Bad Money?

It’s now seven years since the festering sore on the skin of Scottish Football became fully septic, causing the liquidation of Rangers Football Club. Many of us at that time felt that the environment which had enabled the systematic, industrial scale cheating by that club, having now been exposed as unfit to fulfil its purpose, would be dismantled and replaced by something more accountable, more transparent, more honest.

Many more of us thought that other clubs who were the victims of the cheating that had gone on would be seeking a clear-out and a rewrite of the rule book, if for no other purpose than to ensure that a repeat was not possible.

We were all mistaken.

Let’s be honest about this. Football, whether it is played in Scotland or Argentina, at the Maracana Stadium or at Fleshers Haugh, is a rules-based endeavour. The rules of the game – both on the field and in its administration – are there to ensure as level a playing field as possible, to ensure that the constraints put on one club are the same for the rest.

Referees are in place to ensure the rules are complied with on the pitch, albeit with varying degrees of success. No matter what you might think of the guys in black, their craft is carried out in full public gaze, and consequently they are accountable to public opinion.

Off the field though, things are rather more opaque. Without the revelations of Charlotte Fakes for instance, we would never have known that a club had applied for a licence with false information, to a committee partly comprised of two folk who were employees of that club, and by extension part of the deception. Nor would we have known that the Chief Executive of the SFA had written to the club in question looking for approval on how the controversy surrounding the issue of the licence could be managed in the media.

The detail of the crimes of the people in charge of our game are the domain of those who have relentlessly pursued the truth of these matters. The devil is always in the detail, and the real devil is concealed in the fact that many of us are forced to switch off when confronted by the daunting prospect of having to follow that multi-threaded narrative.

In that regard, we owe much to the likes of Auldheid and EasyJambo (and many others) who unravel those threads for us and present the facts in a way most of us can follow. By doing so, they have allowed us to keep our eye on the ball.

Despairingly though, the upshot is that no matter what the facts tell us, Scottish football, at boardroom level, aided and abetted by the mainstream media, has no interest in seeking justice, or more importantly, clearing house.

The sins of the past will be the sins of the future, because the authorities have learned no lessons in the wake of Rangers’ liquidation, and in fact have now enshrined Doublespeak as the official language of the game.
No sporting advantage is a curious phrase used to describe sporting advantage
Imperfectly registered in lieu of not registered
Same for Different

I could go on, but the sins of one club, whilst fundamentally undermining the integrity of the sport in this country, are not the real problem. The authorities who set out to distort, bend, break, and tear up the rule-book are.

So too are the clubs who have refused to back their fans’ demand for proper oversight of the game, who have stood back and said nothing (except: “nothing to do with us guv!”) whilst their Patsies at Hampden do their dirty work, refusing to engage with or explain themselves to fans. These are the real culprits, they who have betrayed the trust of their own supporters. And if we are looking for a reason, look no further than their bank balances.

The recent scandal where the SPFL shared the outcome of its Unacceptable Behaviour report with the Scottish Government on the basis that it would not be made public shines a harsh spotlight on this.

The football authorities currently receive public funds from government, but in a “have your cake and eat it” scenario, they are accountable to no-one but themselves – and that’s how they want to keep it.

Publication of the SPFL report would put them at risk of having the accountability that they fear thrust on them. No-one in football wants the sectarian blight on our game to be cast under the glare of public focus. Especially if it becomes apparent that the game itself is the medium in which sectarianism thrives best.

And they know that it does exactly that. The trouble is that the societal divisions caused by sectarianism is a money maker. The old adage sectarianism sells has never been truer. The divide and rule model of empire applied to football. It is good box office.

But making football accountable could force measures to be put in place to cut out sectarian behaviour – and the clubs do not want that. It’s not the fear of being held responsible for their own fans’ behaviour under Strict Liability that worries the CFOs of our clubs – it’s the fear of losing the hatred which sees the money – bad money if you will – roll in.

Why did the cover up take place? Because losing Rangers was just not acceptable to football. Removing one of the vital protagonists in a money making cartel that thrives on hatred was a greater fear than any altruistic notion of sporting integrity (also now Doublespeak for “lack of integrity”).

Who could have foreseen that amidst the chaos surrounding Rangers demise, that they were only a symptom of the greed and couldn’t care less attitude of the money-men in football, and that our eyes would eventually be opened to the possibility that the football industry in Scotland is itself the enemy of public harmony?

Ironic perhaps, that the beautiful game, born out of the sense of community felt by the founding fathers of all our clubs, would emerge as a major malign influence in those communities.

There is no doubt that football is not prepared to cede any of its sovereignty to its customer base. They will go on – as long as we continue to bankroll them – in exactly the same way, like their bedfellows in the media a self-regulating industry with little or no regard for the public.

I am a supporter of Strict Liability, and we have already had discussions on the pros and cons of such an intervention. It is also clear that there is no SFM consensus on that. I want to leave that aside for the moment, because we do have a consensus surrounding our desire to see greater accountability in the game, and it is clear that fans’ voices, however temperately and eloquently articulated, are falling on deaf ears at Hampden.

The women’s game at the World Cup has recently provided us a window into the past, of the origins of the sport in Scotland. That which is a celebration of each others endeavour, skill, excellence and culture. The spirit of our game nowadays is a million miles away from that, because the market has taken over. 

Taming the wild excesses of the market is the responsibility of government. It’s about time the Scottish Government did just that. It is certainly clear that the SFA or the SPFL have zero interest in reining themselves in.

We have suggestions if anyone is listening.

This entry was posted in Blogs, Featured by Big Pink. Bookmark the permalink.
John Cole

About Big Pink

Big Pink is John Cole; a former schoolteacher based in the West of Scotland, He is also a print and broadcast journalist who is engaged in the running of SFM . Former gigs include Newstalk 106, the Celtic View, and Channel67. A Celtic fan, he is also the voice of our podcast initiative.

738 thoughts on “Bad Money?


  1. Re: assorted RIFC/TRFC court dates.

    The Internet Bampots are starting to lose track of the multiplying court cases.

    But, spare a thought for King and his management team.  Their heads must be permanently spinning, trying to keep up to date with court actions, dates, preparation, meeting their lawyers in advance, trying to pay legal bills, etc…

     

    Re: TRFC new club or not?

    I know it's a new club, ergo I am a national threat!

    (Bit unclear though: am I a threat to Scotland or to The UK & N.I., or both…?)

    enlightened

     

     


  2. Ex Ludo 24th June 2019 at 12:29 He went on: “I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. To have a security vetting officer ask me do I think Glasgow Rangers Football Club are a new club or are they the same club because someone’s put to them that is a security concern … I was genuinely bemused.”
    ………………
    And if you answer they are the same club?
    Then there will always be a job ready for you at the SFA or the SMSM in Scotland.


  3. Why not just listen to what Rangers themselves say about it. This comes from their web page.

     

    2 ABOUT US

    The Rangers Football Club (“The Club”) is a sports entertainment company incorporated in Scotland with Company Number SC425159. The registered office is Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD.

     

     

    This comes from the Companies House web page.

     

     

    THE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED

    Company number SC425159

    Registered office address

    Ibrox Stadium, 150 Edmiston Drive, Glasgow, G51 2XD

    Incorporated on 29 May 2012

    =================================

    Who am I to argue with that.


  4. Homunculus 24th June 2019 at 22:49

    '..Who am I to argue with that..'

    +++++++++++

    And where the heck have you been this last wee while!broken heart

    For my part, I have spent an hour or two this evening drafting a letter to the FCA, suggesting that the 'Summary' of the RFIC plc IPO was misleading to potential investors in that it strongly implied that TRFC was the Rangers of 1872, loaded with more sporting titles and honours than any other football club, worldwide, and was therefore a good investment.

    I haven't yet sent the letter, but I think I may do, tomorrow.

    Just to let them have it on file that some (many?) of us think that CG and those who became the RIFC board worked a flanker on them and showed up their weakness as any kind of regulatory body.

    And we, having some experience of the weakness of our own football 'regulatory' body , are inclined to be suspicious of the actions of other 'regulatory' bodies, are we not?

     

     


  5. Homunculus@22.49 getting to the heart of the matter. Now if we could just persuade one the BBC Sportsound pundits to read that out live on air. Who could argue with it? ???


  6. Homunculus

    The complete absence of self-awareness in that "About Us" caption is amazing.

    Suppose it is true that when you lie you have to remember to keep lying until everyone forgets.

    Really eye-watering


  7. Good spot, Homunculus. Surprised that hasn't been spotted and highlighted on here before (as far as I can recall). JC, perhaps you should include this in your letter to the FCA?


  8. The is a very small word but has new and huge implications for recent Ibrox club, The Rangers Football Club. Old club were just known as RFC, same amount of letters as the. The truth of the matter is the.


  9. nawlite 25th June 2019 at 13:17

    '…. JC, perhaps you should include this in your letter to the FCA?'

    +++++++++++

    I've only just come back in from posting my letter, not having been on the blog until this minute! But I think I mention the same kind of point about the newness of TRFC.

    Here is the text of what I posted to the CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority:

    "Mr Andrew Bailey,

    Chief Executive Officer,

    The Financial Conduct Authority,

    12 Endeavour Square,

    London

    E20 1JN

     

    Dear Mr Bailey,

     

    Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)

    and Rangers International Football Club plc IPO prospectus 2012

     

    You will, of course, know -and understand far better than I- the provisions of the FSMA as they bear on the drawing up of a prospectus in connection with the launch of an Initial Public Offer (IPO) by a company looking to raise capital by going 'public'.

     

    The provisions, in brief, stipulate that the Financial Conduct Authority may not approve a prospectus unless the prospectus contains the 'necessary information', which is defined as 'the information necessary to enable investors to make an informed assessment of the issuer.'

     

    Further, the required 'summary' of the prospectus 'must convey … the key information relevant to the securities which…when read with the rest of the prospectus, must be an aid to investors in considering whether to invest in the securities”.

     

    It is my belief that the FCA failed to comply with requirements when it approved the prospectus issued by or on behalf of Rangers International Football Club plc in 2012.

     

    In my opinion, the 'Summary' is so written as to imply that the club which came into the ownership of RIFC plc was the Rangers Football Club that was founded in 1872.

     

    This, of course, is manifestly not the case.

     

    The Rangers Football Club that was founded in 1872 went into Liquidation in 2012 (it had been renamed shortly before that event as Rangers 2012 plc).

     

    It therefore had to surrender its share in the then Scottish Premier League (SPL) and on that account lost its membership of the Scottish Football Association(SFA)

     

    It simply ceased to exist as a professional football club.

     

    The football club that came into the ownership of RIFC plc , and which is the football club which constitutes the principal business of RIFC plc , was a club that was founded in 2012 and which, as a brand new creation, had to apply for the first time for membership of a Scottish Professional football league in order to gain membership of the SFA.

     

    In pure objective fact, as a new football club, it can have no claim to be the Rangers of 1872 , no claim to the record of success of that liquidated Rangers , and no grounds for expressing the hope or expectation of 'returning' to the levels in Scottish Football that the liquidated club had in its long existence achieved.

     

    In my opinion, the 'Summary' in the Prospectus failed to give all the information necessary to enable investors to make an informed assessment of the prospects of the issue, by being so written as to lead potential investors to believe that they would be investing in a world-famous club with a world-beating record of Sporting achievements, instead of a wholly new club. It was written, in other words, in such a way as to suggest that the liquidated club had merely changed hands but was otherwise alive and well.

     

    I believe that those commercial enterprises whose business is professional football are not special cases to which the legislation governing the 'market' should not apply.

    In my opinion, FSMA should have been applied to the RIFC plc prospectus.

     

    Had it been properly applied, the FCA would have been in breach of its statutory duty by approving the prospectus as it stood.

    I think it right to draw your attention to that breach, in the expectation that you will draw it to the attention of those who gave that approval.

     

    Yours sincerely,  "

     

     


  10. Can't find if David Turnbull has actually signed for CFC.

     

    Latest I can find is that he had to return to Manchester for a second scan.

    Thought we had doctors in Glasgow who could do medicals, (typically at Ross Hall?).

    And why a second scan?

     

    Anybody?


  11. Just reading on Evening Times online that it might have fallen through due to problems with the medical.


  12. Stevie, comment on a CFC forum – "Turnbull seemingly has a blood condition, hemochromatosis…can be managed, has to give blood regularly, this could be the hold up…"


  13. Stevie BC/Nawlite

    smiley This is for sure (because I have been told many times) not a Celtic facing site


  14. bordersdon 25th June 2019 at 21:06

    Stevie BC/Nawlite smiley This is for sure (because I have been told many times) not a Celtic facing site

    ============

     

    Apologies bordersdon.

    I've given myself a good talking to, and I've been banished to the naughty step for the rest of the night.

    no


  15. Why did the cover up take place? Because losing Rangers was just not acceptable.
    ……………….
    And that is where we are.
    ………
    It’s now seven years since the festering sore on the skin of Scottish Football went fully septic, causing the liquidation of Rangers Football Club.
    ……….
    And seven years we have had to endure the big lie.
    ……………….
    In that regard, we owe much to the likes of Auldheid and EasyJambo (and others) who unravel those threads for us and present the facts in a way most of us can follow. By doing so, they have allowed us to keep our eye on the ball.
    …………..
    The internet just came to fruition at the wrong time for an ibrox club and the print media.
    …………………..
    Good Blog.


  16. Big Pink 25th June 2019 at 13:12

    '..Suppose it is true that when you lie you have to remember to keep lying until everyone forgets.'

    +++++++++++

    And also, BP, there is a truth in this quotation:

    "..part of the secret of being believed lies in the size of your lie since…the broad masses of people…will ..more easily be taken in by a big lie than a small one, for very likely they themselves lie in small things , but would feel too ashamed to indulge in a really big lie. An untruth of this kind would never occur to them, and they will never be able to believe in the possibility of such insolent, scandalous distortion;.." 

    Reflecting on that observation, one thinks how true it is.

    Because while it may be expected that ,occasionally, there may be  individual sports participants, individual officials , and individual sports clubs that may dishonour themselves and Sport, and  individual football club owners who  cheat their fellow club owners for a decade or so,  no one would for a moment think that a sports governance body would be capable of what the SFA found itself capable of: the creation of a really, really  BIG LIE. 

    (the quotation is from Adolph Hitler , the next best liar to the Father of Lies that the world has ever seen. See 'Hitler the Pawn' by Rudolf Olden, published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1936.)


  17. Thanks John, good blog that should have a wider readership.

     

    The football authorities currently receive public funds from government, but in a “have your cake and eat it” scenario, they are accountable to no-one but themselves – and that’s how they want to keep it.

     

     

    We need to become political.


  18. Andy Newport ( who works for Press Association) seems quite happy to help King propagate the myth, using 'The Scotsman" as a his propaganda vehicle.

    He uncritically 'reports' a statement from King which includes this 

    “I [King] have said before, but it is worth repeating, that Rangers is special and, having won more trophies than any other club in the world, we have a genuinely unique place in football history. ."

    It is absolutely untrue that TRFC has won more trophies than any other club in the world. 

    It is true, however, that TRFC has a genuinely unique place in football history: as a 7-year-old club claiming to have been founded in 1872! No other club in the whole history of football has made such a deceitful claim.

    And no other Football Governance body in the world would contemplate permitting such a ridiculous claim to be made.

    Yes, the SFA also has a genuinely unique place in football history as being a sports governance body which has thoroughly dishonoured itself and the sport it  'governs' by abandoning the very concept of sporting truth in a craven , mercenary surrender to cheats.

    What was it that Adolf was saying about constant repetition being necessary to ensure that the big lie is hammered home?

     

     


  19. Excellent blog BP.

    Anything built on hate cannot last. It is a guarantee of destruction, slow or fast, it is a reality that marches to the beat of it's own drum.

    What would it take to change attitudes though? I am copying this over  from my comments on another blog where Women's football was the topic for I believe from experience there is much to be learned from encouraging what the women could bring to the men's game both sporting AND commercial.

    =====

    On womens football I’m biased. My lass, 37 last week, has Scottish Cup , Scottish League medals won with Glasgow City.

    Played U17 for Scotland in France , Faroe Islands, Israel and Wembley. She was pretty useful and the current crop are a step up from her playing days from 1990 to 2006 when she moved to London. She now works in Manhatten with NBA. She has friends from that time with good professional careers.

    I’ve watched some technically gifted play in the WWC and enjoy the fact that mistakes happen or midfield isnt quickly suffocated or the goalies are in difficulty with high shots or crosses.

    However my warmth to the game is in watching how well the girls that my lass played with and against learned from mixing with each other in terms of religion and race to become decent human beings and adults in the professional world outside sport.

    That attitude, of at worst respect and at best friendship towards each other, is something missing from the mens game and most certainly in Scotland where hate is the competitive driver not sport or the love of it.

    There is though a commercial aspect that makes it worthwhile bringing the attitudes in womens football to men's by changing the demography of the spectators.

    My good lady has no interest whatsoever in men's football but as I’m watching the Scotland v England match with headphones on I’m aware of shouting from behind me. I take of earphones whilst she starts asking questions about players and incidents. She has watched all Scotland games since and others. Total transformation.

    She was hooked and at the very least she now has an understanding when I go off my head when a goal is scored or some incident happens.

    So there is your audience to transform Scottish football into a family event to replace those who follow football in order to hate. God knows we need more love, in whatever form it manifests itself, than hate in the world as a whole and healing has to start somewhere.

    On some not being interested had it been Celtic (or Rangers or Hibs etc) Ladies playing in the Womens Champions league would that not make it interesting to a whole  Celtic supporting family, not just dad and sons?

    I love the way the womens game has matured, I might even claim to have played my part in the early 90s as I drove to Cumberbauld from EK via Bridgeton, (yup the wee yin and her family were Rangers folk and her dad and I would enjoy watching our girls play in each others company) , Maryhill and then Bellshill to collect another 2 who played at full International level.

    What we are watching in this WWC is a game in progress towards greater maturity with attitudes and behaviours that would enrich the mens sport and might even become a cure for hate.

     

     


  20. In the nicest possible way …

    I haven't read posts on this site in any kind of detail for some months, so thought it may be informative to check in and see what fresh new Monitoring of Scottish Fitba was going on.

    Imagine my surprise to find that it still definitely isn't a Celtic-facing site and, further, that most posts are still concerned with whether TRFC are a new club or not, with letters from "Angry of Tunbridge Wells" still being fired off to persons who will – without a shadow of a doubt – stamp them "Old Firm Fan" and file them appropriately.

    Rangers / TRFC / King / Green / etc will not now be exposed for what they did, no matter how righteous the arguments otherwise. Get over it and move on with your life.

    Or – please yourself – continue to strut and fret to an audience which has gradually excused itself, leaving only a mirror behind their vacated seats.

    COYR

    🙂


  21. Angus1983

    Rangers have already  been exposed for what they did and so have the part of the SFA and SPFL in minimizing the full extent of the betrayal towards member clubs by RFC from 2000.

    Had RFC been charged with bringing the game into disrepute by not acting in good faith towards member clubs before Craig Whyte became a useful deflection  patsie,  it would have resulted in a decision that what they had done was the same as or worse than match fixing.

    That would have made it impossible to allow them to continue to be part of Scottish football, a consequence that those in charge could not countenance, so they used the judicial process to produce the desired result of guilty on lesser charges.

    The problem is that not enough supporters or clubs care nor does the club whose shareholders do and whose club are part of the sham by relying on the same untrustworthy process to drag on for over 2 years in spite of being given evidence of being defrauded. 

    Such a judgement by the SFA or whoever would take us back to evidence of dishonesty by the same people still running TRFC and either they go or their club goes.

    The latter  puts football in their thrall because of same fear of the consequences, which makes rules useless as the glue that keeps  football from being no more than a rammy.

    It says  more about those protecting  a lie than those seeking footballing justice in order to restore some degree of integrity in the sport.

    If it's not written down it never happened and whilst the main stream media refuse to write it down those doing so via social media will leave a record for history to judge the first 20 years of Scottish football in the 21st century.

    The game that died of sham.

    (No typo)


  22. Angus

    To coin a cliché: if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem …


  23. Angus1983@ 12.10

    —————————————————————

    Angus, are you Stewartie Milne min??!!

    I agree there should be more to SFM than the BIG LIE but it is up to us to bring other debates to the table (I think the current blog is very relevant). Despite this I for one hope that efforts to publicly expose the truth will never die.


  24. Angus1883

    When answers to Res12 are provided that say licence was granted and kept properly or the whole process was a breach of good faith is moving on possible.

    The responsibility for obtaining those answers lay with Celtic and they passed the opportunity.

    It fell to shareholders to pursue via the AGM and answers will have to be forthcoming long before then as Celtic are answerable to shareholders.


  25. Neil Doncaster on "unacceptable conduct". 

    https://stv.tv/news/scotland/1438836-doncaster-heartened-by-action-taken-by-clubs-on-fan-conduct/

    It doesn't look as if the SPFL clubs are ready to change anything soon.

    It has also recently emerged that the league has compiled data over the last two years related to unacceptable conduct within grounds – however this data is not available to the public due to an agreement between the SPFL and the Scottish Government.

    Doncaster said: “We agreed with Humza Yousaf’s predecessor Michael Matheson that that information would be shared with the Scottish Government, but it should remain confidential.

    “There was a concern that that information could be misused or misinterpreted. I understand the concerns that exist and understand why people want to see whatever information is available.

    “We have had the request from Humza Yousaf to make that information available but we have agreed with the government that it would remain confidential, we have honoured that agreement and we expect that agreement to be honoured.

    “Equally we understand the public interest that there is in this information and we have had the request now for us to change our stance, we will take that request back to our board and when we are in a position to respond we will do so.”


  26. Angus1983 26th June 2019 at 12:10
    I haven’t read posts on this site in any kind of detail for some months, so thought it may be informative to check in and see what fresh new Monitoring of Scottish Fitba was going on.
    …………..
    We try our best to see what fresh new Monitoring of Scottish Fitba is going on. But the ibrox shambles grab all the headlines.
    As the Blog above states.
    It’s now seven years since the festering sore on the skin of Scottish Football became fully septic, causing the liquidation of Rangers Football Club. Many of us at that time felt that the environment which had enabled the systematic, industrial scale cheating by that club, having now been exposed as unfit to fulfil its purpose, would be dismantled and replaced by something more accountable, more transparent, more honest.
    But as you can see that festering sore has turned gangrene.
    ………………………
    Or – please yourself – continue to strut and fret to an audience which has gradually excused itself, leaving only a mirror behind their vacated seats.
    ………….
    As you yourself say. I haven’t read posts on this site in any kind of detail for some months,
    …………….
    When we are all dead and gone and even one audience member who may never have read a post but looks in will get to know the big lie is just what it is a big lie, the truth will out no matter how the football governent bodies the smsm and the ibrox club try to hide it the corruption and cheating will always be known.
    Each small candle, lights a corner of the Dark.


  27. Angus1983 26th June 2019 at 12:10

    '..Rangers / TRFC / King / Green / etc will not now be exposed for what they did, no matter how righteous the arguments otherwise. '

    +++++++++++

    For most of us, if not perhaps for you , Angus (in the nicest possible way of course) letting evil go unchallenged is not an option.

    Liars and cheats have to be called out.

    Perhaps in the short term, the calling out may not appear to be terribly effective: there are many powerful liars and a heavily partisan SMSM backing them.

    And both the liars and their backers draw encouragement from those who by their silent acceptance of the evil that has been done are in effect condoning it, and from their injunctions to truth seekers that they too should accept the evil in their midst and 'move on'.

    But in the longer term, truth always emerges. 

     

     


  28. The truth was printed at the time and accepted by all ,Traynor, Gough, Walter, the fans and even the sfa . Things only changed when it became evident that Greens re-launch was doomed to failure as the fans were loathe to back him. The lie was created in desperation and buying McCoists support probably saved the new club* from instant liquidation. Green wouldn't have cared either way as he could have sold off the stadium to Tesco and disappeared with a profit. The big lie served it's purpose then by getting the fans backing . I would be interested to know if the truth was to be acknowledged how many would do walking away ? My guess is not many , things have changed and they believe they now have their real Rangers* men in charge. Now is the time to to come clean and show some honesty and integrity, if they don't this wound will fester and never heal. 


  29. Not the least attractive thing about Australia is the readiness of Australian journalists to demand legal reforms to ensure that they can do their jobs without risking prison.

    " We are at a crossroads. We can be a society that is secret and afraid to confront sometimes uncomfortable truths, or we can protect those who courageously promote transparency, stand up to intimidation and shed light on those truths to the benefit of all citizens"  

    This was said at a campaign meeting yesterday at the National Press Club.

    The National Press is campaigning against police raids on journalists' homes to seize documents, and is seeking greater legal protection for public sector whistle-blowers as well as reforms to freedom of information and defamation laws.

    And what do we have here?  'Journalists' who haven't the guts to report a simple sports fact: that TRFC Ltd is NOT Rangers of 1872. 

    How likely is it that those same journalists would risk a hair of their head  to report some really serious stuff about  say, corrupt politicians, or bent police chiefs, or other such highly placed low-lives [if any such there are in our wee country!]

    [The Australian Press Club's statement s at this link

    https://www.npc.org.au/news/statement-on-the-afp-raids/

    and the quotation above is from a report in today's  print version of 'The Scotsman' by Amy Watson, and is attributed to David Anderson, managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.]

     


  30. "…Taming the wild excesses of the market is the responsibility of government.

    It’s about time the Scottish Government did just that.

    It is certainly clear that the SFA or the SPFL have zero interest in reining themselves in…"

    ========

    Good blog BP.

    We all know that the Scottish government has a very effective 'Big Stick', in the form of public monies – i.e. OUR tax deductions – which are allocated to Hampden annually.

     

    An immediate freeze on public monies would undoubtedly wake up the Hampden blazers – and focus their attention.

     

    But, it seems that there is still no political will to seriously address the unaccountability of the SFA.

    A bit of political posturing for browny points perhaps, but nothing really changes…

    smiley


  31. Shame for young Turnbull needs an op and rehabilitation of 10 to 12 weeks min so deal is officially off.

    Hopefully the youngster has a speedy recovery and is back playing for Motherwell as soon as possible.


  32. Yes, a shame for Turnbull.  But at 19, he's hopefully young enough to resolve whatever the issue is and fulfil his potential.

     

    And I'm even more confused.

    Why would any club issue a photo of their manager sitting next to their signing target…

    whilst the player is wearing his 'new' club's top…

     

    BEFORE a medical and contract have been properly completed and signed off?

    And it is extremely unfair, IMO, to put a young player in that photograph setting – especially when there is a risk he could actually be remaining at his current club.


  33. Back in Court tomorrow

    Friday 28th June

    LADY WOLFFE

    STARRED MOTION

    30 mins CA132/18 Memorial Walls Ltd v the Rangers Football Club Ltd – MBM Commercial LLP – Anderson Strathern LLP


  34. easyJambo 27th June 2019 at 16:16

    '..

    Back in Court tomorrow'

    ++++++++++++++

    See you in Court,eJ!

     


  35. StevieBC 27th June 2019 at 14:02
    And I’m even more confused.

    Why would any club issue a photo of their manager sitting next to their signing target…

    whilst the player is wearing his ‘new’ club’s top…
    …………….
    Mo johnston springs to mind.


  36. easyJambo 27th June 2019 at 16:16
    ……….
    See you in Court,eJ!
    ……………………
    Hope it is a nice sunny day for you both.


  37. John Clark 27th June 2019 at 08:57

    Is there no way to recruit one of those Oz journalists to look at the mis-governance and shady dealing in Scottish football ?


  38. Cluster One 27th June 2019 at 17:45

    '..Hope it is a nice sunny day for you both.'

    ++++++++

    Thank you, Cluster One.

    The Roll gives no time of hearing, once again!

    So to satisfy myself that I won't miss it, I'll be in Court at 9.00 a.m, just in case!

    Knowing my luck, it probably will be  a 10.00 a.m. kick-off and I'll  end up kicking my heels for an hour!

     


  39. John Clark 27th June 2019 at 18:20
    Knowing my luck, it probably will be a 10.00 a.m. kick-off and I’ll end up kicking my heels for an hour!
    …………
    A stroll in the sunshine is good for the soul.


  40. Shame for young Turnbull needs an op and rehabilitation of 10 to 12 weeks min so deal is officially off.

    Hopefully the youngster has a speedy recovery and is back playing for Motherwell as soon as possible.

    ————————————————————–

    He would not be the first to fail a medical then go on to do very well for himself. Asa Hartford and John Hartson are just two I can think of. I believe Celtic had him at specialists in Manchester and London and when a club is spending millions on a 19 year old they are going to look at every aspect of his fitness. 

    Plenty of time to recover and still get his big move though, whether that be to Celtic or any other club. 


  41. paddy malarkey 27th June 2019 at 17:54

    '..Is there no way to recruit one of those Oz journalists to look at the mis-governance and shady dealing in Scottish football ?'

    ++++++++++++++++

    It's not a big enough story, I suppose.

    The only European and world interest in how the SFA governs Scottish Football might lie only in the fact that the SFA has considerable  influence on world football as being one of  four members of the International Football Association Board who together have 50% of the votes of that Board.

    If the SFA was shown definitively to have lied to UEFA to  favour an ailing club, and to have allowed  a new club to claim the honours of a liquidated club without simultaneously accepting responsibility for all the debts of that liquidated club……….there might well be questions asked abroad about its integrity and understanding of the meaning of sport and the purpose of any kind of rules, and why it should be entitled to influence the Sport at all or hold any kind of special place.

    Who knows? 

     


  42. From about 9.30 this morning I had sat through two bits of business dealt with by Lady Wolffe, and the court room was closed when the second one finished at about 10.20. [The first item was about a negligence claim against a legal firm,which contained  some suggestion that a lawyer may have concealed or falsified  relevant material {Lady Wolffe was not too pleased even at the suggestion)]

    I wandered along the corridor to check the notice board and at 10.30 it still showed the un-amended entry that the Memorial Wall case was still to be heard. Of course, since no one else seemed to be about , I went downstairs to the keeper's office, only to learn that the motion had been dropped.

    Now, it seems to me that the Courts having decided in the first place to issue the Rolls publicly for public information, they should bloody well make sure that they are kept up to the minute!

    And as for using paper notices pinned to the wall ! How antiquated is that, when for decades airports have been keeping us electronically up to the minute with flight schedules.

    Never mind: I had a nice wee walk  on a a very nice morning (once the mist had cleared)


  43. Cluster One27th June 2019 at 17:43

     

    13

     

    13

     

    Rate This

     

     

    StevieBC 27th June 2019 at 14:02
    And I’m even more confused.

    Why would any club issue a photo of their manager sitting next to their signing target…

    whilst the player is wearing his ‘new’ club’s top…

     

    there was a Celtic player turned up to sign in his Hibs training gear.  Who was that again?  Bain maybe?

     

     


  44. upthehoops 28th June 2019 at 14:26

    Yet Rangers, prior to converting debt to shares, seemed untouchable. AC Milan need to see if they can get the SFA to manage their licence applications in future.

    ==============================

    It wouldn't surprise me if Rangers has already been "monitored" and that the recent debt for equity conversions are a result of that monitoring.


  45. easyJambo 28th June 2019 at 14:45

    It wouldn't surprise me if Rangers has already been "monitored" and that the recent debt for equity conversions are a result of that monitoring.

    ===========================

    Possibly, yes. However I do not believe for one minute that the SFA would highlight anything to UEFA which might hinder TRFC getting a European License.


  46. AvatareasyJambo 28th June 2019 at 14:45 3 0 Rate This upthehoops 28th June 2019 at 14:26 Yet Rangers, prior to converting debt to shares, seemed untouchable. AC Milan need to see if they can get the SFA to manage their licence applications in future. ============================== It wouldn't surprise me if Rangers has already been "monitored" and that the recent debt for equity conversions are a result of that monitoring.

    ___________

     

    To my mind that could be the only possible reason for the debt for equity actually taking place. Not only is it now 'lost money' for those involved, it also removes them from the list of creditors should RIFC/TRFC enter administration.

    TRFC's finances have only been 'improved' as a result of this move in respect of the FFP position to allow them access to the potential riches of European competition. They now have no, or very little, internal debt – the only kind that doesn't create dangerous pressure.

    I suspect that we have seen the last of the directors loans and that it is external, secured, loans from now on.

    If the player salary costs are not significantly reduced for the coming season, and/or significant sales are not made, then their need for additional borrowing will increase again this year, even with a repeat of last year's Euro success. A failure to reach the group stages could result in FFP pressure again this time next year – or even worse.


  47. Allyjambo 28th June 2019 at 17:04
    To my mind that could be the only possible reason for the debt for equity actually taking place. Not only is it now ‘lost money’ for those involved, it also removes them from the list of creditors should RIFC/TRFC enter administration.
    ………………..
    Convert your loans to shares, if you don’t no european football. No european football. No hope of survival.
    What a dilemma, loose all your money for a debt for equity swap or take your chances of administration if no european football.


  48.  

    Cluster One 28th June 2019 at 18:42

     

    How is the Red Bull scenario explained away ?


  49. Christybhoy, get a big enough envelope, preferably with a hard backing, apply a Do Not Bend sticker and hope for the best! Sorry, couldn't resist on a Friday night, mate.


  50. Ex Ludo 28th June 2019 at 12:01

    '..AC Milan to face Euro ban.'

    +++++++++++

    Ex Ludo, you may already have read this (on the link below)

    If not, when you read it , would you think it calls to mind CG having the SFA by the cochones, the way AC Milan timed their appeals so that they were not finalised before  UEFA was desperate to get the 2019/20 fixtures in place, and so were 'arbitrated' , with the result that a one season ban was imposed rather than the two season ban sought by the Adjudicatory chamber?

    There's a similar stench emanating from that kind of 'arbitration' (that lets the baddy off the due punishment for reasons unconnected with truth) as there was/is from the wretched SFA's 5-Way Agreement.

    Doing any kind of deals with guilty parties just to suit a sports calendar ( and the scale of AC Milan's breach of the FFP break-even requirement  was 121 million Euros in excess of the acceptable level of deviation ) is repugnant to me.

    https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Media_Release_6083_6261.pdf

    click on the AC Milan case.

     


  51. Gary Neville now telling everyone how it’s going to be be next year at the Olympic Games when GB ladies football team compete. “Of course England will take the lead” 


  52. Ex Ludo 29th June 2019 at 21:04

    '..Gary Neville now telling everyone how it’s going to be  next year at the Olympic Games when GB ladies football team compete. “Of course England will take the lead” 

    Mention of the Olympics and football gives me a rare opportunity to say something 'good' about the SFA! 

    Their continued , principled stance in support of Scotland's nationhood, in the face of mutterings abroad that, since the UK is a unitary State, it should only have one team in world football competitions, representing the UK ,is commendable. 

    If only they had shown as much dedication to 'sporting principle'  in their dealings first with the now defunct RFC of 1872 and then with the blustering nonsense of CG, slapping him into place, they might today not be the soiled and spoiled 'governance body' that the 5-Way Agreement turned them into.


  53. If Doncaster and his cronies were offered prime positions in a UKFA they would sell the country down the river quicker than Usain Bolt could run the length of my hall toilet . For principled stance see self interest . 


  54. Timtim 29th June 2019 at 22:55

    '…If Doncaster and his cronies were offered prime positions in a UKFA they would sell the country .'

    ***************

    Doncaster is English, of course, and might very well share the view that England= UK, in that irritating (to me, anyway) way that many folk down there have.

    [I may have mentioned on here the little episode when I went for a Civil Service examination in the mid-1960s?

    Before the beginning of the written examination, all the candidates were gathered together in a sort of greet and meet coffee session, with those who would be assessing us in individual interviews after the written exam papers had been submitted.

    I stood with my cup of coffee, and engaged the guys immediately beside me in conversation. One guy was from Nor'n Ireland,  another guy was from Wales and there was another Scot. We all wore wee labels with our names and our Departments names on. 

    As we ( average age about late 20s) shook hands and chatted, along comes this geezer, who greets us breezily with 'Ah! I see we have the Celtic Fringe with us!' [ he said 'keltic', of course]. And introduced himself as the 'Psychologist' member of the wee group of folk who would interview us.

    To our credit, we all exchanged looks, and I think it was the Welsh guy who said 'Pardon? '

    And the ponce backtracked ,'apologising'

    I am not English. I am not part of some 'fringe'. 

    And now today, in my near dotage, I wish I had turned to that psychologist and told him to eff off with his racist superiority attitude! ]broken heart

    But to your point, Timtim. I think you might be mistaken.

    Such 'evidence' as there is seems to support the view that in no way will the SFA surrender the right of Scotland -indeed, the preeminent right-to participate in world football as an independent nation.

    We may have a rotten SFA, but at least it is ours. We can sort that out. 

     

     

     


  55. Apparently I was quoting Phil Neville not his brother. Easy mistake to make. I don’t think anyone noticed though. It’s been a bit quiet on here of late. 


  56. Ex Ludo 30th June 2019 at 17:57

    '…It’s been a bit quiet on here of late.'

    +++++++++++++++

    Well, it's by and large what used to be called ( as my ears heard the phrase)  the 'close season'. (I knew what was meant, of course, but I never really understood why it wasn't the 'closed' season. Or maybe I always misheard!)

    And perhaps it's therefore ok if I ask a perhaps stupid question and betray my ignorance: is it a good idea that the CEO of the SPFL should be on the Board of the SFA?

    Was any previous CEO of the SPL or SFL ( employed and paid specifically to represent the interests of the various businesses involved in making money from football and not necessarily the interests of the wider football community) ever appointed to the SFA board which ,of course, is supposed to govern the sport in all its manifestations -amateur, juniors, schools, and ,more recently, women's football ?[Something that Regan seemed to have forgotten!]

    I didn't have my eye on the ball when Doncaster was appointed.

    What was the rationale behind that appointment, I wonder now?

     


  57. Headline from The Sun, (so it must be true);

     

    "'DOUBT IT' Danny Murphy would be stunned if Steven Gerrard left Rangers for Newcastle

    Ryan McDonald 1 Jul 2019, 11:54

     

    DANNY MURPHY says he'd be stunned if Steven Gerrard quit Rangers for Newcastle. Gers boss Gerrard has been linked with replacing Rafa Benitez in the St James' Park hotseat…"

    =================

    Hmmm…

    Well played Gerrard.

     

    How to advertise your availability – or how to agitate for more transfer funds to be made available by an absent, tightwad chairman, who just might have been economical with the truth about the quantum of the transfer warchest this summer?  indecision

     

    Get an ex-teammate – in England – to make a very public story out of absolutely nothing.

     

    This PR lark is not very subtle, or taxing of the brain.

    No wonder Traynor managed to smoothly slither from publishing p!sh articles in the SMSM – to distributing p!sh misinformation as a PR consultant.


  58. Another story in the Sun today is about a possible £6m investment in Hibs by an Edinburgh born billionaire, sorry millionaire.

    Good luck to them if they can get it.

    It could be that Sir Tom Farmer is seeking to cash in his chips.  Hibs parent company HFC Holdings (90% owned by STF and 10% by RP) currently holds 59% of the shares in the club. That is down from the 98% that they held when they started a couple of share schemes to raise £2.5m in early 2015. £900k has still to be raised by the fan funded HSL scheme to complete the task and take STF/RP below the 50% mark.

    There is also the small matter of the outstanding mortgage payable to STF. The mortgage started at £5m in 2015 and the balance stood at £3.5m a year ago, with the club scheduled to pay it off at £500k per annum.  However, there was provision in the mortgage for accelerated repayments depending on their financial position. They were forecasting to pay £655k back in 2018/19 instead of the normal £500k a year.  I suspect that a proportion of the McGinn transfer fee will be heading the way of STF. 


  59. StevieBC 2nd July 2019 at 09:00

    'Headline from The Sun, (so it must be true);..'

    **********

    mention of the 'Sun' reminds me: on 'Off the Ball' at the weekend, I thought I heard Tam Cowan offering words of sympathy to journalists who (I think) were about to be made redundant from the 'Sun'.

    I missed hearing what exactly the circumstances were/are, and may have totally misheard or misunderstood for I have used a search engine and not found anything relating to the 'Sun' being in difficulties in Scotland. 

    Anybody any idea?

     


  60. easyJambo 2nd July 2019 at 10:52

    '..Good luck to them if they can get it.'

    *********

    Just heard on the 11.00 news that it's a done deal?


  61. Hibs Statement

    http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/10094

    The Board of Hibernian today announced that the majority shareholding in the Club has passed from HFC Holdings Limited – owned by Sir Tom Farmer and Rod Petrie – to Bydand Sports LLC, a new company set up for that purpose by US businessman Ronald Gordon. 

    The historic transfer of ownership has taken place with Ron’s company acquiring the shares in the Club held by HFC holdings Limited and making a further cash investment in the Club.  

    Ron is a successful, self-made businessman who has built and sold a network of broadcasting companies. He is also a lifelong football fan.

    He takes the reins of a Club that has been transformed during the past 28 years of stewardship by Sir Tom, Rod Petrie, and other directors over the years with unparalleled investment in the club’s Stadium and Training Centre. The Club has enjoyed sporting successes, financial stability and is now well-placed to make further progress.

    As a result of the transaction:

    • Ron Gordon has become the Executive Chairman of Hibernian
    • Sir Tom and Ron worked together in the transaction to eliminate the Club’s mortgage debt
    • The Club is now debt free, six years ahead of plan
    • Ron is making a seven-figure cash injection to the Club
    • HFC Holdings has transferred the Ticket Office and 15 acres of land at HTC to the Club
    • The new owner is backing the Board’s existing plans and the executive leadership and football management team
    • Archie Paton, a senior Sports Industry Executive who has assisted Ron in the transaction, will become a Non-Executive on the Board

    Following the transaction around one-third of the shares in Hibernian Football Club will be owned by existing shareholder supporters with Ron becoming the new majority shareholder. 

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