The purpose of The Scottish Football Monitor is to pay homage to, and carry on the work of the groundbreaking RangersTaxCase blog (RTC). The aim of the Scottish Football Monitor is to cast a questioning and watchful eye on Scottish Football officialdom and the compliant mainstream media (MSM).
Scottish football, in the immediate wake of the Rangers FC liquidation, faces great challenges. The MSM have provided no sensible checks or balances on the actions of the authorities. The Scottish Football Monitor aims to provide those checks and balance.
The cosy relationship that has existed between the media and people at the top of Scottish Football has dissuaded those who may otherwise be moved to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. The Scottish Football Monitor aims, through time, and by winning the trust of ordinary fans, to fill a gap in the football media in Scotland that has been up to now filled only by RTC.
The Rangers FC saga, its consequences, and consequences of the accompanying stream of untruths and misdirection fed to us by the MSM is far from over. RTC was successful in getting the previously buried truth of the Rangers tax case into the mainstream despite a hostile MSM reaction. The Scottish Football Monitor hopes to use the skills and expertise of those in our community to a cast light on matters that those in authority would have concealed, or at least present alternative arguments to those being presented as having none.
Scottish Football Monitor asks contributors to remember only a few things;
1. The site is not the domain of any one club and is open to fans of all clubs.
2. Absolutely no discussion with regard to religion should take place.
3. Posters should refrain from using foul or abusive language.
Welcome to The Scottish Football Monitor
smallteaser says:
August 8, 2012 at 10:54
4 0 Rate This
The Scottish Football League has accepted Rangers as an Associate Member.
Reading this the RFC(IA) membership was transferred, why therefore is it neccesary to accept The Rangers Football Club Ltd as an associate member only??
Why not a full membership???
SFL rule 7 says in its entirety:
7. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
A club or association must initially join the League as an Associate Member.
Could it be a s simple as that?
New RTC post
http://rangerstaxcase.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/digging-the-hole-ever-deeper/
Good Afternoon,
I wonder how many Glaswegians and others ever dropped in to a basement licensend premises in Glasgow’s Renfield street called…….. “Fouquet’s”?
Fouquet’s was a large basement bar diner, with a darky and smokey atmospheric, complete with large standing barrells to rest your drinks on. The overall impression was of a brick cellar with french feel which obviously stemmed from the name of the premises.
That name caused controversy even before the place opened with the then clerk to the City of Glasgow Licensing Board ( or its predeceesor body ) expressing some concern as to just how the proposed name would be pronounced by the local Glaswegian! It was feared that the bar/diner would perhaps be referred to as something which rhymed with say….. Bayne and Duckett rather than the frenchified——-” Foooooookaaays” as was intended.
For those not familiar with French History, the story of Nicholas Fouquet is one that is apt in light of recent statements by Sir David Murray and indeed in light of the recent singings by the Rangers Football club– now fully licensed by the Scottish Football Association.
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (January 27, 1615 – March 23, 1680) was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV. He fell out of favor with the young king, probably because of his extravagant displays of wealth, and the king had him imprisoned from 1661 until his death in 1680.
Basically, Fouquet’s rise and subsequent fall, came from his apparently great wealth and his ability to sort not only his own vast fortune to meet his own extravagent needs, but also his management of the finances of the King and the entire Royal Court whose greed knew no bounds. Rather than act as a prudent Chancellor and reign in extravagent spending, Fouquet would simply use court funds when needed, and on occasion use his own credit for Government business instead of actually balancing the books of the King of France. Even the first Minister of France, Cardinal Mazarin, who was technically meant to oversee the activities of Fouquet became embroiled in the mess, as he too was a ” Big Spender” as the Lady from Tiger Bay would say.
The disorder in the accounts became hopeless; fraudulent operations were entered into with impunity, and the financiers were kept in the position of clients by official favours and by generous aid whenever they needed it. Fouquet’s fortune now surpassed even Mazarin’s, but the latter was too deeply implicated in similar operations to interfere, and was obliged to leave the day of reckoning to his agent and successor Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
When Mazarin died in 1661, The young King decided that he would be his own first minister and very quickly became suspicious about Fouquet’s bookeeping, his control and his personal ambition. This was made all the worse by Fouquet building his own ” Big Hoose”. He had spent enormous sums in building a magnificent château on his estate of Vaux-le-Vicomte, which in extent, magnificence and splendour of decoration was a forerunner of Versailles. The coat of arms of Fouquet’s family traditionally showed a squirrel and bore the motto “Quo non ascendet?” (“How far could it climb?”)– which some say referred to Fouquets ambition, status and wealth.
Eventually the 22 year old King could stand such flaunting of wealth and privelege no longer and by August of 1661 he had planned Fouquet’s downfall. During a meeting with the King at Nantes, Fouquet was arrested by a captain of musketeers named d’Artagnan— someone who was to show throughout his life the most remarkeable dignity and fairness in carrying out his duties and who befriended prisoner and king alike– such was his attention to justice and fairness towards all men. Of course, later, d’Artagnan was to feature in the books of Dumas but that is fiction and for another day.
Fouquet was subsequently tried and convicted ( possibly unfairly in certain respects ) but he had committed the cardinal crime of simply ignoring proper fiscal governance using his own funds and those of the Government ( the King ) intermittently and making no attempt at proper financial reconciliation and disclosure. Fouquet remained imprisoned and ruined until his death, and for years was guarded over by d’Artagnan– who was a civil, hospitable, helpful but reluctant jailer!
Fouquet comes to mind in the current climate of Scottish Football. David Murray’s statement of the other day sets out what the great Knighted one would have you believe to be the true state of the finances of Rangers Football club under his watch. There was no cheating, there was no non disclosure, there was no covering up and so on and so forth.
RTC has revealed on Twitter that there is plenty of evidence afoot to dispell much of what Murray has said and that we only have to wait for the FTT to publish its decision to see that this is so.
From what evidence has become public, there is much to suggest that the entire EBT set up by Rangers or Murray International Holdings was a sham. The Trustees were not truly independent, they did not decide off their own bat who was to receive money and when, the so called loans were never really loans and basically the so called scheme presented and promoted was designed to mask the truth.
While it may be technically the case that the money that was “donated” by Rangers PLC to the trust has gone from the club per the accounts, if the method of making that money “gone” was a sham and a falsehood, designed to avoid the proper payment of taxes, then that entire mechanism and everyone involved in its operation– from start to finish– is attackable by the liquidator and even perhaps by others.
However, unlike Monsieur Fouquet who was left to govern himself more or less, Rangers PLC should have been subject to some stringent checks and balances.
The SFA ultimately had the job of checking and AUDITING the Rangers compliance position in accordance with their own rules, the rules of UEFA and the Rules of FIFA. The SFA is still under the same obligations today, and have a duty to check and see that Licensed clubs are complying with the rules that they have undertaken to adhere to.
I have copied below, some of the relevent sections taken directly from the SFA handbook.
Have a look at the first three links and see what clubs have to do and provide to the SFA as part of the licensing process, and see what the SFA Auditor has to do in fulfilling his duties.
The fourth link, is the page from the SFA website where the first three links come from. This page will take you to other interesting parts of the process that must be adhered to.
One of the great points to debate in this whole saga is just what did the SFA and its officers do to ensure proper fiscal governance at Rangers PLC during the Murray years? Were they vigilant and duped? Were they complicit? Were they negligent? Were they fully aware of what was going on but thought it legal, or were they misinformed or misled in any way?
My question or should I say questions on some detail are as follows:
Did these annual Audits take place during the Murray Era? If so when? Who was the financial officer nominated by Rangers PLC to liase with the SFA? Who did he report to within Rangers PLC and where and with whom did he collate his documentation for passing to the SFA. What role was played and what knowledge of the matters disclosed did the managers of the club have?
When did the Audits take place? Where are the reports that the Auditor must make to the licensing committee? Who saw those reports? what did they contain? Did they mention EBT payments and if not — why not? Who completed the wages to turnover questionnaire and who signed it off? What was the significance- in the eyes of the SFA– in that document?
Finally with regard to The Rangers Football Club– given that they have no accounts and no financial history– what has the SFA been told about their projected wagebill compared to turnover and what assurances have the SFA been given in respect of their ability to meet their fianancial obligations? Does the SFA have any concerns about the current signing policy, the wages being paid and so on– given that there are football debts still outstanding and that traditionally Rangers- in any shape or form– can now be viewed as a failed club financially?
An examination of History often leads us to the best path for the future and with respect to the SFA they need not look back to the days of Monsieur Fouquet to see where ignoring proper accounts can lead to disaster– they only have to look at the records collected by their own Auditor to see where things must have gone awry somehere down Govan way in the past.
The again– perhaps no one at the SFA ever did an Audit, or never bothered examening the books of Rangers PLC at all and rather relied upon the past public pronouncements of Sir David?
However, I wonder how the Footballing powers that be would react if Charles Green came out and said that for every £1 the clubs in Division 3 spend he will spend £30– because that appears to be roughly where we are!
Perhaps there will be no peering over the shoulder of The Rangers Football Club by the SFA as their own rules appear to demand…….. perhaps they just don’t give a…………. Fouquet!!!
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/PartTwo-NationalClubLicensing/3.%20The%20Club%20and%20the%20Licence%20Award%20(2)b.pdf
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/PartTwo-NationalClubLicensing/4.%20Core%20Process%20(2)b.pdf
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/resources/documents/ClubLicensing/PartTwo-NationalClubLicensing/8%20%20Legal%20Admin%20&%20Finance%20Criteria%20(2).pdf
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/football_document_libraries.cfm?page=2570
Just had a look on “The Rangers” website – interestingly it makes little or no reference to being “The Rangers” website, calling the team just “Rangers” at every opportunity. I count 42 players listed in their “teams” above the age of 17, not including recent ahem, “trialists”.
They list 18 first team and 24 youth and reserves (all over 17). The idea that McCoist didn’t have enough players to fill the bench against East Stirling is either a lie or Ibrox/Murray(?) Park must be like a scene from the movie “Outbreak”…
TSFM is what it says on the box.
Self-evidently, then, for now, most of its attention is going to be focused on the Sevco situation.
So why are some contributors complaining about this?
You’d think they had an agenda or something.
liviaburlando says:
August 8, 2012 at 12:13
SFL rule 7 says in its entirety:
7. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
A club or association must initially join the League as an Associate Member.
Could it be a s simple as that?
========================================
if so…..are Dunfermline ALSO associate members?
Probably, I’m just feeling a bit low just now but the way things have went recently just fills me with despair.
Another “wealth of the radar” investor, players they can’t afford and no details of where the money to fund them or run the club has came from.
Players who we still don’t know if they are eligible to play, playing.
The same name, more or less, and nothing done about that.
The list goes and on.
It looks like no-one in authority (SFA/SPL/SLF) are going to do anything but watch it all happen.
This mob have fooled us before and must have the arrogance to assume they can do it again.
No interest from the MSM in any wrong doing just the “old king is dead long live the new king”.
Maybe things are going too slowly, for me, but I fear that a whitewash of the highest order is in place and that from now on any new developments will not cease the rise and rise of Rosanne’s eldest daughter FC.
They will have done so many twists and turns that it will too late to properly punish the guilty parties. I very much doubt we will see the further 25 point deduction till even 25 points will not make any difference to the overall result of whatever league they’re in (I am also now expecting a reconstruction con to be announced soon too).
Will anything be done to stop this juggernaut of fraud?
I hope so, but for now I have very grave doubts about that.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
oh look ,a squirrel. (copyright acknowledged)
RTC site’s article not pulling any punches. Rangers did it and here’s the proof…
http://rangerstaxcase.wordpress.com/2012/08/08/digging-the-hole-ever-deeper/
(BTW i know the link was posted before but I understand google and other search engines find things better when there are multiple links 🙂 )
New RTC post up
Torrevieja Johnbhoy says:
August 8, 2012 at 11:48
One question might be; why the need to play them?
Even if the SFA had some form of discression available, why would/should they exercise that discression? Were Sevco short of players? I don’t think so!
Or did they, in fact, deliberately play inelligible players, in the hope that a protest would be lodged (by Brechin) so they could go out of a competition, they don’t want to be in, on a technicallity? I cannot for one moment imagine anyone connected to Sevco would want to have the name ‘The Rangers FC’ etched on the Ramsden Cup, nor would it help TRFC’s ticket sales if they were seen to be put out by some ‘diddy’ team. But to be put out on a technicallity? More evidence of bogitry against TRFC and another excuse to indulge in some rabble rousing.
Guys,
Congrats on the new site.
RTC was excellent not least because of the exclusives and the probing debate and contribution that followed. In the absence of those exclusives then the site will continue to highlight the behaviour of those in charge of Sevco and laugh at the Scottish MSM behaviour.
However, eventually Sevco will stabilise and the MSM will never change , they have got to sell papers and air time, so their perception of the accuracy of a story is very different from anyone who reads this blog.
I believe we should have a multi-thread blog to start with , so we can isolate the Sevco legal stuff from the other issues of : MSM compliance; SFA, SPL, SFL administrative ineptitude; playing better football – youth development; standards and governance of refs; league re-organisation.
oh FTT fallout should also be a thread.
As requested the other day, can it be confirmed (perhaps by RTC) that the SPL requirement to have all payments detailed on contracts was vaild from 2001 onwards. If so there appears to be no wriggle room whatsoever
If this rule was brought in some time later then unfortunatley I see that being used to lesen the blow.
The trialist line seems to be a red herring as a quick Google will throw up other teams also fielding trialists in the Ramsdens Cup – East Fife and Queen of the South for example.
Jeezo this blog is barely a week old and of course PL(TSFM) has a lot of setting up admin and mod work to do as new people want to join or transfer over to the blog and start posting etc. as well as dealing/thinking about who and how to accommodate guest posts and formatting etc etc.
for now Sevco/Rangers continues to be THE over-riding story in Scottish football and still so many facets of it’s origin and consequences are yet to fully play out so the blog will still be talking about that for months/years to come yet.
but we will talk about other subjects and issues as they arise, the media, the SFA / SPL / SFL, league reconstruction, the ethos and values we’d like our game to have as opposed to how it’s been focused in the last 2 decades of increasing commercialism, whether teams should be mostly home-produced or bought-in finished goods, how Scottish football is voted on and how income is distributed, who and how the rules are made or amended or re-written etc etc.
The Rangers catastrophe, failure and scandal is a once in a 140 year event for Scottish football. There has never been an incident of such potential ‘cheating’ before nor has any man that’s ever lived seen Rangers play in the bottom tier of Scottish football so of course it’s a huge deal.
But other interesting football and governance issues will emerge and when they do we will talk about them.
I have seen a few comments on here complaining that the discussion is focussed on “Rangers” wrongdoings and the need for another topic to focus on.
My suggestion for another topic would be to give the football authorities some suggestions on how to put some clarity in their rules so that the “Rangers” situation does not happen again.
Most importantly, removing ambiguity in the rules which created the recent farce surrounding which league “Rangers” should be allowed to play in.
In my opinion the starting point should be: administration = relegation; liquidation = same status as any other new club.
Other issues such as player registrations and TV deals would flow from that simple starting point.
First post on the new blog.
Good to see Dundee Utd with the SOLD OUT signs up for their first Derby.
Great to welcome 1200 Dons fans to Paradise on Saturday, I think the Champions probably just did enough but I wouldn’t have been gutted with a point. I hope Paw Broon shows a bit more of a cavalier attitude in the coming campaign, he’s bought the talent, just the tactics to work on.
East Fife get a nice wee sum after their cup match with the new entrants to Scottish football.
When do the old Rangers get liquidated?
When do the court cases start?
Has ticketus simply waved cherio to £25 million?
Craig Whyte, will he get some porrage?
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
August 8, 2012 at 12:15
Wow, terrific post, take a bow
In the 2006/07 season, Gavin Rae played ten illegal games for Rangers in the SPL.
Rangers finished second, on 72 points, qualifying for participation in the following season’s Champion’s League.
Looking at the Rae instance alone, if every game were to be forfeited 3-0, Rangers would have finished on 42 points with a goal difference of -1, and would have finished in 8th position, ahead of Dundee United on goal difference.
Aberdeen would have qualified for the Champions League, and Hearts the UEFA Cup.
These clubs will rightly feel angered at being cheated and losing out on valuable prize money.
Rangers reached the last 16 of the UEFA Cup in the 2006/07 season.
Gavin Rae- an illegally registered player- participated in 7 of the 10 matches Rangers played en- route.
The point of this post is to show the effect that even just one illegally registered player, who participated in a handful of matches, has on history when it redressed.
Now imagine the effect if it was almost an entire squad.
The fact this ‘football club’ is currently allowed to play the game at all is absolutely staggering.
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
August 8, 2012 at 12:24
————————————–
Dunfermline are full members of the SFL under rule 15.1
vivitron says:
August 8, 2012 at 12:40
0 0 Rate This
I think the newly adjusted SPL rules governing insolvency events are measured and fair ie a registration embargo for the duration and the greater of 15 points / one-third previous seasons points total. I’m not sure how the voting went on the proposals for a newco insolvency event transfer or financial penalties ie a reduction in league payments to insolvent clubs, can anybody post a reminder?
The crucial difference Doncaster tried to gloss over and misrepresent was that agreeing a CVA was the creditors VOLUNTEERING to accept a reduction in debt payment whereas liquidation / newco was creditors REJECTING the clubs CVA or debt repayment proposals.
Iam comfortable with the idea of SFA membership and history being transferrable provided both of the following criteria are met and adhered to.
1. Any newco or club re-creation attempts must begin at the bottom tier of Scottish League football and wholly dependant on them fully meeting the requirements for League entry.
2. SFA membership may only be transferred provided the newco meets the full criteria and conditions for SFA membership or else it must be a complete new-club and new-membership application.
Even when judging him by his own low standards, Richard Wilson’s last couple of articles have been shocking in their levels of sycophancy and misguided triumphalism.
I would expect better from a fanzine, why is the Herald’s Sports Editor allowing this clown to write the papers sporting suicide note?
BRTH
Thank you for highlighting why the SFA are so keen to “move in¨.
Club licensing was designed, and that design fortified in 2010 to stop clubs getting into financial difficulties.
It is bad enough that the rules were not observed with rigour in the past but to continue to ignore them is a dereliction of duty and the SFA cannot hope this will be swept under the carpet. I mean a national association deliberately ignoring UEFA policy (and one way or another this will be drawn to UEFA’s attention), will have really serious repercussions on the good of Scottish Football but also on the SFA and the combination will surely bring this farce of an organisation to its knees.
Club licensing is the Achilles heel of the SFA because it is UEFA policy and ignoring it when it suits is sticking two fingers up to Platini.
Re the Renaming of the Football Entity Currently Known As Sevco Scotland, the more the hordes, the MSM, the Management of said entity, continue with the Oldco name, playing at the same ground, playing the same brand of tripe, singing the same songs, the better. The more they tie themselves to the shambles under previous regimes, the more hurtful it will be when they have titles removed, the more that BDO and HMRC have to “discuss” with them.
Go on, keep it up; you are, once again, kicking yourself; just like the Sally outburst against the Tribunal, just like the lack of contrition set the rest of the footballing world against you; just like the refusal, until it was a fait accompli, to pay off any footballing debts of the Oldco; just like now, when you are boasting of “big” signings, no doubt giving the non-football creditors a sick feeling.
Keep at it; do you think anyone is going to forget in a mere season, your attitude, your sheer arrogance, your complete lack of any apology ?
Good luck with that; and the worst of luck with the FTT, the Dual Contracts, the MBB, SDM, Ticketus, and all the rest.
Move on see mobile touch screens
Just when they (Murray etc) thought it was safe to speak out, along comes RTC, showing the hacks how to write something worthwhile too! 🙂
In season 2003/ 2004, Rae played ten illegal games in the SPL.
If results are reversed?
Rangers would have finished on 51 points, in 5th place, instead of 2nd.
Hearts would have qualified for the Champion’s League, and Dunfermline the UEFA Cup.
In 2005/06, if Rae’s 8 games were reversed, Rangers would have finished in 7th place on 49 points ahead of Motherwell on goal difference.
Hibs would have qualified for the UEFA Cup instead of the Intertoto Cup.
Remember, this rewriting of history is based on the illegal registration of Gavin Rae alone.
Captain Haddock says:
August 8, 2012 at 00:31
‘We should endeavour to persevere. A Clint Eastwood film quote I believe.’
—
Not quite. It was Chief Dan George who delivered this quote in ‘the Outlaw Josie Wales’
‘ I wore this frock coat in Washington, before the war. We wore them because we belonged to the Five Civilized Tribes. We dressed ourself up like Abraham Lincoln. You know, we got to see the Secretary of the Interior. He said, “Boy! You boys sure look civilized!” He congratulated us, and he gave us medals for looking so civilized. We told him about how our land had been stolen. Our people were dying. When we finished, he shook our hands and said, “Endeavor to persevere.” They stood us in a line–John Jumper, Junior McIntosh, Buffalo Hump, Jim Pockmark, and me. I’m Lone Watie. They took our pictures, and the newspapers said, “Indians Vow to Endeavor to Persevere.” We thought about it for a long time. “Endeavor to persevere”. And when we had thought about it long enough, we declared war on the Union.’
A superb film, that re-inforces the universal human desire that the bad guys be punished and that the cry for justice must be made loud and long enough to bring that about.
RTCs latest post is devastating in its simplicity
these are the facts ,this is the dog whistle reply ,the outcome is unavoidable.
It is set out in such a simple manner that even Chic should be able to grasp that
further muddying of the waters is pointless.
The succulent goose is cooked but the MSM doesnt seem to want a taste of it
When the sheep eat lamb is that cannibalism ?
C’mon boys its time to move up the evolutionary ladder ,lamb is lamb and disguising its flavour
with Mint doesnt make it duck, fish or pork .
So dont duck your responsibilities ,go fishing for the truth and stop telling us porkies
Rangersgate left the football sphere months ago. It’s been political since then.
Perhaps fans approaching individual MSPs, MPs, would be fruitful in the same way fans confronted their own Club’s CEOs which resulted in SFL(Div 3) instead of Div 1.
Bowenboys
You are not reading all posts. I responded in the wee hours.
I speak from experience but you have to be persistent.
Three months later it becomes reality.
It is obvious that sdm thinks we are all like the halfwits who were and are still afraid of him.Does he really expect us to believe that crock of s**t he came out with on Monday.If as he say’s he has done nothing wrong why will he not call a press conference to clear his name,it’s not like there would be hack’s in attendence who would ask him any awkward question’s.The man is a serial lier and conman who could not give a rats a** what we think of him.I think we all know there will never be a journo in Scotland who will ask him anything other than what’s on the menu tonight Sir David.
I’d just like to rebut a few points made on the latest RTC post.
Firstly, bonus payments are, by definition, discretionary.
Secondly the following statement: “Rangers FC (the oldco) was able to pay higher wages to sign and retain better quality players during the decade in which the scheme operated” is a clear misrepresentation of the situation and used purely to promote a desired outcome, in this case the rewriting of history. You can’t with a straight face tell me that having guys like Steven Smith, Alex Rae and Gavin Rae, who all used the EBT scheme, was a primary factor in any Rangers successes over the past decade.
Thirdly, this statement is even more outlandish than the prior one: “The combination of illegally using an EBT scheme to obtain a £49m advantage in paying for players and violating SPL rules on declaring payments to players is premeditated financial doping.” To begin with, using the EBT to obtain a financial advantage is not within the remit of the SPL investigation. Having players illegally registered is but what possible sporting advantage is gained from such a scenario? The cold truth is there is none. To then characterise this as financial doping is pushing the boundaries of reality to new levels. It is worth remembering that during the time period in which EBTs were used, Celtic spent exorbitant wages on a number of players. If you want to look at financial doping, check out the early years of the Martin O’Neill era. Or if you want something more recent take a look at the signing of Robbie Keane. Unfortunately, there are no trophies which can be stripped from that latter period.
I can see very clearly the game the RTC blog is trying to play and it’s a clever one. But at least have the humility to remain grounded in reality rather than hyperbole when you simultaneously attack the Scottish media for the same crime.
BRTH,
That’s 2 posts on here today (Mark Dickson’s the other) that shows a level of research and writing ability that puts shame on the MSM. A third is to be found over on RTC. I really enjoyed the story of Fouquet by itself and also the comparison with his modern day counterpart. Wouldn’t it be a nice thought if Murray had frequented Fouquet’s Bar and, one day, while sipping the best red wine in the house, and pondering how to continue to outspend Celtic, had a ‘Eureka’ moment and called out, ‘Fouquet, EBTs are the way to go!’
Has anyone compared the number of EBT recipients as listed by Mark Daly to the number last quoted by RTC?—- now there is an interesting little snippet!
Is there a single member of the Scottish Mainstream Media that will follow up RTC’s example of cheating in the Gavin Rae contracts? Anyone? Just one?
I think we’ll need to rely on a member of the English based media. The best wee country in the world? Aye right.
vivitron says:
August 8, 2012 at 12:40
You can rest assured that nothing like you suggest will happen until the SFA/SPL are certain TRFC are not going to enter another insolvency event. So that might well be some time in coming.
BRTH – wonderful!
Whil TSFM is excellent and a great medium for maintaining some kind of communication and pressure, without the knowledge and insight of RTC we would have been done. We require that level of irrefutable fact to defeat those who are intent in continuing the disgraceful corruption that has destroyed Scottish football for at least 14 years.
RTC 83 EBTs ? really not 38?
Going by previous comments from the great one, I’ll assume from the latest RTC post that the Gavin Rae/EBT story is just the first to see the light on there.
And I also assume that it’s a long, long way from being the last before the FTT declare a result.
So now we know about Rae G., Ferguson B., Nerlinger, Klos and Dodds. Who next?
5StarsorBehindBars says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:01
Re the Renaming of the Football Entity Currently Known As Sevco Scotland, the more the hordes, the MSM, the Management of said entity, continue with the Oldco name, playing at the same ground, playing the same brand of tripe, singing the same songs, the better. The more they tie themselves to the shambles under previous regimes, the more hurtful it will be when they have titles removed, the more that BDO and HMRC have to “discuss” with them.
========================
HMRC and BDO will be more interested in the people who owned and operated Rangers FC PLC than they are in Sevco.
HMRC as much as said that in their press release when they blocked the CVA and moved for BDO to become the liquidator.
People still seem to be under the impression that HMRC will walk away from millions of pounds in unpaid tax, and that those responsible will not be brought to account. This is not the case.
Now if anyone behind Rangers FC PLC is also involved with Sevco, then that’s another matter entirely.
ayrfan says:
—————-
mocking Murray is fair game
mocking disability is totally unacceptable
please do not bring this site down to the gutter level, we have standards on here
thank you
Now– what was disclosed to the SFA Auditor re the payments to Gavin Rae– salaries and bonuses? What was in the Auditors report to the Licensing committee? What were they told re Gavin Rae and his renumeration? Who sat on those committees? Who was the SFA Chief Executive at the time and what knowledge would he have had re financial arrangements and financial matters generally?
There are more questions than answers…………
Ianc says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:37
0 0 Rate This
RTC 83 EBTs ? really not 38?
All in i think 111 different sub trusts in M.I.H Re-numeration Scheme, 56 players and staff at RFC(ia) from memory i cant remeber the number of side letters but that a moot point as they are guilty as hell, SDM will end up in C Hall at ra big hoos next year IMO 😉
Well another fine post by RTC.
As I said earlier, no need to panic about coming up with topics for discussion. The mighty Sevconians are so full of crap that they cannot help but provide us with cannon fodder for a long time to come.
As for the SFA they ought to have some form of financial comfort from Green to support his business plan, if not they are failing in their responsibilities once again.
If and when Sevco go under will the SFA allow yet another rebirth?
What about the songbook last night?
Perhaps fans should keep bombarding UEFA with instances of corruption.
When does Lord Hodge come back?
How far back will BDO go to get money for the creditors and will they pursue the individuals to repay the “loans”?
When will the bullying and intimidation be dealt with?
As for the overall integrity of the game, are the clubs tacitly giving their approval to all of the SFA/SPL shenanigans?
If they are against corruption why do they not call for an EGM and have the outstanding issues, and the culprits who are corrupt within the SFA dealt with?
One thing for sure, this will run for years. The only certainty is that there will be no Rangers, they are deceased. The Sevconians can call themselves what they want but we know that they are, and always will be Sevco, a company with no history, no accounts and with no right to be in any league if the rules had been applied.
the olympians unlike the governors of scottish football and dare i say the msm knew a bit about sporting integrity,if a competitor was caught cheating they had to pay for a giant bronze statue of zeus. when complete this statue would be erected and be a permanent reminder of the misdeed for all to see. the point of this was not only the fiscal penalty but to punish the cheat and remind others to compete within the rules.contrast this to the treatment of thee rangers portrayed as victims in the media and rule after rule broken to somehow shovel them back in to this joke of scottish football.ordinary fans are tired of the lies and deceit of these governors, journalists and rangers henchmen.you may find a lot of us walking away after all.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:48
There are more questions than answers…………
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Is it just me, or is there a strong “Peaty” smell about this whole affair?
Lest we forget;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18148818
72 players and staff listed here.
83 quoted by RTC today.
The missing 11? The Cardigan for one, according to the ‘nuclear’ information.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:48
Now– what was disclosed to the SFA Auditor re the payments to Gavin Rae– salaries and bonuses? What was in the Auditors report to the Licensing committee? What were they told re Gavin Rae and his renumeration? Who sat on those committees? Who was the SFA Chief Executive at the time and what knowledge would he have had re financial arrangements and financial matters generally?
There are more questions than answers…………
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For once I must disagree with you, BRTH. There are the same number of answers as there are questions, we just might not hear all the answers. Unfortunately, there have also been the same number of lies (from Sevco, SDM, MSM…), as there have been questions 🙁 so far 🙂
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
August 8, 2012 at 10:13
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(sorry for the delay in joining the party…..decided to get my life back for a week or so)
anyway….
so £135k a week income
250k a week to run it
a loss of £115k a week with crowds of 38,000 turning up
they have 500k in the bank – so they will last 4-5 weeks
good luck with that then Charlie
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NTHMC…welcome back…one day I will try to get my life away from this blog…but until then.
May I commend your “beancounting” skills and confirm that your conclusion is roughly the same as mine…I forecast administrarion by the end of October, since I think they will shaft a few creditors on the way through September/October (yes there will be mugs who extend them credit…!)
But wait a moment…is there not another Knight (White/Whyre/Blue/Green) arriving in the wings with £10m to throw Charlie’s way? Mr Newcastle United himself? How do you factor that in? Answer…you don’t, it is all MSM hype/tripe!
PS I sincerely hope you are not in practice as a beancounter anywhere near me…competition like this would be too keen…(just the way (-S)DM used to regard such little problems…and I certainly could not afford such copious amounts of succulent lamb and finest red…well maybe in your case I could!)
What was the name of the Agency that Gordon Smith worked for when operating as a football agent– and did they represent any of the EBT beneficiaries?
cracking post by RTC!! lays out the (in some instances) simplicity of the scheme (scam)
Here’s a question…….
If the EBT’s were ‘independently administered’, how did the applications/ submissions for release happen so regularly and widespread?
Shirley this points to a ‘scheme’ that was solely administered either by Rangers FC PLC/ MIH or by someone very close to them/ or with a ‘holding interest’.
quite staggering if true!
welcome back RTC, it was only a matter of time that he came out of his brief retirement after the sheer guff old Minty Moonbeams was peddling earlier this week!
Gavin Rae FFS, I mean I can almost understand (wrong and disgraceful as it was) why they would offer the likes of De Boer an EBT but Rae!? Gavin Rae!!?? They honestly thought they’d never get caught did they?
Keep it up RTC! (Or is it TSFM now?)
As others have said today’s Herald is utterly appalling. Surely following the Sunday herald’s advertising of the phone number for The Rangers season ticket hotline (sic) – someone at the paper would have felt a bit uneasy and started a conversation at the editorial meetings? clearly not. 3 big European matches taking place, Olympic golds, Syria, the economy – but they fill endles pages on a football team and a match where the crowd figures are being lied about!
If The Guardian, The Telegraph & The Independent started covering Scottish football a tiny bit more they could wipe the board with our excuse for a media
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:03
He represented Kenny Miller though I can’t recall the name of the agency he worked for.
CE says: August 8, 2012 at 13:58
83 EMPLOYEES and players – 72 named
11 others – now who could that relate to….. think managers/ ex managers/ directors/ family?
obonfanti88 –
the EBT benificiarys individual skill is irrelevant. The fact that Gavin Rae was remunerated in this manner freed up funds to remunerate others. That’s the point. In other words oft repeated, they paid players they could not otherwise afford with money rightfully belonging to the taxman = the taxpayers = you and I,
Mozza,
What sporting advantage did Spartans have when they incorrectly completed a registration document? It was enough to have their victory over Beith(?) revoked and subsequently booted out of the Scottish Cup and missing out on a tie with Partick Thistle.
If Rangers failed to disclose all payments in the contracts lodged with the SFA & SPL then technically the registration is incomplete and the players eligibility is breached.
If it is appropriate to have teams kicked out of competitions and results reversed for fielding ineligible players ….. as FC Sion did against Celtic and Swiss league opponents then why should a similar application of the rules not apply to Rangers?
In Spartans case it was an accident / clerical error, in Rangers case it seems to have been a decade long deliberate policy.
Why should Rangers FC get any clemency for breaking the rules? No other clubs do.
Mozza says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:21
“Firstly, bonus payments are, by definition, discretionary.”
No they are not. A player’s contract will stipulate what bonuses he is entitled to for wins, draws, progression through cup competitions, league placing etc. Not discretionary at all.
“Secondly the following statement: “Rangers FC (the oldco) was able to pay higher wages to sign and retain better quality players during the decade in which the scheme operated” is a clear misrepresentation of the situation…”
No, it is not. The identity of the players involved, and their ability level is irrelevant. Rangers were able to put teams on the pitch they could not have afforded to if they had been paying tax on their wages. Rangers subverted every competition they entered while paying players via EBT.
“Having players illegally registered is but what possible sporting advantage is gained from such a scenario?”
Illegally registering players allowed you to sign players you could not otherwise have afforded. Giving you a clear sporting advantage.
CE says:
August 8, 2012 at 13:58
Is it just possible that Walter Smith and maybe some of the other missing 10,have taken out so called ‘Super Injunctions’ to prevent disclosure?
I watched Gavin Rae kick anything that moved on Saturday. I thought then that surely a useless, slow witted, journeyman thug like him would never have had an EBT, whilst at Rangers.
Apparently, I was wrong…
It would appear that Gavin Rae’s agent was Universal Sports Management Ltd— namely Trevor Steven………. now there is a name from the past
eddie rice says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:17
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Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:03
He represented Kenny Miller though I can’t recall the name of the agency he worked for.
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Pro-Star Management I believe
TheBlackKnight says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:19
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CE says: August 8, 2012 at 13:58
83 EMPLOYEES and players – 72 named
11 others – now who could that relate to….. think managers/ ex managers/ directors/ family?
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It would be juicy to find out or discover they were refereeing or match officials or supervisors (or former), league or football association representatives (or former), other clubs staff or representatives (or former), journalists (current or former) ……….
Scotland Behave says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:27
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http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/honesty-pays-for-agents-who-make-most-of-the-window-of-opportunity-1.133208
does anyone think gavin rae and his agent really expected to be paid that well ?
gavin rae !!
in a move from dundee ??
scotlands greatest businessman my erse.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan August 8, 2012 at 14:03
Gordon Smith Sports Management previously Glacetreat
https://www.duedil.com/company/SC204725/gordon-smith-sports-management-limited
I am certain there is a working connection with another agent whereby they had a football agency together….. perhaps Trevor Steven
Another fabulous post from BRTH, a man who not only researches his piece but tells it with some aplomb. Well done Sir!
There is also a new insightful piece from RTC, another stalwart of ‘Internet Bampottery’.
Two more gold’s for team RTC
The same company represented Michael Ball
Charlie
It very much depends on what example you choose to look at. Dundee for example were relegated while at the same time Livingston had fielded a player who was technically ineligible. My point is it takes a remarkable level of bitterness and, frankly, weakness to try and re-write history on the basis of technical breeches. To call it cheating is simply insane.
Charlie Brown says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:29
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Wild goose chase territory there I’m afraid Charlie. Employees of RFC(NIL). As TBK says, think directors, management, coaching staff, rabble-rouser-in-chief, and such like.
Mozza says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:34
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If you truly believe RFC(NIL)’s systematic and sustained financial doping to be a ‘technical breech’, then please reread the entire back catalogue of RTC then get back to us.
I think (-S)DM will be having a ‘technical breech’ in a Charlotte House WC after digesting RTC’s latest missive.
CE says:
August 8, 2012 at 14:35
“Wild goose chase territory there I’m afraid Charlie. Employees of RFC(NIL). As TBK says, think directors, management, coaching staff, ‘cheeky’ rabble-rouser-in-chief, cardigans and such like.”
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LOL 😉
edited that for you!
Methinks Jack has a new nom de plume
You can stamp your feet, scream, and shout, but it won’t change facts
CE
‘Financial doping’ is not under investigation by the SPL. If they do want to investigate financial doping in the SPL’s lifetime then bring it on I say. Alternatively, we could drop the pretense that anyone really cares about phrases like financial doping.