Good Evening,
Whilst it is understandable that the continuing events at Ibrox remain a hot topic among all Scottish Football Fans — especially given the views of some sections of the press on such events– the never ending rush down the marble staircase is certainly not the only show in town.
The other morning we were treated to the “scoop” that Alistair Johnstone is afraid that Craig Whyte– the once proclaimed Multi Billionaire from Motherwell- may well still be pulling all the strings at Ibrox! This is a fear which is shared by those who walk the corridors of Hampden Park as they, too, are terrified of the prospect of Whyte returning in some shape or form and coming back to haunt them, especially as he has been deemed unfit and proper, banned sine die, and generally ridiculed for his past actions.
However, the Hampden jackets know fine well that their realm only stretches so far and that if by means of the proper application of company law, contract or some other piece of paper Whyte controls the shareholding of the self proclaimed “parent company” to the football club then they are in a fix. In fact, I will wager that they just would not know how to deal with such a situation as after all RIFC PLC neither holds a licence to play football nor is a member of the SFA and so, on the face of it, who owns it has nothing to do with them.
At this juncture, no one in authority knows who Blue Pitch Holdings are and, strangely, no one in authority knows who Margarita Holdings are either! Yet these two “holdings” whoever they may be, may well hold all the power down Govan way…… with the SFA completely powerless to find out who they are let alone get into any dialogue with them. All the SFA can do is talk to the appointed Directors and officers of The Rangers Football Club Ltd.
This, is a most unsatisfactory state of affairs.
Meanwhile, they will have no difficulty in finding out who the new shareholders of Dunfermline Athletic are. Those shareholders will come from the fanbase and will be clearly registered at Companies House, with the result that ultimately those fans/shareholders will appoint Directors who will then attend meetings and speak and opine on their behalf and in essence be the ” Voice of Dunfermline” at Hampden.
Perhaps, similar will follow from Heart of Midlothian?
However, those at Hampden — if they have any sense at all– will be most wary of events happening in the east end of Glasgow come November.
In the middle of the month, Celtic PLC will hold its AGM and amidst the items on the agenda is the fan driven notion that the Club— through its Directors—- should go further in holding the SFA to account and enquire into the granting of club licences, and in particular how it granted Rangers a club licence that allowed entry to the Champions League in 2011 when the small tax case was outstanding.
The Celtic board have deemed this motion as “Unnecessary” and in support of that contention have released documentation showing that they raised this very issue with the SFA on behalf of the shareholders and fans. Further– and here is the rub— The Directors reveal that they were not satisfied with the SFA response and have disclosed that they took the matter further and wrote to UEFA.
Ultimately, UEFA also provided a reply, which backed the SFA approach and which Celtic had little option but to accept in the absence of admissible contradicting evidence..
It is on this basis, that Peter Lawell and Co say the AGM motion is not necessary. Note that saying that the motion is not necessary, is not at all the same thing as saying that what the motion seeks to achieve is not necessary or does not have the support of the board!
There will be those at Hampden who severely hope that the Celtic Board are successful in voting this measure down as obviously they deem their original reply sufficient and would like to end the discussion there.
However, my own view, is that whether the motion is successful or not, there are those within the SFA who will recognise there is trouble staring them in the face here. Real Trouble!
Let’s recap for a moment and draw some threads together.
Celtic’s past Chairman, Dr John Reid, said only a couple of years ago that the SFA was clearly not fit for purpose. He did so in the context of events surrounding Neil Lennon and other matters, but was unshakably robust in his condemnation of an institutionalised uselessness which he saw pervaded the Hampden ranks.
Prior to that, Henry McLeish produced a report which stated that he too had concerns about the Governance of Scottish Football and called for openness and transparency.
In the intervening period, we have seen Mr David Longmuir, former Chief Executive of the Scottish Football League, find himelf without a position following reconstruction– and this partly as a result of club chairmen being apparently kept in the dark about his payment, bonuses and expenes. I understand that there was considerable anger from some at the way in which they had been treated by Mr Longmuir.
Then there is Mr Campbell Ogilvie, El Presidente, who himself benefited from a Rangers EBT and who held sway at Ibrox during a period of time when Rangers– by their own admission— made unlawful and illegal payments to three high profile players in breach of tax laws and SFA/SPL rules. It is these breaches and the consequent Wee Tax Bill which has caused all the angst among Celtic fans and has lead to the highly regulated legal step of tabling a motion at the club’s AGM.
Basically, the position seems to be, that as at the due date when the appropriate documents and declarations were made for a Euro Licence by Rangers for 2011, the wee tax bill was outstanding and due. If it was overdue, then the SFA could not and should not have granted them a licence……. and potentially Celtic should then have been put forward as Scotland’s representatives in the Champion’s League.
However, that did not happen, and Ranger’s were granted a licence– something that the Celtic Directors clearly felt was not correct.
They may have disagreed with the awarding of the licence because there were those at Rangers at the time who declared that a payment to account had been made to the tax office– allegedly £500,000– and that they had entered into an agreement to make payment of the balance by instalments. Had that been so, then all would have been hunky dory and no more would have been said.
Alas, however, no such payment appears to have been made at all, and no such agreement was entered into and so, on that basis, the tax bill was overdue and outstanding as at 30th June in terms of Article 66 and as such no Euro Licence should have been granted.
However, the argument does not end there.
Auldheid, has posted frequently on these pages about the ins and outs of the licensing provisions and the mechanism and so I will leave that detail to him as he is far more expert in these areas than me.
Now, one of the SFA functions is to have an auditor– someone who can check books, contracts, paper work and so on, and it is part of the SFA licensing function to be satisfied that all the paperwork is of course correct and in proper fashion before they issue any licence.
In this case, it is alleged that the SFA did not perform their function properly.
In relation to the wee tax case, it is said that either they did not make sufficient enquiry of Rangers re the payment to account or the agreement which they were told was in place. At the time it was mooted in the press that no such agreement was in place as at the relevant date ( June 30th ) and a simple check with the revenue would have shown the truth of the matter.
Yet, for whatever reason, no such check appears to have been made, and if you recall a Radio Scotland interview with Alistair Johnstone, Rangers submitted the forms, the SFA replied with one or two enquiries about the BIG tax case which were answered, and thereafter the Licence appears to have simply dropped through the letter box without further ado.
You will also recall that the existence of the wee tax case became known BEFORE Craig Whyte bought David Murray’s shareholding in May 2011. In fact it was the subject of News Paper headlines weeks before the deal was completed, and so the fact that there was a wee tax bill was well and truly in the public domain.
When it came to filling in the appropriate forms,either, the SFA were mislead by those then at Rangers with regard to that tax bill, OR, they simply failed to do the requisite checks and make reasonable enquiries before they issued the licence.
However, the uncomfortable fact also remains, that one of the chaps who must have been in the know re the admittedly unlawful and offending side letters, contracts and payments to the three players concerned was Campbell Ogilivie who was on the Rangers Board at the relevant time when the contracts and irregular payments were made under the Discount Options Scheme from 1999 to 2002/3. Indeed he may even have initiated the first payment to Craig Moore in 1999. I reiterate that no one has ever contested that this was an unlawful scheme, and the irregular payments and paperwork are not denied in relation to that scheme.
There are Celtic shareholders who believe, rightly or wrongly, that when it came to the granting of the Euro Licence, the SFA did not play them fair on this occasion and that the wheels within Hampden were oiled in such a way that Rangers were favoured and Celtic were disadvantaged. It is a point that looks to have already been considered by the Celtic Directors in 2011, with the result that they concluded that they should formally write to the SFA and seek clarification.
However, we now have the prospect of those same directors having to go back to Hampden and say ” Sorry, but I am forced to bring this up by my shareholders. I have a legal duty to them to enquire further”. Even if the motion is refused, the point has been made– there are shareholders who are demanding answers– just as shareholders of other clubs demand answers about the ever so secret 5 way agreement and other matters which have hitherto been not for public consumption.
The SFA have nothing to fear of course as they can simply repeat their previous answers,demonstrate that all was above board, and rest easy in their beds.
Except that answer did not satisfy the Celtic Directors on a previous occasion as they decided to take the matter to UEFA, and it would appear that some Celtic shareholders remain dissatisfied with the known stance of the SFA and so they want the Directors of the club to delve further. Without wishing to point out the obvious, if it turns out that the 2011 Licensing process was somehow fudged and not conducted rigorously or that those at Hampden were in any way economical with the truth or omitted certain details from the previous explanation, or covered up a failure in procedures—- well such omissions have a habit of becoming public these days whether that be through the internet or otherwise.
The point here is that the actions of Hampden officials are coming under organised, legal and planned corporate scrutiny over which they have no control. The Blazer and club mentality that was once so widespread within the governing bodies is under increasing attack and is being rendered a thing of the past.
In short, the move by Celtic shareholders, is making it plain that they will demand proper corporate governance from their club in ensuring that any alleged failure in corporate governance by the SFA or SPFL is properly investigated and reported on.
Of course, if it turns out that the 2011 Licensing process was somehow fudged and not conducted properly for whatever reason, then it could be argued that Celtic were disadvantaged in monetary terms along with other clubs who may have been awarded Europa League licences, then the consequences could be cataclysmic. Hence a tendency to circle the wagons rather than admit to failures in the process that need addressing.
It is this reluctance to come out and accept that the licensing process appears to have failed, say at what point the process failed and what needs to be done to address those failures that in many ways has driven the resolution. It is clear to all that something is amiss but the SFA will not admit it, probably from fear of the consequences of doing so? Perhaps some form of indemnity, a lessons learned enquiry with no prejudice might help?
It would come as no surprise to me at all if there were those at Hampden who live in dreaded fear of admitting that their processes were flawed and that a grave mistake was made. Under these circumstances, there may well be those at Hampden who simply wish that Celtic and their fans would just go away!
Tic 6709 says:
==============================
Make no mistake, there was never any prospect of HMRC dropping the EBT case. They have made it clear they will take it as far as they have to.
As a separate but related issue, they won’t just let the liquidation go either.
They were defrauded out of tens of millions of pounds. By Rangers under Murray’s tenure and by Rangers under Whyte’s tenure. They are looking to get their money back and they are looking for bodies.
v
Tif Finn says: (587)
October 23, 2013 at 7:02 pm
Tic 6709 says:
==============================
Make no mistake, there was never any prospect of HMRC dropping the EBT case. They have made it clear they will take it as far as they have to.
As a separate but related issue, they won’t just let the liquidation go either.
They were defrauded out of tens of millions of pounds. By Rangers under Murray’s tenure and by Rangers under Whyte’s tenure. They are looking to get their money back and they are looking for bodies.
==================================
Totally agree Tif, there might be a few properties in France for sale soon.
Sugar Daddy has nailed this thing
http://www.tsfm.org.uk/2013/10/beware-the-angry-shareholders-they-might-just-demand-an-answer/comment-page-9/#comment-70382
But I can’t wait as long as him. These people have no morality whatsoever and will do whatever is required to cover up the criminality. I don’t believe we yet have a group as determined as the Liverpool families were to reveal the truth, maybe we never will.
Eeramacaroonbar says: (38)
October 23, 2013 at 3:48 pm
35 2 Rate This
Nicky Clark booked for goal celebration against Brechin. Confirmed after phone call to SFA. Will not bore you with this again. Felt it needed clearing up – conflicting views on what happened
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Excellent work. Glad this has been cleared up at last. Asking the questions the MSM won’t ask.
Apologies if this is already been covered.
Much internet chatter today – something about to break (no timescale) on Rangers. The following tweet from Harry brady maybe key:
Harry Brady @HarryBradyCU 7h
OK – So is could legal action shortly result in freezing of use of Ibrox and name of Rangers until resolved?!
Could it be the case that BDO are ready to put their cards on the table?
What does a quiet night on here usually mean 😆
Brenda says: (687)
October 23, 2013 at 9:47 pm
There is a good game on the telly?
majorcoverup says: (7)
October 23, 2013 at 7:10 pm
==================================================
I reckon that if BDO expose the naughty goings on and HMRC win their appeal then more people will want something done, then the whole house of cards will fall like dominoes …. then CHECKMATE!!
Brenda says: (687)
October 23, 2013 at 9:47 pm
‘..What does a quiet night on here usually mean :lol:’
———-
Joburgbhoy is probably right, although not in my case. I have been thoroughly enjoying reading the Court of Session judgment in the Aberdeen Asset Management tax evasion thingy.
And thinking fondly of the wonderful Dr Poon and her ‘minority’ opinion in the FTTT appeal.
Although there are some differences between the cases , and although I’m no lawyer, I fancy that a certain Best Administrator in the world will be anxiously working out the marginal tax rate on a sum that , according to a wee inarticulate BBC radio Scotland football pundit, the said administrator would consider to be just about enough for a good night out!
Because he’s going to have pay the tax-man, sooner or later, as are all the other EBT recipients.
Although there are some differences between the cases , and although I’m no lawyer, I fancy that a certain Best Administrator in the world will be anxiously working out the marginal tax rate on a sum that , according to a wee inarticulate BBC radio Scotland football pundit, the said administrator would consider to be just about enough for a good night out!
One might reasonably surmise it would have interest levied too and possibly some penalties…
john clarke says: (1282)
October 23, 2013 at 10:21 pm
=========================
I had a conversation about that very subject with a friend earlier today John,I was remembering the side letters,and the agents.
I think we will see people turning on each other like rats in a cage.
Was there not statements made before along the lines of there will be no comebacks about tax ?
What about the first trust company in Jersey who packed in,maybe we will find out exactly why now.
Tic 6709 says: (483)
October 23, 2013 at 10:33 pm
‘ I think we will see people turning on each other like rats in a cage..’
———-
There could be a whole lot of interesting players’ legal actions against their agents for not looking after them and allowing them to sign dishonest contracts.
And possibly a few agents’ licences withdrawn?
( I haven’t a scooby how to find out which beneficiaries had which agents. Is that kind of info readily available, as a matter of interest?)
john clarke says: (1283)
October 23, 2013 at 10:57 pm
I haven’t a scooby how to find out which beneficiaries had which agents. Is that kind of info readily available, as a matter of interest?
+++++++++++++++
You can safely assume that any player worth an EBT would have had an agent. Mr Ogilvie, on the other hand, probably made his own arrangements- a cynic could say he was “conflicted”, being both the recipient and acting in a senior role for the source of the funds at the same time. However this is the world’s finest football administrator, so no problem, I’m sure.
Just had a look at the ebt list ,no agents named,I’ll have a look again tomorrow and see If I can get more info.
I don’t think it’ll be a secret.
night all.
[Removed for gratuitous abuse]
hampdenhorrorshow says: (18)
October 23, 2013 at 11:37 pm
=========================================
I agree with your sentiments regarding the (b)rogues at the SFA.
I don’t think the National team should be boycotted no matter the desired outcome.
I feel the national team is about to turn an important corner and a boycott now will hinder that.
BDO and HMRC will take care of the corrupt.
Sunny days are ahead, the plague is past.
Zippity Doo Dah…. etc etc
Broadswordcallingdannybhoy says: (116)
October 23, 2013 at 11:53 pm
———————————————————————————————————————–
And I agree with pretty much all you say, especially with regards to the team itself but all we have to compare is with Craig Leveins awful orchestration and other past managers fixations with playing utter lumps all over the pitch – I am the sort that cringes at the sight of tartan clad guys celebrating getting beat, its as though being successful would be too much like being on a par with decent European nations and lose our ‘loveable tartan army’ their (deluded) perceived charm of being relentless followers of a useless team – as though its some badge of honour even…
That’s not for me. I might not exactly go on a frenzied rampage after my team gets beat but I don’t really think its cool to be famous for being…well, what we are and have been for eons. We are an utter disgrace at national level and have been since day one and its all been thanks to the SFA.
Yes – GS has got them actually attacking teams, with 2 strikers! But its not about him or his side, its about humiliating Campbell Ogilvie and Stuart Regan and the teams management and players will know that.
But sunny days do look closer. I’ll give you that:)
Something about the resolution at the Celtic AGM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo-foY2vlfU
😆
Been a while since I’ve seen one of those
scottc says: (334)
October 23, 2013 at 8:49 am
Thanks for correcting me on the points deduction. The sneaky removal of the rule had gone well under my radar. The result is a far weaker punishment level than was available to either the SPL or SFL (which had no set tariff for punishment). A sorry state of affairs!
On a tangent, it’s good to see people hacked off about the damage done at Parkhead and in Glasgow city centre by thugs associated with Ajax. Similar stadium damage was last seen in Glasgow last April when Celtic and The Rangers FC contested the Glasgow Cup final. An U-17 match which saw damage to seats at both ends, the worst among the Celtic fans in the Jackie Husband stand. Pathetic stuff.
Jagsman says: (11)
October 24, 2013 at 12:36 am
On a tangent, it’s good to see people hacked off about the damage done at Parkhead and in Glasgow city centre by thugs associated with Ajax. Similar stadium damage was last seen in Glasgow last April when Celtic and The Rangers FC contested the Glasgow Cup final. An U-17 match which saw damage to seats at both ends, the worst among the Celtic fans in the Jackie Husband stand. Pathetic stuff.
———————————————————————————————————————————–
Fair point Jagsman. So I thought it might be interesting to see how that disgraceful event was protrayed by the Herald.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/glasgow-fa-cup-final-celtic-2-rangers-3-x.20952437
Picture of Happy Gers players having won their first ever trophy (sorry, couldn’t resist) and how wonderful the atmosphere was, at least after the flares had cleared.
Not a thing about the pathetic damage done to the stadium.
I guess I’m paranoid, but my interpretation is that they couldn’t possibly deflect attention away from that rarest of events, a good news story for the Gers.
The fact that your stadium was trashed did not even rate a mention, because they don’t give a stuff about your club.
Perhaps you see this differently, two cheeks etc.
Ask yourself this though. If Celtic fans had behaved this badly at a match against Thistle, how would it have been reported?
For the avoidance of doubt, I was and am appalled at the behaviour of those Celtic fans and would want them barred sine die. The article should have got stuck into both sets of fans for the damage caused and both clubs should have been made to pay associated repair costs.
Good to be reminded of the poison of the Old Firm, something which i sincerely hope has been consigned to the cesspit of history for good. Who in their right minds would want to see a return?
Oh yeah. Doh! Only the guys making money from selling stories about how wonderful it was and then how awful it really was, but really how wonderful it was etc etc etc.
I don’t claim for one second that any set of fans are angels. I only ask that the media report it as it really is and drop the bias. Won’t be holding my breathe though.
In yesterdays’ judgement by the Lord President , Lord Drummond Young and Lord Glennie,
in the Appeal to the Court of Session under section 13 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007
by ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC Appellants;
against
THE COMMISSIONERS FOR HER MAJESTY’S REVENUE AND CUSTOMS Respondents:
In respect of a decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) dated 31 January 2012
The Lord President (Lord Gill), in his introduction, said, wrt EBT’s,
” our concern is with the reality rather than with any simulation of reality “. ( Introduction [6] )
This distinction, I believe, will prove to be a turning point for HMRC v MIH / RFC.
At a stroke, it renders the UTT a safe bet for HMRC and confirms Dr Heidi Poon’s judgement as correct.
‘ Simulation of reality ‘ certainly applies to most of what RFC(IL) / Sevco and the SFA have created in the past 20 years.
(http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2013CSIH84.html)
manandboy says: (299)
October 24, 2013 at 1:35 am
Glad to see Paul McConville bringing up the relationship and impact of the AAM case to the big tax case.
The fact is it is the AMM judgement that caused Rangers to accept that they were in the wrong on the wee tax case. That and the fact they hid payments to Moore, De Boer and Flo and the side letter accompanying them from HMRC – WHEN ASKED. (SDM lied on this in his response to the Hugh Adams claim that EBTS had been used prior to 2000 btw and the documentation proving this is out there on Murray headed company paper)
The latter information if presented to the UTT would give them all the indication of Rangers motives on loan EBTs.
Motives that render the LNS decision untenable but that LNS could only arrive at if his commissioning by the SPL led him away from the difference between loan ebts and share option EBTs, as is the case.
The SPL could not have made the distinction because the information that would have allowed them to was withheld by D&P. Indeed LNS found them guilty of such withholding.
The one person who could have set LNS straight was Campbell Ogilvie but because the LNS commission only looked at loan ebts from Nov 2000 and not share option ebts from 1 July 1998 (as in original SPL notice of investigation of 5 March 2012) the said Mr Ogilvie was able to provide testimony to LNS on loan ebts, but not share option ebts, that whilst the truth, was not the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
That Campbell Ogilvie knew the difference is supported by a letter signed by him on 3 September 1999 that whilst it does not name the trust beneficiary , the timing and amounts suggest it can only relate to Craig Moore.
If it was, then Campbell Ogilivie has questions to answer in terms of his testimony to LNS and his role in the granting of a UEFA licence in 2011 since he knew the bill was due, why it was due and why and how the SFA presented the issue to UEFA as bill not being overdue.
Regarding the debate yesterday on the Herald reporting of trouble among Ajax fans and the way in which is was reported, which could have misled the casual reader. Today’s edition appears to be quite specific in what is alleged to have happened, then again they would look rather foolish if they had gone any other way. They and the rest will no doubt be hoping to even things up in two weeks. Let’s hope all travelling Celtic fans realise the slightest bit of trouble involving them is going to receive an inappropriate amount of coverage.
Neil Lennon speaks a lot of sense again. Pity so many in this country dismiss the message because they don’t like the messenger.
upthehoops says: (581)
October 24, 2013 at 7:17 am
———————————————————————————————————————–
UTH, I don’t think it’s the CFC fans we have to worry about in the return leg really.
I was at the 1982 return game in Amsterdam. On the day before the game we were getting hassle from gangs of hooligans, during the game we were getting stones and other missiles thrown at us, and after the game had our tram windows smashed!
Great result for Celtic that night (2-1) but I started to go off Euro away trips after that.
Actually, No (with a capital N), according to this article it would appear that they do not want the truth.
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/292-fear-and-loathing-in-scotland
…Actually, here is the article in case you do not want to hit the site:
Fear and Loathing in Scotland .
By Scott Ferguson In Current affairs .
“Filthy H&ns Breeding like rats in California and spreading east. Listen for the roar of the Harleys. You will hear it in the distance like thunder. And then, wafting in on the breeze, will come the scent of dried blood, semen and human grease … the noise will grow louder and they will appear, on the west horizon, eyes bugged and bloodshot, foam on the lips, chewing some rooty essence smuggled in from a foreign jungle … they will ravish your women, loot your liquor stores and humiliate your mayor on a bench on the village square …”
You could be forgiven at first glance for thinking that the above is some random excerpt from a rather unsavoury article describing Rangers fans. If you are familiar with Alex Thomson’s blog in which he made reference to our underclass with their ‘razor blades contaminated with anything from faeces through to HIV to ricin’, or any line from Phil Mac Giolla Bhain’s colourful ‘Incubator’ it might ring uncomfortably true.
Instead, it was taken from Hunter S Thompson’s fantastic ‘Hells Angels’ book. Being an admirer of Thompson’s work I first read this book many years ago but I returned to it recently and couldn’t help but feel many similarities to our current situation.
In the book Thompson argues that ‘the Hells Angels as they exist today (or at least at the time of writing the book in 1966) were virtually created by the Times, Newsweek and The New York Times.’
Thompson believed that although the Hells Angels were far from being Angels they were miles away from being the bloodthirsty murdering rapists that they had been portrayed to be – instead it was the journalists that wrote the stories of the exploits of the Hells Angels that had given them the fearsome reputation that they had acquired.
In other words the journalists at the time added so many arms and legs to the Hells Angels story it may as well have been spiders and octopus riding those bikes in leather jackets. One could argue that the reputation Rangers fans have acquired over the years has been gained in a similar way.
And so we move onto the main topic to be discussed here: journalists and journalism. The UK press in recent years has reached all time lows in its own underclass activities with its phone hacking, police bribery and exercising improper influence. One could only imagine the acts committed by the UK press that have yet to be discovered.
Elements of the journalistic profession have a tendency to both mislead and to dramatise-the term ‘Daily Rag’, which is a description for almost every tabloid going, is hardly a complimentary one.
The UK press hounds celebrities, chase victims and sensationalise all for their own selfish needs. The need to sell papers often seems to outweigh the need for morality and truth.
In a time when newspapers are a dying breed these selfish needs are also desperate ones. The race for online reporting is on and journalistic ambulance chasers from all avenues delve into the world of social media to stir emotion, brew hatred and simply to attention.
It certainly happens frequently in the reporting of Rangers Football Club. Someone will take to Twitter and make a sly comment on the Rangers situation in the hope that it will gain attention or stir up an argument. Coincidently this often occurs the day before his or her article on the same subject is released. On countless occasions they also try to personalise the story – they stir with intent and then scream of their own received abuse – with everyone and their dog being ‘threatened’.
It’s almost laughable in its transparency and although most of us see right through the looking glass we find ourselves somehow still involved – and sadly the deception is successful. The paper gets its sales or more likely in this day and age the website gets its hits.
Returning for a moment to Thompson’s ‘Hells Angels’ he also discusses how newspapers and journalists are clever enough to avoid any legal repercussions from the slander or untruths they write:
“anyone who has worked on a newspaper for more than two months knows how technical safeguards can be built into even the wildest story, without fear of losing read impact. What they amount to, basically, is the art of printing a story without taking legal responsibility for it. The word ‘alleged’ is key to this art. Other keys are ‘so and so’ (‘or claimed’), ‘it was reported’ and ‘according to.”
Thompson then explains that in 14 short newspaper paragraphs a story in the Times about the Hells Angels contained nine of these keys. One wonders if we were to re-read many of the articles written about Rangers and Rangers men in the past two years just how many of these qualifiers we would find.
Certainly in my memory these ‘keys’ sound all too familiar. Here in Scotland we could probably add to this list with keys such as ‘it’s understood’, ‘a source within’ and ‘it’s believed’.
I have also noted a tonal change in much of what passes for journalism in these parts as of late. Perhaps as a result of the obvious success of blogging, many ‘news’ articles tend not to be one of fact-finding but a poorly hidden avenue for personal opinion.
There was one sentence that stood out to me in a recent article by Tom English. In his article about Dave King and his possible future involvement in Rangers he wrote,‘All matters have been settled. The moral argument is less important than the technical argument.’
What a breath of fresh air it would be if Mr English and others followed his own little tit-bit of information. The journalistic views on Rangers these past few years have all cried about morality rather than the technical argument. This was obviously clear, for example, in the discussions of EBTs. In my humblest of opinions the morality route is chased simply because the technical argument is so often flawed.
Perhaps these journalists should consider the lack of morality within their own profession before they shout about the morality of others. Coming off the back of the biggest scandals in their workplace are they questioning the ethics of their own profession? Are they ensuring that the phone tapping scandals of the News of the World are never repeated? Have they sought contrition from those that further blackened their already dark grey names?
The newest and quite probably the most insincere route these journalists are using recently is the repetition of the sentence, ‘Surely Rangers fans want to know the answer to these questions?’
Simply, and I apologise for being the bearer of such bad news, but the answer to that is simply No. And yes, that was with a capital ‘N’. We do not want an answer to the questions contained within your faux writings.
We have our own questions that many of us ask every day – and we will constantly seek answers. Alas, it is unlikely we will find these answers in the writings of some Scottish journalists.
That is not to say that every living breathing journalist within Scotland falls into this category – there are flickers of light amongst the media darkness. I feel no need to point them out as I’m sure most of us will know who they are but they are a minority.
It should be no surprise then – this continued and never ending interest in our club. Driven by hate? Perhaps for some but for others it’s simply pandering to the majority. It is a simply an effective sales technique.
Give the public what they want! Unfortunately the majority of the public up here in Scotland want to hear bad news, conspiracy and criminal activity whilst reading about Rangers Football Club.
It is the world we live in.
The fear and loathing may continue but unfortunately for them it won’t sell papers forever.
JLeeHooker
Actually, here is the article in case you do not want to hit the site:
—————————————————————————————-
This being a site about Scottish football, what is your motive for the above ?
My motive is that it would seem that those of a blue persuasion believe that the SMSM are only writing stories about RFC* for sensationalism and not to inform.
Morning all, from a remarkably mild and sunny Denmark, far from the madding crowd.
Two twittery things on here caught my attention yesterday:
The @HarryBradyCU link from LTL got a few extra TDs. Does this mean folks think it’s mere idle speculation or wishful thinking? Not acquainted with Harry myself. Interesting all the same.
@CharlotteFakes3 is still online! There are a few possible interpretations as to why. After all, other recent incarnations have been shut down pronto. My own naive conclusion is that the legal shut-down effort is just getting too expensive for the club that is running low on funds.
In amongst the usual rhetoric from Paul Murray, or pretty much anyone who speaks on the subject I find this moderately interesting
———————————————–
Murray also revealed his legal team has secured permission to burst open the secrecy behind the club’s mysterious investor groups, Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Holdings. It’s expected the paperwork, which should confirm the identity of the anonymous moneymen behind both camps, will be handed over to Murray and McColl’s lawyers by tomorrow.
Murray said: “The fans’ groups demanded clarification about the beneficiaries behind Margarita and Blue Pitch. On their behalf, we made a legal request for full disclosure of the identities of the investors, who were obviously among the original backers of Charles Green’s takeover.
“Between them they hold 15 per cent of the votes and it’s vital that any doubt about the motives of these groups is cleared up and that supporters and shareholders alike are told who is making key decisions about the future of the club.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/battle-rangers-former-director-paul-2486279
=============================================
There is more of the “feel good” factor contained within the same piece of course, a pot of gold is there if only the bears vote the new board in place.
=============================================
Meanwhile, McColl and Murray will meet with representatives of the club’s three main supporters’ groups this afternoon.
Murray is also due to hold talks with Dave King who is flying in from South Africa tomorrow.
Former Rangers director King is keen to invest in the club again and he is also expected to meet current Ibrox powerbrokers James and Sandy Easdale to discuss plans for a major cash injection.
================================================
I ask again, how is this “major cash injection” going to be achieved, gifts, loans or share issue.
It is interesting that Paul Murray is meeting the fan groups, and at the same time saying he will know who the “mystery bakers” are on the day of the meeting . Do we expect major revelations in the next couple of days, or is the above merely stage managed propaganda to get the bears onside with the rebels.
Zilch says: (93)
October 24, 2013 at 1:30 am
I guess I’m paranoid, but my interpretation is that they couldn’t possibly deflect attention away from that rarest of events, a good news story for the Gers.
——
Surely reporting that the Celtic fans were a bunch of hooligans would have increased the positivity towards Rangers?
My own interpretation is that either the writer saw fan behaviour as irrelevant to his report of the game itself, or (more likely) the Old Firm shame – both sets of fans were involved, after all – was once again swept under the carpet.
Greenock Jack says: (84)
October 24, 2013 at 8:14 am
0 0 Rate This
JLeeHooker
Actually, here is the article in case you do not want to hit the site:
—————————————————————————————-
This being a site about Scottish football, what is your motive for the above ?
++++++++
To me the article gives an interesting insight into the mindset of the Ibrox faithful. No wonder Charles Green was able to play them like a deck of cards. I’ll bet he still can’t believe his luck.
JLeeHooker
My motive is that it would seem that those of a blue persuasion believe that the SMSM are only writing stories about RFC* for sensationalism and not to inform.
————————————————————————————-
I referred to your motive for the c&p, indicating that you seemed to think many wouldn’t want to click the link.
Why on a site about Scottish football for Scottish football fans would that occur to you ?
Don’t you see the irony ?
neepheid says: (869)
October 24, 2013 at 8:39 am
1 0 Rate This
To me the article gives an interesting insight into the mindset of the Ibrox faithful …
————
Even more so if he is supposed to be one of the intelligentsia.
GJ
Take your pick.
1/ In modern times people like me do not like links since hits mean prizes to advertisers
2/ In modern times people are beware of malware etc that sites with posted links may carry (I’m no IT buff, its the principle)
3/ EVERY senior club I’m sure has a fan based website that will carry stories that range from the ridiculous through dangerous to the downright libellous. Personally I can’t be bothered trawling through them to get to the good stuff.
What I think you are referring to in the irony comment is that you see an RFC site as an integral part of Scottish football, as do I hence you querying why we should be reticent to click to it. For the reasons above I am indebted to JLH for posting it. It is well written, researched and a perfectly valid point for me to agree or disagree with as I see fit.
FWIW, and I don’t particularly like the war references per se, there is no doubt in my mind that it has a tad of the Goebels “listen to the celebratory fireworks over East Prussia” speeches. Dear Josef believed it to his inevitable end. As long as the writer of that article also believes it then good for him. I can’t recall who wrote the point yesterday but it summed up the situation for me. I paraphrase but it was along the lines of “For whatever reason the degree of accuracy in reporting the Sevco scandal appears to vary, but only in one particular direction” We’ll see who is ultimately proven right – and to be clear in my view ‘right’ does not necessarily fall to ‘the winner.’ Without fear or favour remember. It works both ways.
EDIT: Sorry meant to add, apologies GJ if I picked up your response wrongly.
Angus1983 says: (1194)
October 24, 2013 at 8:36 am
Surely reporting that the Celtic fans were a bunch of hooligans would have increased the positivity towards Rangers?
My own interpretation is that either the writer saw fan behaviour as irrelevant to his report of the game itself, or (more likely) the Old Firm shame – both sets of fans were involved, after all – was once again swept under the carpet.
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Hi Angus
Given the nature of the event, I don’t think fan behaviour would be irrelevant (first “Old Firm” since – well I always hated the epithet and since it is a new club it must just have been the first – no?).
My guess, and it is only a guess, is that the list of priorities would have been:
1. Good news story for the Gers – this is always a priority.
2. Chance to extol the return of the “Old Firm” encounter – this is what sells papers apparently.
Reporting on any of the fan behaviour would have been a distraction from these. The fact that both sets of fans obviously caused damage makes it hard to single out the Celtic fans.
I can see how this would be seen as pro-Old Firm bias. In a sense it is, i.e. in the sense that they desperately want a return to the state of perpetual conflict that they have spent all their adult lives making money from.
The modus operandi, as I see it, is:
1. Rangers – World beating records… blah blah blah.
2. Old Firm – with Rangers as top dogs and running down Celtic whenever suits
3. Celtic – run of the mill stories to keep the punters buying both sides of the divide.
4. Not much else – other teams barely get a mention, not even if their stadiums are being trashed.
Just about any story they print can be put through this kind of filter and will fit. There are very occasional exceptions, and we are quite good at highlighting them here when they happen.
If you (not you personally Angus) think this places Celtic further up the media’s pecking order in a positive sense, well you are entitled to that view, but it kind of misses the massive cynicism of the SMSM and the underlying motives.
They need to get more bread from somewhere. 😀
Greenock Jack,
I take your point but some people will not want to visit that site for a variety of reasons. I posted the link and then posted the article so people had the option to read it without having to visit the site.
There have been articles on that site that have referenced TSFM as being full of Rangers-haters by such people as Chris Graham. For that reason alone, some people on here may not to visit that site.
No big conspiracy here. Just giving people a choice. 🙂
Murray insists he has assembled a replacement board that is ready to start running the club immediately. (Daily Record)
FFS ! ! !
Start running the ‘Club’ . . . Which in this instance is the Company (PLC)
Is the Daily Retard telling us that the ‘Club’ and the ‘Company’ are the SAME thing !?
NEVER !!!!!
Auldheid says: (979) October 24, 2013 at 2:23 am
manandboy says: (299) October 24, 2013 at 1:35 am
______________________________________________________________________________________
Everything you say is correct.
The information withheld from LNS would have made all the difference, hence the reason for it being kept hidden from his gaze.
However, that is not the point about the judgement in the Aberdeen Asset Management case.
Lord Gill faults the UTT not for failing to spot or pursue hidden evidence,
but for failing to recognise the reality of what AAM were plainly doing.
This the UTT did by focussing on legal niceties,
which in turn, blinded the UTT to the plain truth which he describes as a’ simulation of reality’ .
Lord Gill said, “The error of the Upper Tribunal in this case lies, in my opinion,
in deciding the question on the basis of the formal legal rights
that flowed from the interposition of the company.
The Upper Tribunal should have looked at the obvious and inescapable reality.”
And so, with the LNS enquiry, the same error was made. (Edit) So also with the FTT.
LNS should have looked at the ‘obvious and inescapable reality’,
the selfsame reality that everyone else in the country could see
and which explains why so many staggered in disbelief at the outcome.
While recognising the significance of all that was hidden from LNS,
nevertheless, what was visible to LNS was sufficient to produce a right judgement.
Broadsword
Like you I would not be in favour of a boycott of the National side.
At somepoint after reality is accepted there needs to be a healing process. After the truth is accepted corrective action can be taken to protect ethics and the integrity of the game as part of a reconciling.
The force of a competitive National side in a healing process cannot be underestimated. It can being out the best in us to balance the worst and we will need that balancing force or its attrition forever.
Since Scott Ferguson has taken it upon himself to quote one of my New Journalism heroes, Hunter S Thompson, to bolster his fatuous claims about poor Rangers fans being victimised by the big, bad Scottish MSM (stop laughing at the back!), I hope I will be forgiven for describing his gibberish in the words of one of HIS heroes, Winston Churchill: “The whine of the fascist!”
Zilch says: (94)
October 24, 2013 at 9:17 am
Zilch – I think your and my viewpoints are actually fairly similar, albeit yours a wee touch more from the greener side of things. 🙂
Jimlarkin – they would be running the Club. Owners and operators, etc, however many times removed from the entity itself. Best not look for negativity when it’s not there. 😉
manandboy says: (300)
October 24, 2013 at 9:29 am
I’ll pick you up there slightly MB if I may.
Your comments were correct on the UTT and the comparisons to, in particular Dr Poon’s interpretation of the MIH FTT. I would qualify the comparison to LNS for two reasons.
Firstly LNS’ original brief from the SPL appears to be flawed. Not so much “If I was going to there, I wouldn’t be starting from here” more “you’re starting from there regardless of where we actually are” at least in my opinion.
Secondly, and probably more importantly, the FTT was stymied by lack of evidence, indeed direct accusation, seemingly proven, of withholding of evidence, certainly of co-operation. LNS was presented with copious evidence from Mr Bryson that was, well, a particular interpretation shall we say, again IMHO.
Manandboy
Thanks for making that point and bringing out the point of failure of the AAM UTT and what the COS was examining. The nuances of that had escaped my memory.
Your conclusion on the impact of the COS ruling on both the FTT and LNS is correct. It has been a nonsense since the start. A payment is a payment no matter what metaphorical brown envelope it is wrapped up in.
However (dog with a bone style) LNS was able to reach the bizarre judgement that he did, which was always going to be called into question if the BTC UTT finds for HMRC anyway, had he been properly directed by the SPL.
They in turn can blame D&P for not providing vital info subsequently leaked by CF.
This failure to supply key info enabled truthful but not whole testimony to be made by CO that allowed LNS to err.
It all seems to be unravelling.
Regarding the Aberdeen Asset Management case, could someone summarise it briefly with the verdicts of the first tier and the upper tier and why it went to a third tier?
scottc says: (335)
October 24, 2013 at 9:23 am
5 0 Rate This
Tif Finn says: (588)
October 24, 2013 at 8:31 am
…
I ask again, how is this “major cash injection” going to be achieved, gifts, loans or share issue.
It is interesting that Paul Murray is meeting the fan groups, and at the same time saying he will know who the “mystery bakers” are on the day of the meeting . Do we expect major revelations in the next couple of days, or is the above merely stage managed propaganda to get the bears onside with the rebels.
They need to get more bread from somewhere.
********************************************************
Doh ! 😆
Charlotte Fakes III @CharlotteFakes3 3m
Mr Ogilvie ever present.
Remember this?
http://i.imgur.com/DqL9OG3.png
Confirmation DOS for playing staff.
http://i.imgur.com/L7xYbQs.jpg
scottc says: (335)
October 24, 2013 at 9:23 am
They need to get more bread from somewhere. 😀
Greggs? Ally can pick up a loaf with his steak bakes.
Auldheid says: (980)
October 24, 2013 at 2:23 am
What a lovely feeling for you Auldheid after your painstaking work on DOS to be vindicated by the recent Court of Session Inner House decision by Lord President Gill, Lord Drummond Young and Lord Glennie who have come round to your way of thinking 😆
There truly is hope for the Justiciary in Scotland and also the strong possibility that Heidi’s commonsense accounting approach to the reality of what was happening at Ibrox with EBTs will win the day at the UTT as opposed to the artificial web of deceit which was pulled over the eyes of her two eminently qualified legal FTTT members who fell for the smoke and mirrors rather than the reality of the operation.
And as you know Auldheid I didn’t agree with you in the beginning on DOS but you soon showed me the error of my ways and your detailed analysis has provide us with a template which proves beyond all doubt the level that CO is conflicted to and indeed much worse IMO.
You truly have earned a well deserved chapeau for your efforts and insight ❗
ADD EDIT
Indeed some believe you are more entitled to a chateau than some of those who have decamped to France 🙂
JLeeHooker
I take your point but some people will not want to visit that site for a variety of reasons. I posted the link and then posted the article so people had the option to read it without having to visit the site.
There have been articles on that site that have referenced TSFM as being full of Rangers-haters by such people as Chris Graham. For that reason alone, some people on here may not to visit that site.
No big conspiracy here. Just giving people a choice
————————————————————————————
When the word ‘conspiracy’ is used within a defence, it usually means it has an unstable base.
You backtrack because IMO you don’t want to expose the simple truth or main motive.
You provided the full article because you thought many on this blog wouldn’t want to click a Rangers site.
The points that Smugas makes would be relevant if this was the same for all links, but it isn’t.
Your point about Chris Grahm is hypocritical unless you do the same for the other side of the fence.
An old chestnut but an important one.
This site purports to be about Scottish Football for fans of all clubs but the atmosphere created within means that this claim is invalid. The reality is that it’s much closer to a reincarnation of the RTC blog.
This is an important matter as social media becomes more relevant. I hope that a blog that rightly wants a better and more honest media, doesn’t get confused about it’s own real identity.
Perhaps sometime in the future we’ll see a more inclusive blog that lives up to it’s name but IMO until then it should be renamed.
GJ
http://www.desperatelyseekinghonestytransparencyandfairnessfromeverywherebutparticularly butnotexclusivelyibroxandhampden.com ?
Good Morning.
So, let’s recap.
First, I would invite everyone to read the header article again as it contains the important background against which everything that is said below is set.
If you have done that, you will reflect on the calls for the SFA to be fit for purpose, to be open and transparent and so on. You will also know that questions were asked about why Rangers were granted a UEFA licence for season 2011/1012 and that the Directors or Celtic Football Club were not satisfied with the formal answer to those questions and that they decided to take the matter further with UEFA.
Further, it appears that the formal reply was that everything to do with the licence was perfectly fine as at 31st March 2011 but no mention is made of the state of play as at the key date of 30th June 2011 by which time, Rangers had an overdue tax bill relating to what became known as the Wee tax case– basically the first EBT trust scheme that was used by Rangers PLC to remunerate its players outwith, or over and above, any declared PAYE related contract.
Further, no one at Rangers ( whether old co or new co ) has ever subsequently denied that this scheme was illegal or that the trust documents were deliberately withheld from the SFA.
You will also be aware, that in the course of 2011, the SFA– acting on information provided by the Ibrox Directors– whether before or after Craig Whyte took over the club— made representations to UEFA in terms of the UEFA Licensing rules which appear to have suggested that Rangers were compliant with rule 66 and that they had no overdue payables in terms of outstanding revenue debt, whereas the truth appears to be that they had not paid– and by May 2011 had decided to withhold payment of– £2.8M of back taxes in relation to the unlawful and illegal scheme.
Later, when the actions of the SFA were questioned, Stewart Regan, prepared a statement to explain the SFA action, but before making it public he ran it by the powers that be at Ibrox who made it plain that they viewed his statement to be a disaster– both for Rangers and the SFA– and so a dinner was arranged at the Hotel du Vin in Glasgow, where Craig Whyte and his team could discuss matters in private with Regan and with Campbell Ogilvie.
By 1st December 2011, the SFA had released a statement to say that they “noted” the declaration made to the stock exchange by Rangers PLC which disclosed that Craig Whyte had in fact been banned from being a company Director and that before commenting further they awaited key information from Rangers.
Apparently, the information concerned was not provided at the Hotel du Vin as by February of the following year Regan had announced an independent enquiry into the affairs at Rangers because despite repeated request the information was just not forthcoming. In essence, the SFA– Regan, Ogilvie, and anyone else– were officially in the dark in relation to certain matters despite the Christmas night out chat..
Between February and March 2012, there were no less than 6 SFA formal statements with regard to Rangers ( and remember that Rangers PLC entered Administration in the middle of February– less than 8 weeks after the Hotel du Vin Meeting ) and in the middle of those Stewart Regan announced the following on 2nd March 2012:
“”We are, however, aware of the most recent allegations made against Rangers FC today by a former director of the club. We shall investigate this matter thoroughly before making any further comment.”
Those allegations came from Hugh Adam, and he claimed that Rangers PLC had been making unlawful payments to players since the mid 1990’s. Further, he said that the illegal payments were made in the knowledge of the Ibrox Directors and that those same Directors knew that the payments were made in breach of SFA rules and that the details were deliberately witheld from the SFA.
This is what Regan said he was investigating thoroughly.
The following day– 3rd March— the press reported on Regan’s statement and that days Daily Mail
( picked as a completely random source ) ran an article which contained the following :
The Scottish Football Association are set to investigate claims by former director Hugh Adam that secretive payments to Rangers players were excluded from contracts lodged with the governing body.
The issue raises awkward and embarrassing questions over the role of respected SFA president Campbell Ogilvie — despite sources close to the former Rangers secretary insisting the EBTs were handled in entirety by the Murray Group at their Edinburgh HQ and that some directors were unaware of the details.
Now chief executive Stewart Regan has promised to ‘investigate thoroughly’ Adam’s claims that Ibrox directors had knowledge of a scheme which breached governing body rules.
Privately, Ogilvie is believed to be denying any knowledge of the goings-on, but is aware that a full-scale denial would sit uneasily with his reputation as a competent and highly respected football administrator.
On 5th March 2012, The Scottish Premier League announce that they are to hold their own enquiry into the Adams allegations and STV quotes the SPL as releasing the following statement:
“The SPL Board has instructed an investigation into the alleged non-disclosure to the SPL of payments made by or on behalf of Rangers FC to players since July 1, 1998.” with the statement going on to quote the relevant SPL rules
On 8th March, Regan releases a further statement saying that the SFA are not going to investigate the Adams allegations at all. Instead they are going to leave it to the SPL:
“I would like to clarify the situation relating to possible non-disclosure of payments to players, and in particular the Employee Benefit Trust. Having noted the Scottish Premier League’s intention to investigate this matter, the Board has decided to allow the SPL to complete this process, given our potential status as the appellate body. We retain our position until such time as the SPL’s investigation is concluded.”
The last sentence would suggest that the SFA reserved the right to investigate further after the SPL enquiry concluded. They never did.
By 14th March, The SFA were under siege from Alex Thompson of Channel 4 who stated on that date that he had contacted the SFA to invite Campbell Ogilvie to appear on a Channel 4 interview about the Adam revelations. Not only was the interview declined but his call had been terminated by the SFA effectively hanging up on him. He continued :
“Interesting SFA have just accused me of ‘lying’, ‘pig-headedness’ and then put the phone down mid-conversation….,” Thomson tweeted.
“All because I put their own statement back to them that Campbell Ogilvie denied knowing about EBTs [Employment Benefit Trusts] at Rangers…
“And suggested there might be a perceived conflict of interest in his current position until the investigations are complete.”
This prompted SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, to take to Twitter himself and ask Thomson “please could you confirm who you have spoken to”.
” Confirm who you have spoken to”? What an odd request to make in the circumstances!
However, when the notice of complaint is issued by the SPL against Rangers PLC and others, the dates of the matters to be considered have been changed with the date of the first EBT to be considered stated as being from 23rd November 2000 onwards — note that this is significantly different to the date previously announced by the SFA/SPL which stated that they would look at all alleged EBT payments from 1st July 1998 onwards.
This change in dates was crucial as it allowed Campbell Ogilvie to give evidence before Lord Nimmo Smith whilst at the same time avoiding any question about what he knew about the unlawful payments to players AND the withholding of side letters and contracts from the SFA and the SPL while he was a director at Rangers.
In his initial preliminary findings, Lord Nimmo Smith made the following statement:
The topic of the employee benefit trust (“EBT”) referred to in the Issues before this Commission was touched upon in two paragraphs (and only those two) of the report of the Special Committee of the SFA, but no recommendation was made to the Board in that regard. The main reasons for not making a recommendation were: (1) the EBT came into existence several years before the period with which the Special Committee was concerned; and (2) there was in any event no sufficiently clear evidence of a breach of SFA Article 12.3 to justify any further action at that stage.
In other words, the Special Committee of the SFA ( whoever they may have been ) had made no recommendations re any EBT or DOS payments before November 2000 because there was no sufficiently clear evidence of a breach of article 12.3 of the SFA articles— yet as we shall see their president clearly knew that was absolutely untrue.
On 20th March 2012, STV were able to report that a letter had been sent out by the SFA requesting that all clubs send in any documents or papers which had not previously been sent to the SFA which showed how players had been paid, why they had been paid and so on. All of these papers should have been submitted in terms of article 12.3.
According to the letter, the request had been made because “it has come to the attention of the Scottish FA that there could be a number of examples of non-compliance with the obligations of Article 12.3. Further 12.3 says:
“…all payments, whether made by the club or otherwise, which are to be made to a player solely relating to his playing activities must be fully recorded within the relevant written agreement with the player prior to submission to the Scottish FA and/or the recognised football body of which his club is in membership.” and the documentation required is everything “including but not limited to all playing contracts, agreements, side letters etc. which relate to payments made to players solely relating to their playing activities”.
However, the request only covered paperwork in the last 10 years– not as far back as 1999.
So what does all this have to do with the Celtic AGM and the 2011 Euro Licence I hear you ask.
Well, the answer is simple:
Celtic asked for a simple explanation about why Rangers received a Euro Licence in 2011. The answer given was a fudge….. it only addressed the issue of whether Rangers were compliant as at 31st March 2011 and did not address the fact that the wee tax case bill was outstanding and due as at 30th June. The existence of that bill and the absence of an agreement to pay it meant that Rangers should not have played in Europe at all.
The SFA later gave assurances to UEFA that as at 30th June Rangers were again compliant because they were in “discussions” with the revenue about the small tax case liability– Rangers having already been advised to pay the bill by their own QC to ensure compliance.
However, the SFA made no enquiry at all– despite having the power to do so– of HMRC or Rangers to independently verify whether the bill had been paid or was the subject of a time to pay agreement. They did nothing to ensure compliance with rule 66 and instead appear to have simply endorsed a stated Rangers position as set out by Craig Whyte and his crew– and remember that initially Whyte retained the services of former SFA CEO Gordon Smith.
In short– they completely failed in their licensing duty with the result that Rangers were allowed to compete in Europe when they had no right to do so. By May, Rangers per Whyte had decided that they were deliberately not going to pay the wee tax bill despite being advised to– and they could rely on their being no great fuss being made by the SFA because that” would be a disaster for Rangers and the SFA” if it became public because Rangers PLC could not trade if they paid the bill and it later became clear that the unpaid tax bill related to unlawful payments which were not only within the knowledge of the President of the SFA ( yet witheld and hidden from the SFA and SPL compliance officers ) but which had actually been instigated by the very same President of the SFA whilst a Director of Rangers PLC.
Campbell Ogilvie had been directly involved in Rangers breaking the rules.
What’s worse, by this time the media had already been full of “sources” which made it plain that Ogilvie allegedly knew nothing about these payments and suggested that all the EBT payments from the very start were the responsibility of the Murray Group.
Alas, the truth of the matter was ( as Auldheid stated last night ) that the very first letter authorising a trust scheme be set up for Craig Moore was signed by none other than Campbell Ogilvie on 3rd September 1999— a date which would have been within the realm of the original enquiry announced by both the SFA and the SPL, but which was crucially outwith any date actually put to and considered by Lord Nimmo Smith.
When he appeared before Lord Nimmo Smith, Ogilvie told the truth– just not the whole truth. He deliberately omitted his own role because it had been arranged that he would never be asked.
Deflection and omission is a disease that is absolutely rife within the SFA and it is why Celtic were never given a full reply about the reasons why Rangers were given a Euro Licence in 2011. They were told the truth re 31st March— just not the whole truth about the subsequent provisions and whether the SFA had carried out the appropriate checks and balances re the 30th of June and beyond.
Had Rangers qualified for the Champions League– or even the group stages of the Europa League, Administration would have been avoided for a period, the wee tax case could have been paid from Euro money– either by a one off payment or via a staged agreement— and the entire issue of the wee tax case would have paled into one of historical insignificance and blown over in the wake of the big tax case win or lose at the FTT
Rangers needed a Euro Licence as it could not pay its taxes and continued to trade …. and the guy who caused the tax problem– or at least was partly responsible for creating the tax problem… was the guy at the head of the SFA.
I am reminded of Richard Nixon and the Whitehouse Plumbers, and if you don’t know who they were….. go look them up!.
stevensanph says: (185)
October 24, 2013 at 10:11 am
4 0 Rate This
Charlotte Fakes III @CharlotteFakes3 3m
Mr Ogilvie ever present.
Remember this?
http://i.imgur.com/DqL9OG3.png
Confirmation DOS for playing staff.
http://i.imgur.com/L7xYbQs.jpg
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Well done Steven !
Fireworks before Guy Fawkes night ! ! ! !
Smugas
Just to be clear.
I can understand current content being mainly about Rangers or connected matters.
I was referring more to to the general ‘atmosphere’, language employed, tone etc.
The slant or opinion on some of the former rarely gets challanged because of the latter, this leads to very few posters who may look at things differently.
Whilst clarifying, I’ll mention that my posts this morning are not ‘squirrels’, it is a POV and for those who want to bring small furry animals into it, I suggest that instead they just ignore my posts.
Even the people at SFA HQ will note the significance of the AAM decision,that’s not to say they will not be burrowing deeper into the bunker.
There is no way that the man who would be King can be deemed a FPP.
He was at Ibrox from march 2000 till the MBB got rid of him.
Right through the EBT seasons,If as some suspect there will be major fallout from future decisions then he will surely be held partially responsible.
That will obviously not preclude him from investing in Sevco as they are a New Club,but will surely stop him from gaining a seat on the board.
Angus1983 says: (1195)
October 24, 2013 at 9:52 am
Zilch – I think your and my viewpoints are actually fairly similar, albeit yours a wee touch more from the greener side of things. 🙂
—————————————————————————————————————————————–
Broadsword
Auldheid
I don’t think a boycott of the national side makes much sense now. The SFA may be at it, but the team and the structure around Strachan are in my opinion currently something to be lauded rather than criticised.
The impact of one club on the national side is something that needs monitoring though. Rangers as a company seem to have had changing views on the national side over the years and it’s probably no coincidence that Craig Brown’s run of successful qualifying campaigns happened after “that incident” in the taxi meant he effectively discarded a number of Rangers players and during a period where Rangers struggled to develop any decent homegrown talent.
It seems to me that sometimes Rangers saw the national side as a tool to market some of their players and increase their profile and at other times as nothing more that a nuisance. I was surprised to find that at one point Barry Ferguson and Paul Hartley had the same (to within one) number of caps, despite Fergusons international career beginning years earlier. Then I checked out the number of friendlies he was “injured” for. The swearing incident showed his true colours though. He was selfish and self centered and he regarded playing for Scotland as a favour he did for the country and not an honour,
Rant on Ferguson over, but it does display an approach to the national team that is less than honourable among Rangers men. The energy expended to get his life ban rescinded was more about having a “Rangers man” at the centre of Scottish football than anything to do with what was good for Scottish football.
This probably came from the top. Smith’s decision to walk out on Scotland in the middle of a campaign has been glossed over in the media, but it was a staggering act of treachery and to my mind more than negates any contributions he and Murray ever made towards the national team. ‘Eck then walked at the first sign of a job in England after no time at all in charge. It’s difficult to see how players would develop different priorities.
The media treatment also needs attention. For all the trouble of the Burley era, in his final couple of games he turned out a decent team, having dealt with unrest in the dressing room (largely caused by Rangers players). Burley was seen as week with the media, but he understood that he couldn’t just deselect Rangers players without serious consequences and in the end he almost managed it. It took a media campaign to get rid of him and the first thing his successor did was reinstate Ferguson and McGregor. (If that wasn’t THE key question in Levein’s interview I’ll eat my bowler).
Media treatment of the national team also need monitoring. How does the name Souness keep coming up whenever the Scotland position is free despite his being out of the game for far too long and lacking the talent to manage a paper bag anyway??
Does anyone think that if Alan Hutton had played for any other team, he would have escaped criticism for conceding that corner against Italy?
To be fair there have been Rangers players who give playing for Scotland the respect it deserves – Stuart McColl – and it’s not just Rangers interaction with the national team that needs to be monitored. Signing for Celtic seems to be a guaranteed way to get a cap for Scottish players previously looked over, while Scott Brown would probably be seen as far too reckless to select (never mind make captain) if still wore a Hibs jersey.
JLeeHooker says: (68)
October 24, 2013 at 7:59 am
“Hell’s Angels [edited] breeding like rats in California and spreading east. Listen for the roar of the Harleys. You will hear it in the distance like thunder. And then, wafting in on the breeze, will come the scent of dried blood, semen and human grease … the noise will grow louder and they will appear, on the west horizon, eyes bugged and bloodshot, foam on the lips, chewing some rooty essence smuggled in from a foreign jungle … they will ravish your women, loot your liquor stores and humiliate your mayor on a bench on the village square …”
You could be forgiven at first glance for thinking that the above is some random excerpt from a rather unsavoury article describing Rangers fans.
Instead, it was taken from Hunter S Thompson’s fantastic ‘Hells Angels’ book. Being an admirer of Thompson’s work I first read this book many years ago but I returned to it recently and couldn’t help but feel many similarities to our current situation.
The journalists at the time added so many arms and legs to the Hells Angels story it may as well have been spiders and octopus riding those bikes in leather jackets.
One could argue that the reputation Rangers fans have acquired over the years has been gained in a similar way.
———————————————————————————————————————————
One might, but one would be wrong.
Rangers fans’ dastardly deeds have been recorded for posterity in glorious technicolour on many YouTube videos.
Seeing is believing, except for some short sighted Sevco fans also suffering from memory loss.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v1ARlytLPo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aO25BRXA0E8
Carntyre
This is not exclusive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiRcMn_tgFk
Greenock Jack says: (85)
October 24, 2013 at 8:50 am
4 7 Rate This
JLeeHooker
My motive is that it would seem that those of a blue persuasion believe that the SMSM are only writing stories about RFC* for sensationalism and not to inform.
————————————————————————————-
I referred to your motive for the c&p, indicating that you seemed to think many wouldn’t want to click the link.
Why on a site about Scottish football for Scottish football fans would that occur to you ?
Don’t you see the irony ?
——————————————————–
i’m actually glad he did, as it allowed me to read the article.
I guess my works IT dept is overrun with “timmy” type folks as for some reason I have problems accessing McMurdos blog, FF, RM and this Rangers Standard site too whilst at work.
I have no problems with getting onto KDS, TSFM, RTC, Pie and Bovril or almost any of the sites that are not affiliated to one club.
Having read the article, it would appear to me that the media are responsible for all the ills that have befallen RFC (and now Sevco) – not the years of sectarian signing policy, the open and overt sectarian chants of the fans, the “red hand” salutes, the supremacy, not the tax dodging, not the propensity for the club to attract tax dodgers or BNP/NF organisers. Manchester was clearly the work of Chelsea fans, though i’m not sure who caused the trouble in Barcelona – probably the Russians…..in fact, a nicer group of people you could never hope to meet, but the timmy infested media are falling over themselves to paint them in a bad light………..except for the fact that media do all they can to publish the PR spin, hype, moonbeams and any other bit of good news they can about the club – no matter how incredulous/unbelievable the story, they will run with it.
That article only highlights the lack of self awareness, contrition or acceptance that they have done wrong that permeates the Sevco support.
Without a change in that attitude, as far as I am concerned, there is no way back for them.
Why is it, the only questions that come from the support tend to be along the lines of
1. What school did you go to?
2. When are you releasing an Orange strip?
3. Why not arrange a friendly with Linfield?
4. How much money will you give us to spend?
Greenock Jack says: (88)
October 24, 2013 at 10:55 am
______________________________
Celtic fans attacking stewards is despicable and the perpetrators should be locked up, but comparing this incident to Rangers fans rioting in Pamplona, Seville, Barcelona, [twice] and the grand daddy of them all, Manchester, is just a tad disingenuous
Greenock Jack says: (88)
October 24, 2013 at 10:39 am
Thanks for engaging GJ (and well done on the whataboutery above btw!).
I will however defend the forum as regards the atmosphere and tone you describe. That’s not to say that I don’t agree that said atmosphere exists at times and TSFM does a good job occasionally tempering it For me it is simply a result of frustration borne from being taken as a football attending imbecile for 10 years (as proven) with an additional, what, 2 years now added on where the guilty party caught more red handed than Tonto continues to claim that a ratio of 10 pieces of evidence against versus one often illogical claim on behalf of the defendant is simply a reflection of bias.
Carntyne
I could list a lot more but I was just making a point.
End.
Wonder if Mr Salmond has seen this “Fabric Of Society” youtube video.
Greenock Jack says: (89)
October 24, 2013 at 11:12 am
Carntyne
I could list a lot more but I was just making a point.
End.
_________________________________________
I would hold my hands up in horror if you can produce any evidence of Celtic fans rioting in a comparable way to the Rangers fans in Manchester.
My post was in response to the ‘Fear and Loathing in Scotland’ article on the Rangers (sic) Standard blog, which claimed the reputation for extreme violence of Rangers fans is a result of newspaper sensationalism.
The videos I posted shows that to be yet another deflective fantasy.
The point you were making, that all football fans are the same, (although SOME are) is not supported by the evidence.
Smugas
The blog is what it is.
I can understand why it has developed in the way it has, in fact it’s logical.
TSFM would presently have an impossible task to satisfy all.
My main point was accepting things for what they are and not calling yourself something you are not, or recognising the need for change. As time goes by and social media plays a more important role, I’d have thought that a site that champions honesty and pays attention to detail would want to be exactly what it said on the lid.
Discussion on who has the worst fans distracts this blog away from some otherwise excellent work.
I don’t care for it.
Brogan, good timeline/analysis.
I have always felt that last Spring Mr Regan appeared to be of the view that Mr Ogilvy was going to have to go, and had begun preparing the ground. However, as we all know, not only is he still there, but he has been recently re-elected president for life or something, completely unopposed by those who run the football companies, and the wee clubs. (I have stopped referring to the big teams as clubs, they have clearly stopped behaving like clubs, and behave purely as corporate entities only interested in the short term bottom line, and they should be treated as such)
My own view is that the SPL board came back with a nothing to see here view, and Mr Regan found that there was absolutely no support for dumping Mr Ogilvy from the SFA board. It is from these events, that my oft mentioned complete and utter contempt for everyone who has served on the SFA & SPL boards, regardless of their club affiliations, springs from. It is to Mr Regan’s lasting discredit that he has not only gone along with this, but embraced it.
There is another way of looking at the AAM appeal decision. It seems to me that the Ranger’s FTT decision was in fact in line with the AAM UTT decision. there has been a culture of nudges and winks when it comes to corporate tax avoidance/evasion for decades. It is that culture which has allowed talented people like Mr Baxendale-Walker to use legal sophistry to get around the Tax Laws & Regulations, at least until HMRC gets parliament to amend the rules. However, the Law & the Judiciary do not live in a vacuum, as a result of Starbucks, Amazon and many others, society’s view on corporate tax matters has changed, and, perhaps what we saw with the AAM Appeal was that societal change filtering through to the Judiciary.
Greenock Jack says: (90)
October 24, 2013 at 10:39 am
Just to be clear. I can understand current content being mainly about Rangers or connected matters.
I was referring more to to the general ‘atmosphere’, language employed, tone etc.
The slant or opinion on some of the former rarely gets challanged because of the latter, this leads to very few posters who may look at things differently.
Whilst clarifying, I’ll mention that my posts this morning are not ‘squirrels’, it is a POV and for those who want to bring small furry animals into it, I suggest that instead they just ignore my posts.
_____________________________________________________________________________
‘Very few posters look at things differently’. Nonsense! The site’s objective, as far as I am aware, is to improve governance of Scottish Football. To ensure the SFA treat all member clubs equally. Therefore, most posters on this site look at ‘things’ differently from the Scottish Media, the Scottish Football authorities, and the Scottish judiciary. All of whom have either bent, altered, stretched or ignored rules and regulations to the effect that RFC (deceased) were not sufficiently penalised for gross breach of their mandatory corporate, social and sporting responsibilities.
Hence the inevitable conflict with Sevco supporters who – despite the breath taking leniency and outright misapplication of rules – believe that they have been punished harshly.
I mentioned you specifically in a post which TSFM subsequently deleted. Despite requests for one, no explanation was given. Did you go greetin’ to him about my ‘tone’? If so, job well done. Congratulations. However, if you don’t like the tone of the posters here may I suggest that you take you own advice and just ‘put them on ignore’? Sauce for the goose and all that….
jimlarkin says: (572)
October 24, 2013 at 10:38 am
8
0
Rate This
Quantcast
stevensanph says: (185)
October 24, 2013 at 10:11 am
4 0 Rate This
Charlotte Fakes III @CharlotteFakes3 3m
Mr Ogilvie ever present.
Remember this?
http://i.imgur.com/DqL9OG3.png
Confirmation DOS for playing staff.
http://i.imgur.com/L7xYbQs.jpg
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Well done Steven !
Fireworks before Guy Fawkes night ! ! ! !
+++++++++++++++++
Well that just about nails it. I had seen the signed letter and guessed from another letter by HMRC that referred to Moore being advised on the DOS in the previous month and the near matching values in the two letters that it had to be Moore (Barcabhoy having already made the same point about dates and amounts but it was still a guess.
the second image confirms it was Craig Moore.
It is pretty clear now that LNS was not fully informed.
Greenock Jack says: (88)
October 24, 2013 at 10:55 am
______________________________
Celtic fans attacking stewards is despicable and the perpetrators should be locked up, but comparing this incident to Rangers fans rioting in Pamplona, Seville, Barcelona, [twice] and the grand daddy of them all, Manchester, is just a tad disingenuous
———————————————————————–
I wouldn’t say it’s disingenuous at all , not in the original context that provoked the post ie the mis reporting of the fan trouble at Parkhead. In fact , it was the Celtic fans most recent lapse at Tynecastle(as shown in that clip) that sprang to my mind when reading about the Ajax fans behaviour. Celtic fans are understandibly upset about the way the Ajax incident was reported however it brought a wry smile to my face when I think about all the damage done in Tynecastle over the years by Rangers , Celtic & Hibs. This is damage that doesn’t even get reported , never mind mis reported (maybe this is because HMFC themselves don’t actually care – I understand , at least with Hibs, there is an agreement for the away club to cough up for the damage caused ). I’m pleased to hear the Herald has decided to provide more accurate reportage of events at Parkhead. Perhaps they (and the other newspapers in Glasgow) would care to extend the same courtesy to all other clubs. In the interest of fairness.
I suspect the Herald provided more accurate reportage because of the volume of complaints rather than any desire to be fair. It would be far preferable if they provided accurate reportage as a matter of course. Ditto most of the Scottish Media.