Fair Play at FIFA?

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.

This entry was posted in General by Trisidium. Bookmark the permalink.
Tom Byrne

About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

4,057 thoughts on “Fair Play at FIFA?


  1. Perhaps an odd questiion, buy what is to stop the Dunfermline steering group simply waiting for administration (‘proper’ admininstration, not the strange twilight that DAFC seem to currently reside in), and then buy the club at a knockdown price?

    I know that the morality of doing that is questionable (at the very least!), but they wouldn’t be the first club to do it.


  2. ianagain says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 16:18

    Why wont Masterton do a deal. What does he get? The land?
    “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
    Maybe we could ask Charlotte. Charlotte18 that is.

    http://www.scottishmediamonitor.com/features2.cfm?ID=34

    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.


  3. In the time honoured tradition of the footballing authorities in this country doing everything in their power to help rangers this is my take on what will happen with the nimmo report.

    Up until rangers broke the rules on player registration any club breaking the rules on player registration was punished and was punished severely. You could argue that the punishments were draconian given that in most cases the clubs involved were not trying to cheat. The rule breaking was down to administrative errors.

    Rangers on the other hand deliberately, knowingly and systematically cheated over a prolonged period of time in order to gain an advantage over their opponents. During this period when rangers cheated the rules on player registration have effectively been suspended by the findings of the nimmo report. The rules have been changed.

    The football authorities will now clarify the rules to ensure that future breaches of the registration rules will once again be punished severely. The rules will now be restored and the punishments will once again be draconian.


  4. ianagain says: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 17:36

    So does 250k save them ?
    ================================
    No – It would only meet their pressing liabilities to HMRC and wages. A solution to the debt situation is required.

    It’s very similar to the Hearts situation with the share appeal for funds to get them through to the end of the season, but the debt situation remains.
    ===================================
    It’s a surprising claim that TPC didn’t have the promised “£250,000” available from named backers if TPC were serious about their offer.

    It gets you worrying about the seriousness of fans groups if the claims are true (Hearts again have similar issues with “Foundation of Hearts”

    The alternative is that the current board are telling porkies or putting some other spin on the negotiations.


  5. NTHM is correct sadly. The clubs run the SFA SPL clubs own the SPL. All clubs have acquiesced in cheating and distortion of the rules of the game to breaking point. Time to shut up shop and walk away. Self respect demands no less.


  6. A piece of black humour from a comment on the Pie & Bovril site, re Gavin Masterton having gone off to Switzerland a few days ago.

    “If Masterton is visiting Dignitas I hope they forego the usual painless treatment and finish him off with a giant Toblerone to the rectum.”


  7. The SFA could not care less what consequences arise from their perverse interpretation of the registration rules to the LNS charade because lets face it sevco won’t be using an EBT scheme and that is all that matters .
    No for sevco it will be transfer embargo’s that don’t straight till the transfer window closes and temporary licenses all done with the blazers blessing .
    No need to hide or withhold any paperwork now ,in fact IMO sevco probably run any new ruse past the peepil in charge to cover all bases .
    Looks like the peepil are just going to drive through their wishes and the rest of us will just have to suck it up .
    At least we now know where we stand


  8. Parson

    MOST interesting. I’m with the MSP who was interested not by the proposal but the reaction.


  9. A Friday night “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” analysis and prophesy.

    SDM had absolute power.
    Masterson ditto.
    Romanov ditto.

    3 Spectacular Train Crashes.

    Ogilvie and Regan have absolute power (with complicit boards).
    Longmuir ditto.
    Doncaster ditto.

    3 Impending Train Crashes caused by Rangers Minded Administrations and Complicit Boards.

    Unless they listen to the fans……

    Guys please listen or resign.

    No correct that.

    Please just resign.


  10. Now Yorkston gets his tuppence-worth in the Dunfermline Press

    PARS chairman John Yorkston hit back this afternoon following the collapse of negotiations with The Pars Community and said he had suspicions about the motives of the group from the start.

    He said TPC had been a “distraction” over recent weeks and that he was talking to other potential negotiators.

    The club’s solicitors were this afternoon served with a winding up order from the HMRC and now £134,000 has to be found by the end of the month for the Pars to survive.

    However, Yorkston was in a positive mood, despite the events of the day and believes the fans will show their backing in upcoming home games against Dumbarton and Falkirk.

    He said, “The way forward is getting the fans involved. If there’s a share issue and the fans get 20 or 30 per cent then fine. Gavin’s determined to get below the 50 per cent mark but he’s not just going to walk away. Nobody would just walk away from it.

    “We’re talking to other parties. There’s a gentleman, who spends a lot of time in Switzerland, who we’ve been speaking to. He contacted me over a week ago. I met him at Edinburgh airport at the beginning of the week. We had discussions and those discussions are on-going.”

    He said the potential investor was not looking to take over the club but to be a partner in running it.

    “He doesn’t want sole ownership but he wants to get involved.”

    It looks like Jim Leishman’s role will be diminished over the coming vital days. Yorkston said the steering group headed by Leishman had just been set up to negotiate with TPC.

    He accused TPC of acting unprofessionally in their actions. “I find it impossible to deal with the way they’ve been acting. The stuff that’s been on the e-mails, the internet is totally unaccceptable.”

    MP Thomas Docherty has offered to act as an “honest broker” in talks between TPC and the main shareholder.

    However, Mr Yorkston said he and Mr Masterton would find it hard even to be in the same room as them.

    He added that Mr Masterton had gone on holiday to get away from the abuse he had been receiving.


  11. Well Fans reply to official Motherwell post re Reconstruction prize money etc

    Posted Today, 10:35 AM

    Thanks for your reply Leeann/Alan/Whomever else had input.

    I will in turn reply to you point by point.

    Prize money
    I appreciate that the club has an open door policy and has always been very good at responding promptly to individual requests and emails (certainly in my case anyway) – however the argument can certainly be made that in instances such as this; sometimes any reply is better than none – even just to say “we’re considering the points made and will make a further statement in due course”. The fact that you replied to me is great, and I appreciate that – but there is still no statement on the club website – the official outlet for your news – surrounding reconstruction updates, colt teams or prize money in recent times. You need to have your finger on the pulse of fan sentiment more.

    Anyone who knows anything about Scottish football knows that it is reported in the media in a way that spends no particular time or effort on those teams or issues that do not impact the largest teams in the league. So surely it must come as absolutely no surprise to you that the issue of prize money is a bone of contention now. At the time it was “widely” publicised and reported, it was certainly never made clear to me, nor many of the fans on this site, that the team that finished 1st in the SPL retained the same % of prize money as the year before and 2nd lost a significant proportion. Never mind 3rd remaining the same and everyone else gaining 0.5% – that’s not the issue here. It was “publicised” as Celtic making a grand sacrifice to ensure the survival of the other SPL teams. Please excuse my language, but what total bullshit. I’m sure you had your reasons for voting this through – but why not explain it to your fans at the time; considering you must surely have known this would happen.

    Which leads me onto my next point.

    Why did you think it right to support this one season only solution? I, as a Motherwell fan, don’t concern myself with other clubs finances, but I care about the club you run for us. A starting point for change? Why not just force change instead of starting it? What are you so scared of? Were you that convinced that we wouldn’t finish 2nd or 3rd this year that you didn’t want to keep it as was? Or, perhaps more to the point, what did Celtic threaten you all with if you didn’t agree to this?

    How do clubs benefit from a small additional prize fund? If Motherwell finishes second, they aren’t benefitting? They may stand to earn a small fortune less than what they could previously have finished with in that position. How is 3rd place benefitting from this? What is the prize money for finishing 3rd this year, compared to last year?

    In my view this is interesting that it’s come up now because we feel as though we’ve had the wool pulled over our eyes by the SPL and the Scottish game. And the only reason we are having this backlash is because it wasn’t communicated properly.

    RE: Colt teams: I’m glad for that very simple response – hopefully it’ll be recognised as the power grab it is and get booted into touch by the SFL member clubs and in turn, the rest of the Scottish game. David Longmuir has obviously enjoyed his wee taste of the Old Firm pie this season, which has left him begging for more. Makes us all feel a wee bit like crack addicts needing to rely on them so much.

    Finally. League Reconstruction.
    Where to start!

    Actually, I’ll start by telling you what I’m going to do if this goes through. I’m going to not buy a season ticket, I’m not going to attend any more SPL games and will only attend on cup games/friendlies/European games. Please don’t take this as insincere bluster, and don’t think me as the only person that is likely to do this. I don’t want to do it, it’d be very difficult for me to do it – but I just cannot justify it anymore. The game is broken, from the ground up – and the only way to fix it is to grab the bull by the horns and do it. Not just make a couple of wee changes to tide you over till Rangers re-join the league. This is not aimed at just you OfficialMFC, but every single club in Scottish football.

    If the only options on the table are Status Quo or the proposed new set up – why don’t you all not just get together, sort your own futures out (without the meddling of Doncaster and the SPL) and say, do you know what? We all believe so strongly in this that we are not agreeing to either, and as such, here’s a new proposal. We have to be prepared to make big sacrifices for the long term viability of the game. If we don’t, our club won’t exist in 25yrs time, I’m sure of it.

    The ‘Well Society members have agreed on the proposed suggestion because you haven’t provided them with another option. 11 clubs having a public vote of no confidence in the SPL or Neil Doncaster would soon make them go back to the drawing board.

    Why do you think the crowds are as they are now? The reasons are clear to see:

    •Too expensive

    •Poor Quality

    •Television

    •Playing the same time 3/4 times a season

    •Lack of Competition

    •Winter Football

    •Financial tightening of everyone’s belts

    I could name a few more. This new proposal, in my opinion, will have an impact on attendances and season ticket sales – What’s the point in buying a season ticket when you don’t know which part of the three sections you’ll end up in and you might even end up with points being reset?

    On April 15th 2013 – I hope and trust that you will do what’s right for our club. Not what’s right for this season or next, but what’s right for the long term future of the Scottish game.
    Competitiveness and fairness wins over greed. If the SPL aren’t playing ball – then the clubs shouldn’t play ball with them.


  12. Usual apologies if this has been posted before or recently. An article by that most articulate of sages BRTH. An aspect of this whole debacle that is almost ignored by MSM and is often lost amid the parochial tribalism all too evident in these pages. 😉

    Personally I think this is as nuclear as its gonna get and given the seriousness of the situation at DAFC, now is a good time to revisit BRTH’s piece.

    http://www.celticunderground.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=912:the-corporate-vandalism-of-scottish-football&catid=47:season-2011-2012&Itemid=83


  13. Danish Pastry says: Friday, March 15, 2013 at 15:40

    Been reading the parsalive forum…

    _______________________

    I misread the above as “parasite forum…” so it wasn’t what I was expecting when I clicked through. Shocking (though not surprising) double standard.


  14. contrary to popular belief, Vincent Lunney is not dead and is indeed still doing his job – obviously takes a long time to compile ALL the evidence from that Berwick game

    http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=11537

    The Compliance Officer has issued the following Notice of Complaint:

    Alleged Party in Breach: Terry Butcher, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
    Match: Dundee v Inverness Caledonian Thistle – 9th March 2013
    Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached:

    Disciplinary Rule 203 (Misconduct at a match: Failure to behave in a responsible manner as an occupant of the technical area by striking the canopy of the technical area, causing it to break.)

    Fixed Suspension Offered: No
    Principal Hearing Date: Thursday, 11th April 2013

    Mr Butcher has until Friday, 22nd March 2012 to respond to the Notice of Complaint.

    Rule 203: No member of Team Staff shall commit Misconduct at a match, including but not limited to committing acts of the kind described in the Schedule of Offences in Annex C (including where there is aggravation by any factor, including but not limited to prolongation of the incident; combination of different offences; continued use of offensive, abusing and/ or insulting language and/or behaviour; calling a match official a cheat and/ or calling a match official’s integrity into question; failure to comply with a match official’s requests; adoption of aggressive behaviour towards a match official; any racist, sexist, sectarian and/or otherwise discriminatory element; and the degree of any physical violence), breaching the Post Match Protocol and committing Unacceptable Conduct.


  15. ecobhoy says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 20:26

    ———————————

    Ah, the old “You question Celtic therefore you must be a Sevco troll” approach.

    You have laudable aims but when do you draw the line before your support comes into question? Blind faith is what led the Rangers fans to stand by while their club collapsed.

    There can be no root and branch clear-out if Celtic are part of the problem.


  16. Brian McHugh (@pbmchugh) says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 14:57
    10 0 Rate This
    Senior says:

    Voltaire, when on his death bed was asked to renounce the devil, he said” This is no time to make new enemies”
    ___________________
    Oscar Wilde.?

    ____________
    Tut Tut Senior!
    Old Oscar final words were “Either those curtains go, or I go!”
    __________________

    Point conceded Brian Mc Hugh, so much so that I gave myself a TsD – which must be a World record!


  17. NTHM, obviously canopies all over Scotland indeed the UK were up in arms regarding the treatment to one of their kind at Dens Park , it left Mr Lunny with no wriggle room and he had no option but to act in the bests interest of the game … Its getting embarrassing now the speed which so called “lesser” teams coaches and officials are dealt with compared to TRFC you really couldn’t make it up.


  18. ……. and so the exchange of insults goes on between the Pars fans and the Board.

    From the Parsalive forum

    A blatant lie from the club

    Postby EastFifePar » Fri Mar 15, 2013 9:34 pm

    ‘This led the club to request the TPC to deposit such funds in an escrow account’

    Having spoken with members of TPC, I can confirm that having seen the exchange of correspondence with Karen Masterton, she did not request that funds be deposited in an escrow – rather, this is what she said in an e mail –

    ‘My thought process was that if these funds were to be consigned in a separate account and are agreed to be paid over to HMRC on conclusion of our agreement, then that may prevent them taking immediate action?’

    Why on earth would TPC be so stupid as to fall for this blatant attempt to con HMRC?

    TPC was never going to put any money into the club until due diligence was completed and that would most likely have shown that the club is financially (and morally?) bankrupt.

    It’s up to Masterton to find a way of settling his debts.

    Hopefully the fans will not be conned into putting ANY money into the club until Masterton and ALL his cronies are long gone.


  19. Taysider says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 09:30
    114 1 Rate This

    … I have deliberately left league reconstruction out of this. I believe raising this as an issue would be a big mistake. It is clear that those who we might admire (Turnbull Hutton is my yardstick) feel that it is a step in the right direction and you can see why. One league governing body, move towards a fairer financial distribution, move away from 11/1 voting majority blocking any change, more promotion and relegation potentially to the top tier. It’s either this or no change and, with this, the potential for further change to improve the set up is enhanced.

    Views?

    ____________________________________________________

    i will leave comment on the bulk of your text to others. I note that nobody has, which is a great shame. Perhaps the collected thoughts of TSFM are focussed on the major football issue at the moment, the plight of DAFC.

    A note before I continue; rather than simply clicking an onscreen icon, would TU/TDers please leave a comment, however brief. Add to the debate.

    On league reconstruction, I agree that all of the elements you highlight are positive. I think, however, that 12-12-18 is not the way to go. Even worse is the 8-8-8-18 that will follow, half way through the season, particularly for the second group with points being reset to zero followed by a fourteen game dash to the finishing line. If resetting points to zero is such a good idea, why not do it in all groups? If it is so brilliant, why don’t all major leagues in the world currently reset points to zero fourteen games before the end of the season?

    Making Scottish football fairer for all clubs should be a gimme and these proposals should be implemented at the start of next season. All clubs then have from now until July to come up with a sensible league structure to commence the following season. On grounds of sporting integrity, this is the earliest point that any reconstruction should be implemented.


  20. That’s 14 goals in 3 games swapped in Well v Hibs games in the SPL. Bored no. EPL better than tonight Normally no. Doncaster sell your product (don’t slag it off) , mans a failed manager and should be replaced.


  21. Not The Huddle Malcontent says:

    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 21:10

    7

    0

    Rate This

    Quantcast
    contrary to popular belief, Vincent Lunney is not dead and is indeed still doing his job – obviously takes a long time to compile ALL the evidence from that Berwick game

    http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=11537

    The Compliance Officer has issued the following Notice of Complaint:

    Alleged Party in Breach: Terry Butcher, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
    Match: Dundee v Inverness Caledonian Thistle – 9th March 2013
    Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached:

    Disciplinary Rule 203 (Misconduct at a match: Failure to behave in a responsible manner as an occupant of the technical area by striking the canopy of the technical area, causing it to break.)

    This takes the biscuit in relation to everything else that SHOULD be in the mix. Mans an utter coward.


  22. My old ianagain says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 23:26

    That’s 14 goals in 3 games swapped in Well v Hibs games in the SPL. Bored no. EPL better than tonight Normally no. Doncaster sell your product (don’t slag it off) , mans a failed manager and should be replaced.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    two great goals – one by Jimmy McFadden the other by Karl Higgarse. – Loved it.

    As for the Pars – would love them to survive – dig deeper into your millions Donald?


  23. iQuantcast
    contrary to popular belief, Vincent Lunney is not dead and is indeed still doing his job – obviously takes a long time to compile ALL the evidence from that Berwick game

    http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=11537

    The Compliance Officer has issued the following Notice of Complaint:

    Alleged Party in Breach: Terry Butcher, Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
    Match: Dundee v Inverness Caledonian Thistle – 9th March 2013
    Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached:

    Disciplinary Rule 203 (Misconduct at a match: Failure to behave in a responsible manner as an occupant of the technical area by striking the canopy of the technical area, causing it to break.)

    This takes the biscuit in relation to everything else that SHOULD be in the mix. Mans an utter coward.
    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    I know I shoudn’t say this but Vincent must surely have the worst job in Scotland apart from Ally at this time – his bosses don’t back him when it comes to the big stuff like sectarian singing because they are too busy in meetings with LNS talking about how to get Rangers off the latest charge.


  24. ianagain says:

    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 19:31

    20

    1

    Rate This

    Well Fans reply to official Motherwell post re Reconstruction prize money etc

    Posted Today, 10:35 AM

    Thanks for your reply Leeann/Alan/Whomever else had input.

    I will in turn reply to you point by point.

    Prize money
    I appreciate that the club has an open door policy and has always been very good at responding promptly to individual requests and emails (certainly in my case anyway) – however the argument can certainly be made that in instances such as this; sometimes any reply is better than none – even just to say “we’re considering the points made and will make a further statement in due course”. The fact that you replied to me is great, and I appreciate that – but there is still no statement on the club website – the official outlet for your news – surrounding reconstruction updates, colt teams or prize money in recent times. You need to have your finger on the pulse of fan sentiment more.

    Anyone who knows anything about Scottish football knows that it is reported in the media in a way that spends no particular time or effort on those teams or issues that do not impact the largest teams in the league. So surely it must come as absolutely no surprise to you that the issue of prize money is a bone of contention now. At the time it was “widely” publicised and reported, it was certainly never made clear to me, nor many of the fans on this site, that the team that finished 1st in the SPL retained the same % of prize money as the year before and 2nd lost a significant proportion. Never mind 3rd remaining the same and everyone else gaining 0.5% – that’s not the issue here. It was “publicised” as Celtic making a grand sacrifice to ensure the survival of the other SPL teams. Please excuse my language, but what total bullshit. I’m sure you had your reasons for voting this through – but why not explain it to your fans at the time; considering you must surely have known this would happen.

    Which leads me onto my next point.

    Why did you think it right to support this one season only solution? I, as a Motherwell fan, don’t concern myself with other clubs finances, but I care about the club you run for us. A starting point for change? Why not just force change instead of starting it? What are you so scared of? Were you that convinced that we wouldn’t finish 2nd or 3rd this year that you didn’t want to keep it as was? Or, perhaps more to the point, what did Celtic threaten you all with if you didn’t agree to this?

    How do clubs benefit from a small additional prize fund? If Motherwell finishes second, they aren’t benefitting? They may stand to earn a small fortune less than what they could previously have finished with in that position. How is 3rd place benefitting from this? What is the prize money for finishing 3rd this year, compared to last year?

    In my view this is interesting that it’s come up now because we feel as though we’ve had the wool pulled over our eyes by the SPL and the Scottish game. And the only reason we are having this backlash is because it wasn’t communicated properly.

    RE: Colt teams: I’m glad for that very simple response – hopefully it’ll be recognised as the power grab it is and get booted into touch by the SFL member clubs and in turn, the rest of the Scottish game. David Longmuir has obviously enjoyed his wee taste of the Old Firm pie this season, which has left him begging for more. Makes us all feel a wee bit like crack addicts needing to rely on them so much.

    Finally. League Reconstruction.
    Where to start!

    Actually, I’ll start by telling you what I’m going to do if this goes through. I’m going to not buy a season ticket, I’m not going to attend any more SPL games and will only attend on cup games/friendlies/European games. Please don’t take this as insincere bluster, and don’t think me as the only person that is likely to do this. I don’t want to do it, it’d be very difficult for me to do it – but I just cannot justify it anymore. The game is broken, from the ground up – and the only way to fix it is to grab the bull by the horns and do it. Not just make a couple of wee changes to tide you over till Rangers re-join the league. This is not aimed at just you OfficialMFC, but every single club in Scottish football.

    If the only options on the table are Status Quo or the proposed new set up – why don’t you all not just get together, sort your own futures out (without the meddling of Doncaster and the SPL) and say, do you know what? We all believe so strongly in this that we are not agreeing to either, and as such, here’s a new proposal. We have to be prepared to make big sacrifices for the long term viability of the game. If we don’t, our club won’t exist in 25yrs time, I’m sure of it.

    The ‘Well Society members have agreed on the proposed suggestion because you haven’t provided them with another option. 11 clubs having a public vote of no confidence in the SPL or Neil Doncaster would soon make them go back to the drawing board.

    Why do you think the crowds are as they are now? The reasons are clear to see:

    •Too expensive

    •Poor Quality

    •Television

    •Playing the same time 3/4 times a season

    •Lack of Competition

    •Winter Football

    •Financial tightening of everyone’s belts

    I could name a few more. This new proposal, in my opinion, will have an impact on attendances and season ticket sales – What’s the point in buying a season ticket when you don’t know which part of the three sections you’ll end up in and you might even end up with points being reset?

    On April 15th 2013 – I hope and trust that you will do what’s right for our club. Not what’s right for this season or next, but what’s right for the long term future of the Scottish game.
    Competitiveness and fairness wins over greed. If the SPL aren’t playing ball – then the clubs shouldn’t play ball with them.
    ————————————————————————————————————-

    I would say there is a greater amount of people left the game as the result of the many years of cheating and the subsequent getting away with this cheating by a football club from the south-side of Glasgow.


  25. TallBoy Poppy (@TallBoyPoppy) says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 04:01

    Suppliment: When is a member of our fearless Fourth Estate going to ask Masterton about Charlotte 18?
    ——————————————–
    The modern day equivalent of the 39 Steps. No doubt Roddy Forsyth is even now marshalling the Telegraph’s financial journalists to make sure that this story at least doesn’t get away without forensic examination


  26. @easyJambo

    Apologies for this sentence in an earlier reply to you. It carries a slightly different meaning than intended without ‘to’ 🙂

    “At some point you have put LNS and the whole Newco Rangers thing in an isolated room and shut the door.”

    Deary me, reading again, it sounds as though I’m accusing you of something! It should have read:

    “At some point you have to put LNS and the whole Newco Rangers thing in an isolated room and shut the door.”

    I was agreeing with your sentiment that there are other issues worthy of attention for TSFM 😉


  27. The LNS logic puzzle has served its purpose, to my mind at least, in that the way it was conducted by the various parties involved brought things fully into the open. I have no objection to anyone wanting to press the matter further, but it seems to me that the message of it was that, one way or another, the conclusion desired by those in power over the Rangers case will be achieved, irrespective of any wider footballing interests. It is of a piece with the attempts to get Rangers back into the SPL, to reorganise the leagues, accelerate promotions, minimise the transfer ban, run up extra losses during administration, etc, etc, except to me, the LNS case was an OVERT message. So I believe that pursuing it will only meet with the same again.

    But I can understand the pursuit of the LNS outcome, of FIFA, of obscure lists of directorships, because sometimes a breakthrough happens. The atmosphere in Scottish football is poisonous right now, because the games being played are not on the field, and the most interesting things about it at the moment are the various political, financial and legal intrigues. This forum, whatever its imperfections, serves a very useful purpose in trying to draw the threads together and let us at least see glimpses of the bigger picture that has obviously existed, but concealed, for a very long time. Even if nothing can ultimately be done to stop the Scottish game collapsing under the weight of its vested interests, this has been quite an education.


  28. TW (@tartanwulver) says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 07:26
    8 0 Rate This
    The LNS logic puzzle has served its purpose, to my mind at least, in that the way it was conducted by the various parties involved brought things fully into the open. I have no objection to anyone wanting to press the matter further, but it seems to me that the message of it was that, one way or another, the conclusion desired by those in power over the Rangers case will be achieved, irrespective of any wider footballing interests. It is of a piece with the attempts to get Rangers back into the SPL, to reorganise the leagues, accelerate promotions, minimise the transfer ban, run up extra losses during administration, etc, etc, except to me, the LNS case was an OVERT message. So I believe that pursuing it will only meet with the same again.

    But I can understand the pursuit of the LNS outcome, of FIFA, of obscure lists of directorships, because sometimes a breakthrough happens. The atmosphere in Scottish football is poisonous right now, because the games being played are not on the field, and the most interesting things about it at the moment are the various political, financial and legal intrigues. This forum, whatever its imperfections, serves a very useful purpose in trying to draw the threads together and let us at least see glimpses of the bigger picture that has obviously existed, but concealed, for a very long time. Even if nothing can ultimately be done to stop the Scottish game collapsing under the weight of its vested interests, this has been quite an education.

    ——————————————————————————————————————

    I share the same sentiments as above. It seems to me that the fabric of society FC are just about untouchable. They are as I have mentioned before IMO just about LEGALLY corrupt as a result of this wee country and its hidden shame.

    History shows us that this fabric of society club was different (signing policy as an example)and treated differently at all times (newco straight into 3rd div as example)

    SDM and his handshake banking from Mr Masterton in the 90’s on-wards cemented that the club from Ibrox would dominate Scottish football to the detriment to all other clubs in SPL. There is a great article above taken from KDS by Carfins Finest which shows the level of corruption in banking that was allowed in our game for the benefit of ONE club. Masterton’s part cannot be overlooked in this concerning his influence and the banks approach to aiding this one club.

    Having the MSM in your back pocket helps feed the WATP attitude.
    Having ex directors or supporters of the deid club at the top echelons of the SFA ,SPL and SFL
    helps maintain the status quo.
    When you have the First Minister calling HMRC to save this institution, that in itself says it all.

    The only thing they cannot control is the fans outside of their family club. It has been us that have slowed their early return to the SPL. How long can we slow this down for who knows, but getting this story outside of Scotland is paramount. Hopefully FIFA will look seriously at this corrupt issue and help save our game.

    If FIFA cannot rule without fear or favour who can.

    We cannot all be paranoid.


  29. Celtic Paranoia (@CelticParanoia) says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 16:04

    I have to completely agree re-Celtic’s perceived influence over the Scottish game. You rightly mention the numerous issues there has been between the club and the authorities over the decades, and at the time the existence of a healthy Rangers seemed to galvanise the media and a great deal of the Scottish public into thinking Celtic could never be in the right, no matter how obviously they were being wronged!

    Using the death of the late Jim Farry a couple of years ago as an example, I was utterly amazed at the gushing eulogies he received in the media at the time. Jim Farry is no different in that his death would have been a cause of great sadness to many people, but I would have thought the memory of a man who the SFA’s lawyers eventually admitted had deliberately withheld the registration of a player to Celtic’s detriment would not be a cause for fond memory for those who claim to hold fairness and justice close to their heart. The fact he was celebrated as much as he was tells us much about the media in this country. Indeed, part of James McMillan’s historic speech in 1999 focused on the media anger towards Fergus McCann for daring to seek justice for his club.


  30. valentinesclown says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 09:14

    We cannot all be paranoid
    ======================

    Indeed we can’t, but the labeling of us all as paranoid for decades was a perfect smokescreen to ensure one club was advantaged over all others, and IMO continues to be.


  31. Use the MSM and place a full page advert/ poll in about the current state of the game, ask the questions they will not !!
    Can this not be done, everyone donates to cover the cost, lets get the message across and also a good bit of advertising for this site.


  32. easyJambo says:
    Friday, March 15, 2013 at 18:10

    “If Masterton is visiting Dignitas I hope they forego the usual painless treatment and finish him off with a giant Toblerone to the rectum.”
    ——

    OT a bit, but I stopped in a Swiss motorway services last year and the giant Toblerones are now on my Santa list. Unfortunately they cost 110 Euros, but they were as tall as my 5 year old son.

    I love Toblerone. We visited the factory in Primary 7, somewhere around Bern, and it was free chocolate from the initial vats of melted choc to fresh-off-the-line freebies at the end. Nowadays they don’t do factory tours anymore, which is a real shame.

    (I only noticed the bear hidden in the mountain logo last year. 🙂 )


  33. bobferris70 says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 11:06

    Finally we have confirmation that the OF crowds are fake.
    ——

    Good spot, Bob.


  34. So why do we not have any journalists in this country that could have written a piece like that one in the Irish post?

    why do we see an advert for the cross bar challange in the rag when it’s totally unrelated to the subject being reported. this just reinforces my reason for not buying a newspaper in this country, very sad state of affairs.


  35. How embarrising is this for the SSB team when they have been spouting about the sell out crowds at every Sevco home game this season [apart from last weeks] doesnt tell us what we already know about them already ,what it does do is confirms they just take the punter for mugs,Clyde should do the decent thing and take this garbage off the air,now where is the tuning thingmybob.


  36. SSB don’t do embarrassment, DJ and shuggy keevins are regulars there talking tosh most nights Gordon Dalziel, Roger Hannah and various other deid club sympathisers too 🙂


  37. Fair Shout.
    _____________

    I agree it’s time we got serious on here and stop the circular debate.
    Let’s put our money where our mouth is, I’m suggesting twenty (20) pounds per person, both blogger and observer.
    I hope this is enough, but I do know it will be the best twenty pounds I have spent in football.


  38. yourhavingalaugh @ 11:58

    Retune and never listen again. It’s the only way to consign it to oblivion.

    SSB is produced by a commercial network driven by advertising revenues, nothing more and nothing less. It is a cut-throat business. If people stop listening, it will be dropped.
    They don’t really give a damn what is said as long as they can show advertisers that people are listening.

    The ‘Rangers good, Celtic Bad’ model is tried and tested. It works.
    It seems to be the only one left to them now so they will not stop using it.

    Having a seemingly endless supply of panellists willing, and in most cases eager, to pursue this line just makes it all the easier for them.
    I can understand those with some kind of attachment to the any of the various clubs that have played out of Ibrox over the years doing this. They would probably do it free if they had too.

    Spare a thought for anyone else with bills to pay who now finds it’s the only job they can get. Especially, perhaps, anyone who may once have considered themself to be a credible journalist .
    It must be hard knowing that this is all that’s left to you. Having to toe the line knowing that if you don’t you will be dumped without a second thought.
    I imagine it must eat away at you in your quieter moments when you can’t stop the thoughts creeping in.
    Especially when you wonder what might have been if you had simply had the courage to stick to your journalistic principles rather than settle for the easy buck.
    Who knows where you would now be. Impossible to tell. But it’s unlikely to have been worse than where you are.

    Anyway, to hell with the lot of them.
    Stop listening and they are gone. And the world will be just that little bit better.


  39. “…I’d like to think I’ve gained the trust of the people in the game up here (sic) because I’ve carried out my responsibilities fairly, objectively and independently…”
    ==================================================

    So which person in Scottish football administration is quoted as saying the above?

    Check the link…and don’t laugh…too much. 🙂

    http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sfas-vincent-lunny-says-happy-1766719


  40. Quote:
    @celticrumours: Oooft. Jimmy Calderwood just said that David Murray contacted him and invited him to be manager of Dunfermline. Sutton was right.

    On Off the Ball.


  41. Rather interesting conversation on ‘Off the Ball’.
    Jimmy Calderwood stated that David Murray gave him a call (presumably around 1999).
    Calderwood, being as long confessed Ranger fan, assumed the call was to invite him to join the staff at Ibrox with Advocaat.
    The call was actually to ask Calderwood to help out his ‘business’ pal Gavin Matterton at Dunfermline, in other words virtually offered him the job as manager of Dunfermline.
    How strange!


  42. For those of you who wake up tomorrow and buy your newspaper with headlines screaming about the green brigade bad boys,this is the before picture.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BFeydARCAAEFIxx.jpg:large

    Big Stuart 1888 ‏@white_italy
    Celtic supporters being Kettled. Kettling is Illegal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettling It is against your Human Rights! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BFeydARCAAEFIxx.jpg:large
    Expand Reply Retweet Favorite More

    Disgraceful.


  43. So why do we not have any journalists in this country that could have written a piece like that one in the Irish post?
    ———————————————————————————————————————————-
    Oh come on, Keith Jackson said it was all a figment of our imaginations, nothing to see here, run along. That he is still in gainful employment at that rag is another disgrace to add to the long list.


  44. Brian McHugh (@pbmchugh) says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 13:34

    How strange!
    _____________________

    How disgusting!

    There seems a continuing series of revelations of very unsavoury dealings involving Murray and Masterton cropping up every other day. Something is rotten in the state of Scotland!


  45. I would be gratefull if someone can enlighten me on the kettling incident,I take it they where unlucky in whatever they where doing that 2 busloads of our tax happened to be passing by,


  46. At the very top of the page is a link to contact TSFM

    use it if you have a problem.


  47. What, TDs for asking why there was so much injury time at Parkheid? Or for asking for a little transparency?

    Fill yer boots.


  48. Very interesting revelation from Mr Calderwood that he was offered the Dunfermline FC managers position by….David Murray. My mind has been buzzing with all the possible connotations that this could lead too. With Murray playing his old pal Masterton like a violin all the time he was CEO of the RBS the pressure was constantly applied to the other SPL clubs (9) who had overdrafts with the Disgraced Bank to ‘Sell’ their best players either to RFC (IL) or to the English Leagues. This scenario has been put forward many times by many posters but todays revelation by Calderwood seems to lend credence to these claims. This, in my opinion, is akin to Match Fixing. Having a financial stranglehold over every top team in Scottish Football, Celtic excepted, and a manager of an opposition team placed by Murray and willing to do his bidding has got to be viewed this way. Calderwood is not a silly man and this was no slip of the tongue. I believe he knows more than most and there may be more to come from him in the near future. Maybe revenge for a broken promise by Murray. Exactly how deep the corruption runs within Scotland is slowly but surely being revealed. How infested we are as a nation is becoming more and more scary.


  49. angus1983 says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 17:02
    6 4 Rate This
    I don’t have a problem … I’m genuinely and quite calmly wondering why that post was removed. Should such questions not be asked in public?

    Meantime, I recall comments on how much injury time was played at Ibrox last week. Seems like a good few minutes at Celtic Park this week … well done to Celtic for taking advantage in the 95th minute.

    Can anyone who was following the game say why so much injury time? I wasn’t – I had skirting boards to paint.

    ——————————————————

    Aberdeen goalkeeper got in injured in the 2nd half. Was down for about two minutes and later got warned by the ref for wasting time. Aberdeen also made a substitute during the extra time period so I guess the ref added this on as well.


  50. 6 subs and a couple of injuries….to be fair the winning goal came from a free kick where Anderson had a hold of Hooper round the waist (rugby style) as he was desperate to stop Hooper going through on goal….great game…


  51. At the tail end of last year I bumped into a guy that I new very well from the industry that I work in. He was talented and was looking for work, I would have gladly had him working within the same company as me. As it happened my company had no vacancy at the time.

    I took the trouble to call on a few people I new within rival companies and was in a small way instrumental in securing a position for him.

    Perhaps I was engaging in a conspiracy, truth be told if a position within my company opened up the person in question would certainly figure on my list of candidates.

    Then again maybe I just helped someone out.


  52. I have put together a little piece which I intend to distribute to news desks and sports desks throughout Europe. If anyone can suggest a good source of contact details that would be much appreciated. It is a massive task. Please feel free to take what I have, play around with it if if needs it, and do your own distributing. All help welcome.

    I will be sending this out with a copy of the commission report. This is the biggest untold story in world football. It needs to be told. Only pressure from outside Scotland will make a difference. Succulent Lamb is alive and well in Scotland.

    _______________________________

    The Biggest Story in Football.

    Imagine, if you can, that a football club regularly playing in European competition was for 10yrs deliberately concealing £47million in tax-free payments from the football authorities. Imagine, if you can, that an independent commission was set up to investigate this and found them GUILTY. Imagine, if you can, that the only punishment was a small fine and no further action. Impossible, you think, but it happened … and no-one wants to talk about it.

    This is a big story in itself. However, there is a bigger story – of manipulation and cowardice by Scottish Football Authorities.

    The Scottish Premier League (SPL) set up an independent commission to investigate whether players from Rangers FC were properly registered for seasons 2000/01 to 2010/11. The full commission report is attached. The commission found Rangers FC guilty of deliberately concealing £47million of tax-free payments to players. However, the players were judged eligible to play in matches. This result surprised and shocked everyone.

    Registration rules have always been applied in the past that any player not properly registered are automatically, and retrospectively, considered ineligible to play. The result is always to be ejected from a knockout competition such as a Cup, or a 0-3 result recorded in a League competition. Registration rules are applied this way all over the world.

    The relevant SPL rule D1.13 is as follows:

    “A Club must, as a condition of Registration and for a Player to be eligible to Play in Official Matches, deliver the executed originals of all Contracts of Service and amendments and/or extensions to Contracts of Service and all other agreements providing for payment”.

    The rule is very clear. The relationship between Registration and Eligibility is inseparable and automatic and it has always been applied this way. Unfortunately, Sandy Bryson (Head of Registrations at the Scottish Football Association) suggested an alternative reading that the relationship between Registration and Eligibility was revokable, rather than automatically revoked. Paragraphs 86 and 87 of the SPL commission report unlock the mystery of the result:

    [86] Evidence was given by Alexander Bryson, Head of Registrations at the SFA, who described the registration process. During the course of his evidence he explained that, once a player had been registered with the SFA, he remained registered unless and until his registration was revoked. Accordingly, even if there had been a breach of the SFA registration procedures, such as a breach of SFA Article 12.3, the registration of a player was not treated as being invalid from the outset, and stood unless and until it was revoked.

    The difficulty with this is that the SPL lawyers, Rod McKenzie from Harper MacLeod, suggested that there is no provision for the rules to be applied retrospectively, as follows:

    [87] Mr McKenzie explained to us that SPL Rule D1.13 had hitherto been understood to mean that if, at the time of registration, a document was not lodged as required, the consequence was that a condition of registration was broken and the player automatically became ineligible to play in terms of SPL Rule D1.11. He accepted however that there was scope for a different construction of the rule, to the effect that, as the lodging of the document in question was a condition of registration, the registration of the player would be liable to revocation, with the consequence that the player would thereafter become ineligible to play. He accepted that no provision of the Rules enabled the Board of the SPL retrospectively to terminate the registration of the player. It became apparent from his submissions that Mr McKenzie was not pressing for a finding that Issue 3(c), together with the concluding words of Issue 3(b), had been proved.

    What we read here is very important. The interpretation given in paragraph 86 is different from how rule D1.13 has been applied in the past. There is no precedent for the interpretation given by Sandy Bryson. We see the Head of Registrations suggest a break to the automatic relationship between registration and eligibility.

    It is also important to point out that Lawyers are not impartial, they are paid to do a job. Paragraph 87 from the report is the most important of all. The SPL lawyers have accepted a nonsensical and misleading interpretation of the SPL rules, and that they cannot be applied retrospectively, to stop the inquiry from finding the Rangers FC players ineligible to play.

    The importance of this incorrect and misleading intervention cannot be stressed enough.
    It would appear that the SPL lawyers have been paid to stop the inquiry from finding Rangers FC players ineligible, and have done so with the help of the SFA’s Head of Registrations.

    Lord Nimmo Smith was keen to point out in the last sentence of paragraph 87 that there was no appetite for finding Rangers players ineligible. If he was simply given the rules, and how they had been interpreted and applied in the past, the decision to find the Rangers FC players ineligible would have been immediate. There is no suggestion that Lord Nimmo Smith acted in any way improperly. He delivered a result based on the testimony he had. It is a flawed result based in misleading and inaccurate evidence.

    If Rangers FC had been found to have fielded ineligible players then this would have impacted on Scottish League and Cup games, but also European matches. Rangers FC qualified for Group Stages of the UEFA Champions League (stopping other teams from doing so) and got to the final of the UEFA Cup during this time. Many European sides dropped points or lost to Rangers FC.

    Denmark had it worst. Herfolge BK in 2000/ 01 and FC Copenhagen in 2003/04 were both stopped from qualifying for the Group Stages of the UEFA Champions League, and denied the associated prestige and riches. Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus in 2005/06 and Red Star Belgrade of Serbia in 2007/08 were similarly denied.

    These were massive opportunities missed for clubs from smaller nations such as Denmark, Cyprus and Serbia. Clubs from Austria, England, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, and Turkey were also affected.

    Rangers FC has a long list of shame – glory and £millions won with players who received £millions in tax-free payments and were deliberately not properly registered.. The Scottish Football Authorities (the SFA and SPL), responsible for governance and upholding the laws of football, were too afraid to apply their own rules. Theirs is the biggest shame of all.

    This is the biggest story in football – a story of lies, greed, corruption and shame.


  53. Brian McHugh (@pbmchugh) says:
    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 13:34
    ===================================
    I always wondered about the orange face.


  54. beatipacificiscotia says:
    Good luck, beat, a very well written indictment, and accurate description of our dispair, of our football authorities.
    I sent a much less impressive email to several European clubs having used an online translation site about 6 months ago, with no reply. Hope you have more success.
    This though is the kind of approach TSFM should be using, if necessary sharing the workload amongst trusted posters/mods to all the clubs RFC faced over the decade.
    Once again, well done & good luck.


  55. I was listening to Clyde before the game today and couldn’t believe the “Get Sevco into the SPL by any means necessary” from Guidi and Keevins. It was interesting that the RFC(IL) people on the programme didn’t vocally back them up (Probably through embarrassment).

    They clearly see an “in” for Sevco to the SPL next season. The Police “actual attendances” in this morning’s newspaper was being used as a lever.

    My concern is that the response to the LNS decision will be used as a barometer to letting Sevco back in. My fear is that they think that they might get away with it. I honestly believe that they are gearing up to make one monumental fatal decision.


  56. dryhope says:

    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 18:41

    At the tail end of last year I bumped into a guy that I new very well from the industry that I work in. He was talented and was looking for work, I would have gladly had him working within the same company as me. As it happened my company had no vacancy at the time.

    I took the trouble to call on a few people I new within rival companies and was in a small way instrumental in securing a position for him.

    Perhaps I was engaging in a conspiracy, truth be told if a position within my company opened up the person in question would certainly figure on my list of candidates.

    Then again maybe I just helped someone out.
    ————————————–

    I agree that it could be nothing but then I also didn’t believe I would see some of the events I have witnessed over the last 24 months.

    Just a little flaw with the argument above, that would be to imply that Dunfermline didn’t about this guy Calderwood. Also it implies that a guy in the middle of multi million pouds deal could not conduct a simple conversation with a lower level football manager.

    Or could it also have something to do with rules relating to “tapping”, something that does not exist in your business I would guess.


  57. Don’t know the story of what went on today between the Green Brigade and the polis but wonder who paid the . As the club is normally responsible for policing in the environs of their own ground and this happened some distance away who pays for this jolly for the boys in dark blue?


  58. Good luck to the Hearts and St Mirren supporters for tomorrow. As a Paisley Buddie I’ll be cheering on my Dad’s Old Team but just looking forward to the game.


  59. Zoyler
    I think you’ll find that due to the distance from the ground and the fact being stated they ( the police) were responding to a large crowd gathering outside a pub you and I will be picking up the tab.


  60. SSB at its best. Sevco fan called and stated that since LNS verdict of NOT guilty not one club has apologised.
    Not ONE of the 4 pundits re corrected the caller on the verdict. No shame.


  61. Just a point……

    Nearly daily we have posters on here criticising Radio Clyde and specifically SSB.

    I have one question……..?? Why tune in?

    You’re only providing said radio station with revenue.

    Do what I did and I’m sure thousand of others have……. Don’t tune in…

    Let them Sevco fans call in and a one sided show… They’ll soon get bored of that too.

    No listeners……no advertising revenue…….Show dies……Very Simple.

    Why anyone would want to listen to that drivel is beyond me, there are far more educated and fair minded posters and bloggers online than the blinkered buffoons on that show.

    Regarding the kennelling and disgraceful treatment of the GB today isn’t for this website.


  62. Carfins Finest. (@edunne58) says:

    Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 17:48

    Very interesting revelation from Mr Calderwood that he was offered the Dunfermline FC managers position by….David Murray. My mind has been buzzing with all the possible connotations that this could lead too. With Murray playing his old pal Masterton like a violin all the time he was CEO of the RBS the pressure was constantly applied to the other SPL clubs (9) who had overdrafts with the Disgraced Bank to ‘Sell’ their best players either to RFC (IL) or to the English Leagues. This scenario has been put forward many times by many posters but todays revelation by Calderwood seems to lend credence to these claims. This, in my opinion, is akin to Match Fixing. Having a financial stranglehold over every top team in Scottish Football, Celtic excepted, and a manager of an opposition team placed by Murray and willing to do his bidding has got to be viewed this way. Calderwood is not a silly man and this was no slip of the tongue. I believe he knows more than most and there may be more to come from him in the near future. Maybe revenge for a broken promise by Murray. Exactly how deep the corruption runs within Scotland is slowly but surely being revealed. How infested we are as a nation is becoming more and more scary.
    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
    At the risk of being accused of the old ”Celtic paranoia”, this lends credence once again to the long-held belief concerning the events at Ibrox and Rugby Park on the last day of season 2002-03 and what transpired before and after.

    On the afternoon before, Traynor ”interviewed” Calderwood and asked what plans Jimmy had for the next day’s match. Calderwod promptly responded with the immortal line, “Oh nothing much Jim, we’ll just be going along to enjoy the occasion”, a comment which should (but as we now know was never going to be, ever) have had him pulled up by the obese one. Following the games which took place the next day, how much reminding do we need of the hounding received by Chris Sutton for justifiably remarking that the result at Ibrox should have surprised nobody?

    Or the contrasting attitudes displayed by Kilmarnock and the then-management team in two games in a ten-day period against Rangers at Ibrox (a 4-0 defeat which should have been at least 8-0 and greeted by Jum Juffries as a ‘wonderful day, just look at this crowd – isn’t that spectacular?’) and Celtic at Rugby Park (a 4-0 defeat which Celtic literally shed blood over and greeted by Jum Juffries with, ‘they were flattered by that scoreline’)?

    There has always been a backstory to events and certain results that season – I strongly suspect that we may be about to have all this revealed to us.


  63. Who decides to employ these downcast radio and tv pundits, pathetic. Incredible 7 goal thriller to talk about but no all we hear from them is how depressing Scottish football is. If that’s the case why don’t they go something else with their lives and let real football enthusiasts talk about our game. I fear what would happen if someone left a pile of razor blades in any BBC Scotland or Clyde studio.
    Ps I don’t listen to that crap but was interested in what the marvellous Sean had to say today, a pleasant contrast from the dullness of the panel


  64. Angus 1983 @ 17.02 complains about TDs. And often it’s incomprehensible. I see TTaswell got TDs for a very simple logical answer to your perfectly legitimate question.

    I think sometimes people TD if they do not like the perceived tone of the post, regardless of the message.


  65. Well well ,what goes around ,comes around ,there was a story in one of the papers last week commenting on the length of time that a very experienced manager had been out of work and no club in Scotland seemed keen on giving this guy an interview for any managers position they had ,this was Mr James Calderwood,it seems to me a lot of these managerless clubs already knew what we are now finding out ,oh dear.


  66. Watching Juventus on telly tonight a player was ordered off by the referee. I was struck by the fact that said player before leaving the field walked up to the official and shook his hand then departed. In nearly 60 years of watching Scottish football I have never seen a similar encounter between a player and a referee. This showed to me the respect they had for each other, if only we could follow that in Scotland, our game would be so much better.


  67. Charles Green recently made big noises about buying back the Arsenal shares that Graig Whyte sold. We know that this was bluster and aimed at keeping TRFC fans onside. Can the sale of the Slim Jim Baxter memorabilia at this time be seen as a bit of an own goal by Charles or is the desperation for cash worse than we thought?

    Thanks to The Craiter on KDS for the link.

    http://www.mctears.co.uk/auctions/lot.aspx?id=75c157ef-8764-4289-87ca-6a4d96bb3ae0&page=1&referrer=browse


  68. Big Pink, I have not that a post of mine has been remover again. The only offensive word was ****. I admit the diction used is not the best but are we being monitored and moderated by some refeened Edinburgh ladies in a morningside tea room? My post was about the strong link between Rangers and all aspects of football governance in Scotland. I have not similar posts to mine have been removed also. Not a good look. If we are not allowed this freedom of speech on this blog it will wither and die.

    [None of your posts have been seen or removed. BTW if you know something s offensive, why post it?]


  69. ekt1m says:
    Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 00:40
    5 2 Rate This
    Watching Juventus on telly tonight a player was ordered off by
    the referee. I was struck by the fact that said player before leaving the field walked up to the official and shook his hand then departed. In nearly 60 years of watching Scottish football I have never seen a similar encounter between a player and a referee.
    This showed to me the respect they had for each other, if only we could follow that in Scotland, our game would be so much better.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I haven’t seen the incident, but are you sure it wasn’t a sarcastic handshake? It wouldn’t be the first time a player has done that.


  70. Carfins Finest. (@edunne58) says:
    Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 07:01
    6 0 Rate This
    Charles Green recently made big noises about buying back the
    Arsenal shares that Graig Whyte sold. We know that this was
    bluster and aimed at keeping TRFC fans onside. Can the sale of the Slim Jim Baxter memorabilia at this time be seen as a bit of an own goal by Charles or is the desperation for cash worse than we thought?

    Thanks to The Craiter on KDS for the link.

    http://www.mctears.co.uk/auctions/lot.aspx?id=75c157ef-8764-4289-87ca-6a4d96bb3ae0&page=1&referrer=browse
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Do you know for sure that Charles is selling this? Just because it used to be on display at Ibrox doesn’t necessarily mean that Rangers owned it.

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