Given the recent heightened focus on the refereeing standards in Scotland, I was asked to update a previous blog from 2010 that included suggestions for changing the way refereeing is managed in Scotland .
Having had a look at original my thoughts are “ here we are again”, for the very same reasons the blog was penned in 2010.
Why?
Because the refereeing issue is in my view connected to a lack of proper financial controls that create moral hazard, where one party can act with reckless abandon (see Rangers latest accounts), but other parties, as happened in 2012 are left to face the consequences.
So I’ll just repeat the suggestions made then but with an added comment on the proposed use of VAR, and how that and proper financial controls can save Scottish football from itself. First the Referee Service
Note the word “service” for this is the way that much of what the SFA do should be viewed. The SFA provide a number of services to the clubs who play in Scotland. They should not be seen as their masters but their servants. Or in modern terms the clubs in their professional leagues are the customers and the SFA the service providers. This change of attitude would allow competition to provide such services to enter the scene and so improve them.
This would be a huge cultural change but it has to start somewhere and here we are again under starters orders IF supporters act to bring the change about by calling their clubs to account for allowing the past to repeat itself today as a result of the notorious sporting integrity breaking Five Way Agreement, that UEFA never clapped eyes on where our game became a franchise and clubs where stores that changed from Mr Noodles to Nachos but were still the same because they sold food.
Anyway!
The Referee Service
This would be split with the SFA doing the recruitment, training and match appointments (having taken the nature of the game to be officiated into account). However the monitoring and evaluation would be the province of the customer, using referees or ex refs from anywhere to mark to a standard set by the customer. This spilt of responsibilities would prevent any one person being in a position to exert his own influence on referees as a result of being part of the appointment and evaluation process. It would safeguard the SFA from the kind of suspicion that led to the referees’ strike and lead to a higher standard of referee because the customer would be setting the standard not the supplier (as happens everywhere in business but football) If it did not, it would free the SPL/SL to hire their own referees from wherever they could get them. A bit of competition never did anybody any harm and that includes our referees who, if they reached higher standards, would be in more demand outside Scotland.
Here is the addition brought on by the introduction of VAR which is just another service. Use this “here we go again” opportunity to put the VAR service AND the refereeing it watches over out to tender. The VAR supplier is also the referee monitor service to the leagues and the SFA become trainers and developers at lower levels of professional referees and work with the VAR service under a contract that rewards both parties.
The Licensing Service
This needs to be calibrated to meet the financial position of Scottish clubs. The principles in UEFA FFP that stipulate what is to be treated as allowable income and allowable debt continue, but regulating controls to prevent clubs going bust or acting in a reckless financial manner need introduced. Points deduction is no deterrent if such recklessness creates huge points gap at end of season when the CL money is at stake. Nor is the threat of losing all won by that recklessness a deterrent, when the nature of how it was won is downplayed then ignored and airbrushed from football history.
If survival depends on access to CL geld then referees , as matters continue to stand will come under the kind of scrutiny that unless addressed, leads to an ever growing suspicion, because here we bloody well are again, that our game is bent .
Worse it leads to thinking that the clubs like it that way but ignore that their supporters do not and will continue to ignore until supporters vote with their feet.
In short the Licensing Service that is supposed to protect the financial well being of Scottish clubs has failed. It perpetuates a moral hazard almost by design that caused Rangers demise in 2012 and that failure and how it was dealt with under the 5 Way Agreement has undermined the integrity of our game, causing increased scrutiny of referee decisions and if not dealt with this time will eventually kill football in Scotland as a sport.
VAR however if introduced as a professional service on lines suggested should encourage more prudent financial behaviour in future by making reckless behaviour so risky it will stop and with it the moral hazard it creates.
vernallen 31st October 2021 At 17:16
‘…. Is it not about time the latest financials should be available. Rumors on anther site have the losses estimated in the 25 million range.’
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From Companies House
RIFC plc
Next statement date 16 November 2021
due by 30 November 2021
Next accounts made up to 30 June 2021
due by 31 December 2021
Confirmation statement
Next statement date 16 November 2021
due by 30 November 2021
( if there have been no changes that are required to be reported when they occur, the confirmation statement will merely confirm that all is as reported in the previous statement)
From the links kindly provided by Jingo.Jimsie I’m reading about VAR technology
http://quality.fifa.com/media/171902/var-iaap-technology-tests.pdf
I had to have a wee laugh to myself at this:
“2. Technology tests and approval
A minimum of five players must participate in the test – one goalkeeper, two defenders and two attackers.
The level/quality of players is at the discretion of the competition organiser; it is, however, recommended to use players who can stage VAR incidents realistically.”
There would surely be near unanimity about which current player in Scotland would get an Oscar for his acting abilities?
I haven’t finished my self-education on the subject, but I assume that the financing of VAR will in some way be passed on to TV broadcasters as part of the television deals?
Is there anyone out there who knows about these things and who might be prepared to give some general information?
John Clark– 31 October 2021 — 21:30
Thanks for the update. Two points with the dates mentioned, provides an opportunity to release bad news during the holiday season, and, the one I like best next accounts “made up” to June 30th 2021. Perhaps having Company House phrasing things is not the best way to go. “Made up” leaves a lot open to conjecture.
Interesting statistics from P&B.
SPFL Premiership
Fouls per Yellow Card
21/22
As at 01/11/21
Celtic 13.6
St.Mirren 9.8
Rangers 6.4
Hearts 6.3
Hibs 6.3
Motherwell 5.5
Livingston 5.5
Dundee Utd 5.5
Dundee 5.5
Aberdeen 5.0
Ross County 5.0
St.Johnstone 4.7
SPFL Premiership
Crime Count (Y=1 R=2)
21/22 Season
As at 01/11/21
Motherwell 36
Livingston 35
Dundee 32
St.Johnstone 32
Dundee Utd 31
Aberdeen 29
Hearts 24
Hibs 24
Ross County 24
St.Mirren 21
Rangers 20
Celtic 11
vernallen 1st November 2021 At 00:30
‘.. “Made up” leaves a lot open to conjecture.’
%%%%%%
Ha, ha!, good one, vernallen!
I hadn’t noticed the ambiguity of the phrase. Or maybe it’s a sardonic acknowledgment by Companies House that the expectation is that annual accounts may very well be works of fiction!
I have noticed the extremely cautious way that any company’s auditors make it clear that they are NOT at all certifying the Truth as established independently by themselves, but merely certifying that what has been presented to them appears to meet the basic legislative requirements.
There’s a kind of parallel ( in my mind at least) in court cases: where the judge will not call into question any matter fact that each of the parties agrees upon.
For example, the question of whether the owners of a football club that was founded and admitted for the first time into Scottish Professional football in 2012 can legally market that club as being 149-and-a-bit years old has not yet been before the courts, even though there have been several actions involving a club that died when it was 140 years old and a now nearly nine year old club that claims to be approaching its 150th birthday.
Since in none of those cases no party expressly asked that question, no judge has made any ruling on it.
Green gains can be ‘as important as signings’, says Hibs financial director today, as he explained the steps Hibs were taking. He also said that installing LED floodlights was an initial large outlay for any club, but there are huge gains to be had. I don’t know of any other clubs but I do know Celtic had them installed at great expense three years ago, and have received derisory media ridicule about it ever since. Right move, wrong club I guess. I can imagine other clubs, one in particular, would have been lauded for such a move. I wonder if the Hibs financial director is aware of this media attitude, and also what their response to his views will be?
John Clark — 1st Nov 2021 –12:13
To continue in the same vein as “made up”, another adage circulating in the accountancy world is “figures lie, and, liars figure.”
vernallen 2nd November 2021 At 00:01
To continue in the same vein as “made up”, another adage circulating in the accountancy world is “figures lie, and, liars figure.”
+++++++++++++++
I once had a chat with a very senior person in the Accountancy world when I met him socially. I was amazed at the fairly simple, but legal things that can be done to make an end of year financial position look better than it is in reality. However the one thing to be avoided is a going concern warning when the accounts are issued. Yet in the world of Scottish football a going concern warning is a passport for the SFA to issue a licence to play in European competition without question. How many times has that happened now with just one club?
On the sports and environment debate
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/59055449
Looking at football specifically I’m struggling to see how it can become greener. Euro competitions involve lots of travel. Two Scottish clubs have fans who live very far away.
Perhaps we should all support our local team? Purely on environmental grounds obvs.
upthehoops 2nd November 2021 At 08:22
‘..going concern warning..’
%%%%%%%%%
Not ever having been involved in ‘business’ or ‘finance’ I lived damned near 70 years before the perverted, fundamentally dishonest ‘5-Way Agreement’ made me wonder how Gretna and other football clubs were/are recognised as having -on being Liquidated-ceased to exist as football clubs while RFC of 1872 was deemed not to have ceased to exist!
The staggering nonsense of that still sets my mind reeling!
And set me looking at things like company accounts and the laws on Insolvency and so on.
And I remember being astonished that a company that depended on personal loans from its directors (loans that were not as far as the auditors knew backed by guarantees from those supposed to be ready to lend) was allowed to continue in business as usual.
The law appears to allow feckless businessmen to carry on until they go bust and lots of people suffer;
just as it lets business people get away long enough with two-fingering the Regulators and perhaps the Courts instead of being banged up!
Slavia at the centre of another racism claim.
Slavia No.2 Pavel Rehak is now at the centre of a huge storm after a powderkeg league clash with Viktoria Plzen, where the visitors were reduced to eight men.
One of the three players sent off was Colombian Jhon Mosquera who posted a picture of the Slavia assistant manager on social media and stated: “This stupid man called me a monkey.
“I hope I don’t meet him alone on the street, because I would smash his face.”
And his club backed him up in a statement. They said: “The club stands firmly behind its player, whom we fully trust and has our maximum support.
“We therefore ask the home club to thoroughly investigate the entire incident and, if necessary, to severely punish the specific culprit.
“We consider Slavia’s behaviour absolutely undignified. The worst moment came when Jhon Mosquera went to the stand and listened to swearing not only from the crowd, but unfortunately also from the Slavia coaching staff
“According to him, one of them even insulted him racially, which our player pointed out immediately after the match in the dressing and subsequently on social networks.”
Slavia have so far refused to comment on the incident.
Rangers face Sparta Prague later this month at Ibrox in a Europa League Group Stage tie, which is certain to be a fiery encounter.
The written judgement of the SFA’s appeal to the Inner House of the COS, re the interim interdict obtained by Park’s, was published today.
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2021csih61.pdf?sfvrsn=f0711814_1
This extract confirms Park’s claim about a pre existing contract with Rangers.
“The petitioners specialise in the sale of new and used cars. They have a longstanding commercial relationship with Rangers. This includes advertisement by Rangers of the petitioners’ business. A written contract has been in existence since June 2015. It was renewed on 17 May 2021. The following month the SPFL entered into a sponsorship contract with Cinch; a business concerned in the sale of second-hand cars. Previously, Rangers had expressed their concerns to the SPFL that the terms of the two contracts might conflict with one another. Subsequently, Rangers have refused: (a) to provide the SPFL with the rights, facilities and properties required under SPFL’s contract with Cinch; and (b) to produce a copy of their contract with the petitioners.”
dom16 2nd November 2021 At 13:31
Two votes to one. (iv)
[3] On receipt of a Notice to Refer, the SFA Secretary must send a notice to the referring
party “and to any other party or parties with an interest in the Dispute” (Art 99.19(a)). The
Secretary’s Notice is to include: (i) a copy of the Notice to Refer; (ii) the Tribunal Candidate
List; (iii) a copy of Article 99; and (iv) an invitation to nominate, or agree to, the appointment of arbitrators.
Lurkio 2nd November 2021 At 19:50
“..The written judgement of the SFA’s appeal to the Inner House of the COS, re the interim interdict obtained by Park’s, was published today.”
%%%%%%%%
I make no comment on the Court’s decision, of course.
But I had a smile to myself as I read ,at para 19 line 6, this little bit;
“……The airing of such disputes may carry a reputational risk to the game and its
participants which the SFA, as the supervisory body, will be keen to avoid.”
Their Lordship seem not to have realised that as a ‘supervisory body’ the SFA shredded such good reputation as it may then have had in 2012 by the disgusting 5-Way Agreement, which entirely destroyed the notion that they were guardians of the Integrity of our Sport.
Seems to me the 2021 May contract renewal is immaterial, being so close to the league start, during which time the Cinch deal would already be at an advanced stage, if not already concluded.
Comparisons must be made between the 2015 contract and the 2021 renewal to assess how they differ.
I think the possibility exists that Sports Direct had the advertising sewn up during that period.
I read today that “Former Fifa officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were charged with fraud and other offences by Swiss prosecutors on Tuesday after a six-year investigation into a controversial $2m payment”
I do not not in any way wish to pre-judge the outcome of any trial, and could not care a tuppenny toss for either Platini or Blatter.
I may, and do, as a football supporter, legitimately express my deep satisfaction that the INVESTIGATION into the pair was not arbitrarily blocked by FIFA in the way that a certain investigation was ARBITRARILY blocked by the SFA on the basis ONLY of that body’s ‘desire not to rake over the ashes’ but to ‘move on’.
and my deep dissatisfaction that our football clubs allowed such a block to be put on that investigation.
@JC 22:06
Unfortunately we live in a deeply corrupted society , that which we thought only existed in banana republics and mafia infiltrated states has exposed itself in our own society on a regular basis now. The Government of the UK is just an organised crime syndicate with plummy accents so is it any wonder that our media outlets and sporting institutions follow suit ?
George W Bush refused to hold an inquiry into the largest terrorist attack the World has ever witnessed for 441 days only relenting due to public pressure but even then what was allowed was restricted by time and money . Bush even refused to testify unless it was done in private, that no transcripts were taken , that he could do so without being under oath and was accompanied on the witness stand by Dick Cheney. The commissioners stated they were lied to , that evidence was withheld and they were set up to fail yet the powers that be got away with it as there is no accountability for their actions.
Moving on to our favourite glib and shameless criminal I have noticed that his company Sebata Holdings recently had a large rise in price from 190 up to 280 last week , it didn’t last long and today saw a 28% drop down to 202 bearing all the hallmarks of a pump and dump operation in the hope of dragging in some mug punters . It was reported on another site that money had headed his way from the klan base possibly for some of his shares as per agreement but as yet unconfirmed but it could have provided useful liquidity for an operation such as that. Sebata and Dave remain in financial trouble and it would seem he needs any cash he can get so things could get interesting . I imagine any cash raised in January sales will be of great interest to him , that’s if he and Rangers* can last that long.
Timtim 3rd November 2021 At 00:41
‘ .. 190 up to 280 last week , it didn’t last long and today saw a 28% drop down to 202 ‘
%%%%%%%%
Is that 1.90 to 2.90 and down again to 2.02 South Africa Rands or US dollars?
Today’s rate of exchange is ! rand =0.65 dollar
If I may go ‘off topic’ (or OT as we used to say on the blog)can I mention that in looking at ‘Court of Session judgments’ I came across the judgment in a case utterly unconnected with football but which caused me to say ‘good on ye’, Court of Session!
The ‘High Court’ referred to in this extract from the judgment of the Inner House of the Court of Session [Lord Menzies, Lord Woolman, Lord Doherty] that I give here is, of course, the English High Court.
“[7] Second, the function of this court [ ie. the Court of Session]is not to rubber-stamp High Court decisions which are usually taken by a single judge. Whilst it has the primary responsibility for assessing the best interests of the child, our procedures require consideration by three Inner House judges.
We also have a heavy responsibility, particularly where the deprivation of liberty of a child
is involved.
[8] Third, all applications to this court must be presented expeditiously. There have
been cases in which this has not happened. In one case no petition was presented to this
court for a period of more than 7 months after a child was made subject to a placement and
deprivation of liberty order in Scotland. THAT WILL NOT DO. [my capitals]”
Man, I do really love that assertion of the rights of the legal system of Scotland.
England is another country, and even those who sold the jersey in 18-oatcake [or 1707?] had enough sense to protect the Scottish legal system when the Union was created.
Not that I make any kind of party political point, which would be no part of the SFM blog, but merely to state the legal realities,
As that judgment does.
see [2021] CSIH 59
P844/20, P349/21 and P598/21
[ For anyone interested, the judgment in question relates to English Local Authorities getting (English )High Court orders to put a ‘child’ into secure accommodation in Scotland because there are not sufficient places in England.]
As ever, being on this blog has been an education for me in so many un-football related ways!
Timtim 3rd November 2021 At 00:41
‘..The Government of the UK is just an organised crime syndicate with plummy accents..’
%%%%%%%
And it’s the plummy accent types that keep the non-plummy accent types in their ‘subordinate places!
I had an uncle called Tom who hadn’t a clue about how he was being used.
@JC
the price is in Sth African Rand (ZAR) so currency fluctuations obviously have a large bearing the current price is 202 Rand or just under £10 but to compare it to 2015 when Dave got involved at Ibrox (again) it was around 1500 Rand (£85 at the time) by any accounting method that is a big haircut
https://za.investing.com/equities/micromega-holdings-ltd-chart
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/59162090
About time this behaviour was addressed.
Surely it’s not too much to ask fans to remain silent for a short period of time as a mark of respect.
Just on Bbc radio: SFA fined £8000 for fans booing Israeli team and for inappropriate flag.
Timtim 4th November 2021 At 12:17
“…the price is in Sth African Rand (ZAR)..”
%%%%%%%
Thanks, Timtim, but I don’t understand this:
https://sashares.co.za/sebata-holdings/#gs.fg38gt
I’m reading 2.02 rand as the current share price just as 2 point 2, not as 200 and 2.
But as I have previously demonstrated, I can get easily confused with numbers and decimal points!
I’d be happy,of course, if King ‘s shares in anything were worthless-including his shares in RIFC plc!!
John Clark 4th November 2021 @ 14:11hrs –
I’ve just had a look at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange –
https://www.jse.co.za/
Traded shares are priced in ZAC (South African Cents: 100 ZAC = 1 ZAR).
Sebata’s price of 202 ZAC equals 2.02 ZAR.
Today, according to http://www.XE.com, 1 ZAR = 0.0487324 pence (nearly 5p!) & £1 = 20.5202 ZAR.
Hope this helps!
@JJ
thanks for that , I didn’t realise it was cents instead of rand
Jingso.Jimsie 4th November 2021 At 16:06
‘..Traded shares are priced in ZAC (South African Cents: 100 ZAC = 1 ZAR).’
%%%%%%%%%%
Ah, that makes it clear! Thank you, JJ.
TImtim: I was thinking that you were reading 202 rands, while I was thinking of 2.02 rands.
Who would have thought that there was such a thing as a zac! It never entered my ignorant head that the rand would be subdivided into cents!
Whatever, the fact seems to be that Sebata may be toiling somewhat, and perhaps a bit short of the readies?
Not unlike another company of recent origin in which the man from the ‘mulk is a shareholder!
And anent rands and Sebata I remind myself of this:
“Sars launched an investigation into King’s affairs in May 2000 when it became aware that he had bought an Irma Stern painting for R1.76m and could not reconcile this purchase with his declared gross income of R60 000”,
and I think of the sharp public servant in Sars, honourable chap sadly now deceased, who noticed that, and got him nailed.
And I praise our own HMRC for [eventually] nailing SDM’s EBT cheatery, while wondering why he appears not ever to have been in ANY way personally sanctioned.
Can someone enlighten me?
Strange things can happen in magic circles?????
https://www.scotsman.com/news/fettesgate-magic-circle-spells-panic-police-2444142
Would it surprise you to know the Sir Brassneck went to Fettes???
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/annual-report-and-accounts-and-notice-of-2021-agm/2nOwvQy99QIKj6zhFkva17
23.5m loss
I’m sure there will be much reading of the above and it seems like Kings loan of 5m has been repaid but it has been replaced by another . Robbing Peter to pay Paul as they say
Director loans
John Bennett, Barry Scott, Douglas Park, Alastair Johnston and Julian Juul Wolhardt
A facility provided by Mr J Bennett, Mr A Johnston and Mr J Wolhardt to the Company of £5.25m is being charged interest at
6% on an accruing basis. Repayments of this, over a 7 year period, commenced in August 2021
17.46m last year 11.27m the year before and 23.5m now makes 52.23m over last 3 years which is what uefa look at for ffp that’s roughly €61.5m . The limit had been set at €25m over 3 years but I believe this had been relaxed due to Covid but not dispensed with , the figure can be reduced for monies spent on ground improvements but this amount has to be a concern .
Just double checking that the 23,500,000 loss isnt in pennies rather than £s
Timtim 5th November 2021 At 12:00
Just double checking that the 23,500,000 loss isnt in pennies rather than £s
Or 27.4m euros in one season. 2,4 more than UEFA FFP permits in three.
John Clark 5th November 2021 At 00:14
And I praise our own HMRC for [eventually] nailing SDM’s EBT cheatery, while wondering why he appears not ever to have been in ANY way personally sanctioned.
Can someone enlighten me?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Because the establishment look after their own. Any other Scottish Club owner would have been subject to criminal charges IMO. The media outrage would have ensured it. Instead the media still fall over themselves to call him ‘Sir’ David. I am also sure the same media would have been onto UEFA to ‘clarify’ the position regarding FFP if Celtic were running up huge losses every year. After all, we only have to see how they contacted UEFA earlier this season in the hope Celtic had fielded an ineligible player in a CL qualifier. UEFA confirmed they hadn’t but it’s quite clear what their agenda is.
A lot of emphasis is being put on the necessity of winning of the Premiership title this season in certain quarters for the financial boost of CL group stages . Are the monies split should both our entrants succeed ?
upthehoops 5th Nov 12.45.
Was it not Celtics opponents Midtjylland who were accused of fielding an ineligible player and not Celtic themselves?
upthehoops 5th November 2021 At 12:45
0 0 Rate This
John Clark 5th November 2021 At 00:14
And I praise our own HMRC for [eventually] nailing SDM’s EBT cheatery, while wondering why he appears not ever to have been in ANY way personally sanctioned.
Can someone enlighten me?
It may have been a wee tad awkward if our wigged wonders and caped QC crusaders were also in receipt of Minty's advice to manage their own tax affairs John. Ye ken how words o wisdom can fly roon' a boozers.....Just saying.
‘Timtim 5th November 2021 At 10:52
I’m sure there will be much reading of the above and it seems like Kings loan of 5m has been repaid but it has been replaced by another . Robbing Peter to pay Paul as they say…’
::
::
I can’t be alone in thinking that it’s highly unlikely that RIFC wrote a cheque (or made an ETF) for £5.832m to DCK & then DCK wrote them a cheque (or made an ETF) for £5m to replace his initial loan. RIFC has paid the £832k interest due in October (still a tidy sum for us mortals!), nothing more. Is DCK’s ‘new’ loan at 16% PA like the ‘old’ loan?
@PM – yes the CL monies are split across teams from same country. More specifically the TV “viewing” revenue is split. This revenue is allocated based on size of market in that country and if only one participant then they get the lot. There are then performance related payments based on results which each team gets to keep for themselves.
The TV element outweighs the performance element unless the team gets to the business end of the competition.
Are the full accounts published online yet, as nothing recorded at Companies House? I would be interested in any auditor comments regarding the future.
Re the Rangers accounts. There is a significant going concern warning. Why are the SFA allowed to continually award them silver or gold star financial status when it comes to European Licencing? It’s utterly incredible. Does the SFA have to highlight issues to UEFA? If they do then FFP is not worth the paper it’s written on. There should be something far more independent in place to regulate this.
@gunnerb
https://assets.ctfassets.net/39646iezddpk/iqWGrSHuBKRWHdWfD47xh/f13e45eb51a6e0f5a54e6b5e02195d01/Rangers_Reports_and_Accounts_2021.pdf
the full accounts can be seen here
Timtim 5th November 2021 At 15:23
Thanks for the link Timtim. I see the auditors have indeed issued a going concern warning ( maybe going for another world record}. The auditors state that there is no binding debt facility and yet it is trumpeted by the company that they have for the first time managed to negotiate a facility with a nationally recognised high street bank?
Another annual loss (23.5) third year in a row of serious losses and a going concern warning from the auditors. When does the SFA step in and act like a governing body with serious questions put forward, when do the other teams voice their concern, both publicly and privately. What happens if another event befalls this group. How can those throwing money at the operation wait 7 years for a return? More importantly what does the Daily Record Columnist/Football Manager think. Surely he must be concerned about his beloved club. Does last night’s performance take the glow off Sakala’s elevation to stardom.
vernallen 5th November 2021 At 18:49
When does the SFA step in and act like a governing body with serious questions put forward, when do the other teams voice their concern, both publicly and privately.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Unfortunately, the SFA is the other clubs in this context – including Celtic and my own club Hearts.
All of our clubs have willingly sanctioned every iteration of Rangers* to virtually do as they please, because the alternative without them is deemed to be financially unpalatable. That’s the reality of where we are, and have been for eight or nine years now.
On a separate matter, I read an article in today’s press in which one enterprising journalist informed us that the Ibrox club’s current financial trials and tribulations had their roots in the club’s administration in 2012.
The so-called journalist, while at least acknowledging that it was the club that went into administration, couldn’t quite bring himself to mention the unmentionable ‘liquidation’ word, although if his laptop keypad had developed a fault with the ‘L’ and ‘Q’ keys, it would at least explain why he couldn’t honestly answer that the quality of his article was entirely down to his low IQ.
Prior to the start of the 20/21 season, I opined that TRFC would bring out ALL the financial stops through continued borrowing beyond their means, bringing in players they could not afford to ‘pay upfront for’ (e.g Kent), overloading the squad numbers with admittedly some decent performers, paying ridiculous wages/extending contracts where possible etc etc – all to stop 10IAR. This they duly achieved.
I have no argument, other that a moral one, against the end justifying the means here, since to do so could be seen as sour (green) grapes.
I also expressed the view, as many others have done over the now 9+ years of this clubs existence, that the financial management policies would inevitably and inexorably result in a ‘day of reckoning’ when the well runs dry. I’m sure they will manage to ‘limp on’ for a while, but the chickens are now roosting methinks
Furthermore, as has also been pointed out over the years, a sizeable part of rationale of their borrowing strategy has been to ‘keep the ever dimming lights on’, and although they will no doubt sell in January (are you paying attention Mike?) – thereby weakening the team – there is definitely heavy duty ‘trouble at mill’.
Although the lights are not quite going out all over Govania, they are very, very dim
So how long can the situation go on for before financial implosion? (Serious question). Has it happened already?
Will the SFA/UEFA look at their finances wrt financial fair play? (Wait a minute – don’t answer that last rhetorical question!).
N.B :- the gravity of the situation will be downplayed by our beloved SMSM.
From a financial point of view I think we are witnessing a high-water mark for football generally and in particular across Europe. Valuations, salaries and expectations are completely out of whack. Take Newcastle as an example – a club with a very limited track record of winning but admittedly with a long, continuous history. How to square any investment in that club with likely returns? Look at Barcelona – a financial basket case. PSG – pampered, overpaid players but who struggle at times in the domestic league (in my view due to a lack of team and too much I). Real Madrid – nowhere near the standards they were playing to in the recent past.
To invest into this industry at this time
in a league like Scotland makes little sense unless you are clear on your place in the wider industry. Chris Sutton described Jota last night as a “development player” in the context of whether Celtic should exercise the clause they apparently have to buy him. A very clear example of the place in the industry that Celtic occupy – buy young talent, provide first rate training and coaching access coupled with competitive football at a good standard and look to sell on. Of course it doesn’t always work out and for this very reason it has to be sustainable and not reliant on moonshots. For me there is a very real sense that TRFC and perhaps others in Scottish football have their fingers crossed and hoping that things will turn out alright on the night. But as they say hope is not a strategy.
I note this:
The Auditors of the accounts of RIFC plc are Azets Audit services , incorporated 23 June 2015, company number 09652677
Their holding company is Azets Holdings Ltd, inc. 10 september 2007.
And Azets Holdings is owned by Azets Topco, inc. in the Channel Isles (Jersey) with number FC 033887
Now, the auditors of RIFC plc were themselves audited by Ernst and Young in July 2021.
Ernst and Young in their audit report on Azets Audit Services ( note 1.2) report as follows:
” The company provides audit and assurance services to its external clients of the Azets Holdings Limited Group …….Azets Holdings Limited also provides financial support to the company in order to enable the company to meet its liabilities as they fall due…The directors [ of Azet Audit Services] have obtained written confirmation from Azet Holdings Limited that it will continue to provide support……..In assessing Azet Holdings Limited’s ability to provide this support the directors [of Azets Audit Services Ltd] have confirmed that Azets Holdings Limited has itself received an equivalent written confirmation from Azets Topco….”
So, while the auditors of RIFC plc made sure that their OWN company had written commitments about being guaranteed funding to show THEIR auditors they are happy to sign off the RIFC plc’s accounts on the unwritten promises by directors of RIFC plc that they will come up with a few bob whenever required?
I would suggest that that kind of audit is nothing more than a waste of everybody’s time!
And why don’t the ‘lending directors’ put in writing, for auditors to see, their readiness to lend as and when required?
Well, I suppose that whatever else they may be, they are not actually stupid!
Highlander 5th November 2021 At 19:43
‘.. one enterprising journalist informed us that the Ibrox club’s current financial trials and tribulations had their roots in the club’s administration in 2012.’
%%%%%%%%%
Name that ‘journalist’, Highlander, and I shall personally explain the facts to him and challenge him to refute them!
Honest to God!
It appears Derek Johnstone either has a very short memory or no memory of the recent past involving Ranger’s fans. His comments about the terror of Rangers’ fans in Brondby being labelled the most disgraceful behaviour he has ever seen led me to a little chuckle. If Brondby was such a disgrace what would he label the Rangers’ fans efforts in Manchester where portions of the city were basically under siege. What would he attach to the song fests at Ibrox, what about George Square,, the list is almost endless and I’m sure there are others who post on here that could add to the actions listed above. Of course when everything you see and hear is sky blue, its hard to be objective.
Maybe Derek was just getting his excuses in for the club* in case uefa took a dim view of their fans behaviour. Being in the vicinity of the stadium could lead to punishment such as a partial or full stadium closure .
I know accounting is an art, often an artful process, but where does the £23.5m loss come from?
For example, if there was £30m in the bank, I’d expect there to be £6.5m left. I’m sure that’s not the case, therefore I’d have to infer that an additional £23.5m had to be borrowed. Would that be offset by monies accrued from the issue of shares?
Rangers* of course are a peculiar case in so much as they don’t follow the paradigm where one would only expect to be able to sustain losses as long as the cash in hand or bank has not run out. In their case there’s never been any cash in the bank. Accrued losses must now be approaching £100m. My lay inference here is that they must be £100m (minus cash from issue of shares) in debt.
Where is EJ when I need him? I will be seeing him on Monday for lunch, so my guess is I will be steering the conversation in this direction, and away from The Jambos’ excellent start to the season?
I am currently laid up having tested positive for Covid, so have been on the internet a lot to pass the time in. Last night I watched a programme from Youtube called ‘The Football Years 1998’. The sycophancy towards Rangers and David Murray was something to behold, even for me who lived through it at the time. While the programme highlighted clubs such as Motherwell and Hearts spending beyond their means at the time, it simply referred to ‘David Murray’s millions’ when talking about the Dick Advocaat era. That is a complete and utter lie of course because it was the Bank of Scotland’s millions, which is of course the bank that did all it could to put Celtic out of business. Celtic throughout the programme were subjected to underlying sneering ridicule, and were at one point described as ‘the poor relations’. It was quite something just to be reminded of how bad it actually was. The then Celtic Chairman, Brian Quinn, opined that a ‘speculate to accumulate’ policy was just wrong for football clubs. Quinn of course was the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and I can only imagine the regard he would have been held in were such a person to sit in the Chair at Ibrox. The whole thing brought into focus that the media this very day sit in cowed silence and watch the current Rangers rack up over £100m of losses, and that doesn’t include the shares confetti. A media doing their job should surely be asking why the SFA ignore this and wave through European licences. They should also be highlighting that Rangers now appear to be breaching the losses limit for UEFA FFP to kick in. Instead the media sit in silence, hoping that automatic Champions League qualification comes their way. Cheats do win sometimes. If anyone wants to watch the programme the link is below, but have a sick bag handy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLr_r3z1TSc&ab_channel=JAMGers
Where is EJ when I need him? I will be seeing him on Monday for lunch, so my guess is I will be steering the conversation in this direction, and away from The Jambos’ excellent start to the season?
Tell EJ we miss him .
It’s a horrible day here.
I needed cheering up & I got it reading this article from today’s Herald, with Matthew Lindsay’s byline –
https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/19699089.rangers-track-achieve-self-sustainability—despite-posting-losses-23-5m/
I know Liverpool is well-known for producing comedians, but Lindsay’s expert, Kieran Maguire, excels.
A propos of TRFC devastating (well – for most it would be, but…) Annual Accounts, I offer you this ‘nugget’ from Mastermind Charlie Adam:-
‘Gers will invest if title race is tight’. Eh – what with? Always good for a laff is the rotund one.
JJ
wrt to ‘diddyman’ Kieran Maguire, I’ve come across a few prognostications from this Sevco apologist. Nostradamus like, he has predicted that they would overtake CFC in the financial sense before too long.
Where I come from (sunny Govan no less!), this self proclaimed, delusional ‘expert’ (charlatan) would be decried simply as – a ‘bampot’.
DOUGLAS Park, the Rangers chairman, has claimed that Scottish football is being undersold by the SPFL and warned the game in this country will be left behind unless there is change after the Ibrox club announced an operating loss of £23.5m.
Park took aim at the SPFL executive in his annual report to Rangers shareholders – he stated that he and his fellow directors have “real concern” over corporate governance and demanded clubs are shown “more respect”.
The Scottish champions are currently locked in a stand-off with the SPFL over the £8m league sponsorship deal that was signed with online car retailer cinch in the summer and the dispute has been referred to the SFA for arbitration.
They are currently refusing to allow cinch branding to be displayed on team shirts or on advertising boards at their stadium because of a commercial agreement that was struck with Park’s firm Parks of Hamilton.
“The corporate governance of the SPFL continues to cause us real concern,” wrote Park. “We need more transparency in the manner in which the game operates.
“The people in charge are only in those positions due to the existence of the clubs and it is time that they showed the clubs more respect than has been the case in recent years.”
The SPFL last month announced that a record £28.4m in league fees had been paid to all 42 of their member clubs in the Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 in the 2020/21 campaign – £5m more than had been distributed the previous season.
But five Scottish clubs, Aberdeen, Dundee, Dundee United, Hearts and Hibernian, commissioned accountants Deloitte to carry out an independent strategic review of the SPFL back in September and try to identify “significant additional revenues”.
Park continued: “We (Rangers) believe that Scottish football is a strong product, but it is undervalued and as a result undersold. This must change.
“The ambition of clubs must be realised and driven forward by those in leadership positions. If not, I believe Scottish football will be left behind.”
Park blamed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic – which resulted in fans being locked out of stadiums for the entire 2021/22 season – for Rangers’ disappointing financial results.
The Glasgow club’s revenue fell from £59m to £47.7m and their losses increased from £15.9m to £23.5m in the financial year ending June 2021 despite their first Scottish title victory in 10 years.
Park and vice-chairman John Bennett have agreed to cover projected shortfalls of £7.9m to ensure Rangers can continue as a going concern to the end of the 2022/23 season.
Park wrote: “The past year has continued to bring unprecedented challenges to our club. The pandemic wrought a profound impact on our club, both on and off the field of play and its effects continue to be felt.
“When the current board wrestled back control of our club, I viewed this as a 10-year project. In 2021, I still believe that analysis to be accurate. The condition in which our club was left cannot be underestimated. Yet, painstakingly and with unerring resolve, we have rebuilt and we will continue to do so.”
The annual report confirmed that Rangers had repaid a £5m loan to former chairman Dave King in the past financial year – plus £832,000 in interest.
Vernallen
I too was amused by DJ’s memory ‘issues’, and was reminded that English MSM description and vilification of the the Rangers supporters marching through Wolverhampton (1961) ‘like marauding Huns’.
That was when I first came across this term – subsequently used by Celtic supporters against TRFC. I believe the Newco and its ‘supporters’ tried (unsuccessfully?) to have this derogatory term banned (in 2016?).
Albertz11@12:17
“The people in charge are only in those positions due to the existence of the clubs and it is time that they showed the clubs more respect than has been the case in recent years.”
ironic isn’t it that Rangers* are only in existence due to the people in charge that he is now criticising , maybe Douglas should reel his necks in .
“We need more transparency in the manner in which the game operates.” unless it involves raking over old coals I presume.
Respect must be earned.
bect67 6th November 2021 At 12:36
From what I’ve read , it appears that Rangers casuals ,ICF , managed to get tickets for the corporate section and draped their flags over the seats . This led to an attack by Brondby casuals . It might be worthwhile making tickets non-transferable and printing the holder’s photo on it for identification purposes .
Co @ 19.19
You are so right – DEMANDING respect will only alienate people, and turn them from any cause Donald Park may think he has.
I have nothing but disdain for his cheating outfit, and a pathetic, copied and pasted ‘puff piece’ by a poster on here will influence me not a jot.
Park’s arrogant and self righteous attitude is clearly boundless. It therefore needs challenging in the simplest terms, since his memory seems to be as selective/defective as Derek Johnstone’s
Rangers* did not (quote) “wrestle back control” of anything, since there was nothing to reclaim (i.e. Liquidation happened). They merely took over the running of a new entity.
For those who contest the ‘Big Lie’ – ‘lang may their lums reek!’
paddy malarkey@ 19:49
managed to get ? or handed to them directly by members of the board or people close to the board . So trouble by their fans directly outside the stadium and inside the stadium in the corporate area , I hope the uefa delegate is aware of this . Did they also have the naughty song book out again ? there was a video posted by one of their own in a club that made its way onto the media showing them in full voice. The next step may be a full ban on fans and at a time when every penny is a prisoner will not be good news . The board have facilitated this behaviour by pandering to the worst elements in their fan base. We are headed back to the pre Murray era and they are directly responsible . These are the same people who were singing the famine song in the “corporate area ” at Hampden after the 2016 SF against Celtic, who then went on to employ a DUP spokesman as their PR and brought out Orange tops . In Scotland they are a big fish in a small pond , in Europe however they are quickly being seen as more trouble than their blue £ is worth . Maybe a bit of “respect” should be shown or is respect just a one way street with them ?
bect67 6th November 2021 At 20:03
‘…Rangers* did not (quote) “wrestle back control” of anything, ‘
%%%%%%%%
No, nor did he ‘wrest’ it back!( Park should learn the correct phrasing of any metaphor he chooses to use)
It is this insistence on the Big Lie that underlines the deep, deep insecurity of RIFC plc folk.
They, better than most, KNOW that CG did NOT buy RFC of 1872; and that RIFC plc is NOT the holding company of the RFC of 1872 that is in Liquidation, but of the new club created by CG and only recognised as a football club in 2012!
The sheer brass-necked effrontery of it is unbelievable.
They know the Truth of course, and are simply too deeply mired in the myth to admit it.
And they can rely on the SFA/SPFL to protect them in their Big Lie pretensions.
betc67 6th Nov 20.03.
My “pathetic copied and pasted puff piece” was never intended to influence you, or anyone else, in much the same way as no matter the number of posts that refer to Rangers as a new club, will influence me. The main thrust of the article was regarding both the “corporate governance” & undervaluing of Scottish football which should concern all on here.
It’s Douglas Park and not Donald just to be accurate.
Jingso.Jimsie 6th November 2021 At 11:22
‘..I know Liverpool is well-known for producing comedians, but Lindsay’s expert, Kieran Maguire, excels.’
%%%%%%
He certainly excels at bumming himself up! see https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/staff/kieran-maguire
He also says: “My aim is to take the fear out of numbers, if you can add 2+2 that’s all that is required, the rest is just detail”
There was a time when I believed that the aim of ‘academics’ at our Universities was the pursuit of Truth , in whichever discipline or field of knowledge they were exploring.
The ready acceptance by Maguire of the Big Lie that TRFC of 2012 is RFC of 1872 ( his reference to the [deceitful!] 150th anniversary) is , to my mind, evidence that he is either going with the flow for an easy life, or that he seriously lacks academic rigorism .
I think he should be ashamed of himself.
Anent my post at 23.12 above, I should say that I looked for an email address for Maguire but none seems to be provided.
While I would have emailed to him, I canny be arsed going to the bother of actually writing to him. He’s not worth the bother or the postage stamp.
Albertz11 6th November 2021 At 23:00
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betc67 6th Nov 20.03.
My “pathetic copied and pasted puff piece” was never intended to influence you, or anyone else, in much the same way as no matter the number of posts that refer to Rangers as a new club, will influence me. The main thrust of the article was regarding both the “corporate governance” & undervaluing of Scottish football
I agree.
The league and Association have as little right to respect as Sevco have. However they appear to have a better handle on the numbers than Sevco do!......Or are you suggesting it is their fault that Sevco have lost £104m, (that's one hundred and four million pounds), since inception?
“We need more transparency in the manner in which the game operates.” says Park the bus , well Douglas why don’t we start with the 5 way agreement or do you believe secret agreements between those who regulate our sport and 1 individual club* are an acceptable way to conduct business. What about an investigation into why the majority of grade 1 referees all come from the same referees association . Maybe we can ensure that those same referees are not members of any secret organisations who have a code of helping fellow members of that same secret organisation. Let’s be honest Douglas , the last thing you really want is any form of transparency.
RC/A11
You are right about my Park typo and, seeing as we’re on the subject of accuracy, how’s about entering this wee fact based competition?
How long was the club you insist on calling Rangers in existence?
How many Scottish League titles did it win?
What is the current entity legally called?
You have been given you a clue by the use of past tense for questions 1 and 2
Please do not consult with Derek Johnstone (have I spelled that right?), whose memory may be suspect, before submitting your entry.
First, and indeed only, prize is lifelong membership of the real world.
I assume the mass condemnation of the appalling behaviour of a large swathe of the Celtic support at Dens Park will be forthcoming after the match finishes.
After all, we wouldn’t want this site to become solely focused on reporting Rangers’* misdemeanours while conveniently airbrushing their city rivals’ behaviour out of the picture.
Highlander
Game, set and match on the condemnation -no issues there.
However (and, fair enough we may be into semantics here), I think “appalling” and “large swathes” are a tad ‘over the top’.
Highlander 7th November 2021 At 13:10
Irritating and ill judged.Did nothing but alienate neutral spectators. I have great empathy with the cause but this came across as both childish and annoying.
I continue to be amazed at the far reaching thoughts emanating from Barry Ferguson in his role as a columnist/football manager. Now we can add financial expertise to his ever growing CV. He believes by gaining entry to the CL group stages ($40 M) and selling a couple of players ($20 M) all Rangers financial woes/debts will be cleared up. Evidently he has not been following the reports in the media which indicate accumulated losses of over $104 M. Perhaps he could engage Kiernan Maguire to provide a quick course in finance and maths. How does he manage to keep track of his own finances and that of the team he manages. The influence of the EBT years must be lodged somewhere in his world.