The following post comes about as a result of the research and work put in by Auldheid.
He has drafted the submission to FIFA detailed below after closely looking at their rules, and taking on board the points contained in the Glasnost “Golden Rule” blog. TSFM has attached the blog’s name to the report since the overwhelming – but not unanimous – view of our readership is that the SFA and the SPL have again gotten themselves into an almighty and embarrassingly amateur fankle over this issue.
We believe that tens of thousands of football fans will be lost to the game if the outcome of the LNS enquiry is not perceived to be commensurate with the scope and extent of the rule breaking that LNS found had taken place. In view of this, we believe that we have to do what we can to explore all possibilities for justice for those who love the game so much and yet are utterly disillusioned by recent events.
LNS is not being questioned here. He has found that RFC were guilty as charged by the SPL.
What is being questioned is the SFA’s crucial – and seemingly conflicted – role in the LNS enquiry, as is the effectiveness of LNS’s recommended sanction as either a deterrent or an upholder of sporting integrity.
It came to our notice last week that FIFA have created a web site at
https://www.bkms-system.net/bkwebanon/report/clientInfo?cin=6fifa61&language=eng
that tells us that FIFA have implemented a regulatory framework which is intended to ensure that all statutory rules, rules of conduct and internal guidelines of FIFA are respected and complied with.
In support of that regulatory framework FIFA have set up the above site as a reporting mechanism by means of which inappropriate behaviour and infringements of the pertinent regulations may be reported.
FIFA say that their jurisdiction encompasses misconduct that (1) relates to match manipulation; (2) occurs in or affects more than one confederation, so that it cannot adequately be addressed by a single confederation; or (3) would ordinarily be addressed by a confederation or association, but, under the particular facts at issue, has not been or is unlikely to be dealt with appropriately at that level.
Discussions arising from the previous blog on TSFM, “Gilt Edged Justice”, which was published after Lord Nimmo Smith (LNS) ruled on the registration of Rangers players who had contractual side letters that were not disclosed to the SFA as part of their registration, suggest that there may be possible unfortunate consequences for football arising from the evidence presented by the SFA to the LNS enquiry that informed its findings on registration and consequent eligibility. There is also a question of the propriety of the SFA providing evidence on an issue which could have had a negative impact on them had it been found that they had failed to carrying out their registration duties with due rigour over a period of ten years when the existence of EBTs was known to officials within the SFA.
On the basis that the LNS findings require that registration rules be clarified by FIFA and rewritten globally if necessary to remove any ambiguity and under clause 3 above, this appears to be an issue that the FIFA should examine and that the SFA cannot address.
The following report has therefore been submitted by TSFM on behalf of its readers to FIFA drawing on the content and debate following the “Gilt Edged Justice” blog in respect of the possible footballing consequences of the LNS enquiry.
The hope is that by speaking for so many supporters, FIFA will give the TSFM submission some weight, but individuals are free of course to make their own points in their own way. We await acknowledgement of the submission.
The report Submitted to FIFA is as follows;
This report was prepared on behalf of the 10,000-strong readership of The Scottish Football Monitor at http://scottishfootballmonitor.wordpress.com/
It is our belief that FIFA general rules of conduct were breached by the SFA and their employees in both creating and then advising The Lord Nimmo Smith (LNS) enquiry into the non disclosure of full payment information to the Scottish Football Association (SFA) by Rangers F.C during a period of player registration over 10 years from 2000.We believe that although the issue has been addressed by the SFA the particular facts at issue suggest that it has not been dealt with appropriately and we therefore ask FIFA to investigate. The facts at issue are that the process and advice given failed to uphold sporting integrity, and that a conflict of interest was at play.
We believe the advice provided and the enquiry set up, where SFA both advised and is the appellant body, breaches not only the integrity the registration rules were intended to uphold, but also totally undermines the integrity of the SFA in breach of General Conduct rules 1, 2 and 4. (See below.)
1. Firstly we believe that the advice supplied to LNS that an incorrectly registered player was eligible to play as long as the registration was accepted by the SFA however unwittingly, undermines the intent of the SPL/SFA rules on player registration and so undermines the integrity of football in three ways.
• It incentivises clubs to apply for a player to be registered even if they know that the conditions of registration are not satisfied, in the hope that the application will somehow ‘slip through the net’ and be granted anyway (in which case it will be valid until revoked).
• A club which discovers that it has made an error in its application is incentivized to say nothing and to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’ – because it would be in a better position by not confessing its mistake.
• And most importantly, it incentivises fraud. By deliberately concealing relevant information, a club can ensure that a player who does not satisfy the registration conditions is treated as being eligible – and therefore allowed to play – for as long as a period as possible (potentially his entire spell with the club). Then, if the club is no longer around when the deception is finally discovered, imposing meaningful sanctions may be impossible.
2. Secondly we believe the process followed was inappropriate due to a Conflict of Interest. Had the LNS enquiry not ruled on the basis of advice supplied by The SFA, they and those persons advising the LNS enquiry, could have been subjected to censure and the SFA to potential compensation claims had LNS found that the players were indeed ineligible to play and results then been annulled as was SFA practice when an ineligible player played.
3. Finally we contend that a law should not be applied according to its literal meaning if to do so would lead to an absurdity or a manifest injustice or in this case loss of football integrity.
See http://glasnostandapairofstrikers.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/gilt-edged-justice/4. We therefore ask FIFA to investigate both the process used and advice given to Lord Nimmo Smith to satisfy themselves that FIFA’s intentions with regard to upholding the integrity of football under FIFA rules have not been seriously damaged by the LNS findings and also to reassure Scottish football supporters that the integrity of our game has not been sacrificed by the very authority in whose care it has been placed to promote the short term cause of commercialism to the games long term detriment.
General Rules of Conduct (These are taken from the FIFA web site itself and can be found as part of completing the submission process)
1. Persons bound by this Code are expected to be aware of the importance of their duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities.
2. Persons bound by this Code are obliged to respect all applicable laws and regulations as well as FIFA’s regulatory framework to the extent applicable to them.
3. N/A
4. Persons bound by this Code may not abuse their position in any way, especially to take advantage of their position for private aims or gains.
Fascinating post on a share-watch website from a discussion regarding Rangers Int.
http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChat.asp?ShareTicker=RFC
“Fri 13:21StockweillerRE: An informed,outside view…74.50
In this business, it is normally wise to put aside emotion and look, very carefully, at the figures facts and forecasts. The majority of protaganists present here, clearly have not managed that yet and for quite obvious reasons it must be said. Amongst it all, though, are some facts that clearly point to the AIM issue faltering and the apparent glee with which it is greeted has obvious, and ultimately, pointless sources. I am not a moderator here and wouldn’t begin to tell people what they can and cannot say, however if there is something to discuss I recommend the use of facts as published and provable evidence for backing up any statement. Bickering is just that and belittles anyone’s position in any debate. To address your points; You are correct to be under no illusions with regard to the AIM issue, it’s source and performance. As it stands right now it is ‘at risk’ being lower than initial IPO opening. Others have found this an insurmountable barrier before…but not ALL. The recently posted losses, however, ARE a concern (at investment level) precisely DUE to the low cost of acquisition (far below the recent revaluation) and the likely hood of the now revalued assets’ operating costs at it’s true market value. To use the example a colleague put to me during discussions back in the summer following the purchase by CG ; “You might be able to buy an Aston Martin at a bankruptcy hearing for £50k, it’s still going to cost you to run it and the only way to realise a profit is …….SELL IT” He has a point. I’m afraid and believe that the catastrophe that befell this club is not yet truly over and that the financial circumstances in the world today may make any swift recovery optimistic but not impossible. If CG can indeed pull this ‘rabbit’ out of the corporate hat he will have finally succeeded where he has pointedly failed to do so in other ventures we have seen on AIM. I always advocate to other football fans here in the office to continually ask questions of those who run, even successful, football businesses and if the answers you get make no sense or don’t add up…..worry.”
On that last minute Lee McCulloch incident, it couldn’t be given as a penalty, (not that it was, defender just stood his ground), as the ball was not in play at the time. Then again…
ecobhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 13:13
madbhoy24941 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 11:12
Sandaza did nothing wrong and I don’t believe he deserves this intrusion simply for being a Rangers player.
———————————————————————————————–
1. “clause preventing him publicly discussing the details of his contract”
2. “I do believe he has got it wrong morally as well because his loose mouth – and possibly brain – could cause dressing room aggro over wages to the detriment of the club and supporters”
3. “a spource had told him that Sandaza had been moaning about being at Rangers and playing in SFL3 and that would make him fair game for a call IMO”
——————————–
C’mon Eco,
1. He was discussing his contract terms with an agent offering a job, which can in no way be seen as public.
2. What he earns is nothing to do with the other players and this is not like some other jobs where everyone doing the same should be rewarded the same, players have different skill levels and earn different amounts based on level and performance. With a limited pool of agents and so many players, there are not many secrets in the dressing room when it comes to wages anyway. As for morality, let’s not use that in relation to Tommy (or yourself) if you believe it is ok to lie to someone, record their personal details and then publish on the internet. That is something that I would find acceptable when someone has committed a crime, exactly what was Sandaza’s crime?
3. I would say that makes him fair game for a interview with a journo, someone who offers him a chance to share his current feelings on his terms.
Once again, I have no problem with Tommy pushing his agenda and trying to get the truth out there but in my opinion, he got it wrong.
Do you think Mc moist will go sick rather than get sacked?….
Is mcculloch trying for a sneaky wee penalty? Surely not that would be cheating!!! What a tw@t 🙂
madbhoy24941 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 17:33
1. He was discussing his contract terms with an agent offering a job, which can in no way be seen as public.
——
Indeed, as far as Sandaza was concerned it was a private conversation, by legal definition.
If anyone’s at fault, it’s Tommy for taping the conversation and then making it public without Sandaza’s permission. It’s a straight Human Rights breach, under invasion of privacy. I doubt he could even argue public interest, as he was discussing the guy’s employment and wages under false pretence.
TMB.
With Sevco getting booed off the park today at half time and full time they are now just one booing off short of a new world record. The current world record is held by Shkumbini of the Albanian National League who were booed off the park 58 times in season 2011- 2102. Sevco who had been booed off 56 times before prior to today have now equalled that record and need just one more booing off to set a new world record.
Brenda
McCulloch – Simulation – Disciplinary offence – Vincent Lunny do we need to guess what will not happen next.
I know it’s marginally off topic; but I’m currently watcing Scotland take on Canada in th semi final of the World Curling Championships. I’m wondering when Eve Muirhead is going to go over on her ankle and be carried off….
spaldingbhoy
Is lunny still in post? Not been much action lately …….. He’ll probably ban the ref for not giving sevco a penalty today 😉
From KDS:
Ally McCoist locked his players in the dressing room after the Stirling game. Fortunately, one of the Stirling players is a locksmith. 🙂
Long Time Lurker says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 08:06
__________________________________________________________________________
LTL: I think you have already guessed that I agree with you. Although the background is fiercely complex and I don’t pretend to understand every layer of detail, the Charlotte 18 account may be at the root of a very major scandal in Scottish Football, if not Scottish society.
Ian Fraser’s blog – which is a masterpiece of research in Scottish journalism – summarizes the issue as follows:
“One fundamental question needs to be raised about whether the operations of a secret bank account held in the British Virgin Islands, called Charlotte 18, was acting in the best interests of the customers and shareholders of the Bank of Scotland. Were money laundering processes and procedures clearly followed? Clearly not, given that the current office-bearers of the bank, as recently as October 2004, did not know of the existence of this company and the fact that it was the parent company behind some of the former Managing Director’s companies … I refer you to the legal case of Woods versus Martins Bank, which states that a bank manager has a “fiduciary duty” to act in the customers’ best interests. Mr DK claims this is not the case in relations to the Bank of Scotland. Mr DK knew nothing of the activities of Charlotte 18. And Mr DK claims that in “fixing” this position the parent company, HBOS, has used assets to cover up the bad debts caused by the collapse of a company run by the former Managing Director of the Bank of Scotland. Such serious irregularities need to be properly examined by competent and independent authorities.
If I was a fan of Dunfermline fan, a Livvy fan (or a Rangers fan) I would want to know much more about what this secret account was all about, what it disguised about “the collapsed company” and what role it might have played, if any, in the debt that ultimately compromised those clubs?
http://www.ianfraser.org/the-worst-bank-in-the-world-hboss-calamitous-seven-year-life/
killiemad says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 18:49
I know it’s marginally off topic; but I’m currently watcing Scotland take on Canada in th semi final of the World Curling Championships. I’m wondering when Eve Muirhead is going to go over on her ankle and be carried off….
————————————————————-
watching also.
Well done the scots girls.Final tomorrow.
Bring on the swedes!
From the BBC Sport website.
The Rangers v Stirling … Att: 44,608
Ye couldnae make it up. No, hang on, maybe ye could. 🙂
Yes good luck to the Scottish Women’s Curling Team. Always good to see St Johnstone fans so close to a world final.
Can I recommend the team’s calendar too:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=eve+muirhead+curling+calendar&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=xQpOUZC6IoGtPKffgdAO&ved=0CDAQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=600
44,608 watching a draw!!
Was just looking at McCoist’s contract details on the RIFC Plc AIM Prospectus.
He gets no bonus for winning SFL3, SFL2 or SFL1 – quite interesting considering the whopping bonuses that Green & Stockbridge are on for winning these. First bonus Ally can get is winning SPL.
Another interesting bit: ‘The agreement is terminable by RFCL for cause or on 12 months’ notice and by Mr McCoist on 12 months’ notice.
‘RFCL has the right, at any time after any notice of termination to suspend Mr McCoist’s
duties or require him to only perform specific tasks or duties. During this period RFCL must
continue to pay Mr McCoist’s basic salary.’
‘Cause’ isn’t defined so if he keeps winning promotion hard to see how it won’t cost approx £1 million to get rid of him – don’t know if he’ll keep his 1 million 1p shares right enough.
Could it be that he is put on notice but this is kept quiet and he is punted sideways and ‘rewarded’ with Director of Football and then leaves 12 months later?
jean7brodie says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:35
44,608 watching a draw!!
———————————————————————
Quite a lot of Bears posting actual attendance they reckon was approx 33K and that after halftime it slumped to 20-25K.
I can’t see Green being happy with this not with ST sales just round the corner – there’ll need to be a BIG announcement soon to get them to sign-up for another 12 months especially if price goes up – irrespective of what league they end up playing in.
angus1983 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 17:48
10 3 Rate This
madbhoy24941 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 17:33
1. He was discussing his contract terms with an agent offering a job, which can in no way be seen as public.
——
Indeed, as far as Sandaza was concerned it was a private conversation, by legal definition.
If anyone’s at fault, it’s Tommy for taping the conversation and then making it public without Sandaza’s permission. It’s a straight Human Rights breach, under invasion of privacy. I doubt he could even argue public interest, as he was discussing the guy’s employment and wages under false pretence.
…………………………………..
It didn’t stop Craig Whyte…taping private conversations and making them public…doesn’t make it right…unless it’s in the public interest…
Was it in the publics interest…I doubt it!
stuartcosgrove says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:06 (Edit)
Quantcast
Yes good luck to the Scottish Women’s Curling Team. Always good to see St Johnstone fans so close to a world final.
Can I recommend the team’s calendar too:
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=eve+muirhead+curling+calendar&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=xQpOUZC6IoGtPKffgdAO&ved=0CDAQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=600
_____________________________________________________________________
Knowing of your 21st Century bona fides, I am keen to know on what basis (or bases) you recommend it?
ecobhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:43
2 0 Rate This
jean7brodie says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:35
44,608 watching a draw!!
———————————————————————
Quite a lot of Bears posting actual attendance they reckon was approx 33K and that after halftime it slumped to 20-25K.
I can’t see Green being happy with this not with ST sales just round the corner – there’ll need to be a BIG announcement soon to get them to sign-up for another 12 months especially if price goes up – irrespective of what league they end up playing in.
……………………………………………………..
Green has already played a few of his joker cards at crucial points to get the bears on side…were money is concerned..
At some point these fans must realise he is mugging them off…
There is a sell by date for this MO…and I’m sure we are arriving at that point…
The only question is…how determined is the ego of the SEVCO fans…on one hand they need to stand up and be counted and say enough is enough we won’t be mugged off any more with spin or bulls***…or is the mantra watp more important to their ego?
ecobhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:43 (Edit)
Quite a lot of Bears posting actual attendance they reckon was approx 33K and that after halftime it slumped to 20-25K.
________________________________________________________________
Eh? 13k perambulated elsewhere in the middle of a match? Shirley an error there? – or was there a mass walkout organised?
Maybe if women were in charge of ‘The Game’ we wouldn’t be in such an awful mess!!
( Don’t know how to do a half hearted smiley.)
Ally McCoist locked his players in the dressing room after the Stirling game. Fortunately, one of the Stirling players is a locksmith. ‘
_____________________________
Next week the players plan to lock the team mascot in the dressing room.
I thought Stuart and Tam had Richard Gordon squirming a bit on today’s off the ball.
Claiming the SDM and Calderwood thing was fairly normal till it was pointed out to him that it wasn’t normal at all!!
Richard while not in the Chico mould doesn’t really like to rock the boat which as a dons fan annoys me.
ecobhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:43
————————————–
I cannot imagine that Sky & ESPN are too impressed with the dross served up by Sevco either. I wonder by how much the television viewing figures have dropped also.
Watching the Stirling Albion highlights on ESPN … the television pictures confirm the walk-out at half-time from Ibrox. Wow, just wow!
Wonder if the Sunday Mail will report on it tomorrow 🙂
bill1903 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 21:51
8 0 Rate This
I thought Stuart and Tam had Richard Gordon squirming a bit on today’s off the ball.
Claiming the SDM and Calderwood thing was fairly normal till it was pointed out to him that it wasn’t normal at all!!
Richard while not in the Chico mould doesn’t really like to rock the boat which as a dons fan annoys me.
———–
That Richard Gordon is a closet thespian!
😀
bill1903 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 21:51
12 0 i
Rate This
I thought Stuart and Tam had Richard Gordon squirming a bit on today’s off the ball.
Claiming the SDM and Calderwood thing was fairly normal till it was pointed out to him that it wasn’t normal at all!!
Richard while not in the Chico mould doesn’t really like to rock the boat which as a dons fan annoys me.
~~~~~~~
Agreed Bill. RG described it as ‘something of a non story’ which Tom English suggested earlier on Twitter. Doesn’t take us away from the central point – bearing in mind the aims of this blog – why are the MSM not pursuing this issue. ? RG went on to say – paraphrasing – that ‘there are a lot of things which go on in Scottish football which don’t reach the public’.
Now what exactly does that mean ? To me it resonates of Spiers’ remarks ie ‘everyone knew about this’. Only problem is ‘everyone didn’t know’. What he really means is anyone who is ‘in the know’ knows. Anyone who has contacts knows. Unfortunately for joe public we’re left in the dark.
Don’t fret that, on this occasion, it’s a Dons fan who doesn’t want to rock the boat. We are all at the mercy of ‘fans’ of our clubs as to whether they look after self interest or the wider picture. More often than not we’re disappointed . A bit depressing really.
bill1903 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 21:51
I thought Stuart and Tam had Richard Gordon squirming a bit on today’s off the ball.
Claiming the SDM and Calderwood thing was fairly normal till it was pointed out to him that it wasn’t normal at all!!
Richard while not in the Chico mould doesn’t really like to rock the boat which as a dons fan annoys me.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
They had him dangling on the hook and played him with their skillz.
So the Press have known about this for years but never reported it says Gordon because it happens all the time. Example given was Geoff Brown advising Stewart Milne that McInnes was a smashin’ bloke but it was soon pointed out that there was no direct comparison to a situation where SDM gave Orange Faced Manager a job and told him if he played his cards right he would soon be at Rangers. Out of work for many years now Govan Jimmy is a bitter wee man these days.
Remember that Fraser mentions an “associate” who isn’t named in his article.
Did the demise of the Scottish National team start about the same time as Rangers became the dominant force in past decade ?
torrejohnbhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 00:24
So TRFC v Linfield at Ibrox on 10th April.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Why don`t TRFC apply to join the NI league?
Then they can sing their hearts out along with most of the opposition fans
And give the rest of us a bit of peace
briggsbhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 23:58
Did the demise of the Scottish National team start about the same time as Rangers became the dominant force in past decade ?
======================================================================
Past Decade?
Try 25 years ago when they splurged their new found BoS cash at Englishers and every team in Scotland tried to match them with 2nd rate overseas talent. I know my team did but had to recruit from Holland and Finland (FFS!) because it was all they couldn’t afford and ended in administration.
Who was developing the youth? Who was paying in to the grassroots?
Bogsdollox 00:07
I sort of asked the quuestion to raise debate and if would agree with you that the introduction of foreign players didn’t help grassroots.
Not having the financial savvy of others on here forces me to ask daft (but genuine) questions.
This notion of TRFC needing to show some sort of accounts (audited or otherwise) for licensing purposes.
Is it not the case that TRFC own nowt and that RIFC are cash rich (ish) and own the assets? So TRFC would fail to meet the criteria but the parent/holding/schmolding company maybe wouldn’t.
Is it not in the regs that the football club hold the license and no-one else?
If that is the case, what do the regs say with regards to this?
Does this not fall into the “third party payment” thingymabob?
—————————————————————————–
Just a wee second point on Lee “Elbows” McCulloch’s attempted double tsukahara in the dying seconds of todays game.
http://i.minus.com/ib2caEpENwdJnK.gif
Immediately after his attempt at conning the ref had failed, he still found time to highlight the reason for his nickname as evidenced below.
http://i47.tinypic.com/l9xzq.gif
Even the Stirling player had a good laugh at this eejits antics. 😀
I for one am sort of glad that there were so few fans there to witness the behaviour of their big, roughy-toughy, dyed-in-the-wool captain.
Morning all.
Just a thought.how much of a coincidence could it be thet just when TRFC are about to win the league,triggering bonus payments to Green ans Stockbridge totalling £3/4m,a glamour friendly against the mighty Linfield is arranged?.
50k at £15p.h.perhaps?.
paulmac2 says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 21:13
The only question is…how determined is the ego of the SEVCO fans…on one hand they need to stand up and be counted and say enough is enough we won’t be mugged off any more with spin or bulls***…or is the mantra watp more important to their ego?
=========================================================
History shows the WATP mantra is strongly maintained even during periods of low attendances at Ibrox. A strong support from the mainstream media ensures that is the case. I do suspect they are getting pissed off though and I guess if you polled a number of bears on where they thought they’ve be now it would be along the lines of:
1. Unbeaten in the league with maybe only one draw, having won most games by a cricket score.
2. Reached a cup final, or finals, having beaten Celtic at some point while riding on the crest of a wave of emotion.
3. Accounts which show they are making millions in profits, meaning when the top league arrives they will be debt free and cash rich to the tune of £40-50M.
What they didn’t expect was:
1. A piss poor team struggling in almost every match against part timers in the league, with many victories being narrow and undeserved.
2. Complete humiliation in getting put out of both cups, and also in a diddy cup, and a sense of relief the much desired game against Celtic didn’t happen.
3. Accounts which show they are shedding £1M a month.
stuartcosgrove says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 19:42
” Although the background is fiercely complex and I don’t pretend to understand every layer of detail, the Charlotte 18 account may be at the root of a very major scandal in Scottish Football, if not Scottish society.”
=====================================================================
Stuart – I believe that internet bampottery has another opportunity to build on the successes of the Rangers Tax Case, in that the RTC blog and the forensic and good humored contributions that the blog (and RTC) attracted very quickly built up a wider democratic community who actively scrutinized and questioned Scottish football.
At this time, it appears that the MSM are not interested in the #Charlotte18 story – as you say “Ian Fraser’s blog – which is a masterpiece of research in Scottish journalism” broke the story. However, by the very nature of blogs, these events reached a relatively narrow audience. If as you suspect the story is at the root of a major scandal, then it does deserve much wider discussion, in the hope that the truth of the matter will be discovered.
If more information reaches the public domain, I am convinced that internetbampots will work hard to dig deeper and provide a level of forensic analysis that allows the story untangle and surface.
Like many here I am sick to my back teeth of the stench of moral corruption in Scottish football. The only reason that I have not chucked football in other than the love of my Club (Aberdeen) is that internetbampottery has brought together a honest community of people who seek the truth and who in their own way have contributed to the truth being discovered and reaching a wider audience. I have hope that the truth will out and that any transgressors will then have no place to hide.
At this time, #Charlotte18 in my view requires more information to enter the public domain – internetbampotts need a little more to work with. Much kudos to Off the Ball for providing some much needed oxygen to keep this story alive. Perhaps Alex Thomson, Mark Daley and others could assist in taking the story to a wider sphere, outside of publication on the Internet.
The child part of me wants to see a Scooby doo ending to this story – the un-masking of the perpetrators, with the lead charlatan proclaiming “I would have gotten away with it, if it were not for those pesky kids [internetbampots]”
I hope that this story ends at some point – and that Scotland will be in a better place for it where people can continue to come together in blogs and forums to: investigate; exchange ideas; provide critical analysis; ask questions of each other – a virtual community where stories untangle and develop in a wider public glare. And in the final analysis, elements of the MSM that were happy to feed from the table of their masters, have no place.
Longtimelurker says @ 8:07
I concur with your sentiments regarding Charlotte 18,if we can turn the Fraser blog into a tweet then we can bombard all and sundry, I’m certain someonee will take a closer look at it.
Can any of the more twitterate on here sort it out, it will show that the recipient received the tweet on their timeline so ignorance cant be a defence.
chancer67 says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 09:09
Looks like this is beginning to happen:
Worten Mieghorst @TheRealBartin 1h
“the Charlotte 18 account may be at the root of a very major scandal in Scottish Football, if not Scottish society.”- Stuart Cosgrove
czm @czm3 22m
@HenrikVegetable “Ian Fraser’s blog – which is a masterpiece of research in Scottish journalism” as endorsed by Stuart Cosgrove
czm @czm3 42m
@Barcabhoy1 @alextomo “the Charlotte 18 account may be at the root of a very major scandal in Scottish Football.” Stewart Cosgrove on TSFM
I’m just reminding myself that sevco transfer embargo aside even if this was lifted they still couldn’t afford to buy top quality players. Even with increased revenues in SPL their finances surely are not good enough.
As for The linfield game I can only see a certain element of Sevco fans attending that game, not exactly a glamour tie. With the team they have just now inviting a team at a much higher level could be a major embarrasment on the field, we could have anothe world record, goals scored in a friendly
Morning All
Reading back to last night and the post about Sevco achieving a new world record of being booed off the park more then 56 times in a season,surely a first for any team would be being booed onto the park at the start ,cant be far off now.
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/sfl-division-three/ally-mccoist-pleads-lack-of-resources-for-rangers-1-2854730
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/spl-in-crisis-as-bank-gets-tough-now-administrators-are-ready-to-knock-at-livingston-s-door-as-hbos-lose-patience-1.94546
Written by died in the wool Rangers fan Darryl Broadfoot in 2004 , whilst he was at the Herald and Rangers were in the SPL
Anyone advocating a Rangers return to the SPL as a cure all for the ailments of Scottish Football , either has memory loss or is wearing royal blue tinted specs
The problems in Scottish Football were in the main caused by the strategy undertaken by David Murray, aided and abetted by Masterton and other corporate failures at HBOS. Murray’s hubris and ego fueled lack of sensible business practices is precisely why Rangers are where they are today
If we are to learn anything at all fom the mess this guy made of his own business and the disastrous impact he had on Scottish football, we need to ensure hubris, bravado and threats and bluster play no part in decision making
The loudest cheerleaders in the MSM for a Rangers accelerated promotion, are the same unqualified cowards who stayed silent whilst Murray destroyed Rangers and nearly did the same to the SPL.
Keevins , Guidi, King, and Jackson all are untrained for and appear incapable of understanding the financial issues. Their opinions on the matter should be judged accordingly
The story of SDM offering employment on behalf of another Scottish club raises the question…who knew that one man was controlling/influencing the operation of more than one club? The SFA?…The Scottish media?…Other clubs?…All of them?
This breaches FIFA and UEFA regulations once again.
Did SDM influnce/control the appointment of Calderwood at other clubs?
Scottish football requires a complete rebuild…the corruption that has eaten away at its foundation has led to what we have and what we have discovered is so unpallatable that the current path being pushed by the media to ‘lets just move on’..is unaccetable..
That is why it is important that SEVCO and the media are not allowed to dictate that things should carry on as before….because what we had before was corrupt!
Let’s get tweeting then, send it to your MP MSP,MEP, Councillor, and every jounalist and editor up and down the country.
Ask your MP to raise it in the house, there is no hiding place for paid servants of the country.and they must take up any concerns raised by their constituants.
It could be orchstrated by the bloggers on TSFM, and we won’t stop until there is justice.
We are coming to get you!
Just had another look at ‘elbows’ incident 😉 what a desperate, sad has been he is, a joke like the 44000 + crowd claims yesterday, when is someone going to tell the truth about this outfit …… Old or new?
Taken from the Scotsman..
ALLY MCCOIST last night defended the poor performance against Stirling Albion by pointing out that no other Rangers manager in the club’s history has had to work with such depleted resources.
….
You are playing against plumbers…carpenters…and locksmiths FFS? Your SPL players and their salaries are greater than the rest of the SFL 3 combined..
The problem you have Ally is…you appear to be hopeless as a manager!
Should we now be questioning the Stirling Albion manager?
barcabhoy says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 10:34
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/spl-in-crisis-as-bank-gets-tough-now-administrators-are-ready-to-knock-at-livingston-s-door-as-hbos-lose-patience-1.94546
Written by died in the wool Rangers fan Darryl Broadfoot in 2004 , whilst he was at the Herald and Rangers were in the SPL
Anyone advocating a Rangers return to the SPL as a cure all for the ailments of Scottish Football , either has memory loss or is wearing royal blue tinted specs
The problems in Scottish Football were in the main caused by the strategy undertaken by David Murray, aided and abetted by Masterton and other corporate failures at HBOS. Murray’s hubris and ego fueled lack of sensible business practices is precisely why Rangers are where they are today
If we are to learn anything at all fom the mess this guy made of his own business and the disastrous impact he had on Scottish football, we need to ensure hubris, bravado and threats and bluster play no part in decision making
The loudest cheerleaders in the MSM for a Rangers accelerated promotion, are the same unqualified cowards who stayed silent whilst Murray destroyed Rangers and nearly did the same to the SPL.
Keevins , Guidi, King, and Jackson all are untrained for and appear incapable of understanding the financial issues. Their opinions on the matter should be judged accordingly
================================================================
great post barca, but…
The loudest cheerleaders in the MSM for a Rangers accelerated promotion, are the same unqualified cowards who stayed silent whilst Murray destroyed Rangers and nearly did the same to the SPL.
they have destriyed the SPL and the whole of scottish football.
if a team “cheats” by actively hiding, concealing and shredding the evidence, not only to gain a “sporting advantage” over the competition, but to also avoid the obvious national “tax” payments and then they suffer absolutely no consequence other than a points reduction of anly 10points then there is no point in the other teams turning up and playing by the rules (as they understood them, before the ruling was twisted at the LNS enquiery).
additionally, the old rangers plc was “donated” cash from a rangers “charity”, which apparently is against the charity rules, yet nothing has ever been done about that, and, after that bail out attempt failed, a new company (sevco) was allowed to change their name to the old name and add the word “The” rangers, and also allowed to use the old name and logos and headings on paper and websites and also the strips and chop and change between oldco and newco, is rediculous.
they HAVE ruined the “trust” in scottish footbal.
that is why i have stopped going to celtic games and stopped buying celtic merchandise.
there is no point, as all these media clowns are on a campaign to con people into believing that sevco and rangers are one and the same and they want sevco to get “back” to the SPL and european competition. why?
would it not be better for perhaps a spartans to atart in the sfl in 2012 or 2013, then in 100 years…spartans could be winning the SPL and representing scotland in the champions league.
that would be progress would it not, and the spartans’ fans would be able to look back and celebrate spartans hundredth birthday and look back at their “history” and celebrate.
instead, we have these clowns who are intent on “preserving” only ONE teams “history”
…when in fact, there is other teams [eg, ICT and Ross County] who can make “new” history and that is the proof that scotland
… DOES NOT NEED
A strong “rangers” or whatever their name actually is!
Brenda says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 11:11
Just had another look at ‘elbows’ incident what a desperate, sad has been he is, a joke like the 44000 + crowd claims yesterday, when is someone going to tell the truth about this outfit …… Old or new?
………………………………..
Brenda…there has always been a thugish element to Elbows…one only needs to recall his karate style actions in a match against Aberdeen a few years back to realise what he is about…sadly he has continued in that vein on many occasions..
Brenda I think I’ve cracked it Mr Lunny only springs into action when it involves inanimate objects, ie ” zombie banners” and shelters apart from that his life is pretty much one long holiday.
Reference this ” enthronement ” of Jimmy ” tango” Calderwood ,in the Dunfermline hot seat by the axis of Charlotte Sq Jonnyod and myself thought it strange that last week there wasn’t even a ripple in the MSM re the story , now we are told told it was common knowledge in the press box , really, common knowledge lets see if we can guess who knew Traynor, Young, I don’t even know if Tom English was plying his trade in Scotland at that time for him to know . Stephen McGowan in the Daily Mail yesterday was even writing it was in google if you look , well as I’ve previously stated I’m a bit of a Luddite but the only reference I could find in google was he Calderwood got the Pars job on the recommendation of SDM and Dr Dick , slightly different is it not from giving him the job on trial pending his appointment to the MIM works eleven .
I’m sorry but there’s seem to be too much revisionism going on regarding this story and that’s before we even start on Mr Masterton had a kinda control of Livingston and Dundee .
A nerve has been tweaked and MSM are reverting to type, sweep, sweep ,sweep.
goosygoosy says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 00:01
——————————————
I thought the population there was approaching 50-50 these days? Or does one half only support Gaelic Football?
what a guy, despite everything thrown at him he just never stops winding up the journos.
depleted resources! in the 3rd div!
and they printed it!
who’s looking stupid now.
stuartcosgrove says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 19:42
” Although the background is fiercely complex and I don’t pretend to understand every layer of detail, the Charlotte 18 account may be at the root of a very major scandal in Scottish Football, if not Scottish society.”
=========================================
Stuart, you may or may not wish to answer this point.
Why is it that the mainstream Scottish media seem willing to move heaven and earth to deny there could even be the slightest hint of corruption in Scottish football when they are happy to discuss corruption within any other part of Scottish society? I am not for a minute suggesting there is widespread corruption but whenever the subject was reared in the past it tended to be because there was a perception a certain club was benefiting above all others. The almost laughable response from the MSM was always that not only was there no corruption, and never had there been, but it was also impossible for any official in the Scottish football authorities to be dishonest. Any ‘mistake’ was ‘honest’ on the pitch, and an ‘administrative error ‘ off it. People are only human and will make mistakes we are told, but the fact that humans can also be prejudiced and biased in their decision making is never discussed. Of course, it is okay to discuss corruption in other nations, but it can’t happen in Scottish football – not in the past, the present or the future. Do they really think we are all fools?
A bit self promotional (or my-team promotional) but I was wondering since the MSM are missing the old 2-horse race why they aren’t paying more attention to and bigging up the race taking place in the 1st division. Mind you it was a 3-horse race until the Pars’ finances went belly-up so maybe that’s why they ignored it.
Two teams have been fighting it out at the top of this league more or less from the start of the season and for the last few months very little between them. Yesterday the Jags (having lost their manager half-way through the season) won 6-1. A little lucky at the start but the score speaks for itself. Morton were 2-0 down but brought out one of their patented 2nd half comebacks to finish winners 4-2. Two games full of drama, excitement, tension and plenty of goals.
With all the other leagues sewn up and the only other current big story being about the possible demise of a famous Scottish club surely they’d want to advertise something good in the game, encourage punters to go along to see local teams at Cappielow and Firhill. Actually the Scotsman at least gave half-decent coverage to the games – to their credit they always provide some lower division coverage – but the Herald (I never look at the tabloids) to their eternal discredit give very little coverage if any below the SPL (with one big exception this year for some reason) even when two west coast teams are engaged in a tight and exciting battle for their league.
As an aside, there was a turn out of Welsh supporters (with a big Welsh flag) at Firhill yesterday. Glad we were able to show them that some Scots CAN play football. (Hope not too many went to Ibrox instead). Although the Livvy defending for our second goal was a bit Caldwell-esque.
yourhavingalaugh says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 10:31
Hmm
Now lets choose
April 10th
Barcalona v PSG
Juventus v Bayern
Sevco v Linfield
What a night of football
=======================
Barcelona v PSG …Home win.
Juventus v Bayern…Away win.
Sevco v Linfield…Away win.
Is the Sevco game on the telly?
pau1mart1n says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 12:06
what a guy, despite everything thrown at him he just never stops winding up the journos.
depleted resources! in the 3rd div!
and they printed it!
who’s looking stupid now.
*******************************
Paul, I’m tempted to give The Scotsman the benefit of the doubt here as I think most readers would raise their eyebrows at that quote. I don’t sense a pro-Ibrox spin on the article. I think it serves to ridicule more than symathise.
The curious thing from Paul Forsyth’s article (http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/sfl-division-three/ally-mccoist-pleads-lack-of-resources-for-rangers-1-2854730) was McCoist’s statement that training at Rangers “hadn’t changed for twenty years.” Isn’t it the case that modern training methods have changed markedly in the last twenty years? Is this another case of Rangers living in the past?
ecobhoy says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:43
jean7brodie says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 20:35
44,608 watching a draw!!
———————————————————————
Quite a lot of Bears posting actual attendance they reckon was approx 33K and that after halftime it slumped to 20-25K.
I can’t see Green being happy with this not with ST sales just round the corner – there will need to be a BIG announcement soon to get them to sign-up for another 12 months especially if price goes up – irrespective of what league they end up playing in.
=========================================================
I expected the house of cards to come tumbling down well before now, but at last the cracks are beginning to appear.
Dreadful performances in the worst league in Scotland, shockingly poor management, ‘lack of resources’, no…really! (quoting McCoist) stadium beginning to empty on a week by week basis.
Amazing really how they’ve managed to hang in there for so long.
Can anyone translate this?
“The fans’ expectation for performances won’t change but the team has changed more dramatically in 12 months than it has in our entire history.”
Ally McCoist
Agree with the sentiments surrounding the Richard Gordon / Stuart Cosgrove exchange re the Calderwood biz. RG tried to swot it way with the ‘these things happen in football all the time’ line and did a convenient Spiers- like on the fence ambivalent spin on the whole thing.
Is RG part of that BBC Scotland gravy train thing ? -answers on a postcard.
Stuart clearly is on to something re the Charlotte 18 account and this is something BRTH has talked about in his blogs.
Institutional cover up? Never.
I agree about the Herald papers terrible attitude to anything outside the SPL, The Rangers fixtures being an obvious exception. I’m reminded why I stopped occasionally buying the Sunday Herald. They continually referred to my team as Hamilton Acas in their league table section. There is no “s” at the end of Academical, never has been, although the club did for some unknown reason refer to themselves as Acas in their match programmes in the 50s and 60s. This stopped for good in the early 70s when a real fan took over the programme production. The local paper stopped using the term around 1980 when the club complained. The reason I’m telling you this is following an e-mail from myself about their inaccurate terminology, The Herald actually felt the need to contact the club to ask them what their name was! Known to everyone, even those with little or no interest in football, as Hamilton Accies yet one of our leading papers didn’t know. And before anyone says, despite no “s”, Hamilton Accie would sound plain daft.
a wee read…..
this wonderful analogy in the Scotsman comments om the Sevco game yesterday, It is by
Garrynamonie and I thought it worth reproducing:-
“Derek was one of Scotland’s top golfers. From his base in the south west of Glasgow he had built up a huge following and they liked him to be seen as Dignified Derek but the reality was somewhat different. Whilst Derek had won many Scottish titles he had resorted to shameful ploys in his quest to match the stunning achievements of his big city rival, Paddy McGinty, who had won the open in the 60′s.
Bullying and cheating became the norm for Derek as he found ways to control the Authorities and the Press. But that was not enough and as his quest became more desperate he resorted to fraud, tax evasion, and all sorts of contractual arrangements that were banned. When Tax Authorities and Police realised what he was doing Derek lied and withheld information and destroyed much of the evidence using shredders.
Throughout his career Derek was a dreadful bigot and racist and the decent people of Scotland were dismayed as he was recognised as a permanent embarrassment and occasional disgrace.
The pressure of all the lying, cheating, tax evasion, and deception became too much for him and Derek died in June 2012.
From his deathbed Derek passed his golf club membership to a rough, gruff English fantasist who changed his name to take on his identity. He was to be known as The Dignified Derek and he – bizarrely – he claimed he actually was Derek and it soon became clear he had also taken so many of Derek’s shameful behaviours.
But he was no golfer. Despite the rhetoric and bravado The Dignified Derek struggled to win matches against golfers in the lower echelons on the Scottish club game and suffered humiliating losses v farmers, teachers, and plumbers.
He says he cannot understand why people laugh at him.”
Carntyne Riddrie (@Riddrie) says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 13:06
______________________________________________________________________________
yourhavingalaugh says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 10:31
Hmm
Now lets choose
April 10th
Barcalona v PSG
Juventus v Bayern
Sevco v Linfield
What a night of football
=======================
Barcelona v PSG …Home win.
Juventus v Bayern…Away win.
Sevco v Linfield…Away win.
Is the Sevco game on the telly?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Also that night there’s the small matter of a potential promotion decider at Firhill, with a Thistle-Morton game taking place. Now call me cynical if you must, but that game also has the potential to draw more than a few neutrals along with the probable 5,000 who would be there anyway.
Have Strathclyde Police been consulted over the issues the SashBash might cause them in terms of resources for both games? Have they even been told officially?
If last season Rangers had paid their taxes and had to therefore sell most of their first team, chances are they’d have been relegated (IMHO). Would this have prevented DUFC’s current woes?
Richard Gordon’s performance on Off The Ball said it all for me – a few minutes of desperate squirming followed by a deathly silence.
They want Charlotte 18 to go away.
Hopefully Mr Cosgrove ensures it doesn’t!
Broadsword, I assume you mean Dunfermline and not Dundee Utd.
Dunfermline have been a financial basket case for a long time now. Strangely enough probably about the same time that Masterton rode into town.
No relegation might have given them a stay of execution but that’s all it would have been.
rantinrobin says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 13:27
Agree with the sentiments surrounding the Richard Gordon / Stuart Cosgrove exchange re the Calderwood biz. RG tried to swot it way with the ‘these things happen in football all the time’ line and did a convenient Spiers- like on the fence ambivalent spin on the whole thing.
Is RG part of that BBC Scotland gravy train thing ? -answers on a postcard.
Stuart clearly is on to something re the Charlotte 18 account and this is something BRTH has talked about in his blogs.
Institutional cover up? Never.
========================================================================
I may have picked this up wrong but doesn’t Ian Fraser suggest Charlotte 18 is a BVI Holding Company rather than an account? Sounds to me like it may have been the recepticle for some “unorthodox ” lending activity.
Brian McHugh (@pbmchugh) says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 13:24
Can anyone translate this?
“The fans’ expectation for performances won’t change but the team has changed more dramatically in 12 months than it has in our entire history.” Ally McCoist
——
Certainly, Brian.
This time 12 months ago, a team called Rangers had some half-decent players in it. Despite dropping a considerable lead at Xmas, they still managed to end up second in the top league.
Half-decent, non-lazy players with any sense of personal pride then did walking away.
The team now called Rangers is comprised of lazy money-grabbers and no-hopers, all of whom expect an easy ride against part-timers for large sacks of money. Despite building up a considerable lead by Xmas, they may only end up winning the bottom league by a couple of points at this rate.
Quite a dramatic change.
SFL3 Manager of the season
========================
I suppose that McCoist must be favourite to win this award?
Despite having significantly better resources/facilities, better players including those players he brought in before the transfer ban – his team is not romping away with 7-0 victories on a regular basis as their fans assumed would be the case in SFL3.
And of course this season has been about full-timers against part-time players (who probably also have full-time jobs).
Would McCoist accept the award without shame: another SFL3 ‘tainted’ title?
If he had any dignity he would ask the sponsors not to consider him for the award.
tomtomaswell says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 15:14
———————————————————–
Yes, I did mean Dunfermline – sorry to The Arabs for the typo.
Has anyone compiled a timeline of Masterton’s Harlot, Charlotte18’s involvement in Scottish football?
Biggest home win in the Third this season – Stirling Albion 9 East Stirlingshire 1
Biggest away win in the Third this season – Montrose 0 Peterhead 6
Manager of the year in the Third should be Gardner Spiers of Queen’s Park. Every summer he more or less has to construct a new squad with about £0 to work with. I’m puzzled that Queen’s haven’t taken anything from The Rangers (yet) having seen them a few times this season, they play some very nice football and have several players destined for bigger things.
Scottish Press Awards
===================
Per the link it’s the same nonsense as in previous years e.g. Jackson is on the short-list to retain his “Sports News Journalist of the Year” award. 🙄
No recognition of the impact of Internet sites either.
But there is one small glimmer of hope…
Nominated in the “Front Page of the Year” section is this one from the Scottish Sun;
“Day that the taxman finally buried Rangers”
http://www.scottishpressawards.co.uk/shortlist/index.html
StevieBC says:
Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 16:15
0 0 Rate This
Scottish Press Awards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And included under ‘Journalism Team of the Year’?
Daily Record Rangers in Crisis
The Scottish Sun Gers in Crisis
It’s just so depressing that there are people that believe Jacko and the rest are deserving of an award.
Maybe they think it will boost sales? 😀
I found this from an article on HBOS’s collapse. Probably posted before, but hey ho.
“The Bank of Scotland found itself in the news once again after The Sunday Times claimed it had obtained papers showing that the Bank of Scotland’s treasurer and managing director, Gavin Masterton CBE had arranged, between 1999 and 2000, a loan for an associate to buy shares in Dunfermline Athletic Football Club of which Masterton was also a director. It was claimed Masterton gave a guarantee that the shares would be bought off him before the loan had to be repaid; then, in 2001 – after Masterton had retired – the shares were later acquired by Stadia, a company Masterton owned. The Stadia group later collapsed with reported debts of £25m. A man in charge of corporate lending racking up losses of millions of pounds in his own private ventures in four years would’ve been a major embarrassment had it not been for the Scarborough Development Group – a company that used Jack Irvine’s Media House for its PR – setting up a new company: SDG Caledonia to take over Masterton’s stake and a share held by venture capitalist company, 3i for a nominal sum. The Bank of Scotland was then able to recycle the debt. The associate’s loan application from the Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking offered £69,250 at 1½% above base rate, with no security, no arrangement fees and interest payments deferred until the end of the three-year loan period. After two years, a letter from solicitors for Wood Investments (Masterton was a director) declared they would arrange with the Bank of Scotland to have the loan account cleared using funds from Stadia which left them in control of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club. The Sunday Times claimed that a letter from Masterton discussed with his associate a realignment of shares in Stadia on the basis of a firm called Charlotte 18 holding 75%. Charlotte 18 appeared on paper to be a director-less offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.”
http://www.scottishmediamonitor.com/features2.cfm?ID=34
yourhavingalaugh says:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 10:31
Hmm
Now lets choose
April 10th
Barcalona v PSG
Juventus v Bayern
Sevco v Linfield
What a night of football
———————————————————————-
With Barcelona being on Champions League duty that evening it’s a dilemma for The Rangers’ supporters. Do they watch a masterclass of skill with the ball – or do they stay at home and tune into Sky Sports