In the Service of Fools

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.

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Auldheid

About Auldheid

Celtic fan from Glasgow living mostly in Spain. A contributor to several websites, discussion groups and blogs, and a member of the Resolution 12 Celtic shareholders' group. Committed to sporting integrity, good governance, and the idea that football is interdependent. We all need each other in the game.

821 thoughts on “In the Service of Fools


  1. Timtim 30th November 2021 At 22:43

    Bad blood evident between King and the Park family as King votes against Park Jr’s re-election to the board , he also voted against allowing directors to issue shares to specific investors .
    King likely trying to stop his own shareholding from being diluted further before he has a chance to offload it to club*1872.
    .
    Dunno TT. He may well be trying to sell them to club 1872, but 20, or 25p(whatever) is only the Mickey Mouse value, bearing no resemblance to actual worth. There is already enough shares issued to give every midge in the highlands a couple each. I doubt another dilution would affect his asking price
    Unless the other in-house Mickey Mouse sales begin trading at a lower value he will see no reason to accept a lower price per share for himself.
    It’s not a real market in that respect.


  2. Fascinating piece in the Scotsman on interest rates being offered to the Ibrox board as stated by John Bennet.

    Close Brothers was over 9%. He claims they will only accept loans at 6 or less. Good luck with that.

    https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/were-not-paying-that-rangers-loans-from-friendly-investors-and-why-ibrox-club-tuned-down-australian-bank-3477343

    Financial organisations only offer those types of rates to distressed companies and it’s pretty obvious that there is a lot of angst down Ibrox way. But good job on spinning this as a positive!


  3. How easy is it for Rangers Directors at an AGM. Despite accumulated losses of over £100m, and going concern warnings in their accounts, they simply have to announce they are close to being financially sustainable and the media go away enjoying the happy ending of all great fairy tales…’and they all lived happily ever after’. The fairly tale is repeated verbatim and the world is at one.

    The Scottish media are an embarrassment…an absolute, utter embarrassment.


  4. The Scottish media have done more damage to the institutions inside Ibrox by covering up their behaviour than exposing it . They could have exposed the EBT scam and had it shut down before it did catastrophic harm , they could have exposed Craig Whyte and his vulture capitalist history instead of the off the radar wealth nonsense , they could have held McCoist and Green to account over why they needed to spend 850k on a manager and maintain the 2nd highest wage bill in Scotland just to win the 4th tier of Scottish football and run up tens of millions in losses during his tenure . They could have exposed the glib and shameless cold shouldered liar and told the truth over Ashley’s reign where they were within a baw hair of breaking even . It could all have been so different if they had taken the vegetarian option instead of the succulent . Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake said the little General (not you Gio)


  5. @dom16
    “He claims they will only accept loans at 6 or less. Good luck with that.”
    I wish I could walk into my bank and tell them what rate of interest I will accept for loans or savings . The direction of rates is now nudging upwards so his statement about only accepting 6% or less may come back to bite him on the elbow if they do need further loans in the future and we have gone full Zimbabwe .


  6. That came across as a bit of a rant by Bennett and being a senior manager of a large financial institution, he knows exactly how the debt market works. The lender calls the tune, not the borrower! AND the interest rates offered by lenders tend to be influenced by the creditworthiness (or otherwise) of the borrower.

    Not only have The rangers accounts shown time and time again, what a disastrous commercial entity it is but they also have a record of not paying their debts and instead convincing friendly lenders to convert to confetti. That won’t wash with major banks and institutions who have shareholders to answer to.

    No doubt come January it will be the same rhetoric regarding player sales. Desperate for cash, (regardless of what drivel the SMSM swallow), other clubs will be very aware of The rangers perilous financial position and will no doubt low-ball their initial offers for players they fancy.

    All the ranting in the world will not alter the realities.


  7. dom16 1st December 2021 At 08:04
    “…….interest rates being offered to the Ibrox board as stated by John Bennet.”]
    %%%%%
    In the print edition of Halliday’s report on Bennet’s statement, the last paragraph has Bennet saying: ” We have taken the view that we will just get on and try and grow our own revenues to the best extent we can with the team that we have got here. I think we are doing a good job of that .We are on the cusp of financial sustainability”

    Halliday clearly had enough sense not to include such a fatuous remark in the online edition!


  8. Timtim 30th November 2021 At 22:43
    “..Bad blood evident between King and the Park family as King votes against Park Jr’s re-election to the board , he also voted against allowing directors to issue shares to specific investors…”
    %%%%%%%%
    I could be facetious, Timtim, and say something like ‘the more bad blood in the Ibrox board, the more chance that the 9 year old club will die by its own hand” and that that would give the Governance bodies a chance to restore some truth and integrity to the Sport when the next new club would seek entry into a league!
    But it’s late o’clock, so I won’t!


  9. John Clark 1st December 2021 At 18:36
    4 0 Rate This

    In the print edition of Halliday’s report on Bennet’s statement, the last paragraph has Bennet saying: ” We have taken the view that we will just get on and try and grow our own revenues to the best extent we can with the team that we have got here. I think we are doing a good job of that .We are on the cusp of financial sustainability”

    You’d almost think someone has guaranteed them Champions League qualification next year???

    Certainly, Brother Beaton was delighted to oblige last night and while there are questions as to whether it was a dive or stone-waller, you just know if it were at the other end with Boyle in Kent’s place, it would have been waved away with a possible yellow card for Boyle. He remains the toast of the Crown Bar where I’m sure he’ll never need to put his hand in his pocket.

    Step-up Brother Madden tonight. “Do everything in your power to ensure Celtic do not get 3 points.”


  10. I got a rather unexpected bill from HMRC last month, however it was correct. So I have just paid it as I absolutely should. However, should I have refused to pay it and then I might have got an offer to work as a pundit on BBC Sportscene, Sportsound, or Sky? That seems to be the reward for tax cheating. Then again I would clearly never be welcome at BBC. They already have their token Celtic man in Pat Bonner. Even then he firmly sticks to the policy of ‘never say anything good about Celtic or I might lose my job’.


  11. normanbatesmumfc 2nd December 2021 At 10:52
    “..You’d almost think someone has guaranteed them Champions League qualification next year???”
    %%%%%%%%
    I’d put it this way: the very governance body of Scottish Football created and has sustained a lie right at its very heart.
    It can therefore be expected to lie again, as often as might be required to provide ‘justification’ for their lie.

    In other words, the precedent has been set: ‘Rangers’ must be helped to survive, preferably before administration followed by liquidation but, if need be, by allowing a brand new club[set up by scavengers who would have snapped up the assets at bargain basement price] to claim falsely to be the ‘Rangers of 1872’.

    And spineless owners and Boards of other football clubs would support that lie as they supported , and continue to support, the first lie.


  12. normanbatesmumfc 2nd December 2021 At 10:52
    Certainly, Brother Beaton was delighted to oblige last night and while there are questions as to whether it was a dive or stone-waller, you just know if it were at the other end with Boyle in Kent’s place, it would have been waved away with a possible yellow card for Boyle. He remains the toast of the Crown Bar where I’m sure he’ll never need to put his hand in his pocket.

    Step-up Brother Madden tonight. “Do everything in your power to ensure Celtic do not get 3 points.”
    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Not quite how it worked out though, was it, what with Celtic’s offside goal?

    Perhaps Brother Madden hadn’t read the script, or more likely, yet another diddy team had to suffer one of the big two getting “the benefit of the doubt” that none of the other clubs ever get.

    But who cares? There’s only two teams that matter.

    There isn’t a universe where that goal would have been allowed to stand if Hearts had scored it at the other end, even with Bobby Madden refereeing!!


  13. I’m surprised this item was missed .. On my historical dates calendar for Nov 30/21 it posted that on this date in 1872 the first ever international soccer match took place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, Scotland vs England.. Does Kris Boyd ever comment on a Ranger’s loss. He appeared to be the only former Ranger who had two cents added following the semi final loss to Hibs. He’s quite vocal when commenting on Celtic. I feel a little sorry for Leon King, 17 years old and dubbed a Rangers star with minimal first team experience. Its nice to be recognized as a possible target for major teams but it would be better if he was allowed to grow up and into the game without the star moniker being attached. Sometimes this can cause problems with future development if too many of these articles surface. So another share issue has come and gone. Has Scotland had any involvement with “go fund me pages” They are quite popular on this side of the ocean for people/groups needing assistance. With 500 million world wide fans with $2 from each, debt could be wiped out and they could embark on another spending orgy.


  14. Further to my post of last evening, I forgot to mention an incident that succinctly sums up Scottish refereeing.

    Jota was running at speed with the ball when he pulled up sharply as a result of what was clearly just a muscle injury, leaving two Hearts players in possession of the ball deep in Celtic’s half.

    While Jota’s injury was both unfortunate and debilitating for the promising young player, it was neither a head injury nor remotely life-threatening.

    To add insult to injury, ‘bluenose Bobby Madden,’ assigned to the game by the SFA to ensure Celtic lost, if you were to believe some conspiracies, restarted play by placing the ball at the feet of a Celtic player despite Hearts being in possession when the referee unnecessarily intervened by blowing his whistle.

    You really couldn’t make it up! There would’ve been rioting on the terraces if he’d assisted Hearts in that manner.

    Then there were incidents involving the throwing of objects, including bottles, at Barrie McKay.

    Ligue 1 in France have imposed points deductions on Marseille and Nice in recent months following incidents which were similar to last night’s cowardly, pathetic and embarrassing attacks by ‘the greatest fans in the world.’

    It doesn’t take a genius to work out that strict liability has to be introduced, regardless of how unfair it is to the clubs, if it is the only viable solution to what is a major problem.

    For decades, our cowardly governing bodies have turned a blind eye to mass sectarian chanting and other offensive behaviour rather than having matches played behind closed doors or imposing point deductions.

    Why? Strict liability would have little if any impact on 40 of our 42 senior clubs.

    The football authorities can fine St Mirren’s chairman for historical tweets and deduct points from clubs who inadvertently play an ineligible player, but somehow they lose their appetite for raking over old coals when it comes to dealing with the two clubs with the largest support.

    Scottish football clearly operates a two-tier set of rules where allowances are made for the Glasgow giants.

    This site deserves credit for focusing on the misgovernance of Scottish football, but it would be nice if its main demographic took off its green tinted goggles every now and then and realised that not all of football’s problems emanate from Ibrox.


  15. Here’s the thing about CFC’s ‘offside’ goal: it’s the purpose of the Assistant Referee to flag if a player is in an offside position. He’s supposed to be in line with the second-last defender when the ball is played & have the best view of an attacker in front of that defender. He didn’t flag. The referee is in no position to judge the relative positions of attacker & defender because he’s not in line with the second-last defender & his view is compromised. As the AR didn’t flag, we must assume that he was satisfied that the attacker was not offside in his opinion. ‘Brother Madden’ accepted that the AR was correct.
    ::
    ::
    On another note: I wonder when whoever is ‘Head of Bantz’ at Sky Sports will realise that Kris Boyd has become (even more of) a caricature of a pundit & is now a liability? I suppose that Boyd’s rating will be sky-high (see what I did there?) because of the amounts of follow-up press & clicks he generates, but the actual content of his scarf-waving, badge-kissing comments is woeful.


  16. Highlander 3rd December 2021 At 08:27
    ‘…. but it would be nice if its main demographic took off its green tinted goggles every now and then and realised that not all of football’s problems emanate from Ibrox.’
    %%%%%%%%%
    Indeed they don’t, Highlander.

    The fundamental difficulty is that the very governance bodies -principally the SFA- showed themselves once and for all to have no will to be honest in their approach to solving problems, and that they will lie when it suits.

    Problems may be caused at any level- individual clubs, individual chairmen, individual referees, individual players, fans groups, individual fans-but if the problem solvers, those with the duty to resolve the problems justly, fairly and competently and the power to do so, are themselves prepared to lie and cheat in the preservation of liars and cheats, what then?

    Who can seriously believe that those responsible for the 5-Way Agreement, which flies in the face of all historical football truth and business legislation, will act honestly in relation to any problem?

    They have no moral authority, and will have no moral authority, until the lie enshrined in the 5-Way Agreement is rescinded and the truth that RFC of 1872 died in football terms in 2012, and with it- as acknowledged at the time by all and sundry from James Taylor to the BBC in Scotland- its sporting history.

    In that matter, the Truth shines with its own light, that cannot be changed by the wearing of tinted spectacles (whether tinted blue, green or tartan!)

    Deliberate cheating by individual players, clubs, boards, referees etc is one thing.
    For the actual governance bodies to cheat is something quite, quite different.
    It has to end.


  17. Highlander 2nd December 2021 At 23:19

    I would roughly estimate Highlander, that 99.99% of all Celtic supporters would welcome with open arms an independent review of the structure, employment process, and lack of referee allegiance declarations, currently forced upon the Scottish fitba' public that results in the abysmal standard of our whistlers.
    I can but assume fans of almost every other club, view the current system with similar high levels of distrust, disappointment, and frustration.
    From your comment, would it be safe to assume you would, as a Hearts fan, also support such an independent review, with a view to improving the current standard?


  18. Not quite how it worked out though, was it, what with Celtic’s offside goal?

    Perhaps Brother Madden hadn’t read the script, or more likely, yet another diddy team had to suffer one of the big two getting “the benefit of the doubt” that none of the other clubs ever get.

    But who cares? There’s only two teams that matter.

    There isn’t a universe where that goal would have been allowed to stand if Hearts had scored it at the other end, even with Bobby Madden refereeing!!
    …………………………………………………………………………………..
    “Offside goal”??? the records will show the goal as legitimate and regardless of Boyd’s blue-nosed rant, the decision was a matter of inches, onside or offside and taken in a split second. As Jingo.Jimsie said above, the AR was in a better position than anyone to make the call.

    Kyogo was no more offside than James Forrest was onside in the disallowed effort, wrongly deemed offside at the Tynecastle fixture, where additionally, Madden’s chum Halliday avoided being sanctioned despite a straight leg, studs on side of shin, lunge which could have ended McGregor’s season. As Douglas Ross would say “red card, red card” all day long!

    Believe you me Highlander, there are no fans out there more keen than Celtic’s to see VAR introduced, hopefully bringing with it a reduction in “honest” mistakes against all teams.

    I echo your sentiment regarding the missile throwing but sadly it seems to be happening too often at a variety of grounds from a range of mindless idiots from many clubs. I also understand your disbelief at the Jota injury incident although again this is happening more and more, (twice I think at Easter Road the previous night). I think maybe there might have been a misunderstanding on the restart, where Madden dropped the ball at McGregor’s feet expecting him to return it to Hearts. That’s what I expected him to do but for some reason he maybe thought Jota was in possession at the moment of the injury and felt the drop was in favour of Celtic. Good job they didn’t go up the field and score!!!


  19. Corrupt official 3rd December 2021 At 12:54
    “From your comment, would it be safe to assume you would, as a Hearts fan, also support such an independent review, with a view to improving the current standard?”

    /////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    Yes, CO, I would of course support a truly independent review of all aspects of Scottish football, including refereeing, but would be sceptical that its terms of reference would be set by those who currently misgovern our game, in order to skew its outcome, in the same way as the Nimmo-Smith inquiry was rigged.


  20. normanbatesmumfc 3rd December 2021 At 13:16

    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////

    I can’t disagree with most of that and don’t want to get the blog bogged down in whataboutery regarding an entirely separate James Forrest incident from weeks ago, lest I be tempted to go find hundreds of examples of my own.

    I will though reiterate my main point, which is that in the grand scheme of things, the two clubs with the largest support invariably receive more than their fair share of contentious decisions in their favour when playing the supposedly lesser clubs, yet appear blissfully unaware of this.

    The refereeing fraternity such as ‘Brother’ Madden and his colleagues, whose prime objective we are told is to stop Celtic at any cost, seem to have spectacularly misinterpreted their orders by hindering Hearts with a series of bizarre decisions.

    But that’s alright, because only when one of the big teams is negatively affected do we need to pay attention to the issue.

    I’ll leave it at that before I even start annoying myself.


  21. Don’t be getting annoyed with yourself Highlander. Get annoyed with those responsible for the cause of it. Divide and conquer is the name of their game, Lording over the bitch-fest they create.


  22. Albertz11 28th November 2021 At 16:13

    wrote:”I replied the next day (26th 13.36) but as every post is placed in moderation, sometime for several days like this one, it makes it impossible to have a back & forth conversation.”

    Was there a lot of sweary words in your initial response Albertz11? Can I ask you to indicate yes or no to the question posed i.e. Is it your understanding that the SPFL were properly notified with supporting evidence of a member club having a pre existing contractual obligation that meant they could not support the deal with Cinch. If you would reply either yes or no and then in a secondary post be as expansive as you wish then there should be no problems with moderation.


  23. gunnerb 3rd Dec 20.31

    No sweary words.

    I suspect that you are aware that Rangers were not under any obligation to produce evidence of a pre-existing contract at this stage. The obvious reluctance to do so says more about the relationship, or lack of, at this time.

    Did the SPFL inform cinch of an issue with Rangers ability to fulfil the rights before signing a contract?
    ………………………………………..

    Stewart Robertson 4th August
    ………………………………………..

    “When the SPFL Executive put forward the written resolution with regards to the new sponsorship contract, Rangers immediately notified Neil Doncaster that, in line with Rule I7, we would be unable to provide the new sponsor with many of their rights due to a pre-existing contractual obligation.

    “We cannot breach an existing contract. This is a legal principle which is founded in Scots Law and is the reason that the SPFL has Rule I7 within its rules.

    “Rangers has complied with and will continue to comply with the SPFL rules and fulfil all sponsorship obligations which do not conflict with our pre-existing contractual obligations.

    “However, this situation has raised some questions which the members may well wish to ask of the SPFL Executive:

    Given the possibility of Rule I7 being relied upon by members, did the SPFL Executive/legal advisors include a clause in the contract with cinch, which allows the SPFL not to provide rights to cinch where members rely upon Rule I7? If not, why not?
    Given that the issue was raised by Rangers (when there is no need under the rules for Rangers to do so) immediately after the written resolution was raised, why did the SPFL Executive proceed to sign the contract when they knew there was an issue and without further checking with Rangers as to its extent?
    Did the SPFL Executive inform cinch prior to the contract being signed that it could not provide all of the rights it was contracting to provide due to SPFL Rule I7?

    – It was interesting that the Chairman provided the Chief Executive with the credit for closing the deal when it was introduced to the SPFL by an agency that will receive c.£100,000 pa in fees for each of the 5 years of the deal. That is c.£500,000 of cash that will be leaving the Scottish game. Is this the best use of Scottish Football’s limited resources? Could this money have been better spent by employing a full time Commercial Director?

    “I trust that this clarifies the position.”
    ………………………………………………………..

    From the Inner House COS 20th October.

    Opinion of the court delivered by Lord Carloway.

    A written contract has been in existence since June 2015. It was
    renewed on 17 May 2021.
    …………………………………………………
    There is always a problem with moderation.


  24. To go completely OT:
    tonight, we ‘dined out’ to celebrate Mrs C’s 21st birthday in an hostelry situated in the Grassmarket.
    (It was in this Square that a certain Porteous [Captain of the City Guard , found guilty of murder by his order to fire on the people]was hanged by the mob : it had dragged him from custody in the Tolbooth because it believed that Queen Anne was going to reprieve him)

    Halfway through our meal in nice surroundings, and to a round of happily surprised applause, a young man at an adjacent table was seen to get up, and on bended knee, propose to the girl he had been dining with.

    I don’t think it was a stunt, because there had been no attempt to draw attention to it by the couple or by the restaurant staff ,or any kind of that nonsense.

    And we were happy to see their happiness.

    It cheered us immensely, as we [differently, of course!] remembered our equivalent occasion!
    “Ah, yes, I remember it well”….. as old Maurice Chevalier might have said!


  25. Highlander 3rd December 2021 At 15:30
    ‘.. the two clubs with the largest support invariably receive more than their fair share of contentious decisions in their favour when playing the supposedly lesser clubs, yet appear blissfully unaware of this.’
    %%%%%%
    I own up readily to a great degree of ignorance on how ‘business’ and companies and members of companies and Articles of Association and all that kind of stuff works.
    I have never understood why two members of the SPFL Ltd ( Celtic and whatever club may be masquerading as Rangers of 1872) have more voting power in at least some areas of the business of the SPFL than other members .
    I have not begun to research the matter.
    Is there not ‘one member, one vote’ -on whatever issue?
    And if not, why not?
    Does anyone know?
    Does it matter anyway, in a crooked sport?
    Who cares?
    Who would give their money in support of a rigged sport any more than to the gambling casinos of Monte Carlo?
    Is there any question but that Scottish Football at the highest level has been subverted by the very body charged with the duty of maintaining its integrity?
    Honest to God: maybe an Independent Regulator is indeed required.


  26. Albertz11 3rd December 2021 At 21:27
    Wrote.”I suspect that you are aware that Rangers were not under any obligation to produce evidence of a pre-existing contract at this stage.”..

    No Albertz11 I was not aware. I seem to recall reading elsewhere that a redacted copy of the contract was produced at court proceedings. Whatever the truth of the matter both parties have behaved in a churlish and irresponsible manner. If the SPFL were verbally informed of difficulties and asked to see the contract ( a logical assumption) then a refusal to comply has turned the matter into a wearisome pssig contest.

    Thanks for the reply.


  27. gunnerb 4th December 2021 At 11:48
    ” I seem to recall reading elsewhere that a redacted copy of the contract was produced at court proceedings”
    %%%%%
    Perhaps you read this,gunnerb;
    https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/7738861/rangers-cinch-ibrox-rename-sponsors/

    I suppose we have to assume that Lord Carloway and the other two judges had been given sight of the unredacted version sincethey include “A written contract has been in existence since June 2015. It was renewed on 17 May 2021” in the text of their judgment .
    As said before, TRFC and Park’s were clearly playing silly buggers: there would have been nothing to stop them letting the legals for the SPFL/SFA see the bloody contract under strictest confidence.


  28. From ‘Investment Week”, 02 December 2021
    https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4041474/changes-fca-listing-rules-welcomed-government-address-wrinkles

    “The FCA’s listing rules – which come into effect on Friday (3 December) – have seen a number of changes to keep the UK as a “trusted and attractive place to list successful companies”, according to the watchdog.

    Although in the policy statement the FCA acknowledged there were some respondents who did not agree with the new listing rules, overall the changes have been received well.

    Anne Fairweather, head of government affairs and public policy at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Rule tweaks will encourage more companies to list in the UK providing welcome opportunities for investors.

    “The government must now look to address wrinkles in the way reams of information must be disclosed through the use of old-fashioned prospectuses, which currently limit the attraction of offering new capital raisings to ordinary investors.”
    %%%
    ‘Rule tweaks’!!
    I imagine that being allowed to claim in your IPO Prospectus to be the holding company of a very old and very successful sports club when in fact and law you are no such thing was a ‘rule tweak’ that not many would-be listed companies will be allowed?


  29. paddy malarkey 4th December 2021 At 17:19
    %%%%%
    On VAR,

    “The 42 senior clubs will vote on its introduction to the Premiership at a general meeting in February.”

    “Dundee United head coach Thomas Courts revealed on Friday he had been impressed by the governing body’s “clear, robust” plans after attending a presentation”

    Of course, no serious money can or will be spent implementing the ‘clear, robust plans’ until the Vote, so there’s no possibility of VAR being an inhibitor of ‘honest mistakes’ towards the end of what is a very critical season for a financially desperate club : a club on whose account our governance bodies have already lied and which might conceivably need the occasional refereeing lapse now and again to stay solvent.


  30. Ranger fans must have been salivating at the DR’s headline regarding Bobby Madden’s mistake and earning a SFA talking to. Their minds must have been spinning with the thought of the “goal” being disallowed and earning another possible point. How disappointing to see what the actual story was. What will become of today’s incident when Ranger player was supposed to have put his hands on another player’s throat, or, was this a simple misunderstanding where the player was only asking for a throat massage. How will this play with the compliance officer.


  31. Will the BBC have the head of Refereeing on every week to discuss goals that are borderline in terms of offside? If not, why not, because such goals are scored every week? Why is this the first time this season this has happened? Why was the Referee Chief not on after Celtic played Hearts at Tynecastle to explain why a perfectly good Celtic goal was wrongly disallowed for offside? Why was he not on to explain why when Rangers beat Motherwell earlier in the season with a BLATANTLY offside goal, that the goal was allowed? BBC want Celtic fans money, but otherwise we don’t exist. We get virtually zero representation on Sportsound or Sportscene. Instead we are expected to believe that a plethora of Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen fans will be objective about our club. A farcical situation.

    The desperation for this Champions League money is rather obvious.


  32. I note from the pages of Companies House that on 11 November 2021 a ‘Notice of move from Administration to Dissolution was filed’ on receipt of the Final Progress Report of the ‘Special’ Administrators of a company called Pritchard Stockbrokers Limited.

    This company went into Administration on 16 March 2012.

    Para 16.4 of the Final Progress Report covering the period from 1 September 2021 to 25 October 2021 reads :
    ” The Court ordered that, pursuant to [ references to relevant legislation].. the Joint Special Administrators be discharged from liability in respect of any actions of theirs as Special Administrators with effect from 28 days after the Final Progress Report is filed with the Registrar of Companies” .

    The Company will be dissolved 3 months after the final report was filed with Companies House.

    Why am I interested?

    Well, the Company Secretary [ who resigned on 14 February 2012, having been company secretary since July 2009] was none other than our friend and former resident in Castle Grant, Grantown-on-Spey, Craig Whyte.
    RFC of 1872 entered Administration on that day : dissolution is still to come!


  33. upthehoops
    4th December 2021 At 21:01
    0 0 Rate This

    Will the BBC have the head of Refereeing on every week to discuss goals that are borderline in terms of offside? If not, why not, because such goals are scored every week? Why is this the first time this season this has happened? Why was the Referee Chief not on after Celtic played Hearts at Tynecastle to explain why a perfectly good Celtic goal was wrongly disallowed for offside? Why was he not on to explain why when Rangers beat Motherwell earlier in the season with a BLATANTLY offside goal, that the goal was allowed? BBC want Celtic fans money, but otherwise we don’t exist. We get virtually zero representation on Sportsound or Sportscene.
    @@@@@@@@
    Very good points there UTH. I listened to bits of Radio Scotland yesterday and was bemused that the Head of Refereeing had shown up.

    I look forward to his presence for every “controversial” refereeing decision over the rest of 21/22 season.

    Otherwise – why appear yesterday?


  34. ‘dom16 5th December 2021 At 09:58

    Very good points there UTH. I listened to bits of Radio Scotland yesterday and was bemused that the Head of Refereeing had shown up.

    I look forward to his presence for every “controversial” refereeing decision over the rest of 21/22 season.

    Otherwise – why appear yesterday?’
    ::
    ::
    I suppose (but don’t know, of course!) that Crawfie had been lined up to comment on/explain the groundbreaking, earth-shattering SFA/SPFL VAR news (yawn!).

    A churnalist then asked him about something else. Isn’t that how it works?
    ::
    ::
    Hugh Keevins is 72. He’s probably a bit old for a man-crush, but he’s still up for a bromance!

    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gio-van-bronckhorst-distinguished-rangers-25616145

    A laughable piece of arslikhan, succulent lambery that most editors would wince at, but not the Record/Mail. We really do get the press we deserve…


  35. The heat on Sevco receiving favourable treatment has been growing all season, which in itself has been a catalogue of bizarre and unexplainable decisions by our whistlers. This has come on the back of previous seasons were keepers could be bundled into their own nets, red cards meant staying on the pitch, celebrating Hibs fans chased off it, and Covid criminals could serve their sentences, when the injured returned…The dam walls were creaking.
    So much so, opposition teams, fans, and pundits alike were becoming resigned to it, memes of hilarity choked fan-group websites, while the absence of VAR was foisted with the majority of the blame in the SMSM.
    Then suddenly after an extremely marginal call favouring Celtic, WWIII erupts, every stone-chipper in the country receives his call-up papers, operation “Two-cheeks” swings into action, and the airways are subject to saturation bombing.
    Coincidence?
    Ladies and gentlemen, are we really so foolish to believe that a system, namely VAR, not even available to our game…..Is the cause of such howling injustices?
    As a tool, it is only as effective as the grease-monkey holding the spanner.


  36. upthehoops 4th December 2021 At 21:01

    Somebody more cynical than me might suggest that only a Celtic supporter could transform a tale rooted in his club’s good fortune through preferential treatment by officials during a match blighted by his club’s odious supporter behaviour into one of victimhood.

    As I’ve said many times on here – try supporting a ‘diddy team’ long term and you’ll soon appreciate that ONLY being the second most pampered club in Scotland is actually something to be grateful for.


  37. Highlander 5th December 2021 At 17:58

    I take your point Highlander, but not a Celtic fan I know wants “pampered”, let alone the perception of it. Without a certain amount of it, the arse only has one cheek, and nothing to hide behind.
    Ask any Celtic fan or official, and all that is being asked for is a level playing field. A decent and just standard of refereeing, fair compliance outcomes, and a regulated level of FFP.
    We agree on more than we disagree.


  38. Corrupt official 5th December 2021 At 19:09
    ‘..A decent and just standard of refereeing, fair compliance outcomes, and a regulated level of FFP.
    %%%%%%%%%%%
    Yes, and we would expect that our governance bodies would strive to ensure that those things were achieved.
    And I’m ready to believe that before 2012 the great majority of us believed that ,while an occasional individual office-holder and/ or elected board member may occasionally have succumbed to temptation to abuse his office, the Governance bodies were more at fault for their lack of vision and awareness of the need for serious adjustments/restructuring than for being lacking in integrity and honesty.

    The 5-Way Agreement- still shrouded in the secrecy of a NDA – and the absence of any believable [ i.e truthful in relation to Law and fact and Articles of Association etc] explanation of how a dead football club, in Liquidation, can still be alive and kicking in the shape of a club that was newly created and admitted for the first time into Scottish Football in 2012,changed that perception.

    In 2012 , Integrity and Truth were blown sky-high by a tissue of lies that embarrassed even those propagating the lies( having first told the truth in banner headlines)
    The Governance bodies created a pernicious myth that dogs their every step today, 9 years on.

    We CAN live with incompetence and inefficiency.

    But no Sport can live with Untruth at its heart.

    The Ibrox boards know the truth. Our Governance bodies know the truth.
    Yet they both refuse to acknowledge the Truth.

    Until they do so, or provide convincing evidence that Rangers Football Club plc of 1872 foundation did not go into Liquidation but had been successfully brought out of Administration by a CVA, or by paying ALL the debt it owed to its many creditors, they are living a lie.
    And Scottish Football is very much the worse for it.

    That is the charge.
    And Insolvency legislation as applied to the facts, and the Articles of Association of the (2012) SPL and SFL, and of the SFA ,and the records of Companies House are the evidence and proof.
    And mindless witterings by whomever about ‘the essence of things’ , the ‘whatness of a football club’ ,the’ things that make a football club, the fans, the what-it’s-all-aboutness’ are
    just so much balderdash and nonsense.

    RFC plc of 1872 was the shareholder in the SPL. It went bust. It had to surrender its share in the SPL. Without a place in a league it ceased to be a member of the SFA.
    Full stop!
    TRFC was founded in 2012, and admitted into the SFL and thereby gained for the first time membership of the SFA.
    As said before, TRFC is not, could not possibly be, RFC of 1872.


  39. paddy malarkey 6th December 2021 At 16:14
    “.., the festival dates back to 1643 ..”
    %%%%%%%%
    Curiously,
    From Planet EU:
    “Lyon Festival of Lights starts on Saturday, 04 Dec 2021 and ends on Tuesday, 07 Dec 2021 and it lasts for 3 days. Lyon Bookings Book now and get the best price! Traditionally, every house in Lyon during this festival place candles along the outsides of all the windows to produce a spectacular effect throughout the streets…”

    If the polis in Lyon can’t ensure that things are back to normal two days after the end of a ‘festival’ one would question their efficiency, n’est ce pas?
    I suspect, though, that the local authorities may believe that many of the fans of TRFC were previously the fans of the now defunct RFC of 1872, and have some fears on that account.


  40. Correction to my post of 16.14!
    Planet EU seems to have given duff info, because the Lyon tourism page has
    “From the 8th to the 11th of December 2021, for four evenings, Lyon will be celebrating light!
    From 7 to 11 pm on the 8th and 9th of December, and 8 pm to midnight on the 10th and 11th of December.”

    Apologies for not double-checking, and apologies to the the gendarmerie and/or city of Lyon local bobbies.
    Vive la France!


  41. Just for fun, I’ve been reading the judgment in an appeal by a tax-payer against the Upper Tax Tribunal’s decision to knock back his appeal against the First Tier Tax Tribunal. It’s not the case itself ( which was about tax being/not being due on a $33 million profit on shares sold) that caught my eye, but this:
    ” Counsel for HMRC submitted that, in considering the new provisions, it is permissible and appropriate to consider the case law on the previous legislation, relying on R (Derry) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2019] UKSC 19, [2019] 1 WLR 2754 at [88]-[90]. He also relied upon the principle that Parliament is assumed to have been aware of that case law when enacting ITEPA: see Revenue and Customs Commissioners v Embiricos [2020] UKUT 370 (TCC), [2021] STC 201 at [63].
    In my judgment, however, these authorities do not have great weight for present purposes because, even disregarding the fact that the legislation under consideration was the legislation concerning approved share option schemes, the point in issue on this appeal was not in issue in any of those cases. The most that can be said is that the judges in those cases assumed, in the absence of contrary argument, that employees obtained “a right to acquire shares” when an option was granted even if the option was conditional.”

    It’s that bit ‘the point in issue on this appeal was not in issue in any of those cases’ that made me ask myself: how the heck would any QC advance arguments from cases which could be dismissed as not being relevant and to the point?
    I can of course understand that there can be different interpretations of the relevant law, but to argue on a basis of precedents that aren’t relevant to the case?
    Strange.


  42. I almost feel sorry for fans of a club* who ban other clubs fans because they hate to see them celebrating , bans bbc journalists for telling the truth , bans football pundits because they cannot guarantee their safety from their own support and have their own fans banned by uefa for racist behaviour .
    Almost


  43. timtim 6th december 2021 22:45

    What goes around comes around with a huge dose of irony.


  44. vernallen 7th December 2021 At 01:45

    timtim 6th december 2021 22:45

    What goes around comes around with a huge dose of irony.

    Not quite as ironic as the French refusing to permit a 17th century festival to be marred by violent thuggery. In fact respect indeed to the French Interior minister who could have just taken the easy route and blamed it on Covid restrictions, as no doubt some less truthful jurisdictions would.

    https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/europa-league/ol-les-supporters-des-rangers-interdits-a-lyon_AV-202112060329.html


  45. News suggesting that the Interior Ministry have withdrawn the travel ban. Would seem that Rangers* Fans will still be barred from the city centre.


  46. BP @ 10.10

    Certainly not. Can you expand a bit?

    Just that a post I made at the weekend never appeared. Probably my fault. However no problem now as any sense or context it MAY have had will be lost by now!!


  47. What form of its all for us comes over those in the management (on-field) of the Rangers football club. SG in his game was quick to indicate the officials apparently had it out for them, GVB, at least waited 4 games, before hinting official standards should/could be upgraded, and, now Numan is complaining about the fixture pile up. Strange none of the other teams have garnered any press coverage about any concerns they may have. This isn’t a new issue and has been around for years. It probably wasn’t much of a concern when Rangers were on the climb back to the Premier league and the fixtures were against part time clubs and apparently didn’t require the effort that is required now. Also throwing concern for the fans was a little mis- leading as the majority would have spent their money on season tickets so won’t have to dig into their pockets except for pies, booze and travel.


  48. VernAllen
    “ when Rangers were on the climb back to the Premier league”

    Rangers died a dozen years ago.
    Didn’t you hear?


  49. fishnish 7th dec 2021 — 23:25

    Oops — almost came close to believing that they are/were same team .. thanks for the correction


  50. Former Hearts chairman Leslie Deans has called for their match against Celtic to be REPLAYED after Barrie McKay was hit with a bottle thrown from the stands.

    If not, then Deans believes Robbie Neilson’s side should be awarded the points from last week’s 1-0 Premiership defeat.

    Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal was controversially allowed to stand despite being offside.

    But it was the missiles thrown at McKay on two separate occasions as he tried to take corner kicks that Deans takes primary issue with.

    “I’m absolutely staggered that there has been no public apology from Celtic to Hearts, Barrie McKay or both,” Deans said.

    “A player in their stadium has been assaulted at least once, possibly more. It’s staggering that they have not commented.

    “You can well understand that Celtic are embarrassed by this but the fact is it happened. The football authorities have got to take action on this to show everybody thinking along these lines that something will be done. If this had happened under the auspices of UEFA, Celtic would have been thrown out of the competition.

    “The very least that should happen here is that the game should be replayed. In fact, there is an argument to say Hearts should be awarded the points.

    “Why is that? Well, how can a player concentrate on his job while standing there wondering: ‘What’s coming at me next? I’ve had coins, pies, bottles – is it going to be a dart next?’ You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t think that way.

    “Also, if indeed the referee did tell Barrie McKay that stewards were in place [to deal with the issue], then clearly these stewards weren’t doing their jobs.

    “The referee should have taken the players off the park when the missiles started and instructed a tannoy announcement that the game would be delayed for ten minutes. The announcement should also have made it clear that, if there was any repeat when play restarted, then the game would be abandoned.

    “Thankfully there was no serious injury to any player but it might be different next time. I will await with interest the outcome of this. While it’s right that nobody comments on the case of the individual arrested, that does not stop comment being made.”

    As for the offside call, Deans praised refs chiefs Crawford Allan for admitting Bobby Madden got that, and the decision to award Jota a free-kick for pulling his hamstring, wrong.

    “Credit to Crawford Allan for publicly saying what is clear to everybody who saw it,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News.

    “The goal wasn’t just offside, it was a quite a distance offside. I’ve watched these things for 60 years and you get told decisions like that even themselves out. I’m still waiting for them to even themselves out.”

    “I remember one comment from somebody years back after Celtic got a dodgy penalty against Hearts. When asked if these things even themselves out, he said: ‘Yes. Next week Rangers will get a dodgy penalty against Hearts so things will be evened out.’”

    Deans also took aim at Celtic chairman Ian Bankier for comments made about officials at the club’s AGM, and hopes this will be taken into account when the Hampden beaks decide whether or not to carpet Neilson for his post-match comments regarding not getting decisions in Glasgow.

    He added: “One point nobody has commented on is comments on referees. It remains to be seen whether Robbie Neilson will receive an invitation to visit the football authorities in view of his comments.

    “However, it shouldn’t be forgotten that literally a couple of weeks ago the Celtic chairman [Ian Bankier] was making allegations about a referee in advance of a game. The referee was Nick Walsh and it was in advance of the League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone.

    “The Celtic chairman said they had had problems with Nick Walsh before and that his appointment for the semi was a source of deep concern.

    “The Celtic chairman is an experienced lawyer who will know exactly the impact of those words. No action was taken against him for effectively criticising a referee for something that had not happened yet.

    “Robbie Neilson was talking about issues that had happened and was pointing to a decision which anybody – short of the myopic or blind – could see was an incorrect decision. So I think a bit of balance needs to be taken into account there.

    “It would be quite inappropriate if double standards were applied – no action against the Celtic chairman but Robbie being rapped over the knuckles for his comments.”
    ……………………………….

    I recall the ex-Justice Secretary commenting that if football clubs were unwilling to tackle their fans behaviour then the Government would.
    Not heard anything since.


  51. Just been hearing that Sport Scotland is taking over the investigation announced by Cricket Scotland into alleged racism in Scottish cricket.
    Has SportScotland ever questioned racism in Scottish football? I am not aware of it having done so, or if it has, what the outcoe waas.
    Anyone?
    SportScotland give about half a million to Cricket Scotland… does it give ,as opposed to lend, money to Scottish Football generally or to individual clubs?


  52. Tough away game for The rangers on Sunday lunchtime after exertions in Lyon tomorrow night. They’ll need a safe pair of hands on the whistle for this one. Place your bets; Beaton, Madden or Walsh???

    Too late, it’s already been “sorted”. Part-time The rangers youth coach Nick Walsh gets the gig. This however does throw up another betting opportunity. Who will see red?

    40/1 Haring or
    50/1 Halkett.

    I read a stat today regarding Ryan Porteous but unsure if it’s correct or not?? In over 100 senior matches he has only been red-carded twice, (shock!!). Both times against The rangers and both times by Brother Walsh, (no shock!!).

    They’re not even trying to hide it now…..


  53. I’ve been waiting to see if the latest ’round’ of ludicrous, targetted anti Celtic rhetoric (SMSM + ‘usual ‘lackeys’), with particular reference to Kyogo, dies down – but it hasn’t! Indeed, it is becoming ever more intense and brazen. By the way, am I supposed to be impressed by ‘Boydy’ damning Celtic with faint praise last Sunday? Wait and see him revert to type on the 2nd of January with his snidy, and hopefully painful, facial expressions (a dead giveaway for him regarding his true feelings in a CFC v Sevco encounter)!

    So, IMHO, what we are witnessing is a microcosm of cancel culture, identity politics, gaslighting etc, which are plaguing society at large. The perpetrators of such ‘guff’ have an advantage in Scotland of course – ably abetted by, let’s call it, The Establishment.

    However, panic has set in, and the driving force behind the frantic increase in deranged behaviour (quite ferocious and irrational at times) is, I believe, fear. Fear that the skint Govan outfit will not automatically qualify for the Champions League next season, and the delusional ‘assailants’ somehow believe that pathetic attempts to undermine and subvert Celtic will help the ’cause’. The ‘warriors’ (referred to by Ange Postecoglu) are ‘coming out of the woodwork’ and are now in plain sight. Although the ‘Brothers with Whistles’ will undoubtedly, and dutifully, play their part, there is a distinct possibility that TRFC will fail to reach the ‘promised land’. If so …what then? Admin? Liquidation? Newco2?

    Finally, for anyone trying to destabilise Postecoglu – good luck with that!


  54. @normanbatesmumfc – with regards to Nick Walsh, I find it astonishing that he can be employed by TRFC and be allowed to referee their matches. A very clear actual conflict of interest – in my day job I am not allowed to have a perception of a conflict of interest. Is this definitely the case? (living down south I am a bit remote from the day to day of Scottish football). Has it been reported on across wider media? Thanks.


  55. bect67 8th December 2021 At 16:03
    ‘.. for anyone trying to destabilise Postecoglu – good luck with that!’
    %%%%
    Heh, heh! It would be like trying to destabilise Uluru!

    Neither the print SMSM nor the ‘pundits’ on BBC Radio Scotland ( not even the ‘mattress ad’ clown!) will ruffle Ange, who is about as laid back, if not more so, as the guy who ‘sang as he sat and waited till his billy boiled’.

    More significantly, the Celtic board , having made such a hames of things last season [for as yet unexplained reasons] must avoid making arses of themselves again by giving him just cause to walk away contemptuously.

    The man clearly has realised that the football Press in Scotland is partisan. [Question: is that a phenomenon only in Scotland? Is the sports press in France, Italy, Germany etc etc seen as being so totally ‘partisan’ ]

    And I’m pretty sure that he knows that the ‘governance bodies’ take their cue from what the SMSM/BBC say.
    And it’s almost certain that he knows that his own Board have incompetent and probably dirty hands.
    He’s on a winner, in terms of moral authority in relation to
    the SMSM
    his Board ,
    the deceitful Governance bodies,
    and to ‘Jee-oh’ , his counterpart at the 9-year-old club in Ibrox, who has bought into the lie that the club he now manages is the same football club that he played for!
    Even though he was not paid EBT-wise!


  56. A win in Lyon is worth only a measly $500,000. Obviously this reporter doesn’t understand the financial situation at Ibrox. I believe the board would more than welcome such a windfall, measly as it is. Could cover a lot of their cost for the trip to Lyon, perhaps pay a bill or two, help with payroll, etc,


  57. Bect67
    “there is a distinct possibility that TRFC will fail to reach the ‘promised land’. If so …what then? Admin? Liquidation? Newco2?”

    I think Third rangers has a nice ring to it…


  58. Workingcelt
    “I find it astonishing that he can be employed by TRFC and be allowed to referee their matches”

    I hope I did not mislead you into thinking Brother Walsh was in the employ of TRFC. When not subverting football results, he is a PE Teacher at Boclair Academy who have an “arrangement” with TRFC regarding the coaching of their youth players.

    The following an excerpt from Glasgow World;

    Councillor Maureen Henry, convener of the education committee, said: “This is fantastic news for the school and for East Dunbartonshire. For these boys who are showing footballing talent, the partnership offers a flexible curriculum meaning they can maintain their training regime and receive additional teaching support so schoolwork doesn’t suffer.

    “I’m delighted that we have been able to attract Rangers Football Club to join up with one of our schools and I am sure that it will reap rewards for everyone involved. The partnership will be reviewed after a year with a view to including S4 in future. I look forward to welcoming our new pupils and wish them every success.”

    When I read the quote I must admit ir read S4 as being 54, probably as it has been rammed down our throats by Sevco fans since the old club’s demise…


  59. RC (don’t worry, it’s jist a wee game I play A11!) @11.30 on 8th Dec.

    Selective as ever

    ‘I recall the ex-Justice Secretary commenting that if football clubs were unwilling to tackle their fans behaviour then the Government would’ (I’m in a bit of a pedantic mood, so I presume it should read MISbehaviour?).

    Anyway, said ex JM left his post a few days after the Govan Mob’s George Square ‘celebrations’, so I guess his successor is getting geared up for ‘reading the Riot Act’ on their club. First things first – and it does take time. If he’s already done so, then I apologise unreservedly (a la Boris).

    By the way – did TRFC paid the £60,000 clean up bill?


  60. Lyon “Fête des lumières” originates from a plea to the Virgin Mary to rid the town of the plague.

    I wonder if the Place des Terreaux will experience a different plague tonight?? Surely the French authorities will understand laws, directives and guidance do not apply to the Ibrox Klan, as George Square (twice) found to its cost earlier this year.


  61. https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/19771066.rangers-fans-cant-dismiss-dave-king-fears-blow-chance-increase-ibrox-stake/

    Another article on DCK from Christopher Jack at the Herald. Jack has consistently printed, Pravda style, the gospel according to the G.A.S.L. (one has to ask oneself why that would be?)

    Contrary to the “face value” message of the article it would now seem clear that DCK has accepted that Club 1872* (2012) has no chance of raising the necessary funds to buy his shareholding in RIFC. The last two annual confirmation statements on Companies House show New Oasis’s holding reducing by only 1.3m ordinary shares. Assuming they were purchased entirely by Club 1872 @ £0.2 that is only £260K. Club 1872 is in complete disarray with membership numbers steadily dropping and they are collecting nowhere near the run rate required to buy anything other than token amounts of DCK’s remaining shares. So why the Jack puff pieces?

    It would seem logical that contrary, to the the thrust of the last piece, DCK has simply decided to attempt to become such a thorn in the side of the RIFC board (and other major shareholders) that they will relieve him of his shareholding. Voting against Park junior at the recent AGM just another jab at the board.

    Should make for interesting viewing as this develops.


  62. Chris ‘Union’ Jack’s latest piece (published in the Herald, the Evening Times & the National: I do wonder if he’s being paid enough for all that exposure!) starts with, ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…’

    (It’s not behind a paywall in the National:

    https://www.thenational.scot/sport/19771066.rangers-fans-cant-dismiss-dave-king-fears-blow-chance-increase-ibrox-stake/)

    Unfortunately, it’s not CUJ finally realising that he’s been duped by his employers (or RIFC/TRFC) into being historically incorrect & getting paid for it, but yet another DCK puff piece by a DCK fluffer.

    Someone in the comments section points out that the ‘Fool me twice…’ part doesn’t really apply: DCK has been ‘mugged’ by SDM, Craig Whyte, Charles Green & Douglas Park, the Four Horsemen of the Ibrox Apocalypse. That’s not a good look for the supposedly-astute SA businessman. Perhaps someone will swap him the Queensferry Crossing for his shares?


  63. vernallen 9th Dec 01.21

    Last nights draw plus progress to the knockout stages, for the 3rd consecutive year, earned the club £ 649,562.96.
    The round of 32 will earn the club at least £ 427.343,87 with the possibility of increasing that to £ 1,025,625,30 if successful.
    Add Gate receipts, Hospitality, etc and it’s a tidy little sum. All extra income that was not factored into the structured losses the club have incurred.


  64. The following has been designed to provide SFM with a little bit of balance on what must often appear to new lurkers as an anti-Rangers* site, rather than the neutral, pro-integrity site it claims to be. Some of it was typed with tongue firmly in cheek and may even involve whataboutery.

    For example, whatabout thon Colts teams that only the Old Firm pair were allowed to ‘trial’ in the Lowland League? How come nobody has broken through into the first team yet, nor is anybody knocking on Steve Clarke’s door as foretold?

    Even with all those injuries, surely Ange can’t moan about a lack of squad depth when he’s got Celtic B players to plunder; players who’ve gained great experience playing against Vale of Leithen and Broomhill; players who’ll by now have learned the ability to avoid even the crudest of tackles dished out by the Butcher of Tannadice.

    On which subject, the Compliance Officer issuing a summons when a yellow card had been dished out by the ref at the time of the offence – is that even a thing? Or does it only come into play when one of the big two are adversely affected?

    I only ask because, in stark contrast to that speedy reaction, nobody in the SFA or SPFL has uttered a peep since Barrie McKay was bombarded with missiles at Celtic Park last week.

    Yes, I know one person was arrested, but there was far more than one item launched at an innocent player merely doing his job and unless the perpetrator was a rabid octopus with whirling tentacles, others, plus the club, appear to be escaping scot-free. As already mentioned, Nice and Marseille recently had points deductions imposed by Ligue 1 for pretty much identical offences.

    Kyogo is undoubtedly a very talented goalscorer. He is not at all talented at simulation. No, let’s call it what it really is – cheating, plain and simple. I don’t know if play-acting is part of the game in his homeland but somebody (dare I say a Broonie character) has got to have a word with him and make it clear that we don’t do that in Scotland.

    I quite like Ange, but his recent interview when he avoided dishing out criticism of Kyogo’s theatrics, on the basis that the poor wee soul is a foot shorter than his warrior opponents, was cringeworthy. Should defenders run around on their knees to accommodate him being vertically challenged? Bizarre doesn’t begin to cover it.

    I see that Hibs are looking for a new manager. Craig Levein is at a loose end these days. Just saying.


  65. Oh dear Highlander, thought you were above the “get Kyogo” agenda. I notice you forgot to mention Souttar’s completely unnecessary, cowardly assault on the wee man, absolutely nothing to do with defending, or indeed playing football;

    https://twitter.com/ParlKilkington1/status/1466514501914738699

    Excluding Souttar’s disgusting behavior, I can count 8 challenges on Celtic players this season which should have resulted in a straight red card. Only one (Alan Power) was given. How can we expect the standards of football in Scotland to improve when quick, skillful players are subjected to nothing more than thuggery. In the case of Celtic, I’m sure opposition players are now well aware their illegal challenges will be dealt with kid-gloves by referees with a clear agenda.


  66. Highlander 10th December 2021 At 09:59
    ‘…Craig Levein is at a loose end these days.’
    %%%%%%
    Being a ‘Weegie, Highlander, I say nothing about Levein as a possible aspirant for the coaching job at Easter Road.
    What I will say, though, is that the new, mellow, self-deprecating, ready-to-joke and laugh Levein seems to have his feet well under the pundit table on Sportsound.
    He seems altogether different, and much the better for it, and I enjoy listening to his comments.


  67. normanbatesmumfc 10th December 2021 At 11:39

    Aye but what about whataboutery but?

    If Souttar is guilty, as you suggest, then that means that BOTH of them should be hauled over the coals – NOT that the cheating Celtic player should be admonished.

    You claim that I forgot to mention Souttar, yet not a soul has thus far criticised the Celtic support for their appaling treatment of Barrie McKay in the incidents I mentioned, when we know it would be commented on endlessly had that incident happened at Ibrox.

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