Scottish Football: An Honest Game, Honestly Governed?

A Guest Blog by Auldheid for TSFM

Honesty requires both transparency and accountability. In pursuit of honest, transparent and accountable governance of Scottish football, and only that objective, the following letter, with attachments, has been sent to SPFL lawyers, CEO and SPFL Board Members.

An honest game free from deception is what football supporters of all clubs want. It is the action the letter and attachments prompt that will tell us if there is any intention of providing it.

It is a response on behalf of readers here on TSFM, but the sentiment which underpins it is almost universally held amongst fans of all clubs.  Importantly it is a response directly to all clubs, especially those with a SPFL Board member, that will make the clubs and the football authorities aware just how seriously supporters take the restoration of trust in an honest game, honestly governed.

The annexes to the letter contain information which may be published at a later date. We thought it appropriate to first await any response from any of the recipients.

Please also draw this to the attention of friends who are not internet using supporters and love their football and their club.

Auldheid

__________________________________________________________________

Harper MacLeod
The Ca’d’oro
45 Gordon Street
Glasgow
G1 3PE
19 Feb 2014
Copy sent to SPFL CEO and Board Members *
Dear Mr McKenzie
We the contributors to The Scottish Football Monitoring web site write to you in your capacity as the legal adviser employed by Harper MacLeod to assist the Scottish Premier League (now the Scottish Professional Football League) to gather evidence and investigate the matter of incorrect player registrations involving concealed side letters and employee benefit trusts as defined in the eventual Lord Nimmo Smith Commission.
We note from the then SPL announcement that set up an enquiry that the initial date range to be covered was from the inception of the SPL in July 1998, but that was changed to 23 November 2000 because, according to our understanding, that is the date of the first side letter supplied by Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps. It is also our understanding that the SPL asked for all documentation relating to side letters as well as the letters themselves.
It is a matter of public record that Rangers Administrators failed to supply the SPL all relevant documentation. Indeed the seriousness of not complying with SPL requests was the subject of an admonition of Rangers/Duff and Phelps from Lord Nimmo Smith under Issue 4 of his Commission.
Quite how serious that failure to comply or concealment was in terms of misleading the Commission and so Lord Nimmo Smith can now be assessed from the information contained at Annexes 1 to 10 attached.
We think that as legal advisers to the SPL (now the SPFL) you have a responsibility to make them aware that their Commission was misled by the concealment of documents starting on 3 September 1999, and signed by current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie, whose silence on the ebt matters referred to in the attached annexes* is questionable at the very least.
This letter but not attachments is being posted on The Scottish Football Monitor web site as this is matter for all of Scottish football and support for the issue being pursued to establish the truth can be gauged by responses from supporters from all Scottish clubs once the letter has been published there.
A copy of this letter with Annexes has also been sent to the SPFL CEO and members of the SPFL Board.
Acknowledgement of receipt and reply can be sent by e mail to:
(Address supplied)
Yours in sport

On behalf of The Scottish Football Monitor contributors and readers. http://www.tsfm.org.uk/

Addressees copied in
Neil Doncaster CEO
The Scottish Professional Football League
Hampden Park
Glasgow G42 9DE

Eric Riley (Celtic),
The Celtic Football Club
Celtic Park
Glasgow G40 3RE

Stephen Thompson (Dundee United),
Tannadice Park,
Tannadice Street,
Dundee, DD3 7JW

Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen);
Aberdeen Football Club plc
Pittodrie Stadium
Pittodrie Street
Aberdeen AB24 5QH

Les Gray (Hamilton),
Hamilton Academical FC
New Douglas Park
Hamilton
ML3 0FT

Mike Mulraney (Alloa)
Alloa Athletic FC
Clackmannan Road
Recreation Park
Alloa FK10 1RY

Bill Darroch (Stenhousemuir).
Stenhousemuir F.C.
Ochilview Park
Gladstone Road
Stenhousemuir
Falkirk
FK5 4QL

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

About Trisidium

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

3,234 thoughts on “Scottish Football: An Honest Game, Honestly Governed?


  1. It is curious that the SFA need months of notice for cup semi finals yet the spfl are ok with delaying announcing the post split fixtures


  2. redetin says:
    March 31, 2014 at 10:34 am

    18

    0

    Rate This

    PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
    March 31, 2014 at 10:12 am

    My own settled view is that DK did indeed invest £20M in RFC and that he lost the lot.
    ______________________________________________________________________

    I can understand that the investment became worthless. But could this capital loss be offset against taxable gains made elsewhere in the DK empire (assuming it was a DK company investment).

    ________________________________________________________

    Confucius says:
    Hmmm…. If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?
    And if a Bear in the forest makes a massive loss, can it be offset against a tax that is evaded ?

    Sure is a poser!


  3. Angus1983 says:
    March 31, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    Unfortunately for Mr Regan and his cronies, and despite the dice being loaded, Rangers are quite simply going to take a sound beating off Dundee United.
    ========================
    Taking it at face value, and looking at the standard of performance and player from both clubs Dundee Utd should win, but I’m sure you know as well as I do what can happen in football.

    Going back to the Regan interview, I did not hear it, but from what I’ve read he has not conceded the game being at Ibrox is an advantage to Rangers. Another question I’d really like to see answered is who monitors how the pitch is prepared for this tie? Football history is littered with stories of pitches being prepared to suit or disadvantage particular styles of play, but that option is normally regarded as a benefit to home clubs – it’s just how it goes. The problem this time is Rangers are not actually the home club, but they will still be able to influence how the pitch is prepared, as the assumption is their ground staff will carry out the work as normal.


  4. @Phil
    Allyjambo says:
    March 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm
    I thought the Ibrox chap wearing England top was an urban myth, but apparently not…
    An expensive hobby for sure…
    ==========================================================================

    I hope they are of a better quality than the current rangers taps… A lot of angry bears not buying kit because it’s falling to bits….Heavens forbid a couple of those stars would fall off..


  5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9129002/Rangers-in-administration-Dave-King-statement.html

    I was looking at this article from March 2012. You sometimes do wonder if the theory that there was a plan but that someone got too greedy, is, in fact, true. Of course, it’s only speculation, but King seemed very aware that liquidation was inevitable (or is that, ‘desirable’?) very early on. Now we’ve heard Green say on audio to Craig Whyte that he would to act as though he was bad-mouthing Craig, and so on. So were there — are there — any others still playing this role?

    In the article above, it appears that by 7 March 2012 Dave King had already sounded out the SFA regarding ‘fit and proper’:

    In view of my own well-publicised and acrimonious legal disputes with the authorities in South Africa I have taken it upon myself to approach the SFA in that regard in advance of considering an increased role in the club going forward. I will be guided by the SFA’s response in that regard.

    So what did the SFA tell Dave King in early 2012? He was readying himself to enter stage right. And how close were King and Whyte? It’s hard to believe that King could not see what Craig Whyte was doing from the off. Perhaps King was meant to be the chosen one but for some reason a plan went awry?

    Did Green sail the SS Phoenix seriously off course with his big hands? Were Laxey meant to be anywhere near this?

    Type of idle speculation fit for a novel, of course. But fact stranger than fiction and all that … and it is a quiet Monday evening 🙂


  6. @Upthehoops

    I actually figure rangers will be disadvantaged at Ibrox, bad enough the booing they get when they are not beating part timers. When Utd take a couple off them in the first half the bears will be revolting…. Gunning for first scorer.


  7. Saw big Craig Gordon on telly earlier. Why are there no clubs tripping over themselves to sign up the former Scotland number 1?


  8. Re UTH and his comments re the Ibrox pitch.
    For some time now the Ibrox pitch has been marginally wider than than a Bowling Alley(no relation!).
    It has dictated their style of play whereby teams are narrowed up the middle and there is no room for the wide playing football sides such as DUFC etc.
    I really hope that if this really is a neutral venue then the SFA will insist that the margins of the pitch are changed to achieve proper neutrality.
    Am I holding my breath? Naw!!


  9. With the 120 day review due on Friday the 18th April whats the odds of a delay on this although I dont see why,there are another 2 home and 2 away games due after this so the cash can be counted and there wont be much,unless there is a drastic clear out ,surely they are not going to ask the fans to renew s/b at the higher price and then get the begging bowl out as this s/b money will be making its way to a Chateux in the South of France,this review is going to be worth the wait,isnt it .


  10. FIFA regards delays in 120 day review, certainty mate…Review then a few weeks to collate the findings into a report that tugs on the heart strings of the fans (to buy SBs or else). If the report does not work to radically cut costs on the football front it will be a tough season next season. Especially with Ally looking for more players.Admin seems the only soln, minimum pay off to the high earners and management team, replace Ally and co with a manager who can inspire the younger, cheaper brood of players…


  11. upthehoops says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    Another question I’d really like to see answered is who monitors how the pitch is prepared for this tie? Football history is littered with stories of pitches being prepared to suit or disadvantage particular styles of play, but that option is normally regarded as a benefit to home clubs – it’s just how it goes. The problem this time is Rangers are not actually the home club, but they will still be able to influence how the pitch is prepared, as the assumption is their ground staff will carry out the work as normal.

    Having seen the state of the pitch during some recent matches, I wonder just how many groundstaff they have left. I can’t see it being in a decent state for the second match if there is any amount of wet weather on the way, or if the ‘water’ it for the first match.


  12. I’ve not long finished my dinner ( aye, ok: home -made lentil soup and yesterday’s left-over ( very nice, though) stew. With a Costco navel orange to follow.) Dishes done(Fairy Liquidation) and the place tidied up, I now have a Lavazza-brand coffee and a Cadbury’s choccy mint here beside me in my Dell ‘computer suite’.
    And I’ve been reading with great interest some of the wider discussion today on the Scottish football ‘brand’ and capturing market share and using fast-moving IT.
    It makes me wonder really, whether anyone in Scottish Football has imagination enough, and pump-priming enough, to try to piggy-back on the Commonwealth games AND the higher international profile we currently have politically ( lots of people interested in our referendum).
    I’m clearly not any kind of marketing or tourist industry man, or short film producer, but there must be a John Grierson equivalent who could produce a wee film in Chinese, say, showing modern, aspirational ‘Braveheart’ ‘Gregory’s Girl’ Scotland at sport ( predominantly football) aimed at stirring up non-metropolitan Chinese TV audiences’ knowledge and affection for and identification with things Scottish, and Scottish football teams in particular. I look back with amazement at how American Football on Channel 4 captured a whole generation of youngsters , including my sons, a number of years ago-virtually from cold!
    Perhaps the SFA are already working on such a plan?
    And talking about the SFA, I was interested to hear Brian McLaughlin say on Sportsound tonight that the SFL were keenly watching developments at Hearts.
    Has anyone heard whether they or the SFA are keenly watching the Ibrox situation? Or that they have been assured that all is well?


  13. Danish Pastry says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:23 pm

    “Did Green sail the SS Phoenix seriously off course with his big hands? Were Laxey meant to be anywhere near this?”
    ———————————-
    What about: King calls season ticket boycott. Laxeys take the properties in return for RIFC debt following TRFCL liquidation. King picks up the pieces of the shattered club/company and rents Ibrox sans Murray Park.

    Laxeys get a rent plus a Murray Park land bank.
    King gets the club/company for less then Charles paid for it.
    The bears get to shoot the starting pistol into their own head.
    Popcorn suppliers get more custom than they’d ever imagined.

    Whats not to like. 😎


  14. Danish Pastry says:

    March 31, 2014 at 7:23 pm
    “It’s hard to believe that King could not see what Craig Whyte was doing from the off. Perhaps King was meant to be the chosen one but for some reason a plan went awry?”
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    Danish
    Heres another off the wall thought
    What If
    The unpublished RFC accounts for 2010 2011 contained some curious transactions?
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    For example
    Imports by RFC from a foreign source ?
    Imports which sat on RFC books as very expensive assets ?
    Imports paid for in cash by RFC using money supplied by another company?
    Assets that vanished when the accounts were buried?
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    What If
    The primary purpose of the May 2011 sale for £1 was to bury the RFC 2010-2011 accounts ?
    What If
    The accounts aren’t properly buried until HMRC and BDO are off the case?
    And need supervised by somebody who knows what really happened in May June 2011?
    ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    We are dealing with Spivs after all


  15. GoosyGoosy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 8:53 pm
    When Craigy boy bought the dead club for a quid in May 2011 DK was still shackled by SARS via the SFO in the UK.
    He was simply an onlooker.


  16. @CastofThousands
    Dave King strikes me as someone who doesn’t want to be a boarder at Ibrox. But who knows? Since liquidation holds no threat to the myth, though, I reckon he rather sees himself as the crowned head of a newco newco.

    @GoosyGoosy
    Deep. A bit off my radar is 2010-11. But can accounts just be buried and disappear? If King and the fans go for the scorched earth tactic what on earth will Laxey and the investors do with a crumbling stadium in need of upkeep and repair? Perhaps a bit of brinkmanship in the coming months? Still think the SFA would be happy to rent Hampden to TRFC! Home from home in some ways 🙂


  17. Dave King strikes me as someone who ….
    Can’t stay in scotland for to long


  18. PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:08 pm
    2 0 Rate This
    ———-

    You’re the oracle on this Phil. Why do you think Dave King was sounding out the SFA as early as March 2012 regarding his acceptability as a main player going forward? Was he knocked back? Told to bide his time? Or is he just in love with the limelight?


  19. upthehoops says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:12 pm
    15 0 Rate This

    Angus1983 says:
    March 31, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    Unfortunately for Mr Regan and his cronies, and despite the dice being loaded, Rangers are quite simply going to take a sound beating off Dundee United.
    ========================
    Taking it at face value, and looking at the standard of performance and player from both clubs Dundee Utd should win, but I’m sure you know as well as I do what can happen in football.

    Going back to the Regan interview, I did not hear it, but from what I’ve read he has not conceded the game being at Ibrox is an advantage to Rangers. Another question I’d really like to see answered is who monitors how the pitch is prepared for this tie? Football history is littered with stories of pitches being prepared to suit or disadvantage particular styles of play, but that option is normally regarded as a benefit to home clubs – it’s just how it goes. The problem this time is Rangers are not actually the home club, but they will still be able to influence how the pitch is prepared, as the assumption is their ground staff will carry out the work as normal.
    —————————————-
    Uth, the pitch is the most important thing, but I would also like assurances that the general public will not be subjected to the sinister, insidious, militaristic, flute band?


  20. Danish Pastry says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:29 pm
    I make no claims to be the oracle on anything…. 😉
    I do think-and it is just a hunch-that DK loves the publicity.
    I think that is a big part of it.
    If he could pick up Ibrox cheaply (in a liquidation sale) I think he would do it.
    However I don’t think he can reveal that the big L for Sevco is his gameplan.


  21. GoosyGoosy says: March 31, 2014 at 8:53 pm
    ———————————–
    Here is a link to the (unpublished) 2011 accounts

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/215558844/Rangers-2011-CF-Not-Published

    They appear to be a late draft as provided by CF, virtually ready for publishing. RTC also posted a draft version which was devoid of Notes to the accounts, although the Balance Sheet and P&L numbers matched those in the CF version.


  22. y4rmy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 4:55 pm
    5 0 Rate This
    ££##
    The ‘match’ version is 90 quid, and the ‘stadium’ version is 60.

    Nope, I’ve got no idea either
    ££££££#££
    The match version survives a wash.


  23. Danish Pastry says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:19 pm
    4 0 Rate This

    @CastofThousands
    Dave King strikes me as someone who doesn’t want to be a boarder at Ibrox. But who knows? Since liquidation holds no threat to the myth, though, I reckon he rather sees himself as the crowned head of a newco newco.

    @GoosyGoosy
    Deep. A bit off my radar is 2010-11. But can accounts just be buried and disappear? If King and the fans go for the scorched earth tactic what on earth will Laxey and the investors do with a crumbling stadium in need of upkeep and repair? Perhaps a bit of brinkmanship in the coming months? Still think the SFA would be happy to rent Hampden to TRFC! Home from home in some ways 🙂

    Finlly TUPE’d accross….

    Of course you have forgotten that hampden is not the SFAs to rent out.

    Hampden is still owned by Queens Park, though operated by Hampden Park Limited.

    Well that is what my memory tells me.


  24. Cheers @Phil. Informed hunches are better than what’s coming from most of the print and broadcast media.

    Terrific call to SSB tonight on the hour mark on the podcast. David in Pollokshields talking about the corrupting influence of money on the game. He mentioned this with reference to the upcoming World Cup in Brazil and the reported slave labour and worker deaths in Qatar. He suggested boycotting these events. Great call.


  25. slimshady61 says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:48 pm
    27 2 Rate This

    i know RFC(IL)/TRFC are a national institution fabric of society, yadda, yadda, yadda,… But no one hs the faintest idea what the weather holds.

    In fairness two ganes in todays will rip up the pitch no matter what, what where the SFA thinking about.

    Buddy


  26. PhilMacGiollaBhain says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:08 pm
    11 3 Rate This

    GoosyGoosy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 8:53 pm
    When Craigy boy bought the dead club for a quid in May 2011 DK was still shackled by SARS via the SFO in the UK.
    He was simply an onlooker.
    ££££££
    King invests £20m in 2000, he waits until 2012 to lodge his claim of ‘non-disclosure’ against SDM. Had he put his £20m in a building society he could have expected to earn £600k per year (3%) 12*600 k = £7.2m. His £20m should have been worth, in a blue chip, too big to fail company, at least £20m, at most £32m. Yet this wheeler dealer took a bath on the whole caboola! And he was on the board!
    The question is, what happened to the £20m & when did it happen?


  27. Final thought for tonight.

    The SFA continue to take contempt for fans to a new level. Stuart Regan’s cameo role when he popped up to lecture us on why sponsors needed 6 months notice of a venue for a semi final, amounted to nothing more than him saying “just because” . No reason , no explanation……just because they did.

    Now there may be a huge marketing campaign by William Hill based on the road to Celtic Park, running through Ibrox, but if there is it isn’t working as I haven’t seen it……Has anyone ?

    And when the SFA are being constantly accused of lack of partiality, of conflicted officials and of putting the interests of one club ahead of fairness , you would think that they would at least make some kind of attempt to be seen to be neutral.

    But no, thats not for them. Their head of communications continues to follow multiple English Premier League Clubs on his twitter account. He also follows The Rangers official twitter account, and bizarrely he also follows a well known blogger and self proclaimed Rangers fans spokesman .

    What he doesn’t waste his time with, as presumably he has no interest , is the Official Twitter account of Celtic , or any account on Aberdeen ,Dundee Utd, Hearts,& Hibs.

    And yet , when he makes pronouncements on behalf of the SFA , we are expected to believe he is and represents an organisation which is neutral and treats all clubs equally.

    And they wonder why they are held in so much contempt !


  28. Barcabhoy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 11:07 pm

    2

    0

    Rate This

    Final thought for tonight.

    The SFA continue to take contempt for fans to a new level. Stuart Regan’s cameo role when he popped up to lecture us on why sponsors needed 6 months notice of a venue for a semi final, amounted to nothing more than him saying “just because” . No reason , no explanation……just because they did.

    Now there may be a huge marketing campaign by William Hill based on the road to Celtic Park, running through Ibrox, but if there is it isn’t working as I haven’t seen it……Has anyone ?

    And when the SFA are being constantly accused of lack of partiality, of conflicted officials and of putting the interests of one club ahead of fairness , you would think that they would at least make some kind of attempt to be seen to be neutral.

    But no, thats not for them. Their head of communications continues to follow multiple English Premier League Clubs on his twitter account. He also follows The Rangers official twitter account, and bizarrely he also follows a well known blogger and self proclaimed Rangers fans spokesman .

    What he doesn’t waste his time with, as presumably he has no interest , is the Official Twitter account of Celtic , or any account on Aberdeen ,Dundee Utd, Hearts,& Hibs.

    And yet , when he makes pronouncements on behalf of the SFA , we are expected to believe he is and represents an organisation which is neutral and treats all clubs equally.

    And they wonder why they are held in so much contempt !

    ____________________________________________________

    Wouldn’t surprise me now if they were busy scrutinising the DUFC player registration forms for a 1 that looks a bit like a 7 or an i that looks like an l.
    I mean we’re through the looking glass and into serious humpty dumpty territory. We are at the level where RFC progressing in the basis of a DUFC disqualification is not something that should be discounted.


  29. Allyjambo says:

    March 31, 2014 at 3:27 pm

    Hearts deserve all the brickbats that come their way. They’ve taken a risk (or had it taken in their name) and took what glory came their way, so now it’s payback time. We Jambos just have to accept that, and hope that through the respect we seem to have gained, for the way the club and support have handled the situation, we will be able to go forward, and retain that respect, should the CVA be achieved.

    As to those who once liked to think of us as their (wee) cousins; *expletive* them, we were never like them, because we do care (how others see us)!

    NB There has never been any link between Hearts and Rangers, but there are important historical links with Hibs, recognised on their website. We were never their(RFC) cousins, or any other epithet some would like to give us. We are, were, and will always be (remembered at least) as The Hearts/Heart of Midlothian FC. Nothing more, and definitely nothing less.
    ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
    Footballs a funny game, up to recently I always thought of Hearts as Rangers2 and despised them for it plus my ”other” Scottish team was always Hibs.
    However with the education over the last few years and the realisation that not every one in Scotland who don’t support Celtic must support ”them” I have found myself watching every televised Hearts game this season and actually hoping they could put a few wins together and claw back the 15pnts, this came to a head at the weekend when I sat myself in front of the box for the Edinburgh derby and actually found myself punching the air when the first goal went in and going as far as jumping off the sofa at the second.
    You are going to be relegated but the thought of being put down a division at the hands of your greatest rivals must have been agony and it must have felt like winning a cup final just to live another day.

    Looking forward to playing you again after you are promoted as champions at the end of next season.


  30. Resin_lab_dog says:
    March 31, 2014 at 11:31 pm
    ‘……I mean we’re through the looking glass and into serious humpty dumpty territory….’
    ——————-
    Long time ago, I had thoughts of joining the Metroplod ( couldn’t make the then 5′ 11″ height requirement of Glasgow’s finest). I had a genuine understanding and respect for the whole necessity of policing and an instinctive readiness to treat individual police officers as being worthy of great praise, and if the occasion had arisen, I would have been ready to go the physical assistance of a beat constable in trouble.
    These days? Not altogether too sure. The readiness to trust is not quite so instinctive, even if not quite extinguished.
    My trust in the SFA , from time to time dented over the years was entirely extinguished by their failure to deal properly with the nonsense of a new club being an old club for some purposes but not for other, more negative ones. They copped out of their responsibilities to the wider Football public, and ,like bad cops and rotten police chiefs, they have become worse than the baddies they were supposed to police.
    In my opinion.And those responsible for the destruction of our trust simply must be got rid of, before trust can be restored.
    Humpty-Dumpty world? You’re dead right, resin.


  31. PHILMACGIOLLABHAIN says: March 31, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    Danish Pastry says: March 31, 2014 at 9:29 pm
    I make no claims to be the oracle on anything…. I do think-and it is just a hunch-that DK loves the publicity. I think that is a big part of it…
    ==================================
    Absolutely…I have long held the opinion that King is just a ‘tyre kicker’, (copyright owned by another Bampot who I can’t remember.)
    Maximum, positive, free publicity for the ‘Castlemilk born millionaire’.


  32. As the pieces of this upside down jigsaw are slowly being turned over to reveal the faces in the picture along with this are the questions that are being asked of each piece and some crackers are being asked,and will continue to be asked ,if I knew my face was on that jigsaw I would be afraid ,very afraid,these internet bampots are uncovering more than any space mission has about our vast galaxy and will continue to do so,the latest being Dave King and his previous donation to a struggling club [at that time it obvisouly was]a 20mill donation seems to be discarded by our press as some kind of loose change and no in-depth enquiry into was was happening with the keyholders of this club at the time,FFS,during the tenure of Murray there was various diluting of shares ,European monies and the gate receipts to say nothing of what loose change his friendly bankers left lying around,how much money actualy went through this laundramat and who was in charge of the till,there are a lot more questions still to be asked before the rest of the pieces will be overturned and its not going to be good for some or any of the faces on it and when they are revealed they should be made to pay for their crimes ,and I mean crimes .


  33. Ok here is something to consider………Goosey has got me thinking………….

    SDM said CW duped him – everyone including me guffaws……..but what if……….

    What if DK was the man that was supposed to take over the Marble Staircase but his issues with SARS meant he could not and the timing of this could not have been any worse since now SDM had no more time to delay until DK was free due to Lloyds now demanding their money back as well as his crumbling MIH empire………

    So they find someone who will be the figurehead until DK can move in and take over…………

    Jack built CW up thanks to Keef to be the billionaire – MH were SDM’s boys doing the favour….so they built him up because it suited their agenda to have him accepted. SDM also ignored Bain and Johnstons warnings – SDM also put CW in touch with Ticketus – seemed all very friendly indeed between SDM and CW.
    During the CW reign, DK was not only getting financial reports on a continuous basis but also was the only one not fired or forced out – and as soon as Admin happens, in flies DK………….

    DK was an important piece – and thinks he is owed after his 20 million gift to Murray Sports…….

    But what if for once SDM was telling the truth……

    What if DK was supposed to be the Loving Cup toaster in waiting……….and CW was supposed to be the foreman meantime………..but decided instead to go with his plan to get Ibrox and Moses MacNeil Park via a quick administration……….which backfired when Charles and Imran reneged on their promises………..

    According to our late friend Corsica, CW, CG and DK were amongst a select group in Zurich for a wee chat………. now why would DK want to be doing that……….the others we know why, but DK?

    Could it be that Lord Cardigans last minute attempt was an attempt by SDM to get the assets safe until DK was back in the ring once his SARS troubles were over……

    However, CG and his band had already got visions of mansions in France and despite their Rangersitis, saw the possibilities of their bank balances increasing substantially.

    DK was left without his promised position at the head of the Peepil and has been trying to finagle a way back in ever since……..

    Maybe for once Murray is telling the truth……….and he was indeed duped………..as was DK.

    Some things start to make a bit more sense if you go along those lines…………


  34. JimBhoy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    According to my contacts, the reason for his” clublessness” is a bad Knee injury .


  35. Exiled Celt says:

    April 1, 2014 at 4:48 am

    Ok here is something to consider………Goosey has got me thinking………….

    SDM said CW duped him – everyone including me guffaws……..but what if……….
    ======================
    That’s what myself and some friends think EC.There is no way he put the money in for purely altruistic reasons.The £20 m was the price of the throne.
    Great post EC.


  36. Arabest2 says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    Uth, the pitch is the most important thing, but I would also like assurances that the general public will not be subjected to the sinister, insidious, militaristic, flute band?
    ===================================
    Not so sure it’s a flute band TBH, but in any case I think the Dundee Utd fans will be sitting where the various drummers and chanters that frequent Ibrox normally sit. If they are given an alternative seating area together, it will be further evidence of Rangers treating it as a home tie. In any case, with the SFA in charge of tickets it wouldn’t be allowed to happen would it?!!!!!!

    Going back to the pitch, I really do think this is a serious issue that needs addressed. It is poor enough at the best of times these days, and there is no doubt a heavily watered surface would not suit a free flowing skilful team like Dundee Utd. Even the Rangers fans would struggle to describe their side as the same. Of course, were Dundee Utd to go public with any concerns it would spark another round of media outrage at the mere suggestion such a thing could happen. If the pitch is heavily watered on the day it will be explained away as being on the Groundsman’s advice, which will be accepted by the media without question.

    It’s just a very poor situation all round. Perhaps though we should just accept the venue is ‘fair enough’ as described by Alex McLeish on Radio Clyde last night. When a man who has been part of the ‘unsurpassed dignity’ at Ibrox (his words) speaks, perhaps we should listen in enthralled deference and accept our place in the great scheme of things.


  37. buddy_holly says:
    March 31, 2014 at 10:41 pm
    5 0 Rate

    Of course you have forgotten that hampden is not the SFAs to rent out.

    Hampden is still owned by Queens Park, though operated by Hampden Park Limited.

    Well that is what my memory tells me.
    ————-

    Correct you are Buddy! Never knew that. But if Ibrox clientele came knocking and asked for rental, would the SFA say, “That’ll be the day”? After all, it appears that they have a 20-year lease on the stadium, so maybe they can do as they please? Anyway, don’t want to Rave On about this first thing in the morning. DK may just be living in a Fool’s Paradise as LP & co hum Maybe Baby … er .. maybe Davie.

    I’ll get ma jukebox.


  38. Exiled Celt says:
    April 1, 2014 at 4:48 am
    13 0 Rate This

    Ok here is something to consider………Goosey has got me thinking………….
    ————

    Nice to see the DK theme developed EC. Bravo. You’ve translated it into the straightforward.

    He really has been a constant throughout. The season ticket plan smacks of the kind of play someone would make if he feels what’s rightfully his has been purloined.


  39. Barcabhoy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 11:07 pm
    78 1 Rate This

    Final thought for tonight.

    The SFA continue to take contempt for fans to a new level. Stuart Regan’s cameo role when he popped up to lecture us on why sponsors needed 6 months notice of a venue for a semi final, amounted to nothing more than him saying “just because” . No reason , no explanation……just because they did.

    —————————–

    Does anyone know if William Hill did put pressure on the SFA for an early semi final and final decision or is this just more SFA bull s**t ?


  40. Heard the reason that the SPFL haven’t yet issued the post split fixtures is because William Hill is insisting on all matches being played at Ibrox. 😯

    Unsure if this is malicious gossip though. 😕


  41. Regan justifying the SFA decision to give Campbell’s club the money for the semis because Wm Hill the SFA sponsor needs to know 6 months in advance is risible.
    How can Man U possibly cope with their (substantially bigger) game v Bayern tonight after only two weeks notice?
    I bet their sponsors are up in arms!

    Regan is cringeworthy.


  42. The Herald reporting that Jim Spence has been cleared by the BBC Trust following complaints by Rangers fans over his “club that died” comments way back when.

    Not got access to full story on Herald website, perhaps someone else has?

    I’m wondering particularly what the justification for clearing his name was … that the club did in fact die, perhaps?


  43. FIFA says:
    April 1, 2014 at 3:01 am

    There are a lot more questions still to be asked before the rest of the pieces will be overturned and its not going to be good for some or any of the faces on it and when they are revealed they should be made to pay for their crimes, and I mean crimes .
    ———————————————————————————

    In BDO I Trust. Let’s hope it isn’t misplaced. I know they, if anyone, have the ability to uncover the truth and they also have the courage but whether the powers that be will allow them to cut to the bone is another issue.


  44. Yesterday’s postings might help.
    ———————————————————-
    Angus1983 says:
    April 1, 2014 at 9:42 am

    The Herald reporting that Jim Spence has been cleared by the BBC Trust following complaints by Rangers fans over his “club that died” comments way back when.

    Not got access to full story on Herald website, perhaps someone else has?

    I’m wondering particularly what the justification for clearing his name was … that the club did in fact die, perhaps?
    ———————————————————————
    ecobhoy says:
    March 31, 2014 at 8:54 am
    Danish Pastry says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:24 am

    Saw some twitter comments on the Jim Spence story from last year. Apparently, BBC Trust ruling in favour of Sportsound and Jim.

    Did I miss this on here? Otherwise pages 73-79 of link below (carried by @scotzine a few days ago). End of story. A stramash in a tea cup — but for personal and professional bother caused to Jim Spence!

    http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/2014/jan.pdf
    ===================================
    Well Spotted Danish!

    Well the petty complaint of the ‘easily offended’ was booted ootra park as was expected.

    I never cease to be amazed at the energy PR-led Bears expend on attacking all and sundry who attempt to comment fairly on their club and wonder if this is part of a ploy to create and deepen the ‘victim mentality’ amongst the Rangers support to convince them that every hand is turned against them so they have to hang together.

    All this organisation and email campaigning which have now spread to the EC and yet this swatch of fans appear to have no problems or views on how their club is being run and seem to be oblivious to imminent financial disaster.

    I often wonder whether they actually are Bears or just an anonymous ‘boiler-room’ operation run by operatives working to a script.

    It’s certainly evident this ‘movement’ is active online on a minority of ‘fan’ websites and tiny support groups where no discussion that question the club management is brooked and anyone doing so is immediately labelled as ‘Timmy’ and ostracised.

    I seem to remember Salvation Army founder General Booth observed something like: ‘Why should the Devil have all the best tunes?’. I feel perhaps if Bears had listened to some of the early ‘Timmy-style’ warnings and adopted them they might not be currently facing such a precarious financial future.

    However the BBC report is well worth a read and clearly demolishes the orchestrated complaint campaign and I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall while they were reading all those ‘reasonable’ complaint emails 😆

    However there is one thing in the Beeb report I find especially interesting when the senior adviser states she did not believe that:

    ‘Taking account, of the subject and nature of the content and the likely audience expectation, listeners would have been misled by the use of the word ‘club’ rather than the word ‘company’.

    IMO she either doesn’t understand what has happened within the Rangers support or diplomatically decided not to travel that road for fear of sparking a further flood of complaints from the ‘easily annoyed’.

    Sadly I believe that most supporters genuinely haven’t got a clue when it comes to differentiating between RIFC, TRFCL, Rangers and ‘Club’ and whether ‘club’ changes depending on the context viz whether speaking of TRFCL or RIFC. Indeed I doubt if many fans fully understand or are aware of the relationship between RIFC and TRFCL.

    And this failure in comprehension isn’t solely the fault of the fans as they have been deliberately fed a diet of smoke and mirrors and bullshit to keep them dumbed-down and not asking awkward questions. Sadly, just about every one of their fan ‘leaders’ played along with this deception possibly in hope that a blue blazer might come winging their way.

    Recently some of the new kids on the block are starting to seriously question and challenge the incumbents and flex the muscles of ‘fan power’. There’s a long way to go as they have to break an almost life-long addiction of many Bears to the ‘sugar’ fed to them by money burning glory-seekers.

    But who knows? We certainly live in interesting times 🙄


  45. Angus,

    It’s here:
    Danish Pastry says:
    March 31, 2014 at 7:24 am
    Saw some twitter comments on the Jim Spence story from last year. Apparently, BBC Trust ruling in favour of Sportsound and Jim.

    Did I miss this on here? Otherwise pages 73-79 of link below (carried by @scotzine a few days ago). End of story. A stramash in a tea cup — but for personal and professional bother caused to Jim Spence!
    http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/appeals/esc_bulletins/2014/jan.pdf


  46. I wonder how William Hills will respond if (when) the old song book is brought out at Ibrox versus Utd.


  47. Grant Russell ‏@STVGrant · 1h
    At court for Imran Ahmad v Rangers. Validity of Charles Green’s letter confirming bonus likely decided today, ahead of case next year.


  48. Regarding Hearts

    Unfortunately the latest news that has come out about Hearts isn’t good. The Lithuanian elements (and there are two elements – because there are two diffierent Lithuanian insolvencies being run (UBIG and Ukio)) always had the potential to cause issues.

    As I would understand this, although the administrator of UBIG has agreed in principle to the deal, the creditors of UBIG (or at least one of them – Siauliu Bank) think that in effect the sale to Bidco (the Ann Budge/FOH vehicle) is not at a high enough price so are refusing to agree to it.

    I’m afraid I am unable to say (obviously its a matter of Lithuanian law) whether creditor approval is necessary to allow the administrator of UBIG to do the deal or whether the administrator might (for example) be able to go and seek court approval (even if creditors don’t support the deal). Bear in mind that the administrators of UBIG are supposed to be looking after the interests of the creditors of UBIG (not the interests of Hearts).

    The same will be true in the insolvency of UKIO.

    It may be as simple as this – that the creditors of UBIG think that a sale of the property owned by Hearts might give them a better return in UBIG’s insolvency than the sale to Bidco. Often in UK football insolvencies sentiment gets in the way of hard-headed business decisions – creditors often agree to completely write off their debts in CVAs in order to secure the survival of the local football team.

    Lithuania is a long way from Scotland and so emotion may not play its usual part.


  49. Campbellsmoney says: April 1, 2014 at 10:55 am
    ——————————————-
    UBIG will get absolutely nothing in Liquidation. Ukio is the first ranked and secured creditor both through a fixed security and a floating charge (total £15M), therefore has first call on the property assets.

    The £2.5M is as good as Ukio will get (less £225K of BDO’s fees). The old Tynecastle school site (behind the Roseburn stand) was recently sold for £600K. The site is around 2/3 of the size of Tynecastle, so the £2.5M going to Ukio represents a very good deal for the creditors (of Ukio).

    UBIG hold approx 49.5% of Hearts shares, so Siauliu Bank may feel that they have a value. They have been offered a token £50K for the shareholding. I don’t see much room for negotiation. If the offer is refused then Hearts will be liquidated and there will be no £50K or anything else.

    UBIG actually abstained from the CVA vote, while Ukio voted in favour. I suspect that some spin is being placed on the story re Siauliu being unhappy with the deal. The reality is that Hearts are small fry in the bigger scheme of UBIG’s and Ukio’s insolvencies, so it may be simply that they have asked for more information before the creditors meeting on 7th April.


  50. The members of the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee have , in my opinion, rightly decided that an appeal based on the assertion that a club that had died by Liquidation had not really died did not qualify to proceed for consideration.
    But that they should , by noting that the BBC had acknowledged that the comments by Mr Spence could have been better phrased, have implicitly endorsed the complainants’ crazy view that the dead club is not dead, is a disgrace of the first magnitude..
    And their apology for any offence caused by the words used, is an offence to the rest of us.
    Will this madness never end? Must we all adopt Orwellian ‘newspeak’ and make liars of ourselves, as so many in the media have done?
    RFC(IL) is as dead as the Pythons’ parrot-financially, legally, and as a sporting entity. That is the truth. And all the liars in the world cannot make it an untruth.


  51. easyJambo says:
    April 1, 2014 at 11:14 am
    0 0 i
    Rate This

    Campbellsmoney says: April 1, 2014 at 10:55 am
    ——————————————-
    UBIG will get absolutely nothing in Liquidation. Ukio is the first ranked and secured creditor both through a fixed security and a floating charge (total £15M), therefore has first call on the property assets.

    The £2.5M is as good as Ukio will get (less £225K of BDO’s fees). The old Tynecastle school site (behind the Roseburn stand) was recently sold for £600K. The site is around 2/3 of the size of Tynecastle, so the £2.5M going to Ukio represents a very good deal for the creditors (of Ukio).

    UBIG hold approx 49.5% of Hearts shares, so Siauliu Bank may feel that they have a value. They have been offered a token £50K for the shareholding. I don’t see much room for negotiation. If the offer is refused then Hearts will be liquidated and there will be no £50K or anything else.

    UBIG actually abstained from the CVA vote, while Ukio voted in favour. I suspect that some spin is being placed on the story re Siauliu being unhappy with the deal. The reality is that Hearts are small fry in the bigger scheme of UBIG’s and Ukio’s insolvencies, so it may be simply that they have asked for more information before the creditors meeting on 7th April.

    ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
    Thanks EJ – do UBIG own UKIO (or is it the other way round?) or am I off on one completely?

    I hope you are right and that it is a temporary blip.


  52. easyJambo says:
    March 31, 2014 at 9:47 pm

    “Here is a link to the (unpublished) 2011 accounts”
    ——————————————
    I had seen that document previously EJ and had a check in my archive to see if I had kept a copy, which I hadn’t. So thanks for the information and analysis.

    What I did come across in my perusal was this bit of correspondence concerning RFC finances in the same period. It aims to implicate Tom English in the news management but what is more striking given recent events, is that the first correspondent is a partner in Cairn Financial (and another Murray), which I believe is one of King’s companies. So perhaps the King thread does stretch through the whole milieu.

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/146936945/Tom-English-Accounts


  53. Nae offence jambos, but I’m putting a small bet on things ending poorly. Liquidation or a points penalty next season would surely benefit the journeymen. And you are playing better than them at the moment.


  54. I also came across another document that might suffer review. CF released so much stuff it was hard to take it all in at the time. This seems to quite unequivocally embroil the Conflicted One in the Discount Option Scheme debacle in a way that claims of ignorance would not suffice to extricate him. Since it is a court writ I suspect its authenticity may be independently verifiable.

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/146285692/Sanned-Initial-Writ


  55. Exiled Celt says:
    April 1, 2014 at 4:48 am

    “What if DK was the man that was supposed to take over the Marble Staircase but his issues with SARS meant he could not and the timing of this could not have been any worse…”.
    —————————————
    That thought just struck me after reading the post previous to yours by StevieBC. Perhaps King’s £20M bought him an indelible interest that he continues to pursue to this day.


  56. John Clark says:
    April 1, 2014 at 11:22 am
    The members of the BBC Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee have , in my opinion, rightly decided that an appeal based on the assertion that a club that had died by Liquidation had not really died did not qualify to proceed for consideration.
    But that they should , by noting that the BBC had acknowledged that the comments by Mr Spence could have been better phrased, have implicitly endorsed the complainants’ crazy view that the dead club is not dead, is a disgrace of the first magnitude..
    And their apology for any offence caused by the words used, is an offence to the rest of us.
    Will this madness never end? Must we all adopt Orwellian ‘newspeak’ and make liars of ourselves, as so many in the media have done?
    RFC(IL) is as dead as the Pythons’ parrot-financially, legally, and as a sporting entity. That is the truth. And all the liars in the world cannot make it an untruth.
    ==========================================
    John, sorry but the life support hasn’t been switched off completely yet. Jim Spence may have known people who said that the club had died but it isn’t there yet. There are still two Rangers. BDO will deliver their next six-month report, covering the period to April 30th, some time in May.


  57. Grant Russell ‏@STVGrant · 35m
    Imran Ahmad has been granted permission to see Rangers documents relating to retail projections and turnover.

    Imran Ahmad has also been granted permission to see missives and leases relating to buyback of Albion Car Park he claims he was involved in

    Rangers also agree to hand over relevant emails from Ahmad’s club inbox and sent folder to a commissioner within next three weeks.

    Rangers successfully delayed handing over “commercially sensitive” Puma and Sports Direct contracts to Ahmad for time being.

    Potential handing over of those contracts to Ahmad will be discussed on May 13 at the Court of Session.

    Rangers said in court they feared confidential details of Puma and Sports Direct deals could be leaked if handed over in full to Ahmad.

    Confidential details could include commercial info on royalties, how revenue is divided, who receives certain discounts.


  58. blu says:
    April 1, 2014 at 12:04 pm
    ‘..John, sorry but the life support hasn’t been switched off completely yet.,’
    ———-
    Quite right, blu. It is very naughty of me to anticipate. In mitigation, I pray the inevitability of the outcome as justification for anticipation! 🙂

    [Ending the liquidation process
    ” The Liquidator produces an account of the liquidation, which is presented to a final meeting of the company’s creditors and a final meeting of the members of the company. It is then sent to the Companies House Registrar.
    The Registrar will register the account and publish its receipt in the Gazette.
    Unless the court makes an order deferring the dissolution of the company, it is dissolved three months the account is registered at Companies House.
    Once the company is dissolved, it ceases to exist.”]
    http://www.bizhelp24.com/money/bankruptcy/liquidation-the-liquidation-process.html


  59. easyJambo says:
    April 1, 2014 at 12:48 pm
    —–
    EJ, I thought further action on the Ahmad case had been kicked into next year. Is Grant reporting a |Court hearing?


  60. Not sure if anyone has seen this or commented upon it.

    http://www.lse.co.uk/shareChat.asp?page=1&ShareTicker=RFC&1#8733882

    Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Trust are connected to the Abela family from Lebanon via the Barbel C Abela Trust (Abela Jnr’s mum) and family lawyer Mazen Houssami. The main reason they want to keep their involvement secret is a certain conviction for fraudulent bankruptcy involving a catering firm in Italy. The fact that Rangers officials are scared to even mention the name Abela speaks volumes. The millions of pounds that have evaporated from the club are the “legacy issues” that the current Chief Executive speaks of. Is it not time that the board at Ibrox began to tell the full truth about what has gone on here?


  61. Campbellsmoney says: April 1, 2014 at 11:29 am

    Thanks EJ – do UBIG own UKIO (or is it the other way round?) or am I off on one completely?

    I hope you are right and that it is a temporary blip.
    ==============================
    The last info I have was that Vlad owned 65% of Ukio Bankas. (3rd qtr 2012)

    Ukio Bankas in turn owned 17.3% of UBIG (Dec 2012)
    Also a P Romanov owned 16.9%
    Olga Goncarcuk (Vlad’s sister) owned 5%
    ——————————————
    Basically UBIG had been borrowing excessive amounts from Ukio. These are classed as related party loans because of Vlad’s involvement and there are restrictions on how much you can lend in this way. Much of the lending was also unsecured.

    Ukio’s dodgy lending practices were discovered by the Lithuanian regulator whose audit discovered that their liabilities exceeded their assets by a fair bit, withdrew their banking licence, and liquidation followed.

    UBIG, now being short of readies to fund the other parts of UBIG, followed suit. UBIG’s main investments were a Bosnian Aluminium plant, a Balkan Bank and of course Hearts.

    Effectively Vlad used Ukio as a free ATM to fund his follies.
    ———————————————-
    Until December 2012 Hearts actually had no involvement with Ukio as all their debts were due to UBIG, however in an effort to shore up the Ukio balance sheet, he transferred a load of assets from UBIG to Ukio. That included £15M of debt, but also the security over Tynecastle.
    ———————————————
    Siauliu Bank’s involvement is a bit less clear. They took on the good parts of Ukio’s deposits and loan book (not Hearts), but may separately have loaned money to UBIG. I don’t know what proportion of UBIG’s debts are held by Siauliu Bank, so I’m unsure what they can do in terms of voting power.


  62. John Clark says: April 1, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    easyJambo says: April 1, 2014 at 12:48 pm
    —–
    EJ, I thought further action on the Ahmad case had been kicked into next year. Is Grant reporting a |Court hearing?
    ==============================
    Apparently it was a hearing today, to discuss Ahmad’s request for disclosure of documents.

    The date for the full case to be heard had still to be set. I thought this was due to start yesterday, but another poster put me right isn saying it had been delayed. I din’t know anything about today until I saw Grant’s tweets.


  63. easyJambo says:
    April 1, 2014 at 1:18 pm

    ————————————————————————————————————–
    Thanks – that is helpful.


  64. STV’s report on today’s proceedings
    http://news.stv.tv/west-central/270081-imran-ahmad-obtains-documents-from-rangers-during-50000-court-case/

    Former Rangers commercial director Imran Ahmad has been successful in obtaining documents from the club relating to his £500,000 legal case against them.

    Mr Ahmad claims he is owed the amount as a contractually-agreed bonus for negotiating a reported £10m deal with sportswear firm Puma and retailer Sports Direct.

    He failed, however, to secure copies of the contracts with the two companies, with Rangers raising fears they could be leaked on the internet.

    Ahmad’s contract with Rangers, which was terminated last year, stated he would receive five per cent of revenue on any commercial deals he negotiated during his time at Ibrox.

    At a court hearing on Tuesday, Mr Ahmad was given certain documents to try and form his case that he was contractually entitled to £500k bonus. However, he failed to secure the handing over of actual contracts negotiated, for now, as Rangers argued confidentially issues.

    The case, which could be brought forward to November instead of a February 2015 hearing, will determine whether he was entitled to a bonus on deals he did not exclusively negotiate.

    It will also determine whether a handwritten letter from former chief executive Charles Green, which stated he would receive £500,000 in bonuses, was legally binding. Rangers’ counsel argue Green did not have the express power to authorise such a payment.

    At the Court of Session on Tuesday, Ahmad’s counsel, Kenneth McBrearty QC, requested the transfer of a series of commercial documents from Rangers relating to the case.

    Ahmad, who was not present, requested copies of the contracts entered into with Puma and Sports Direct to form his case that he was involved in the negotiations.

    Rangers’ QC Alan Summers argued that those contracts contained commercially sensitive information and expressed concern that an “unnatural interest” in the club’ inner dealings could lead to the documents being leaked into the public domain.

    Lord Woolman agreed to hold over a ruling on whether Mr Ahmad could have access to said documents until a hearing on May 13.

    Ahmad also called for financial statements relating to the deal. He requested both financial projections and up-to-date statements on turnover and profit from the retail business.

    He also requested contracts and leases regarding the purchase of the Albion Car Park, which he claims to have been involved in. Lord Woolman granted access. Rangers’ counsel stated it would take three weeks for all details to be provided.

    Ahmad was also successful in having Rangers hand over e-mails from his club account which relate to the deal.

    An agreement was reached whereby a court-appointed commissioner will be given the data to extract relevant information. The main part of Mr Ahmad’s case, which was due to be held in February 2015, could now be held in November this year. A decision will be reached on that matter at the next court date.

    The availability of star witness Green will also play a part in determining whether the case will be heard in November. It was stated that Mr Green had been contacted to state whether he would be available but had not yet replied.


  65. Does the Govan club think Imran is Charlotte 🙂

    He failed, however, to secure copies of the contracts with the two companies, with Rangers raising fears they could be leaked on the internet.


  66. an “unnatural interest” in the club’

    Is that like a shareholding?


  67. sevco then sevco now ‏@junglebhoy60 1m
    CAS upholds three-year rule decision on Timişoara – http://UEFA.comhttp://m.uefa.com/news/1652377/

    This is how SFA should act.

    CAS upholds three-year rule decision on Timişoara
    Thursday 21 July 2011 13.54 CET
    The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland
    The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed an appeal by Romanian club FC Timişoara against a UEFA decision regarding the three-year rule, which is an important feature of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.

    Pursuant to this rule, clubs are not allowed to change their legal form or structure in order to obtain a licence, simply by ‘cleaning up’ their balance sheet while offloading debts onto a new entity that might potentially go bankrupt – thus harming creditors (including employees and social/tax authorities) as well as threatening the integrity of sporting competition. Any such alteration of a club’s legal form or structure is deemed to be an interruption to its membership of a UEFA member association and consequently three years must pass before a club can apply again for a UEFA licence. In other words, the three-year rule is designed basically to avoid circumvention of the club licensing system.

    Finally, FC Timişoara were not granted a licence by the Romanian Football Federation (FRF) based on the non-fulfilment of the licensing criteria and therefore could not participate in the UEFA club competitions in the 2011/12 season.

    © 1998-2014 UEFA. All rights reserved.


  68. davythelotion says:
    March 31, 2014 at 10:56 pm
    ……….The question is, what happened to the £20m & when did it happen?
    Speculative suggestion
    “Follow the money and get food for thought”
    Q: Was this a straight forward no strings investment of £20m by a man of integrity in a club that he loves?
    A: Difficult to believe
    Q: What actually happened to the money?
    A: It left SA and arrived in the UK
    Q: What else happened to the £20m?
    A: It actually (or apparently) changed ownership
    Q: Who benefited from £20m changing ownership?
    A: The giver and the receiver both benefited
    Q: Why did the giver benefit and not just the receiver?
    A : The giver exported £20m in cash from SA to the UK
    Q: What is the benefit in exporting £20m in cash from SA ?
    A: It can be reconverted into sterling or exchanged for goods in kind in the UK
    So what?
    Q: Is it illegal to buy shares in the UK from SA as a means of exporting currency?
    A: Normally it`s not illegal. Depends on the individual case and amounts involved
    Q: Would an imminent investigation by the SA tax authorities be a good reason for exporting £20m?
    A: Depends on whether you have any tax issues to be concerned about
    Q: When did the SA Tax Authorities announce their investigation?
    A : Early 2000
    Q : When did the £20m get invested in RFC shares?
    A: 2000
    Q: Was there a related transaction involving both parties that was not disclosed at the time?
    Q: Do you mean were the RFC shares subject to a very large retrospective discount?
    A: Perhaps, or something similar
    Q: Who was Operations Manager of B.O.S when RFC assets were put up as security for a £20m loan in 1999 ?
    A: David Grier ( later Duff & Phelps)
    Q: Was David Grier involved in negotiating the 1999 RFC floating charge?
    A: Don’t know
    Q: Did BOS have any role in the £20m purchase of RFC shares in 2000 ?
    A : Don’t know
    Q: Is it likely that the Purchaser knew David Grier while he worked with BOS in 1999-2001
    A: Don`t know
    Q: Who helped Whyte negotiate the ST deal with Ticketus?
    A: David Grier (now with Duff & Phelps)
    Q: Who provided Ticketus with £24m to buy STs from Whyte?
    A: Don’t know
    Was the SA tax case still on going at the time of the Ticketus deal?
    A: Yes
    A: Could some of this £24m be SA money looking for a UK home?
    A: Don’t know
    Q: Is it legal for someone in SA to invest in Octopus Investments plc (owner of Ticketus)?
    A: Normally it`s not illegal. Depends on the individual case and amounts involved
    Hmmmmm……….
    Food for thought


  69. A bit sceptical of Ahmad’s case if it centres around that note from Green. However if he gleans more info from the various docs he will (possibly) get access to I think he will ask for a ringfencing of cash based on rangers poor accounts. I do not think with the current frosty climate between board and supporters that the RFFF will put forward any financial assistance to see off IamRangers.


  70. @Campbellsmoney

    an “unnatural interest” in the club’

    Is that like a shareholding?
    ======================================================================
    Looking for answers and the truth maybe…

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