least of their troubles. The main weight of this transgression will be in adding to the perception that this current Rangers board/owner are completely at it.
I’d add that we shouldn’t ignore the strong likelihood that the litany of mistakes, falsehoods, and potential crimes of Whyte and Murray may, in not too long a time, lead to a degree of sympathy for the Rangers fan in all this. A thoroughly absurd notion when you consider how they behaved on Saturday, but, in all seriousness if you leave that element to one side, that might seem like a fair viewpoint – sympathy that is.
The Honest Mistake loves being first
First part was quoted from Bonty Bhoy and I then offered a response
He is the man to ask mate
Hail Hail
Richie says:
21 February, 2012 at 13:12
Dobbo says:
21 February, 2012 at 10:27
Peter Lawwel – the SSM. He has run celtic in such a way as to compel Rangers to spend their way into obliviation.
I’d put that on his tombsone as opposed to “In January 2009 he failed to sign Stephen Fletcher”.
====================================
Good point, well put.
PL has been slaughtered in the past, mostly based on little or no knowledge of what he does/has done, and the BS surrounding Fletcher was among the worse.
I hope his detractors have the good grace to acknowledge the good things he has done, backed up by hard evidence, and not ill-informed speculation.
SSMCSC
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I agree that paradigmatic criticism of Peter Lawell would be unjustified based on our performance vis a vis our only meaningful competition over his tenure, off the pitch and even on it, despite playing againts a loaded deck. However, a wee bit of criticism where it’s due. Steven Fletcher will in all likelihood be transferred this summer for north of £10million, maybe a bit less if Wolves are relegated. We could, from memory, have bought him for £2.5million. We’ve made a few mistakes in the past as well (re-signing maloney, not signing Kadlec, not signing McCarthy) and these should rightly be flagged up. I blame WGS, also, for allowing a talented squad (2005-07) gradually rot away to a very poor one (2009), partly through poor decisions when big money was sanctioned (Gravesen/Jarosik/Donati and until recently Brown) and partly through poor scouting (Willo Flood being the epitome of this MOTD scouting).
However, credit where it’s due, we’re eating jelly and ice cream and they’re looking to david Leggat for forlorn hope of redemption! PL deserves some of the credit for that!
The paradigm itself, I think we owe that to wee Fergus to be honest.