As SFM folk will know, Scottish Football authorities can be enigmatic at best, puzzling and corrupt at worst, and downright crazy and incompetent in either situation. On this blog over the years, we have asked questions constantly of the authorities and the clubs, but like anyone with a fan-centred interest at heart we get ignored. “Fans are not a homogenous entity”, they say, “there are more opinions than there are fans”. This artful premise gives the clubs an excuse to ignore fans’ input, and other than on platforms like this, fan opinion is seldom gathered or curated.
The following blog, put together by Andy Smith, the Chairman of the Scottish Football Supporters Association, asks a lot of simple questions that don’t get asked often. He also invites fans to raise their own questions and opinions.
Of course, there are headline atrocities committed by the people in charge of the game.
The Five-Way Agreement, the continuity myth, the refusal to punish the biggest incidence of systematic cheating ever experienced in the game, and the casual adoption of the post-truth model introduced so successfully by venal politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
But what enabled those assaults on the integrity of the sport? In order to get away with the big con, there have to be wee cons. Ticket allocations, kick off times and dates for set-piece occasions which make it difficult if not impossible for fans outside of Glasgow to participate, refusal to hold match officials accountable in the way an underperforming player or a misbehaving fan would be, and countless other incidences where fans are inconvenienced, or even put at risk.
The only way to combat that level of arrogance is to unite where we can, and although in a partisan sport that can be difficult to achieve, SFM is testimony that it can work. This blog is an invitation for us to begin to look forward, and not get distracted by the past. I hope SFM-ers participate and make their views clear.
Big Pink
What did Alan Dougherty, Gordon Harvey and Eddie Hutch have in common?
They were teachers who gave their time, to thousands of kids, including me, and asked for nothing back. To a man they gave up, overnight, as part of a ‘work to rule’, in an ugly pay dispute in the early 80s.
They were never thanked properly by the game?
They were and are sair missed.
Why did football let that happen?
Why has nobody ever grasped this particular nettle since?
Should you be able to have a beer at Bayview watching East Fife play Clyde on Feb 5th?
Just like the fans at Murrayfield, just over the Firth can and will, at the sell-out game vs England on the very same day.
Should you be allowed to enjoy a beer at Celtic Park watching Celtic vs Rangers on Feb 2nd?
A smaller crowd than Murrayfield too, and very few away fans. But some history and maybe a different situation altogether.
Are our leagues too small, leading to constant pressure and short termism by clubs?
Club CFO’s say the pressures are brutal and when their team is in trouble everything else gets sacrificed to avoid the financial chaos of relegation.
Many CFO’s dread the thought of promotion too knowing full well the seesaw implications of our small leagues.
Should the bottom of SPFL be an automatic relegation to open up the pyramid?
Our unique, one league only, convoluted play-off formula was only ever a last minute switcheroo/deal by the SPFL2 clubs at the time to protect their places in the SPFL ‘old boys network’.
I’d suggest East Stirling, Brechin and Berwick would change their votes if asked again.
Your Invitation to Say What You Think
Scottish Football Alliance Fan Survey January 2022
The Scottish Football Supporters Association is an independent and growing fans organisation in Scotland with circa 80,000 members. We have members from all senior clubs in Scotland and throughout the pyramid.
Many of those members regularly visit the SFM site.
We have been asked by the new Scottish Football Alliance (http://scottishfootball.org/) to provide an independent insight into what fans think about various aspects of our game, in particular what fans think our game needs to move forward. It is time for change, and football seems incapable of change from within.
Scottish Football might not acknowledge it, but it really needs the input of supporters like you. The fact none of us have been asked our opinions in the past says a lot.
We need to help and tell those running our game and other stakeholders like the Scottish Government what football needs to do.
Scottish football certainly has to think longer term and get closer to its fans.
In any business overview we are the core stakeholders.
The way we are treated and ignored is quite commercially bizarre.
To that end we have commissioned a short two minute survey, but we’d also welcome and appreciate any more detailed insights into what Scottish Football needs to do or do better. Please email those insights (in addition to participating in the survey) to me, at andrew@scottishfsa.org
I know from experience that when you get a group of fans in a room to talk about football, after the local rivalries and stuff gets dealt with, usually with humour, we can all see what the game has done for us, the power of good it can be for our communities and the things that need to change.
I constantly find that most fans not only see the bigger picture but also collectively want to give something back.
When this survey ends we will aggregate and analyse the results and share them far and wide inside the game and to other interested stakeholders like The Scottish Government.
The results will also become the foundation of policies The Scottish Football Alliance will publish and circulate.
At each stage moving forward we will work closely with The Scottish Football Alliance providing then with further fan insight.
And we will keep you and all other fans involved.
Survey Notes
You can participate in the survey by follwing this link:
https://s-f-s-a.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/scottish-football-alliance-survey
The questions are simple Yes/No and there are no right or wrong answers, just opinions and insight into what fans think.
Paddy 10th June 13.17
The mischievous look on the face of John Bennett should answer that. 0.20 secs in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48UEFcxd58
Albertz11 10th June 2022 At 10:01
‘,,Don’t you think it’s strange that although Rangers are a SCOTTISH club…… no member of the SCOTTISH government attended?.’
Paddy Malarkey 10th June 2022 At 13:17
‘..Were they invited , Douglas Ross and all ?’
++++++++++
It was because I didn’t, and still don’t, know whether RIFC plc/TRFC extended an invitation to the Scottish Government that I wrote to the ‘UK Government’ instead of to Holyrood.
I think it is safe to say that a football club dependent on its fervent loyalty to ‘Unionism’ is scarcely likely to invite the arch-enemies of Scottish political independence to any kind of celebration!
No, I suspect that they are much more comfortable with the Borisonians, who speak the same false language as themselves, incapable of distinguishing truth from falsehood.
Albertz11 10th June 2022 At 13:44
Not really Al
My guess is that the SNP were not invited. I also don’t quite understand the auspices of the event. Who paid? Who did the invites?
I’m also guessing that A list celebrities were thin on the ground if Alister Jack was the keynote invitee 🙂
my post of 13.56!
Obvious mistake: line 4 – arch-enemies’ should read ‘arch-proponents’ . (I was interrupted mid-post and lost my concentration)
Albertz11 10th June 2022 At 13:44
Oh , deary me , where to start with that pile of fish ? Pity they let the old club meet it’s demise .Celebrating the 150th birthday of an institution just before it croaks smacks of desperation , The new club is doing better than alright , so why hang onto the coattails of a failed and corrupt enterprise ?
Paddy Malarkey 10th June 2022 At 14:22
‘… so why hang onto the coattails of a failed and corrupt enterprise ?’
++++++++++
And why didn’t the ‘UK government’ [ in the shape of the Insolvency Service, the FCA, HMRC ] pursue TRFC for the tax debts of RFC of 1872 if the latter did not die as a result of Liquidation?
They cannot have it both ways: RFC of 1872 owes millions :there was no other entity that incurred the debt, no ‘separate ‘ holding company’ , but only RFC plc of 1872 under the reckless, feckless, unchallenged hubristic SDM.
It follows that if TRFC is RFC of 1872 then TRFC owed and still owes the money, and that only some really dirty work at levels of football governance and UK Government allowed the monstrous Big Lie to be created and supported .
This was not, and is not ,merely a simple ‘sports’ story .
And it is a shameful indictment of the SMSM in particular that they have not only supported the Big Lie but have propagated it for ten years.
Oh for the good old days, when the BBC investigated, asked hard questions, and published the truth!
I had another wee read of what the BBC was saying on 23 May 2012.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-18169501
How they changed their tune and bought into the Big Lie later on when leaned on by the BBC Trust instead of resisting to the point of crisis resignations!
What was in it for Pacific Quay?
Had they followed up appropriately, there would have been no question of the SFA daring to create the nonsense of a lie that the new club they admitted into Scottish Football as ‘Sevcoscotland’ could be regarded as RFC of 1872.
Honest to God, how those people can live with themselves.
a wee change of Sport to see a bit of condign punishment for cheats:
CAS Media Release (tas-cas.org)
[control +click to open this link to a CAS judgment in a canoe/kayaking Russian doping case going back a few years. The World Doping Agency won its appeal against the decision of the International Canoeing Federation in the case of some Russian competitors , and the dope- using athletes were stripped of medals, honours, prize money and banned for a period.
They do things better in some sports!
Following up a tweet by CQN today , I discover ( from reading ‘Automotive Management online’] that Celtic’s league championship win has eased the SPFL’s/Doncaster’s problems over the balls-up he made of the cinch sponsorship deal, in that cinch has benefited from a degree of brand exposure from that balls-up that it could never have afforded to buy!
I assume the inference is that cinch may be more relaxed about the need to pull the SPFL contract on the grounds of breach of contract by the SPFL? Which might let Doncaster / the current SPFL board off the hook.
https://www.am-online.com/news/latest-news/2022/05/23/scottish-football-s-8m-cinch-sponsorship-row-eased-by-celtic-league-title-win
Mind you, If cinch don’t go after the SPFL for breach, I’ll be so disappointed that I will not ever give cinch MY custom!
( Aye, a’ right! I know that’s a bit like the’ Skibbereen Eagle’ newspaper which, in 1898, ran a famous editorial that declared: “We will still keep our eye on the Emperor of Russia and on all such despotic enemies, whether at home or abroad, of human progression and man’s natural rights . . .”]
But still….
The commercial director for Rangers should be reminded of the old saying, “loose lips sink ships” when it comes to crowing about their income garnered through commercial and football sources. I’m sure the CMA folk will be keeping a sharp eye on these numbers as the collusion case unfolds. Some of the investors and loanees may have a look and decide maybe I’m due some return on my flutters. With the global economy nearing free fall pennies will need to be pinched at all levels. Will any of this income be allocated to the massive losses accrued over the last few years. The next set of financials should paint a cleared picture of what really transpired, and, will show the actual (hopefully) net of these numbers and not just the gross. Will any of it be allocated to the 150th anniversary which if you go by months starting in 2012 almost comes to 150.
That smirking face of whassisname ( Bennet?] prompted me to send this email to my MSP .
To: Ash.Regan.msp@parliament.scot
Fri, 10 Jun at 23:22
Dear Ms Regan,
I understand that on 8 June the Secretary of State for Scotland hosted a party in Dover House to celebrate the 150th(?) birthday of Rangers Football Club.
Can I ask you, please, to let me know whether the Scottish Government were invited to that party?
And if so, whether the invitation was accepted?
May I further ask you find out and let me know whether the costs of that party were met by HM Government at UK tax-payers expense?
Yours in Scotland,
(me)
Posted yesterday but must have got lost or i never sent, it has been a while
Looking forward to another new season and what disputes and court cases the ibrox club will bring us this season. One thing is sure in life they will not dissapoint.
Remember the journalist who was sentenced to 8 months for contempt of court during the Alex Salmond trial?
The normal avenues of appeal were unsuccessfully pursued, but he appealed to the ‘nobile officium’ which is pronounced in Court as ‘ nobbily offik-y-um’ [ Scots law:the equitable discretion of the Court of Sessions to afford relief in cases where none is possible at law]
I’ve just come across the outcome of that appeal on BAILLII.
Quite interesting reading.
https://www.bailii.org/scot/cases/ScotHC/2022/2022_HCJAC_14.html
I find it interesting that Keith Jackson is calling for Steve Clarke to step aside. With some of the tripe he prints this could be construed as pot-kettle-black. For someone who has been around Scottish football for sometime he does come up with some off the wall stories and ideas. Also some recent stories regarding the Scotland/Ireland game with constant references to Celtic flop Shane Duffy were a little over the top. Granted he didn’t show his ability in Scotland and along with a number of Celtic signings that failed to impress also labelled as flops. Strangely you rarely see that title attached to some well known names that have graced the team sheet for Rangers, i.e., Ramsay, Barton, Diallo, etc.
Out of curiosity and starved of my ‘fix’ I watched the world cup play off qualifier between Australia and Peru. The infra dig ‘not getting those two hours back’ was never more appropriate. A turgid tense affair only entertaining at the last when Australia brought on a penalty saving specialist goalkeeper. (Commentators description not mine.) The said supersubs ability seemed to consist of dancing across the penalty line while waving his hands in the air like a demented windmill of sorts in order one presumes to distract the penalty taker. The Australian coach will no doubt be credited with some kind of masterstroke as they won the shootout and qualified for the world cup finals.The beautiful game indeed….
Daily Record reports ;
“ A UK Government spokesperson said: “Rangers Football Club held an event in Dover House last week to mark their 150th anniversary. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack attended the event and made a short speech. The reception was organised and paid for by the football club.”
Paradisebhoy 14th June 2022 At 00:51
‘..Scottish Secretary Alister Jack attended the event ‘
+++++++
But in the same piece, the deceitful DR brazenly says
“Rangers mark 150th anniversary with Scotland Office event HOSTED (my capitals) by Alister Jack”
and the accompanying photograph of Jack has the subscript
‘.. Alister Jack PUT ON (my capitals) a reception for Rangers FC in the Scotland Office’
while Robertson is quoted “I believe it speaks volumes for the contribution Rangers has made to our nation in a positive sense over these years that the club is being recognised in this manner”
Geez, these guys out-do Putin in disseminating ,at best, desperate half-truths in an attempt to legitimise the illegitimate and shore up the Big Lie that TRFC is RFC of 2012.
‘Most insecure club in world football’ ‘So they paid for the entire gig’ ‘Inventing fake honours’ Fake News 150th Anniversary is exposed
Joe McHugh
|
08:20 14/06/22
Management at the Daily Record might be discovering an unexpected truth this morning. There is a market for honestly covering events at Ibrox.
Ten years ago today creditors, including Her Majesty and Dave King rejected the offer of a CVA pushing Rangers into the liquidation process. BDO are still on the case.
Those front pages on June 14 and 15 were conveniently pushed aside as the Lie/Myth was launched with every media outlet in Scotland on board with Charles Green.
Apparently the businessman from Yorkshire bought the ‘history of the club from the administrators, gifting the new club a clutch of honours dating back to the 19th century.
Other lies have been launched down the years, Andy Gray and Richard Keys hosted an on-pitch ceremony for the 140th anniversary with a bizarre campaign of ‘Going for 55’ accepted without any question despite Rangers resting in the football mortuary alongside Third Lanark, Gretna and Airdrie.
Last week the club’s PR team released details of how HM Government had held a dinner at the Scottish Office to celebrate the 150th anniversary.
Free-loaders Alex McLeish and Mikey Gove turned up with glowing accounts shared of the event which seemed to be aimed at London based firms targeted for commercial link ups.
Craig McCall, of the Political Desk at the Daily Record decided to send out a couple of enquires. In reply it was discovered that rather than HM Government hosting the event and sending out invites the whole affair had been bought and paid for by the club.
Since Aaron Ramsey relaunched The Banter Years in Seville it has been a rich summer with Watergate followed up by other events with the Fake 150th Anniversary dinner typical of a club trying too hard to cover their tracks.
————————————-
Albertz11 10th June 2022 At 10:01
02Rate This
John Clark 9th June 20.21
Don’t you think it’s strange that although Rangers are a SCOTTISH club, playing in the SCOTTISH league, having represented SCOTLAND in a European final and having recently won the SCOTTISH cup no member of the SCOTTISH government attended?.
————————
Albertz
Now that yet another lie from Sevco has been exposed, and bearing in mind how you unwittingly were backing them up at the expense of the Scottish Government just a few days ago, do you want to take your comments back?
Will you be asking for your club to apologise to all it’s fans for deliberately and cynically lying to them and to yourself?
All done to keep the big lie going from the present board, while your clubs founding father congratulated and thanked the Scottish football authorities for permitting them into the 4th tier in 2012 and the memory of it is conveniently forgotten.
Does that sound like the actions of a man who thought his club had been ‘demoted three divisions’
while there is no mechanism anywhere for doing so?
Will you apologise for your unfounded and unwarranted criticism of the Scottish government and instead actually praise them for not taking part in such a sham, if they had indeed been invited, especially when you take into account the Charles Green trial where he confirmed under oath that he tried to buy the club but failed , and instead only bought the assets to start a new rangers, to which even the lawyer for new rangers admitted that the idea of the club surviving liquidation ‘….was something that the law of the land had still to catch up with….’
https://thecelticstar.com/acting-like-a-10-year-old-spoiled-brat-cringeworthy-fake-news-and-their-desperation-for-legitimacy/
‘Acting like a 10 year old spoiled brat’, ‘Cringeworthy’ – Fake News and their Desperation for Legitimacy
By SHAUN RILEY 14 June, 2022
After (fake) news broke of a celebratory reception in London – apparently from the UK Government at the Scotland Office – to mark the (cough) 150th anniversary of a club that has only been in existence since 2012, it now appears that the party ‘invite’ was nothing of the sort, instead theRangers paid for the soiree themselves. A bit like hiring out a room at the Vatican for your grandparents ruby wedding anniversary and telling all the guests the invitations were from Papa Francesco himself.
Or sending yourself a Valentine’s card…
In a statement released before the event on 8 June, theRangers managing director Stewart Robertson, as reported on their official website, said:
“We are very honoured and grateful to have been invited by the Secretary of State for Scotland to this very special event to mark the 150th anniversary of Rangers Football Club.
“I believe it speaks volumes for the contribution Rangers has made to our nation in a positive sense over these years that the club is being recognised in this manner, and we look forward to promoting the good name of Rangers even further this evening to invited guests from across the political spectrum, as well as wider society.”
That approach was quickly clarified after a few questions from Deputy Political Editor at the Record – well it was never likely to come from the Sports Desk – Chris McCaul, as a far shorter and significantly more honest quote emerged.
“Rangers Football Club held an event in Dover House last week to mark their 150th anniversary. Scottish Secretary Alister Jack attended the event and made a short speech.
“The reception was organised and paid for by the football club.”
This is the sort of embarrassment that would have any self-respecting football club’s board hiding under the duvet for weeks, but when you are in charge of Old Firm FC, create fantasies of going for 55 titles in less than a decade and are desperation for a continuity myth to be accepted then you need a group of staunch men in your boardroom who couldn’t have their neck marked by a blow-torch.
Thankfully in this case it appears the deputy political editor of the Record doesn’t have quite the same constraints on reporting – or indeed asking questions – as those on the sports desk, who are all too happy to fall into line and publish questionable stories as factual without the merest of fact-checking being applied – a bit like the lack of due diligence applied to sponsorship deals at Ibrox.
Perhaps a new crypto-currency sponsor will be announced today to deflect from another fine story to add to the Banter Years.
Shaun Riley
—————
Sevco,,,compulsive liars.
A final point on the Sevco tweets.
It’s really unbelievable how a clubs employees can just lie and lie constantly.
They probably do it hoping to build a siege mentality among Sevconians.
And sadly it has worked out well among the brain donors in their support.
The reply I received from my MSP to my queries re the Dover House party:
“Mon, 13 Jun at 12:27
Dear Mr …
Thank you for your email, I am Caseworker to Ash Regan MSP and contact you as such today in regards to information you seek on the recent 150th anniversary of Rangers Football Club celebration hosted by the Secretary of State for Scotland at Dover House.
All of your questions can be personally raised by yourself with a FOI with the Scottish office as our office is not permitted to do this on your behalf.
I have linked below the contact details for your convenience.
To request information you can:
email ceu@gov.scot
write to:
General Enquiries Scottish Government
St. Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
I hope this information is helpful to you.
Yours Sincerely ”
And my acknowledgment of that reply :
Tue, 14 Jun at 23:28
Thank you, Ms —-, for your reply and please forgive my ignorance in these matters.
As it happens, I see from Press reports that the initial information provided by ‘Rangers’ was cringe-inducingly misleading in that it strongly suggested that the ten-year-old ‘The Rangers Football Club’ was being ‘honoured’ in England by the Secretary of State for Scotland for its contribution to the ‘nation’ .
The truth now appears to be that rather than ‘hosting’ the celebration, the Secretary of State for Scotland was merely a guest, (he himself, perhaps, even feeling honoured to be a guest!) having permitted the birthday celebrations to be held in Dover House, a venue described breathlessly as being ‘close to Downing Street’ (big wowees!) ,and that all expenses [ tax deductible], perhaps?] incurred are said to have been met by The Rangers Football Club.
Yours sincerely,.”
Good fun, except that it’s serious that a ten year old football club’s lie that it is 150 years old should be endorsed by any government representative happy to be a Boris.
Vernallen 13th June 2022 At 22:41
‘..I find it interesting that Keith Jackson is calling for Steve Clarke to step aside.’
+++++++++
The really interesting thing for me as I listened was that Tom English was the first on BBC radio Scotland to begin the attack , subtly enough , on Steve Clarke after the RoI game.
As I have said before, or implied, I believe that English is less than journalistically objective in the same way as most of the SMSM, working for the BBC .
Wednesday 15th June 2022
SPFL NEGOTIATES NEW CINCH DEAL
PRESS RELEASE: 15 JUNE 2022
The SPFL have agreed a revised title sponsorship deal with cinch, effective immediately, which protects cinch’s pivotal investment into Scottish football.
Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the SPFL, said: “Under the terms of the revised cinch contract, Rangers are no longer required to participate by providing the sponsorship inventory that they have so far not provided, whilst, crucially, the overall income to Scottish football is expected to remain materially unchanged over the original five-year term of the sponsorship.
“This revised package has now been approved by cinch Premiership Clubs.
“It’s extremely good news that we have been able to work with our partners at cinch to develop an updated sponsorship package which delivers the same level of financial support to Scottish football, whilst providing additional SPFL media assets to cinch to compensate for loss of Rangers-related rights. It is testament to the strength of our relationship with cinch, and the high value they place on it, that they have agreed to move forward with us on this basis.
“This deal gives us further confidence that we will exceed our budget and deliver fees to Clubs of more than £27.5 million for Season 2021/22.”
Murdoch MacLennan, chairman of the SPFL, added: “This is a great outcome for the entire game in Scotland. Our friends at cinch have been brilliant to deal with throughout this whole process.
“There is so much to celebrate in the SPFL as cinch and our clubs look forward with excitement to the launch of the 2022/23 fixture list this Friday.”
A spokesman for cinch said: “We welcome the evolution of our agreement with the SPFL and are proud of our continued investment into Scottish football across all four cinch SPFL leagues. We are very much looking forward to next season and to continuing the stellar growth of our business in Scotland.”
………………………………
Pretty much vindicates Rangers position in this shambles.
I see on BBC that TRFC are being excused from obligations under the cinch deal. Clearly a bit of an omnishambles by the SPFL but what is not reported with any clarity is whether TRFC are also being excused from sharing in the associated revenues from the cinch arrangement. I would expect this to be the case but would be foolish enough to presume that it is the case…
Well, there we have it!
“SPFL’s new cinch deal grants ‘vindicated’ Rangers exemptions as club makes pointed statement on matter”
‘The Scottish Professional Football League has agreed a revised sponsorship deal with its current partners cinch, which will allow Rangers to be excluded from displaying the car firm’s branding’
(from ‘ The Scotsman’ )
By Mark Atkinson
Wednesday, 15th June 2022, 8:05 pm
Updated
2 hours ago
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/spfls-new-cinch-deal-grants-vindicated-rangers-exemptions-as-club-makes-pointed-statement-on-matter-3733429
—
So Doncaster and the other board members of the SPFL , in spite of
having given the nod to the nonsense that TRFC is RFC of 1872
and of having prostituted themselves in allowing RIFC plc to market itself as being the holding company of RFC of 1872 against every canon of Scottish football regulation , plain common sense and insolvency legislation, are having their feeding hands bitten by the cheating RIFC plc/TRFC .
Honest to God!
Scottish Football is now a farce. The SPFL was a necessary party to the Big Lie. And by its cowardly kow-towing to other liars, lost all authority.
And further , by not even understanding its own feckin Articles of Association, is now having its feeding hand being bitten by those whom it fed.
Hell mend the whole lot of them.
But, fair do’s, TRFC appear to have had right on their side in the matter of prior contracts.
Wokingcelt 15th June 2022 At 22:23
‘…Clearly a bit of an omnishambles by the SPFL but what is not reported with any clarity is whether TRFC are also being excused from sharing in the associated revenues from the cinch arrangement.’
+++++++
I hadn’t seen your post, Wokingcelt, before my post of 23.19 tonight.
But I see where you’re coming from!
Do you think we will ever hear from anyone in the SPFL?
Not a chance!
And why? Because their Articles of Association say nothing about whether a club that cannot , because of a pre-existing contract, be part of an SPFL sponsorship contract that does not include them, should not get anything from that contract!
TRFC are laughing all the way to the bank!
As they have been laughing at the SPFL since their success in having the Big Lie endorsed in 2012 by a cowardly governance body or two.
Lord, how I long to spit as much physically as metaphorically on those ‘governance’ persons .
Mike Bedigan , of PA Media, reports as follows in today’s ‘The Scotsman’:
” Dozens of UK journalists and media sanctioned by Russia say an imposed travel ban will “not silence” their work and have vowed to keep reporting ” independently and fairly”…BBC journalists Nick Robinson , Orla Guerin and Clive Myrie, who have all reported from the ground in Ukraine and its capital of Kyiv also feature [ on the list of those ‘sanctioned’ by Russia]
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “we will continue to report independently and fairly”
I wonder how the BBC Scotland football ‘journalists’ can look at each other without a feeling of shame at their own personal refusal to report truthfully that TRFC is a 10 year old football club absolutely not entitled to claim the sporting successes and honours of the defunct RFC of 1872?
I would imagine that the likes of Orla Guerin and other real journalists who risk their very lives in pursuit of facts and truth would have nothing but contempt for such BBC ‘colleagues’ and the hierarchy at Pacific Quay.
Albertz11 15th June 2022 At 20:16
Pretty much vindicates Rangers position in this shambles.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Surely it could only be the entirely separate and unrelated operating company that was vindicated, not the metaphysical football club, whose only function is to collect kudos, trophies and titles, even those that it didn’t win.
I meant to add to my previous post of 10.54am that Neil Doncaster is coming under increasing attack from Rangers* in view of his woeful incompetence in the cinch contract cock-up. Remember though, this is the same woefully incompetent Neil Doncaster whose word is nonetheless supposedly sacrosanct on the sole matter of club continuity, where his word is law and must not be questioned.
Statement from Parks of Hamilton Ltd
A spokesperson for Parks of Hamilton Ltd said: “We were not surprised to learn from the media announcement last night that the SPFL have finally acknowledged Rangers legitimately engaged rule i7 in June of last year and thus, vindicated the stance held by the club for over a year. It is not for us to speculate as to why the SPFL leadership sought to ignore their own rules for so long.
“The fact that the SPFL prevaricated and continued to stall an arbitration process they themselves initiated in August last year, and which was ruled upon by the court of appeal in October, underlined the weakness of the case they truly had. Were it not for our interim interdict, it is clear their strategy was to try and bully one of their members and shareholders; a strategy which they have employed on numerous occasions.
“Throughout the last year, Park’s have kept their counsel as the SPFL leadership insulted us and misled the SFA, their member clubs, their title sponsor, and various other stakeholders in Scottish football.
“We have a long standing and proud association with Scottish football, and it was entirely wrong that we were compelled to take the SFA to court because the SPFL decided to abuse the SFA’s arbitration process. We believe that the SPFL and members of its leadership have brought the game in to disrepute and have failed, as have the SPFL as an organisation, to act with the utmost good faith towards their members.
“The SFA must carry out an independent investigation into this issue which has cost all parties involved hundreds of thousands of pounds. Despite being awarded expenses in court, Park’s will not recover all their legal fees nor be compensated for the reputational damage caused by the SPFL.
“Finally, the glaring omission from the SPFL’s statement was an apology. The SPFL leadership owe their members an apology, they owe Park’s an apology, they owe the SFA an apology and they also owe an apology to Rangers. Unfortunately, they seem to lack any accountability and would rather spend their members money than admit their failures.”
Albertz11 15th June 2022 At 20:16
Pretty much vindicates Rangers position in this shambles.
——————————————————————————–
Or we can acknowledge and applaud the flexible pragmatism of a major sponsor.This does not let either party off the hook for incompetence and bloody minded obstinancy.Only Cinch come out of this with any credit.There is most certainly no moral high ground for The Rangers…..the very thought!
To my prior post, the Daily Record (I know) reports that TRFC gets to share in the deal. I’m sorry but I don’t get why this should be the case. If TRFC home games are “cinch deserts” then why should they share in revenues as presumably they won’t be showing or wearing cinch branding. I get the away team will be wearing cinch on their sleeves, but TRFC don’t share in shirt sponsorship of the opposition. And away games – again not wearing any cinch brands.
A contract requires that some value must be exchanged between both parties. What value are TRFC providing IF they are receiving payment? If this basic question has not been asked then please tell me who are the SPF’s retained legal advisors?.
I refer to this link
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/rangers-and-cinch-row-another-major-twist-as-spfl-responds-to-parks-of-hamilton-with-blistering-statement-3734965
I love it when the baddies fall out with other!
I hope that the SPFL recognises their folly in having shared in the Big Lie of the ‘5-Way Agreement’ which allowed a club newly created in 2012 to purchase a League company share which allowed it to apply for membership of the SFA and falsely claim sporting honours won by a now defunct club.
They can see clearly now that that abandonment of Sporting Integrity has left them with even less moral authority than the Boards of TRFC and RIFC plc.
The time has come for honest men/women to demand a return to sporting truth: to tell RIFC plc that it is NOT the holding company of Rangers of 1872,and will not be allowed any longer to claim to be so.
I find it amusing that Mr. Parks makes reference to Rangers long standing and proud association with Scottish football in the latest statement regarding the cinch mess. This surely must have been delivered tongue in cheek as it is difficult to build such a relationship in ten years especially when you are taking pot shots at the governing body on a regular basis, delivering a limp wristed dossier on all the evils that befell said club and then have the gall to claim a piece of the sponsorship money for not participating. It is interesting to note that, as far as I can ascertain, the Parks promotion of the Ibrox club has been fairly secretive as I have yet to see any signage on crests, nothing in the stadium etc. Surely if you were spending promotional funds on your brand you would want the reputed world wide audience of millions, and, the 50,000 fans every second week to be aware of your sponsorship. Invisible signage does not sell cars. Once and for all the governing bodies should stand up and call these people out. Of course this could lead to their favorite sport legal action where they have enjoyed tremendous success over the years.
With regard to Mr Parks claim of costs of damage to reputation is this in connection with the reporting last week of increased brand awareness of cinch as a result of the protracted dispute? Perhaps the law of unintended consequences has struck again…
Vernallen 16th June 2022 At 22:46
‘..It is interesting to note that, as far as I can ascertain, the Parks promotion of the Ibrox club has been fairly secretive as I have yet to see any signage on crests, nothing in the stadium etc. ‘
++++++++++
And ,of course, Vernallen, given that TRFC lie about their very date-of-birth as a football club, it is not to be wondered at that ,when they played silly buggers by not simply letting the SPFL see evidence of their pre-existing Park’s contract, suspicions were raised that they might have been lying about that as well.
The Court of Session seemed to be satisfied that there was a pre-dating contract
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2021csih61.pdf?sfvrsn=f0711814_1
at para [4] from which I cite this
“Facts
[4] 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 ”
It seems rather odd that Park’s did not , does not, insist on some fairly prominent advertising material being regularly displayed within Ibrox, if their sponsorship contract included such a condition: and it’s hard to see how such a condition would not be part of the contract!
Wokingcelt 16th June 2022 At 21:35
‘…If this basic question has not been asked then please tell me who are the SPF’s retained legal advisors?.
+++++++++++
This link provides the answers as in 2018. That might be out of date, of course, but I haven’t seen any up-date?
https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/spfl-appoints-new-legal-advisers
FIFA referee Bobby Madden is quitting Scottish football to move to the English system.
Madden, 43, became a FIFA ref in 2010 and has taken charge of Scottish Cup and League Cup finals across a career which has seen him appointed to over 1,000 matches in Scotland..
Vernallen 16th June 2022 At 22:46
They wouldn’t have been shovelling money in on the pretext that they were paying for advertising , would they ? That would be against the rules , surely . As you say , zero visibility of any adverts for Parks of Hamilton .
Paddy Malarkey 17th June 2022 At 20:56
‘…They wouldn’t have been shovelling money in on the pretext that they were paying for advertising , would they ? That would be against the rules , surely ..’
++++++++++
I’ve had a quick look at Section 8(11) and 8[12] (which relate to requirements to provide financial accounts] ,of the Club Licensing Manual 2022 Edition National & UEFA
https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/8470/scottish-fa-club-licensing-manual-2022.pdf
Section 8(12) says (among other things)
“The reporting perimeter shall also include any entities included in the legal group structure which generate revenues or perform services for the club in respect of ticketing; SPONSORSHIP AND ADVERTISING;[my capitals]; broadcasting; merchandising and hospitality; club operations; financing;
use of stadium and youth operations.”
I take it from that that clubs have to report what sponsorship deals they may have.
It does not mention any requirement to report the receipt of any cash gifts or donations?
In the abstract, therefore, no club needs to report that Mr X made a ‘free’ gift of a substantial sum of money.
So perhaps any football club needn’t report that one of its directors is very generous donation wise, unconnected with ‘sponsorship’ of the club or in expectation of a cash/shares/dividend return?
In the abstract, if a club was in financial difficulties and a wealthy individual gave them a monetary gift, or regular gifts, to tide them over, there would seem to be no breach of the Rules?
It’s damned difficult to find out!
Paddy Malarkey — 17th June — 20:56
Is it possible that the Park’s contract with Rangers was of the “in kind” variety. Parks supplies cars for players and staff during the season for mention in programs, media ads, etc. This could the reason for the apparent lack of signage in the stadium and no cresting on sweaters. Its a fairly common practice with some sports teams in North America. Dealer supplies vehicles and is known as the official vehicle supplier for such and such team. If that is the contract in place with Rangers and Parks I don’t see a conflict with the cinch promotion. However, as long as they can play the victim card their fans will see them as hard done by. I note today with the release of the upcoming season’s fixtures list the fans are already complaining about a norther trip on Christmas Eve. How long will it take the club to issue a scathing statement over the fixture’s list.
I read yesterday Henry McLeish’s piece in ‘The Scotsman’ in which he bemoans again what appears to him to be the take-over of the SFA by the SPFL, to the detriment of the national game.
I set the newspaper aside to have another, more considered read of the piece today, in the quiet of a Saturday evening , with my snifter of no longer ‘Whyte and McKay’ because Morrisons have put 50p on the price, but good old Grant’s, and went to find it a few minutes ago.
Alas and alack, Mrs C tells me that it is out in the recycle bin!
If I was not already in my lightweight ‘fabindia’ brand woven cotton kind of pyjama-like trousers I would go out and howk it out of the bin. But it’s nowhere near dark enough, and I wouldn’t want to frighten the horses.
So all I can say from memory is that McLeish is advocating the creation of some kind of oversight body composed of people like Craig Brown to work within the SFA to ensure that the National game is fostered and protected against the self-serving interests of a few powerful clubs.
My initial reaction to that is that there is no need for anything other than that the voting members of the SFA should take their individual responsibilities seriously-and appoint to the Board of the SFA men/women of INTEGRITY in Scottish Football, instead of unprincipled wimps who are easily influenced by the clubs they are attached to or others who are prepared to abandon principle for base monetary considerations.
” Oh, granddad ! You were actually on the Board of the SFA! Wowee! What did you do?”
“Ach, boy, it was great! I helped to create a fantastic miracle! I was on the very Board that created the myth that a dead club was still alive, even though in 2012 I dealt with its application for membership as a new club”
” Why did you lie, granddad?”
” It’s complicated, son, but basically ….”
ps: I began this post while it was still broad daylight about an hour ago, but got diverted and have only just come back to it.
I haven’t seen any follow up in ‘ The Scotsman’ to Henry McLeish’s piece to which I referred in my post of 18th June 2022 At 22:58
Is he a busted flush as far as exercising any influence on Scottish Football?
We might get some idea during the SFSA’s zoomed AGM on 26th, when he is a guest.
I have my ‘ticket ‘ for the event , at which the CEO of the English Football Association is also to be a guest.
It’s to be hoped there will be something more than mere pious platitudes and vague generalisations.
Interesting article released today about the best run football clubs in Europe. It must be a tough pill for Celtic fans to swallow as their club came in at 75th. An even tougher pill for Rangers as they landed at 107th ( this out of 185 cubs surveyed). Will it be navel gazing time for both of these clubs as only one of them seems to have a clear picture of the path going forward, well the other is still trying to find an identity, when where we formed, how old are we, etc. Must be getting close to statement time with the SPFL getting the blame for the ranking.
I note that about 2 hours ago Simon Kelner , journalist and former editor, asks this question about a [political] matter not immediately related to the relatively trivial business of ‘sport’:
“Not least”, he asks, ” why did some other mainstream media organisations, and in particular the BBC, ignore both the story itself and the fact that it may have been suppressed?”
I would suggest to him, that they did so for the same reasons that caused the SMSM generally and BBC Scotland in particular to sell their rotten souls to the devil and agree to propagate the Big Lie.
For the BBC to lie about sport is one thing, evil and wicked enough.
To pull a serious political story on a phone call from Downing Street is a truly dangerous indicator that the BBC is as rotten in serious matters of state as it is in matters of mere football.
This is the link to the story I refer to ( Boris’s alleged job offer to his girl-friend]
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-pulled-carrie-johnson-story-raises-questions-we-simply-cannot-ignore/ar-AAYFLqW?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=f20e3ac8ab7242e49f9469677214626c
Back in 2016, Kelner wrote:
” Many years ago, when I was a cub reporter at a weekly newspaper in South Wales, I had the responsibility of covering the local rugby club. It being Wales, this was a important job.
At the end of one season, they held a public meeting to discuss how things had gone that year. The club secretary, in his closing remarks, addressed the journalists. “It is great to see so many members of the press here,” he said, “and I’d like to say a particular thanks to you for keeping all those things out of the paper”.
The pervasive feeling among sports organisations was that journalists were there to protect them rather than expose them”
Whatever about Wales, we here in Scotland learned that the SMSM and the BBC in particular saw, and see, their main sports function to be the propagation and fostering of the Big Lie that TRFC is RFC of 1872!
I feel a wee letter to Kelner coming on, to put to him the peculiar set of circumstances that allows RIFC plc to claim to the holding company of a liquidated club-without a query from the Insolvency service, the FCA, or HMRC. I think there’s a bigger story than ‘football’ to be explored there.
A wee story that other football clubs who may enter Administration
could learn from!
And I ask myself again: why the hell Hearts didn’t do what Rangers did?
Vernallen 20th June 2022 At 22:40
‘..Interesting article released today about the best run football clubs in Europe.’
+++++++++
What I found interesting was this:
“When asked about St Johnstone, Dundee and Hamilton – the other clubs who appeared in Scottish football’s top flight last year – OTP replied: “Some do not figure due to lack of transparency in accounts.”
Surely to God every club has to be at least as ‘transparent’ in their accounts as every other club? Or are different accounting systems allowed for in European football?
What data are being used by ‘Off the pitch”? What are the criteria in determining ‘best run’?
It’s all rather fun and games, I suspect!
I’ll maybe fire in a question to Cosgrave on ‘Off the Ball’!
John C
The BBC has indeed become rotten to the core, largely because of its politicisation by David Cameron after the 2010 General Election, when political appointees became the norm. BBC Scotland is following that model even more fiercely imo, but additionally, the sports department corruption at BBC Scotland is (historically) more of a reflection of local, er, cultural conditions.
However it it is I think fair to say that those cultural considerations are very much in sync with the political climate in a Scottish sense. Defence if the Union is very much in keeping with defence of the staunchly Unionist establishment club.
So a perfect storm is brewing perhaps.
It is in some ways an insult to decent Unionists that they are pigeonholed in the same dovecote as the George Square rabble, and is a huge boon to those supporting Independence.
https://www.rangers.co.uk/article/now-available-the-rangers-castore-22-23-third-kit/cZoiChIoC3KniKav6JNtE
Interesting the new Therangers top does not include the 5 stars, More puzzling is if they claim to be the old that they do not display a star to signify the achievement of the European Cup winners cup star as like Aberdeen do with their two stars to signify European success.
The CEO of the SFA is reported [by Alan Pattullo] in today’s “The Scotsman” as follows:
” Arbitration is closed. The SPFL have written to us to say it was their arbitration, they instigated it and they have withdrawn their notice. So the arbitration as far as we are concerned is over. In terms of ‘Rangers’ and the SPFL , if they have a misunderstanding , or there’s a complication around the rules or there’s question mark around how they should be interpreting the rules then that’s actually for them to sort out among themselves. The SPFL can set up their own independent inquiry to go and look at that and make sure everyone understands exactly how the regulations work going forward. I don’t think that’s something for us.”
What a fatuous self- exculpatory statement, following the SFA’s stupidity in acceding to the SPFL’s request that an Arbitration Tribunal be set up, without being sure that the setting-up procedures were soundly based legally!
The SFA cocked things up the first time by not inviting Park’s of Hamilton and cinch to any proposed Tribunal; and compounded the cock-up by appealing against the decision of the court of first instance (after Park’s had challenged them)
The PR people at the SFA are nearly as incompetent as the PR people at Ibrox-and that’s saying something!
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell has told Rangers and the SPFL that their dispute has nothing to do with the Scottish game’s governing body, as he denied the request of Ibrox chairman Douglas Park to hold an independent investigation into the dispute involving the Premiership’s main sponsor, cinch.
Park and Rangers claimed victory after the long-running saga finally ended last week with the SPFL renegotiating it’s deal with the firm so that the Ibrox club were not required to display their branding at their stadium or on their jerseys.
A statement from Park’s Motor Group though slammed the SPFL for their handling of the issue, and demanded that the SFA investigate after the reputational damage and financial losses they have incurred throughout the legal process.
Maxwell says though that the SFA will not look to get involved beyond the arbitration process they previously facilitated, and he sees no reason why the SPFL couldn’t set up an independent investigation of their own.
“The arbitration is closed,” Maxwell said. “The SPFL have written to us to say it was their arbitration, they instigated and they have withdrawn their notice. So the arbitration as far as we are concerned is over.
“In a broader sense, none of those disputes can be good for the game. There have been two or three since I have been in the post that we have had to deal with. They cannot be good for the public perception of the game because it is in-fighting and actually you need to get round the table and sort things out.
“The arbitration has been dealt with. In terms of Rangers and the SPFL if they have a misunderstanding or there’s a complication around the rules or there’s a question mark around how they should be interpreting the rules then that’s actually for them to sort out amongst themselves.
“The SPFL can set up their own independent enquiry to go and look at that and make sure everyone understands exactly how the regulations work going forward. I don’t think that’s something for us.
“It is an internal disagreement on the interpretation of their rules – that is how we got to this point. Obviously the arbitration process is now closed down so I think it is one for the SPFL board. There is no reason they can’t set up something to have a look at that.
“If there is a breach of regulations we get involved. We would not get involved in anything outside of that. You would end up getting involved in absolutely everything. There has to be a line somewhere.
“We have a judicial panel process. If there’s something comes to light that we have to look at from that perspective then we do it.
“From an arbitration perspective, the simplest way I can define this is that it is a debate that happens in our house. We just get one party to talk to the other party and they sort it out between themselves.
“We are not actually involved in a meaningful way. It is just we organise a process and make sure things happen the right way and try and find a resolution.”
…………………………………………………………………..
“misunderstanding”, “complication around the rules”, “question mark around how they should be interpreting the rules”. “make sure everyone understands exactly how the regulations work”
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Rangers seemed to understand all the above.
Things getting interesting over the revised deal between the SPFL & cinch.
Interesting in what way, Albertz? Genuine question. Your post above indicates only that the SFA do not see a justification for them to review the outcome of the Cinch arbitration. That would appear to draw it to a conclusion. Are you hinting that there’s more of interest to come? If so, please explain what?
Nawlite 22nd June 2022 At 17:57
‘.. the outcome of the Cinch arbitration. ‘
++++++++
Just for the sake of the casual reader, Nawlite, we must remember that there has been no ‘Arbitration:’ The SPFL asked the SFA to arrange an Arbitration Tribunal. The SFA made a balls of it by not inviting interested parties [ cinci and Park’s of Hamilton]
Park’s went to Court and the judge forbade the SFA to set up a tribunal unless cinci and Park’s were notified and invited to attend and be represented.
The SFA appealed, and lost.
And the SPFL withdrew their request for an Arbitration Tribunal hearing, which let the SFA off the hook.
The deal between cinch and the SPFL was revised, but nothing has been said (that I’m aware of) about the underlying dispute with TRFC, or apologies being made by the SPFL, or about TRFC seeking compensation!
Scottish Football governance is NOT in a happy place, which is what happens when various kinds of baddies fall out with each other.
Bigboab1916 — 21st June:21:40
I don’t think this is the first time that a Ranger’s top was shown without the mystical five stars around the crest. I believe images surfaced a while back showing the blue tops minus the stars. Surely this is mistake on the part of Castore but apparently hasn’t been rectified as yet. Maybe the board is to tied up trying to sell players and navigate through the cinch mess.
@nawlite, @johnclark . The Atlantic (behind a paywall) are apparently running a story that alleges the new Cinch contract absolves TRFC of requiring to comply with ANY SPFL sponsorship deal for the next 4 seasons. I’m not sure what effect that has on the deal with Betfred who sponsor the SPFL arranged Scottish League Cup or any replacement for BetFred when that contract expires. The chatter on Twitter is that one or two clubs did question the smallprint but the SPFL didn’t highlight it at the Board meeting that “signed off” the contract. Doncaster, an amateurishly trained lawyer, claims it isn’t Cinch’s intention to enforce the “Any” but if not why was it there and why didn’t Doncaster object to it.
For those arguing TRFC should not benefit from the sponsorships they refuse to comply with. The vast majority of the Cinch money along with the vast majority of the money from the appalling TV deal with Sky, also negotiated by Doncaster, is the prize money for the League positions or for Befred the Cup round reached. The SPFL could only feasibly withhold that with the full backing of the SFA and unless there is a plan B to the arbitration then it looks like the SPFL aren’t looking for SFA support. Note feasibly is doing heavy lifting there. It would almost certainly be subject to legal challenge from a Clumpany no stranger to litigation.
Tykebhoy 23rd June 2022 At 09:25
‘@nawlite, @johnclark . The Atlantic (behind a paywall)..’
++++++++++’
Nawlite, did you mean the ‘Athletic’? I don’t see any reference in the ‘Atlantic’, but the Athletic has this last week at https://theathletic.com/news/rangers-spfl-sponsorship-deals/lMJIaRPeUJ5y/
free to read, and a further bit behind a paywall.
As with anything to do with the SPFL and TRFC I believe that untruth is at the heart of the matter.
Did TRFC inform the SPFL that they had a prior contract with Park’s before the SPFL signed a contract with cinch? They say they did.
If so, did the SPFL simply go ahead and sign the contract anyway without checking their own Articles of Association? If so- a sacking offence in my view!
If , on the other hand, the SPFL had asked for evidence of the prior contract BEFORE they signed with cinch, and only signed with cinch when TRFC REFUSED to provide such evidence, then TRFC were, in my opinion, maliciously playing silly buggers and were not acting in utmost good faith. The fact that they had better legal guidance and were sure of their ground does NOT in my view absolve them of bad intent: a simple production of evidence of their prior contract and a discussion of the Articles of Association would easily have cleared matters up.
Instead of that, thousands of pounds in legal expenses were needlessly incurred , with, in my opinion, the sole intent to cause trouble for the board of the SPFL
I was intrigued, incidentally, to learn that political writer Edmund Burke in the 1700s said ” Having looked to government for bread, on the first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them” .It comes from the idea that horses, if you’re not careful, may bite when you feed them by hand.
Perceptive man, Edmund Bourke!
Good news for some .
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/20229920.celtic-release-emphatic-stock-exchange-update-revenue-significantly-higher-market-expectations/
Yes sorry John, the Athletic article is the one I was referring to and not one by the Atlantic
I’ve just seen this on the Rolls of Court:
“COURT OF SESSION
CALLING LIST
Thursday 23rd June
CA54/22 Park’s of Hamilton (Holdings) Ltd v The Rangers Football Club Ltd ”
I’m puzzled?
Anyone?
@JC – maybe “when bad guys fall out?” (copyright: JC ?)
@PM – whilst your link is to the Evening Times, I see that the BBC Sports page has not reported this news. I am not saying that they should, but I am pretty certain that such “good news” would have been trumpeted if it was in relation to TRFC. And no I am not paranoid, but maybe a tad on the cynical side of skeptical…
Wokingcelt 23rd June 2022 At 21:58
‘..@JC – maybe “when bad guys fall out?”’
++++++++
That gave me a good laugh, Wokingcelt!
Could the action be at all related to the cinch matter?
It’s probably unconnected, and more to do with a wee spat about the contract between Park’s of Hamilton and TRFC.
Whatever it may be, it’s a very poor image it sends to the world, PR-wise: the majority shareholder of Park’s of Hamilton is , of course, Douglas Park.
And Douglas Park is a director of RIFC plc, which is the holding company of the 10 year old football club TRFC , against which Park’s of Hamilton have brought legal action.
You very nearly couldnae make it up!
But , I ask, what kind of businessmen are they that they are so ready to go to law?
Wokingcelt 23rd June 2022 At 22:11
‘.. but I am pretty certain that such “good news” would have been trumpeted if it was in relation to TRFC.’
++++++++
Of course it would!
Just as (bad) news that a ‘ Celtic plc director’s personal business brings legal action against Celtic fc’ would have been headline news!
I’m not the only one who reads the Rolls of Court!
There are ‘journalists’ out there who know that Park’s of Hamilton are taking legal action against TRFC.
It has not been reported by them.
They are either useless feckin journalists,
or cowardly journalists ,
or biased to their very hearts and a disgrace to their profession, and spitters on the bodies of real journalists who died in the pursuit of truth
John Clark — 23rd June — 23.37
Has it got to the point that the need for legal action at TRFC Ltd. that a sponsor has to sue the club. The lawyers must be having a good laugh over this. Could the club be in violation of the contract by not wearing the sponsor’s logo and providing signage in the stadium. Or is the need to have legal action of any sort as part of the club’s daily activities. Trust you’ll have an update.
Vernallen 24th June 2022 At 01:31
‘ .Has it got to the point that…. that a sponsor has to sue the club.’
+++++++++
And not just any old sponsor !
The legal action is in effect being taken by Douglas Park who in practical terms IS Park’s of Hamilton (Holdings) Ltd: given that he has 15,938,378 of the total [20,000,004] shares in that company. (see the Confirmation certificate received by Companies House on 3 May 2022)
That is, a significant shareholder and Director of RIFC plc is taking legal action against TRFC of which RIFC plc is the holding company…
All cannot be well in the RIFC plc boardroom where there is that kind of self-destructive in-fighting. May it last long enough to cause serious financial damage as well as attracting the worst kind of publicity.
I give you this as an entertaining , cleverly written piece about someone who I consider to be a bad ould b.stard!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/24/rupert-murdoch-divorce-jerry-hall-boris-johnson?amp;amp;amp
But I have to add that the ‘Guardian’ hacks are thirled to propagation of the Big Lie.
So, not necessarily to be trusted in anything they write about anything!
There seems to be a growing consensus online that TRFC aren’t spending until this financial period ends on June 30th . We might be in for a fight between the cheeks to “own” the weekend .
VAR in Scotland .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61938269
Paddy Malarkey 25th June 2022 At 19:12
‘…VAR in Scotland .’
++++++++++
PM, having listened earlier today to Maxwell, and various others on Sportsound, I enjoyed the wee clip of David Currie being a VAR !
I’m not quite sure who it was who made the point that ‘wrong’ decisions on, for example, whose throw-in it should be, or whether it was a corner kick or a by-kick, can seriously affect the outcome of any game: many a goal has been scored from corners and near goal-line shies …!
What I don’t know ( in spite of the wee clip!] is whether it has been definitively decided by FIFA/UEFA/ National Associations WHICH incidents are subject to VAR?
More generally, and perhaps of more importance, is the question of who appoints/pays the VAR people used for any particular game?
You can see where I’m coming from, I imagine.
The SFA and the SPFL have already soiled Scottish Football with the creation and propagation of the nonsensical lie that RFC of 1872 [in Liquidation] did not cease to exist as a football club in 2012 when it had to surrender its share in the then SPL , and lost its membership of the SFA.
Who on earth can now believe that they have the integrity and moral authority to inhibit any kind of jiggery-pokery in the operation of VAR if they thought such jiggery-pokery was ‘financially’ or ‘socially’ desirable?
That’s what happens when liars lie- they tend not to be trusted ever again!
Let them prove their integrity by stopping the nonsense that TRFC is RFC of 1872. Get rid of that lie, and Scottish Football might just redeem itself.
Paddy Malarkey 25th June 2022 At 18:21
‘… We might be in for a fight between the cheeks to “own” the weekend .’
++++++++++
Curiously enough, PM, the 12-page ‘Weekend Sport’ section of today’s “The Scotsman” has not one word about TRFC.
There is a double-page spread about Lee Johnson/Hibs , a half-page about the Scotland women’s national team, a match report of the pre-season friendly between Falkirk and Kilmarnock, a nearly full page about Peter Haring and Hearts, a column about the Ibrox women’s team , a quarter-page bit about Petrov’s view of Postecoglou’s approach to the CL, and a nearly full page about Goodwin/Aberdeen.
Not a word about TRFC!
Next week, perhaps?
Well, I missed the first twenty minutes of the SFSA’s zoom discussion [ partly because I’m not very good at the techy stuff, but also because I had a visitor for ten minutes or ]
The input from Kevin Miles of the English FSA was interesting, as he talked about the effect of Bury’s death and the nonsense of the proposed ‘super league’ , and how even a Conservative government has had to consider the need for Independent Regulation of the business of English Football. (I hadn’t known before today that a White Paper is to be published on the subject which will lead to a Bill and debate in Parliament ].
That point was not particularly picked up and discussed in terms of the desirability of a statutory football regulator.
Ian Murray, MP, highlighted how narrowly Hearts had avoided extinction by clawing its way out of Administration to avoid being Liquidated.
There was general agreement that the ‘big’ clubs were greedy, and that it is not a healthy situation where the clubs the SFA plays has been reduced to in effect playing second fiddle to the SPFL , whose most powerful members have a disproportionate influence which they exercise in their own narrow interests.
Someone observed that there is such a thing as the ‘blazer’ syndrome, which affects would-be reformers who ,once they get the blazer, tend to forget their reforming zeal!
Other subjects discussed included schools football, football provision for disabled players ( ‘power-chair’ footballers], the desirability of a Supporter Liaison Officers committee being represented on the SFA Council, better provision for disabled supporters, the ‘closed shop’ nature of Hampden where supporters/supporters’ groups are seen as hostile critics against whom the wagons have to be circled, rather than as people eager to help advance and improve the game from top to bottom…
Simon Barrow of the SFSA made the simple point that football is a business but also is not a business : there is no silver bullet, but the health of the whole game and all its parts is critically important.
Quite an interesting gathering, well chaired by Heather Dewar.
I’m glad I tuned in
JC, were there any actual action points coming out from the meeting? What is it they actually want to do?
Nawlite 26th June 2022 At 20:34
‘…were there any actual action points coming out from the meeting?’
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I think it was not that kind of ‘executive’ meeting, Nawlite.
It was, I think, more about reinforcing and deepening the perception that the community-rooted sport of football is not being at all well served by the present set-up, in which the dead hand of some of the bigger clubs thwarts any move to spread more evenly the bread and butter revenue ( which comes in only because other, ‘lesser’ clubs are there to provide competitive opposition and without whom there would be no games, no sport, and no revenue ]
I think the English FSA chap, Kevin Miles, when talking about the daft ‘super league’, mentioned that there has recently been mention of an EU league- which would exclude UK teams, and the mere thought of which turned the EPL chairpersons white to the gills!
I think today’s discussion , if picked up and pursued by thoughtful football writers and far-seeing clubs (and perhaps also at Scottish government level in a sensible non-party-politics way] will further advance the cause of sensible , supporter-involved , reform of football governance.
It’s not an impossible goal , as the German experience suggests.
I certainly buy into the aims of the SFSA.
I realise that the SFA is ( probably always has been!) a bit of a dinosaur. And in addition, it disastrously shot itself in the foot in 2012 by creating ,in a ‘business’ panic, the ridiculous and utterly, utterly childish and absolutely unnecessary nonsense of the Big Lie .
But the brightness of Truth might yet shine forth if the majority membership of the SFA can be persuaded to listen to and engage with the SFSA’s points of view and begin to think of the general good of the whole of Scottish Football, from national team down to SPFL down to school football and amateur football, and of its financial and sporting Integrity and fair dealings.
That’s my reading of today’s Zoom meeting-which was wonderfully relaxed in tone.
Andrew Smith , as the host, did the honours with panache.
[ It would be interesting to see what kind of numbers of members of the SFSA tuned in to the Zoom meeting. I hope it was a great many, from every part of the Scottish football world]