After making inquiries into progress on Resolution 12 to the Celtic AGM of 2013 there is little doubt in my mind that the SFA made a serious error in the process of UEFA licensing.
Here are some facts:
- UEFA does not issue licences to clubs who have due tax bills outstanding,
- UEFA require the SFA to satisfy themselves of a club’s eligibility for a licence and that clubs have provided proof no overdue tax payable exists,
- UEFA also require a club to tell the SFA and UEFA if, after the issue of a licence there are material changes in their circumstances which would affect their eligibility – including the situation at #1 above,
- UEFA awarded Rangers a licence to play in European competition in March 2011,
- In May 2011 Rangers received a tax bill, which they did not contest or appeal or agree a payment plan. The bill (which remains unpaid) was overdue by 30 June 2011,
- UEFA received no notice of this,
- Rangers did not lose their licence and in fact competed in both the Champions’ League and The Europa League in that season.
None of these facts are disputed (as far as is known) by anyone connected to the saga. What is in doubt, because the SFA won’t answer the question, is whether they received a copy of the tax bill and the May letter that accompanied it from Rangers or not.
If they did send it to the SFA, Rangers could reasonably argue that they did their bit and the SFA fell down on the job by failing to notify UEFA of their new unfavourable tax status.
If Rangers did not send it, then they had broken not only UEFA FFP rules but more importantly the trust amongst SFA members that full disclosure is honestly made in a self-certification process. The SFA in not carrying out their monitoring responsibilities properly and using the powers UEFA FFP gave them also broke that trust.
In either case, there is a systematic failure by the SFA to administer the sport effectively; either through a failure of trust, a failure of administration – or both.
Even worse, in the four years that have elapsed since this incident, it seems that nothing has been done to put matters right. The SFA have been very active in refusing to answer questions on the matter, particularly this one;
“How will you prevent it happening again?”
Incredibly, up to now, no measures have been put in place to add rigour to the licensing process. Are they really saying that they think the process was carried out satisfactorily?
No they are saying nothing. Silence and denial, followed by silence and inaction.
So what is the point of this article? Let’s call out the elephant in the room right away – it is unequivocally not to have a go at Rangers. This is no longer really about Rangers at all, but about the SFA’s mal-governance of the game. Besides, clubs affected by this seeming failure on the part of the authorities (in that year Celtic, Dundee United and Hearts and Kilmarnock) are hardly likely to successfully sue a club now in liquidation (although small shareholders might take a different view with regard to the SFA’s conduct).
Nor am I seeking to find some retrospective punishment for the club (as far as I know sanctions are neither available retrospectively, nor useful in this case ) but to be aware that the question above urgently needs to be addressed if the status of football as a sport is to be maintained.
To the extent that this is about what has happened to Rangers, does anyone – no matter what club they owe their allegiance to – seriously consider that TRFC would NOT be in a better situation today had the SFA acted with propriety and applied their rules correctly in 2011/12?
With the kind of money on offer these days for entry into Europe, and the interdependent nature of the game, it seems fairly self-evident that trust is not enough to allow effective regulation, and that incompetent governance where money is the paramount consideration is unacceptable.
The SFA has long enjoyed a misconceived impression of its function as being that of a quasi-legal body, bestowing upon it a status of independence and aloofness from the partisan interest of the clubs. In the main, fans have largely bought into that myth. However the SFA is nothing of the kind.
It is in fact merely a cartel which is allowed to govern itself for its own benefit and is only accountable to the clubs that make up its membership, and not the fans. Check out the last sentences of almost any rule, where discretionary powers awarded to itself effectively render the rule worthless and unenforceable.
Literally, a nihilistic approach to governance
Maybe it is time the SFA scrapped the get out of jail discretionary clauses, and put some robust regulation in place to ensure the financial transparency of all clubs?
Even better, politicians are never slow to tell us of the importance of football to the social fabric of the country – in that case why not follow their own rhetoric, recognise that it cannot be allowed to self regulate in narrow self interest, and legislate to have football governed independently?
If I was a Rangers fan, I’d be thinking that the SFA’s failure to police the UEFA licencing issue helped accelerate the club’s demise – by making it easier to paper over the cracks.
If I was a Celtic, Hearts, Dundee United or Killie fan, well the consequences for them in terms of lost financial and competitive opportunities are fairly obvious.
Conclusion? The clubs can no longer be trusted to run the affairs of the industry themselves.
A new independent, accountable regulatory body (funded by the clubs) is the minimum we need to save the game in this country. It should comprise representatives of the clubs, the fans and other stakeholders – and it should have a holistic remit as its prime directive, whilst ensuring fair and equitable treatment of all clubs.
It can take decisions on the basis of what is good for the game without the baggage of self-interest, and without any west of Scotland institutionalised bias. Of course Scotland isn’t alone in this. Football is a powerful political force across the world, and as developments at FIFA over the past couple of years have demonstrated, it is institutionally corrupt. The clubs can no longer be allowed to run it as they see fit, and we need to begin a campaign which will ultimately convince the pay-at-the-gate fan of the truth of that.
The UEFA licensing issue is only a pebble in the sand of football incompetence and corruption, but it is a microcosm of what ails the game. The good of the sport, and not individual clubs, is paramount. The SFA cannot and will not deliver that.
The case for a new regulatory body is clear, and the status quo is not an option unless the death of the sport is deemed acceptable.
There is little doubt in my mind that unless regime change is effected, in a few decades there will be no regime .
upthehoops7th October 2015 at 7:13 am# I notice another puff piece in today’s Herald from Chris Jack. If the time ever comes when the media want to tell the truth about Rangers (don’t laugh), I hope the likes of Jack have got something else to fall back on. I guess I’ve just wasted time typing those three lines. Off to work now, have a great day everyone. _____________________________________________________________________ https://johnjamessite.wordpress.com/2015/09/23/the-anatomy-of-an-underfunded-coup-detat/ “Anyone who wishes to view how this works should take a look at the output of Chris ‘Union’ Jack at The Herald. Rangers, the client, instruct Level 5, the agent, to promote season ticket sales. A deal is then struck with The Herald commercial team for what is known as a promotional package. A junior hack, Chris Jack, is then provided with the bullet points as written by James Traynor or Stephen Kerr that he cuts and pastes into an article that gives the impression that it’s a piece of sports reportage, when it’s true purpose is season ticket promotion. Other examples of Level 5’s handiwork can be seen at one of Trinity Mirror’s stable, The Sunday Mail under several by-lines.”
John McClelland could also be asked to testify.SFA chief exec Stewart Regan and SPFL counterpart Neil Doncaster have been contacted too.
Looks like the trial of the century!
==========================================
Neepheid, it looks like it might take a century! Who’d be a judge trying to untangle all those webs?
yakutsuki 7th October 2015 at 1:15 pm #
Neepheid, it looks like it might take a century! Who’d be a judge trying to untangle all those webs?
===================
Never mind the judge, they have to find a jury of 15 to sit for months then come to many verdicts. This trial will be difficult for all concerned, that’s for sure.
What I’m not clear on is whether there are still two separate cases, one for the Whyte takeover and one for the Sevco stuff, or has it all been wrapped up into one? Surely we can’t have two trials of the century coming up soon? What a mess!
Only a lunatic would put (I almost said invest!) his own money into this morass. They do say that high risk can result in high returns, but surely this level of risk is way beyond the appetite of any rational investor?
Ah – there’s the rub. You’ve misunderstood.
Neither of the Rs in RRM stands for ‘rational.
From JJ
Seven men have been recently indicted for crimes against Rangers. I would add James Traynor to that list.
————————————————————————-
I would add certain members of the SFA.
Against Rangers?
Thom the Tim 10.23
I know one responsible journo who now has everything on Res12, LNS and more who is waiting for the court case to complete to clear the way to report.
Others should really be doing their homework because when the dust clears those provided with info that they failed to act on, will come under scrutiny.
As regards the clubs: they have their own legals and they will not be blind to the financial cost of fraud right under the very noses of the SFA, whose job it was to police the rules, not ignore or assist circumvent them.
Perhaps the SFA’S reluctance to answer Res12 questions can be explained by them not wishing to incriminatec themselves?
When the fog of secrecy is lifted, the end will hove into sight.
neepheid 7th October 2015 at 1:29 pm
“What I’m not clear on is whether there are still two separate cases, one for the Whyte takeover and one for the Sevco stuff”
—————————————————————————————
neepheid, My impression, and I stress, only my impression, is that both cases are independent of each other. being that the outcome of one, is not dependent on the the other.
For example, whether CW is found to be guilty or innocent of the £1 takeover, is irrelevant to the charges laid against him in the asset sale. However if a guilty verdict is returned from the £1 take-over, then he may face additional charges to those currently faced in relation to the asset buy. i.e. Charges in (a) plus charges in (b) may result in further as yet undetermined charges of (c).
I imagine there is a great deal of toing and froing as we speak, with the legals arguing over what will be admissible, and non admissible evidence. Until the final court bundles are completed, it is such a can of frogs that even the PF will have difficulty, not so much in what they suspect is the truth, but what they can prove is the truth.
We all remember how quiet things went regarding a fake or authentic signature. That could be a pivotal point, and i suspect there will be many others.
One thing is for sure….Our patience is going to be sorely tested over the coming months/years, but we will just have to be vigilant and wait and see.
Whether it’s the SMSM, the telly or bloggers like JJ, Bear’s Den etc, I’m getting a bit sick of the upcoming criminal proceedings being reported as a (alleged) fraud “against Rangers”. All this does is feed the victim myth and encourage gloating over the potential punishments to be handed out to the indicted. (Some of the things they want to happen to them while they’re inside are just loatheable).
While I can understand the ringleaders of the TRFC* forums (fora?) trying to paint it this way, surely a responsible media should bne doing better. I know, I know!
Auldheid @2:35
What court case are you alluding to? Seems to me there are many outstanding court cases in relation to the Ibrox fiasco.
Auldheid 7th October 2015 at 2:35 pm #
Thanks for your response.
It would only take one journalist, hopefully from a major national broadsheet like the Sunday Times, to blow the scandal wide open.
As you say, clubs have their own legals, who will know what has gone on and what it has cost them.
Every league point won means cash, not to mention progress in cup ties that have been prevented by “honesty
mistakes”.
I think that it is pathologically impossible for Celtic shareholders like Desmond and Denis O’Brien, to allow themselves to be shafted in any business that they have an interest in.
I read a recent ST article re DD on that subject, citing an instance where he waited for the right moment to exact his revenge for a perceived grievance.
Plus, anyone who has even the slightest knowledge of O’Brien, will know the lengths he will go to see off any rivals/ enemies.
Let’s hope your journo contact has the clout to crack the edifice.
Nawlite
To put matters on record. I have only ever posted as Barcabhoy, anywhere ever. Started using this moniker sometime arpund 2004 and it’s the only one I have ever used.
This nonsense that i was JJ started because a pathological liar called exposingphil posted in his blog that I was JJ.
He had previously claimed that JJ was Ramsay Smith. This is the way he operates. He doesn’t have the connections or the intellect to debate issues, his only response is to fabricate . Sad and pathetic, but that’s how he operates. I would just ignore the moron, he’s delusional .
Barcabhoy,
I thought you made a very valid point re the clown who accused you of being JJ.
The point being that you know that you are not JJ, therefore the guy is lying and as he is lying about that, then anything else he proclaims is also deemed ” unreliable”.
it goes without saying that your credentials and reputation are impeccable and I can vouch for that, having been reading your posts on CQN for the past ten years or so…….not to mention receiving some helpful info pre a visit to Barcelone in 2010!
Thom,
Thats exactly the point. When you know 100% someone is lying, then you know they will lie about anything.
He opened a twitter account and a blog in June of this year with the express purpose of undermining negative comment from Rangers fans about King. The first person he followed was Chris Graham and Graham was one of his first followers.
it’s not difficult to spot what’s going on here. Graham has a history of getting things badly wrong, he has promoted King ( and the one day blazer tells you why) , and this latest liar follows a similar pattern. I have no idea if they are one and the same , however they are certainly both allergic to the truth and good judgement
nawlite 7th October 2015 at 3:32 pm #
————————————————————————————–
Whether it’s the SMSM, the telly or bloggers like JJ, Bear’s Den etc,……………
being reported as a (alleged) fraud “against Rangers”.
————————————————————————————–
In all fairness nawlite, I can say for certain that JohnJames has never used the phrase “fraud against Rangers” on RSL or his own site, cannot speak for the others though.
That’s Mr Sit on Fence gone out in a bit of a blaze of glory.
Hope its all archived somewhere. Be interesting to see after just how close he was.
Good luck to him.
I would add certain members of the SFA.
————————————————————————–
The SFA have tried with all their might /power to protect the Govan club. In doing this they have passed Mr King as fit and proper (amongst others), they have not dealt with res 12, they let the LNS farce stand, not dealt with oldco/newco etc………………
IMO they have caused damage to the Ibrox club indirectly and against their will with their obsession of the institution that resides in Govan. The court cases coming up involving CEO’s/neds/administrators past and present involved in the fiasco have NEVER at anytime been confronted or with our governing body. The SFA IMO by not doing their job have damaged the Govan club and at present also Scottish football on the whole.
ianagain 7th October 2015 at 4:46 pm #
“That’s Mr Sit on Fence gone out in a bit of a blaze of glory.”
————————————————————-
Why?
——————————————————————————————-
“Hope its all archived somewhere. Be interesting to see after just how close he was. Good luck to him”
It is.
Here is a quote in the ‘Scotsman’ today from Longmuir, now on his inglorious way to see what he can do with the PGA! (May they be protected!)
“.. then, of course, the Rangers scenario, and the politics in football were quite difficult due to the intensity that comes with the game in Scotland. Rangers were a challenge for everyone as no one had a firm grip on how to handle the situation. I reckon the SPL handled it as well as could have been expected”
And Longmuir played a firm grip blinder in signing the 5-way agreement on behalf of the SFL!
Did we ever hear any more about thon payment he got, btw?
ianagain 7th October 2015 at 4:46 pm #
————————————-
Ah I see now, the response to one of the posters’
“Unfortunately this is going to be my least read blog “
could be read as last?
In order for there to be a fraud there have to be several things. These include an element of deceit, a tangible result and a victim. In order for anyone to claim there has been a fraud against Rangers then it would have to be shown in what way they were victims, what did they lose.
I don’t want to go into any great discussion on this, because of the possibility of the blog and it’s owners being threatened with contempt charges. However I would suggest that the real victims in this are Rangers’ creditors, then possibly it’s minor shareholders and debenture holders. However I really don’t see how Rangers or the major shareholders have been victims in any of this.
In fact it could be argued that Rangers, through the actions of it’s owners and Officers was party to at least some of the fraudulent activity.
In short, I do not see any justification for anyone claiming that there has been a fraud against Rangers, whether they are talking about the old version or the new.
Auldheid 7th October 2015 at 2:35 pm
I’m always amazed at your optimism regarding this affair whether it is the current court case or Resolution 12.
I’ve been wondering for a while now just how far the media and authorities, not just football, will go to ensure this issue is not investigated to the full.
They already have a track record of tarring the messenger whether it is Phil, various websites, the guy from the BBC, Channel Four etc.
To be honest I’m surprised that this case has ever or will ever come to court. I half expect most of the correspondence to be declared invalid and barred. I expect other parties to cut deals NOT to testify for immunity. I expect illness from lawyers/judges to stall the case. Finally I expect the whole case to be held in secret because of national security and all records sealed for longer than the files in the Kennedy assassination.
This whole affair has become so toxic to so many people that few within football remain untouched by it. Craig Whyte, Charles Green, Duff and Phelps, SPL Board, SFL, SFA, LNS, lawyers who supplied information to LNS, Regan, Doncaster, Ogilvie, possibly UEFA and the list goes on.
Trust has been destroyed.
Trust in most football boards in the country.
Trust in the authorities.
Trust in the print media (they had precious little to begin with).
Trust in the TV/radio media (they had arguably less).
We’re going to have to find a huge torch to catch all of these people in the light of truth.
I hope you are right that one journalist will be willing to run with the story after the dust has settled from the court case but that is a massive indictment on our media;
scared to do their job,
manipulated by cowards and thugs,
gutless to stand up for themselves.
Just shattered – if I could give you two thumbs up instead of the one allowed I would.
Scottish Football needs a dose of honesty.
Some questions re the apparent citing of several Rangers associated people at the forthcoming trial
1. Will Sir David give evidence by video link from his wood panelled office, with a fire roaring, having pre-approved the questions?
2. Will Walter simply walk into the court, give them all ‘the stare’, then observe some awkward shuffling before leaving without a single question being asked?
3. Will Ally be cross examined by Chick Young amidst much back slapping and boot licking without a single real question of substance?
Well, it’s always worked in the past!
upthehoops 7th October 2015 at 8:37 pm #Some questions re the apparent citing of several Rangers associated people at the forthcoming trial…
================
1. Minty : “I was duped, I tell ya !”
Next !
2. ‘Walter’ : “Despite being a NED and then Chairman, I have already admitted via my beloved Scottish media that I know nothing about business or finance. I’m a football guy.”
Next !
3. SooperAlly : “…and nothing but the truth, absolutely ! I am a football guy, and I know nothing about running a business or finance or running a football team, or gardening. I think the fans have a right to know.”
Next !
4. Smudger : “Despite having been CEO of the SFA, and a director at RFC…I have always been consistently honest with the public: I know nothing about anything.”
Next !
5. Charlie : “…no I do have that email from Dallas Cowboys somewhere – unless the NSA has hacked my account and deleted it…and I never told lies, never…and the tie-up with Apple was a real goer, but I felt they had to pay a bigger premium to be associated with the world’s most successful football club…”
Nurse !
etc…
UTH,
…in that case you’re going to be real disappointed to hear it’s the right honourable James White that presiding!
It’s a pity there’s not much material out this year for the annual ,It’s Only a Game,it looks like it will be disappointing viewing this new year ,again.
@justshattered
Sorry but I’ve re-read this loads of time now and don’t really understand what you mean by it.
“I expect other parties to cut deals NOT to testify for immunity.”
Can you maybe clarify.
I know people are looking forward to seeing Whyte, Green, Walter, or even SDM in court. Personally, I want to see if the oft mentioned but never seen “Deed of Novation” makes an appearance.
Adeste Fideles
either way ,the tax payer will be shafted again no matter what is revealed,the only plus would be if the BBC gave the daily court reporting to Chico to give us all a break on Sportsound,maybe then some of us would be glad of an extended court case,I am only joking.
Extracted from The Guardian / Owen Gibson article today.
“…The extent to which Fifa remains mired in chaos is reflected in the fact that if Blatter is suspended then Issa Hayatou, the longstanding senior Fifa vice-president, would take over.
Hayatou was once censured by the International Olympic Committee over bribery claims, which he denied, and recently changed the statutes of the Confederation of African Football to allow him to retain the presidency he has held since 1988.
At Uefa, the immediate replacement for Platini would be the longstanding Spanish FA chief Ángel María Villar-Llona, who also remains under investigation by the Fifa ethics committee for failing to co-operate with Michael Garcia’s investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup bids…”
==============
That just about sums up the dreadful state of global football governance.
The SFA’s standards of behaviour could actually be ‘better than average’ within the FIFA community !
Homunculus 7th October 2015 at 9:42 pm
It was my attempt at irony.
You usually hear of people cutting deals for immunity if they DO testify but in this farce I expect the exact opposite.
Just to be clear I was also attempting humour when writing about the case being heard in private and the files sealed for longer than the files in the Kennedy assassination.
Tough crowd!!!!
The golfers among you might possibly know of the Suzann Pettersen incident at the Solheim Cup.
Martin Dempster discussed it in an article last month
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/golf/top-stories/martin-dempster-name-of-game-must-be-fair-play-1-3894079#axzz3nuxJubeD
It is the same Martin Dempster from whose interview with David Longmuir I earlier (at 5.47 pm today)cited a quote by Longmuir , in which Longmuir mentioned “….the Rangers scenario, and the politics in football were quite difficult…”
In his piece about Pettersen’s behaviour, Dempster quotes with evident approbation Allen Wronowski, Hon President of the American PGA
“I said in the opening ceremonies that somebody is going to walk away with the trophy, but the ultimate winner has to be the game of golf,” said Wronowski after becoming the first US captain to suffer defeat on home soil in the event. “It has to be played with the utmost sportsmanship and integrity and all the values that we cherish dearly.”
My point is this: there is a sports hack, writing about a sport and rightly agreeing that the sport has to be played [my emphasis] with sportsmanship and integrity.
But he can then interview an active participant in the worst abandonment of Integrity in the very administration of a sport that there has ever been in this country, and yet NOT seek to ask Longmuir what he meant by ‘the politics in football’?, or what had ‘politics’ to do with the application of Rules?or why our Administrators felt able to secretly agree a deal to save one particular club from the consequences of the wicked cheating (not by players, not by CW,not CG,but by SDM!) ; a deal which would never in a million years have been offered to any other club faced with expulsion as the just penalty for the financial cheating of its owner.
The staggering readiness of our hacks to refuse to exercise any kind of intelligent questioning of people like Longmuir, and their willingness simply to write what they are told is, I think, beautifully exemplified by Dempster.
He clearly sat there virtually as a PR man for Longmuir, parrotting what Longmuir wanted him to say..
And being a ‘golf’ hack cannot possibly be used as any kind of excuse.
No, he fails as badly as a ‘journalist’ as any Spiers, or Young, or Jackson or any one of that pack who operate on the basis that sporting principle and sporting integrity are for mugs.
Very bad cess to them all.
justshatered 7th October 2015 at 10:37 pm
Thanks for clearing that up.
Homunculus 7th October 2015 at 11:04 pm
I’ve just read my original post again as I was sober when I wrote it!!
Apart from that one paragraph I was serious about everything else.
The way this case has dragged on, bordering on four years now, I find astonishing particularly when you consider that a lot of the material has been in the public domain for nearly two years.
It reminds me of the way the ‘Establishment’ deal with a major disaster.
It is almost as if there is a standard play book in Westminster;
Show appropriate outrage immediately.
Set up public enquiry with eminent judge/former cabinet minister – generally 4-6 weeks.
Public enquiry starts – 6 months later.
Public enquiry finishes – anything up to 3 years later.
Public enquiry findings start to be written up 3 years 1 month later.
Public enquiry findings completed and sent to publisher 3 years 8 months later.
Findings published four years one month later………………………… and the public scratch their heads and say “What was that disaster again?”
And so the wheel turns.
Not to politicise the blog but we are still awaiting the Chilcot report into the second Iraq war.
When did that finish hearing evidence?
Stall, delay, postpone ……………………………… it’s what we do best!!!
Or you could simply do a Hillsborough; cover it up and lie your backside off for quarter of a century until most of the major culprits are dead!!
justshatered 7th October 2015 at 11:20 pm #
‘…..Or you could simply do a Hillsborough; cover it up and lie your backside off for quarter of a century until most of the major culprits are dead!!’
________
And when they are dead, no authority on earth can bring them back to life from their dishonourable graves.
There are, i’m afraid, no ‘5-way agreements’ after death.
justshatered 7th October 2015 at 11:20 pm
I’m not really sure how you are relating that to a criminal case, which has been indicted, and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on 16th October.
Interestingly it now appears to be in Edinburgh High Court rather than Glasgow.
Homunculus 8th October 2015 at 12:31 am #
‘..Interestingly it now appears to be in Edinburgh High Court rather than Glasgow.’
__________
Well, well. I suspected that the venue might be changed!
Good spot, H.
Long time follower, since early R.T.Case. Is there any possibility that the upcoming legal proceedings can be heard any other way than by a jury?
According to Phil McG The Rangers only have $170,000 in the kitty. That is nowhere near enough for the October wages unless they empty the escrow tax money account. Will we see a 2011 cheating repeat? Will the SFA collude again?
I guess somebody is going to have to raid their bank account again. I wonder whose turn it is to pay the electricity?
Fisiani 8th October 2015 at 5:13 am #According to Phil McG The Rangers only have $170,000 in the kitty. That is nowhere near enough for the October wages unless they empty the escrow tax money account. Will we see a 2011 cheating repeat? Will the SFA collude again?
=============================
As I recall the SFA knew in October 2011 Rangers were going to default on tax. They did nothing. Ogilvie was allowed to see out his time and Regan is still in post.
What a screwed up nation we are at times.
As the song says…
“It’s all just a case of history repeating”.
Someone (Phil?) recently noted the natural, annual rhythm to cashflow in football in Scotland. The point had not occurred to me before, but seemed blindingly obvious.
If Rangers are genuinely in financial trouble, then we should expect the timings to be very similar to last time.
I was looking to see whether the papers had picked up on the change of venue of the indictment hearing. Didn’t see any mention so far in the online ‘Scotsman’ or ‘Herald’.
]
ButI see this other matter in the Herald:
“RANGERS shareholder Mike Ashley has been criticised for using “disgraceful” and “unlawful” employment practices after losing a legal case against 50 former employees.
The workers, who were employed by his ailing clothing chain USC, have all secured a protected redundancy payout after the firm – which is now in control of administrators Duff & Phelps – gave them just 15 minutes’ notice before they lost their jobs.
It is understood that the payouts could run…” [I wasn’t going to take out a subscription to read the rest! Cheapskates? see me, see DK?
John Clark 8th October 2015 at 8:10 am #I was looking to see whether the papers had picked up on the change of venue of the indictment hearing. Didn’t see any mention so far in the online ‘Scotsman’ or ‘Herald’.
================
I think that the less publicity in the press regarding the venue of these hearings, the better for all concerned- subject to the legal minimum, of course, which is publication in the Court Rolls. The scenes in Glasgow for the original court appearances a few months ago would have disgraced a banana republic.
neepheid 8th October 2015 at 8:28 am #
John Clark 8th October 2015 at 8:10 am #I was looking to see whether the papers had picked up on the change of venue of the indictment hearing. Didn’t see any mention so far in the online ‘Scotsman’ or ‘Herald’.
================ I think that the less publicity in the press regarding the venue of these hearings, the better for all concerned- subject to the legal minimum, of course, which is publication in the Court Rolls. The scenes in Glasgow for the original court appearances a few months ago would have disgraced a banana republic.
================
I believe that the scenes that you refer to were in fact orchestrated for the enjoyment of the establishment, their team and their supporters. Publicly parading defendants like this was nothing more than creating a circus totally lapped up buy the baying mob and a large MSM presence.
I was interested to see in Phil’s latest blog mention of an escrow account being used by TRFC to hold (as I understand it) the regular monthly tax payments due to HMRC. An escrow account is a third party account where money is held at a distance from payer and payee, and where the money is released when payer and payee agree the sum due.
I’ve been retired a while now, so things may have changed in recent years, but I have never come across such an arrangement for the regular monthly tax payments by a company. Escrow accounts are normally used where there is a dispute regarding liability, or uncertainty regarding the amount of liability. I don’t see how that can apply to regular VAT or PAYE. Can someone with current knowledge help on this?
Or does Phil mean not a legal escrow account, but a sort of internal account, where the Finance Director keeps the money for taxes, and which is not to be used for any other purpose? A bit like my granny’s shortbread tins where she kept the money for various bills? If so, that system requires tremendous self discipline when money is tight. When payday comes, and there is no other money, do you nobly not pay the wages because money is sitting in an account earmarked for the tax, or do you pay the wages out of the tax account in the hope that a “co-investor” will turn up with a few million before HMRC get their act together and start proceedings?
My granny would have been fine of course, because she would have had a “wages tin” as well as a “taxes tin”, and the cat would have been mighty thin before she raided any of her tins, but that’s maybe not “the Rangers way”. I have, of course, no doubt that Dave King has finally put on his jacket with the cheque book in the pocket for this latest trip to Scotland, so nothing whatsoever to worry about.
As has been said above extensively but worth repeating, I don’t think finding the co-investor is the problem per se, it is the environment into which they are now being asked to co-invest. They’re being asked to throw money into a bucket that;
1/ might not be their bucket, and the guy holding it might as well have a mask and written swag on the side
2/ undoubtedly has no bottom, and no-one seems to have any appetite to address or even acknowledge the fact (solely because THEM have got a big shiny new bucket)
3/ it may be a bucket asked to do a lot in the next wee while – like the old its a knock out game where they had to transport the water wearing various handicapping garments over various obstacles (from the unforeseen to the downright predictable) and see how much water was left in said bucket at the end.
Seriously decreasing odds on the legal charges next week being used to cover up the obvious cash deficit. I wonder how many co-investors would instead be willing to pitch into a company under protection? One now handicapped further, not by clowns shoes, but a large points deduction instead.
neepheid,
I think you are correct, it is not an “escrow account” as normally defined.
PAYE is the HMRC system to collect Income Tax and National Insurance from employment. These monies are collected on behalf of HMRC; a company is not entitled to use it for any other purpose.
Neepheid
you are correct,the question is who set the Escrow up,and who is the third party,holder,like all things in this Sevco world,it does not mean the escrow will be paid out to the original intended benefactor ,good thinking to help plug the sinkhole that the cash has kept flooding down,but the walls keep moving around in the Blue room as do the chairs and it must be easily forgotten who said and done what,no ,it’s got to be tough these days being a responsible person at the top of the marble staircase ,but as long as Warbies doing his bit and feeding the Bears week in,week out Kingco wil stumble along until he thinks he will be able to pick a pocket or two,any day now I Would think.
neepheid 8th October 2015 at 9:15 am
# I was interested to see in Phil’s latest blog mention of an escrow account being used by TRFC to hold (as I understand it) the regular monthly tax payments due to HMRC. An escrow account is a third party account where money is held at a distance from payer and payee, and where the money is released when payer and payee agree the sum due. I’ve been retired a while now, so things may have changed in recent years, but I have never come across such an arrangement for the regular monthly tax payments by a company. Escrow accounts are normally used where there is a dispute regarding liability, or uncertainty regarding the amount of liability. I don’t see how that can apply to regular VAT or PAYE. Can someone with current knowledge help on this? Or does Phil mean not a legal escrow account, but a sort of internal account, where the Finance Director keeps the money for taxes, and which is not to be used for any other purpose? A bit like my granny’s shortbread tins where she kept the money for various bills? If so, that system requires tremendous self discipline when money is tight. When payday comes, and there is no other money, do you nobly not pay the wages because money is sitting in an account earmarked for the tax, or do you pay the wages out of the tax account in the hope that a “co-investor” will turn up with a few million before HMRC get their act together and start proceedings? My granny would have been fine of course, because she would have had a “wages tin” as well as a “taxes tin”, and the cat would have been mighty thin before she raided any of her tins, but that’s maybe not “the Rangers way”. I have, of course, no doubt that Dave King has finally put on his jacket with the cheque book in the pocket for this latest trip to Scotland, so nothing whatsoever to worry about.
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I’m sure, in fact certain, that the highlighted line above is what Phil will have meant as this will be normal practice for most well run businesses, and even some badly run ones. I’m sure that even under Whyte RFC had bank accounts specifically for Tax and VAT, but he also had access to them that would go unchecked by the bank. Banks don’t question what the money in any designated account is used for, they are only concerned that the cheques are signed by authorised signatories. Nowadays, of course, the money may well be moved electronically with nobody having sight of the transactions.
I’d be very surprised if TRFC/RIFC use money earmarked for Tax or VAT as I’m sure the more honest board members will be keeping a very close eye on any movement of moneys, particularly where Tax and VAT are involved. They must be asking themselves what on earth they got themselves into, and be desperate not to allow King, or anyone else, to dig their hole deeper. When the money runs out we can be pretty sure they will either pony up or call in an administrator before allowing anyone to play fast and loose with their business reputations, and any possible criminal charges! In their determination to stay on the right side of HMRC, and the law, the more respected board members may well have arranged for much tighter controls over the money set aside for Tax and VAT. I hope for their sakes, because they are, I think, just genuine supporters desperate to do what’s right for their club, that they have taken all steps possible to ensure no Tax money can be diverted away from HMRC!
Upthehoops 7. 18
I recall that the instruction to stop making payments was given in Sept 2011. One month after CL and Europa League exit.
The time of a meeting with Regan and Ogilvie where upcoming administration would be discussed was mid December 2011.
I’ll have look to see if any other took place before then. There certainly was one where assurances were given to CW, but not sure if it was different from the December one.
One thing for sure the SFA played a part in enabling this charade. They tried to avoid RFC running out of cash by being lax, negligent, incompetent or complicit in the handling of the wtc bill timing and licence process in 2011.
I’m betting that on the narrow evidence being used to press Res12 they will cough for negligence. However there is other evidence that suggests more and that is likely to come out as the secrecy that has protected them from real scrutiny is lifted in lead up to, during and after the trials.
And if that is not enough there is the pesky witholding of documentation from SPL lawyers who commissioned LNS.
If ever there was an opprtunuty to reclaim and rebuild our game it will present itself in the coming months.
A few Scottish journos of repute (or ready to earn one) who are willing to join that campaign, rather than trying to put Humpty back together again, would be a significant step forward.
Some leadership from club chairmen would also be extremely useful.
AllyJambo
Easy Jambo
Totally off topic but spent an excellent couple of hours reminiscing with John Harvey son of the Hearts manager when Hearts had players to poach from 66 to 70.
I reckon before then John snr played for Hearts alongside Dave McKay and other legends. Maybe you can prompt my memory.
Willie Hamilton was a favorite of us both in conversation. Apparently he had a can of beer as his half time oranges equivalent. Must have helped his swerve!
Auldheid 8th October 2015 at 10:43 am # AllyJambo Easy Jambo Totally off topic but spent an excellent couple of hours reminiscing with John Harvey son of the Hearts manager when Hearts had players to poach from 66 to 70. I reckon before then John snr played for Hearts alongside Dave McKay and other legends. Maybe you can prompt my memory. Willie Hamilton was a favorite of us both in conversation. Apparently he had a can of beer as his half time oranges equivalent. Must have helped his swerve!
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Auldheid, I know John Harvey quite well, having played many a game of pool (and downed many a pint) with him in, what was then, our local bowling club. I’ve not seen him for over 10 years but remember well our many chats about our beloved football team. Since then I’ve occasionally seen him in the Hearts dug-out (during the Romanov years) on TV – he was a Hearts Scout for many years and, I presume, was involved in coaching from time to time, arriving initially with his close friend Jim Jeffries.
I don’t think John Harvey Snr played alongside Dave MacKay as his playing days would have been behind him. I think he played pre-war and would have missed much of his playing career having been called up. He was, famously amongst Hearts supporters, an excellent trainer (as the coach was called then) before, unexpectedly, being promoted to manager on the sacking of Tommy Walker. Unfortunately, Hearts were on a downward spiral by the time he took over, and it wasn’t until the man John Harvey signed for Hearts, Jim Jeffries, became the club’s manager, that we saw silverware again! I heard many a story from John Jnr of that day, I can tell you
Willie Hamilton was some player, though I only ever saw him play for Hearts when he returned to play at the end of his career. And could he play? No longer had the legs to run up and down the wing, but could send a 40 yard pass onto a sixpence and beat a man without moving more than a yard. Sadly he passed away quite recently.
Homunculus 8th October 2015 at 12:31 am #
No longer shown in Glasow rolls. Attachment above on 6th of October.
JC, skullduggery afoot?
PS: Mr McPhee is still scheduled for Glasow
Grant Russell Retweeted Rob Harris @RobHarris 25m25 minutes ago Head of world football (Blatter): SUSPENDED
No. 2 in world football (Valcke): SUSPENDED
Head of European football (Platini): SUSPENDED
From Twitter a few minutes ago.
Now I’m not claiming to be a Traynoresque master of spin, but with all the current chaos going on at FIFA, and all our attention focussed on tonight’s vital international matches, wouldn’t today/tomorrow be an ideal time to dump a few of the inevitable upcoming Sevco bad news stories?
Here’s one for your Level 5 boys to kick off with James, the forthcoming closure of (Sir David) Murray Park due to lack of funds – all Mr Greens fault of course !
Afternoon all.
Just asking,
If,as Phil suggests,TRFC have only £170k of usable cash,which gets them to the weekend,if no “investment” is forthcoming,how would they pay for an administration?.
https://johnjamessite.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/the-emperor-with-no-clothes/
John James’ latest blog post. There is nothing new for SFMers to read, but it is an example, I think, of what JJ does best, he is telling the bears to look for the truth. In doing so, his aims, or agenda, matter not. It matters not who he is.
The sad thing, in my opinion, for the bears is that it is now too late for them to do anything to save their club. The club may, somehow, survive (or at least escape administration), but it will not be through the efforts of the supporters, it will be because a sugar daddy has appeared, or King has somehow persuaded some rich supporters to part with their money.
I think the best thing for the bears to do now is to hope for the best, and prepare for the worst. Enjoy the football, and keep the money coming through the gates to allow more time to prepare, to prepare for the next journey. To stop ‘investing’ in RIFC and to start building a fund for whatever is needed for a new start.
FOH at Hearts did that, and were up and running long before the CVA was accepted, with money in the bank to immediately back Ann Budge’s bid. I suspect that, had the CVA failed, then many of the FOH members would have used the money they’d ‘invested’ to start a new club, and having the money ready could have made a huge difference to the viability, even at a much lower level, of starting the club and progressing into the senior leagues.
We know that, in the event of liquidation, a new Ibrox? club will be shoehorned into the 4th tier, but that will take money to make possible. Instead of presuming, again, that a mega-rich supporter will come along to sort it all out, they should be assuming that any ‘white knights’ will need all the financial support they can get, and that that finance will have to come from the bears.
At the very least they should be preparing themselves emotionally for what might well happen, and opening their eyes to who it is that’s actually doing them wrong!
Ashley would be happy to provide the funds for an administration, if he thought administration was in his interest- and he actually has the money. However I doubt that he will let them escape so easily. An Ashley “not so soft” loan is my best bet. With King as honorary chairman, to keep the fans onside, but Ashley in total control.
woodstein 8th October 2015 at 11:33 am #
‘… JC, skullduggery afoot’
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Perhaps it’s no more than a sad indictment (!) of the inability of the judicial process to rely on Police Scotland to keep civic order in matters where misdirected, mis-informed anger might spill over into mindless thuggery….
Or perhaps it may have been thought that jury selection might be less problematic.
I happened to be in town on other business earlier this morning and called in at the High Court (that used to be the old Sheriff court building) just to check that it would indeed be that building in which the indictment hearing of the case we are interested in will be heard, and not the Parliament House building.
It will be, (unless someone pulls a flanker).
neepheid 8th October 2015 at 1:42 pm #torrejohnbhoy(@johnbhoy1958) 8th October 2015 at 1:16 pm #Afternoon all. Just asking, If,as Phil suggests,TRFC have only £170k of usable cash,which gets them to the weekend,if no “investment” is forthcoming,how would they pay for an administration?.
=========================Ashley would be happy to provide the funds for an administration, if he thought administration was in his interest- and he actually has the money. However I doubt that he will let them escape so easily. An Ashley “not so soft” loan is my best bet. With King as honorary chairman, to keep the fans onside, but Ashley in total control.
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He could certainly afford it and I’m sure he would extract a heavy price(IP,shirt rights for decades?).
Not sure about King though.If,as expected,TRFC bite the dust and he promised massive investment personally,causing the fans to buy shares,and deliberately didn’t deliver,surely with the fans he’d be damaged goods(or maybe not).
Ashley may kick him in the teeth also.King treated his guys disgracefully.Big Mike doesn’t strike me as the forgiving type!.
The change of venue for the Preliminary Hearing for the Sevco Seven is, to put it mildly, noteworthy.
Since last October Glasgow has been the location of Preliminary Hearings (cf http://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/warning-high-court-changes-will-hit-poorest-hardest).
As recently as the Summer 2015 issue of Supreme Court News, a publication of Scottish Courts and Tribunals:
PRELIMINARY HEARINGS RELOCATION Please note that ALL preliminary hearings and continued preliminary hearings are heard in the High Court in Glasgow. Edinburgh no longer has a preliminary hearings court; however, should a case be continued to a specific judge, it may require to call in Edinburgh. If this is the case and you have documentation to lodge prior to these hearings, they can be lodged with Edinburgh in these circumstances only.
Perhaps a Judge has already been allocated this case, whenever it goes to Trial, and he/she happens to be in Edinburgh next Friday?
Perhaps all of the Sevco Seven have advised the Crown that they will be pleading Guilty to all charges and they would like the benefits which an early plea carries?
Nothing if not interesting…
The moving of the court cases all fits into the narrative of civil disobedience if there is no entity in the senior leagues.
Auldheid 8th October 2015 at 10:43 am #
Allyjambo 8th October 2015 at 11:20 am #
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Further to reminisces of John Harvey, according to the London Hearts stats, John signed for Hearts in 1934 and played in a total of 90 games mainly in the last couple of pre war years and during the early forties. He became “assistant trainer” in 1946, before becoming “trainer” in 1952. It was during Harvey’s tenure as trainer, that Hearts became re-knowned as the fittest side in the league and success followed with two league wins, a cup and 4 league cups, with a helping hand of course from players such as Dave Mackay and the gifted Willie Hamilton.
He was manager from 1966-70, with one of his first actions being the sale of Willie Wallace to Celtic for just £29,000. He had planned for his assistant manager Jock Wallace to replace him, but Wallace left for Rangers and Hearts ended up with Bobby Seith and some erratic performances during the following seasons.
If we remember back to a supposed pow-wow in Switzerland attended by a few of the major players still around in this, well I was going to say debacle but if these guys all met before and are still around, is there any chance that this is still all part of a master plan and everything going to schedule? I think we are getting nearer to finding out. It’s the biggest join-the-dots I’ve ever seen !! Maybe even a world record ……
LUGOSI 8th October 2015 at 2:07 pm #
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Spot on, I read the article your link points to, in March this year, and considered the recent change of venue to be odd, to say the least, in view of it.
Posted for JC here.
woodstein 30th September 2015 at 6:13 pm #
They must fear the worst.
Christyboy 8th October 2015 at 2:37 pm # If we remember back to a supposed pow-wow in Switzerland attended by a few of the major players still around in this, well I was going to say debacle but if these guys all met before and are still around, is there any chance that this is still all part of a master plan and everything going to schedule? I think we are getting nearer to finding out. It’s the biggest join-the-dots I’ve ever seen !! Maybe even a world record ……
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I doubt a visit to the High Court would be much of a master plan, but I think there is every possibility that much of what has happened, but may appear unconnected, was a part of a long term plan that is now falling apart at the seams.
Apologies for my ignorance
i see the name “Thomas McPhee” has appeared in the ongoing legal cases.
where does he fit in to this ?
(I’ve never heard or seen his name in these ‘circles’ before)
In the original rolls for the Glasgow High Court Hearing he appeared slap bang in the middle of the 7 indicted over matters surrounding ibrox clubs, as you will know because you have posted a screenshot on the John James site. It has a different case reference and is, as has previously been pointed out on sfm about a Hamilton murder http://news.stv.tv/west-central/1323462-man-due-at-hamilton-sheriff-court-over-death-of-brian-cogan-wishaw/
If you were throwing SoF a curve ball I’m sure he will already know, from monitoring here, that the hearing has been switched to Edinburgh as there has been much discussion about it today.
As for SoF’s claims. I did try to post on his blog a week ago and it was not controversial or critical. It was either left in moderation limbo or deleted before it saw the light of day. So I have no intention of attempting to post on his blog that if he can’t get a simple thing like deducting the correct VAT from gross correct how are we to trust the rest of his figures.
Green v RIFC also at the Court of Session next Friday AM
https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/current-business/court-rolls/court-roll?id=6287f0a6-8980-69d2-b500-ff0000d74aa7
Charles against RIFC in CoS next Friday in front of Lord Tyre. Presumably this is the legal costs
Edit sorry I see EasyJambo beat me to it but I’ll leave the link for added provenance.
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh courts in use at the same time.
http://news.stv.tv/west-central/1330351-date-set-in-charles-greens-bid-to-force-rangers-to-cover-trial-costs/
STV haven’t court up on the move to Edinburgh then
tykebhoy 8th October 2015 at 4:53 pm #
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Good to see you get a name check in JJ’s latest blog.
Just keep questioning him re his numbers and assumptions.