News in The Times of Celtic’s letter to Stewart Regan regarding that club’s wish for a Judicial Review into the SFA’s handing of the Rangers EBT crisis increases the pressure on Regan considerably.
The SFA Chief Executive’s ill-advised spat with Pie and Bovril editor David McDonald this week may even be a sign he is devolving, and at least it demonstrates that, despite Twitter disaster after Twitter disaster, Regan doesn’t learn readily from his mistakes.
Also, it appears from the contents of Celtic’s letter that their target in terms of a Judicial Review has been the SFA, and not the SPFL, all along. That chimes with developments as I understand them elsewhere in this process.
Even though it now appears that Celtic and a fan group are seeking a Judicial Review it is by no means certain that it will ever happen.
Having a sound legal basis for it, obtaining standing, and having a reasonable chance of victory are all variables in the equation, and each has to be weighed carefully before progress can be made.
Having said that, if the reason any Judicial Review fails is because of that lawyer-speak we have been subjected to of late, the SFA may yet come to believe that hiding behind legalese is neither in football’s best interests, nor in the interests of the individuals at the SFA who are under fire.
The bottom line as they, is this;
Rangers did acquire an unfair advantage over others by their use of EBTs. The SPL themselves were flabbergasted when Sandy Bryson proclaimed his eponymous ‘imperfectly registered’ doctrine. They all know – everyone in every board room in the country, in every SFA department, in every SPFL office – that cheating took place.
In fact and in spirit.
The jaws of the vice are tightening as we speak. The fans group who are building a case for a Judicial Review give its handle a wee turn every day, and the leak of the Celtic letter to Regan reduces his wiggle room even further.
It is surely now just a matter of time before this ridiculous and infamous chapter in Scotland’s football history is dealt with.
Of course people will accuse anyone who is a Celtic fan, or an Aberdeen fan, or a Dundee United fan (clubs whose rivalry with Rangers is keenest) of partisanship in this affair. That is mere deflection and bears no scrutiny whatsoever.
As a Celtic fan myself, I can’t deny that I am angry at what took place between (at least) 2000 and 2009, but does that mean that as a Celtic fan I have to recuse myself from having an opinion?
And as a former employee of the club, am I excluded from any conversation about the integrity of our game because the club at the centre of the scandal is Rangers? Pull the other one.
SFM, and the wider fans’ movement has been consistently appalled by this sorry chapter over the last six years, but is no kangaroo court. We are not asking for conclusions to be drawn without due process. We see unexplained regulatory anomalies in the processes at Ibrox and Hampden which have never to our knowledge been addressed. We simply wish that they should be.
Further, if my club was at the heart of this nonsense, I think I’d be incandescent with rage that they had allowed me to revel in the joy of winning all those trophies, only to have the achievements cheapened and nullified by their mismanagement. I would regard that as the ultimate betrayal (and Celtic fans can give you a list of club betrayals as long as Mao’s march).
I’d be thinking that those same business practices that apparently had given us so much, had actually caused to fail catastrophically. Having taken delight in the honours, I would have to accept the consequences too.
The SFA, by their corrupt approach to the demise of Rangers, have denied Rangers fans the catharsis that they could benefit from. In fact the authorities’ refusal to deal with the situation in terms of their own rules it has fostered a siege mentality to exist at Ibrox.
This in turn has enabled a series of charlatans, including the current board, to drive the bus in the direction of a brick wall for the last five years.
After the phenomenally successful share issue (something that can’t happen again whilst King is in charge for regulatory reasons), the new Rangers were given seed capital which should have flowered by now with the regular watering of their huge fan base. That £22m, which should have seen the club competing at the top by now has gone, and the potential which existed in 2012 has been diminished severely.
It’s no fun being a fan of Scottish football in the midst of this. But we make a fundamental error if we think that Rangers fans are enjoying it. They are victims in this too, and they have been defrauded by the Murray-era shenanigans, and the circus performers who have been on the scene since then – every bit as much as the rest of us.
The honourable thing (no laughing at the back) for the SFA to do would be to agree to Celtic’s request for a Judicial Review.
If the pressure is turned up another notch or three on the SFA, then maybe we will all get closure, and perhaps finally we can move on.
EJ, and Homunc. I was watching the live feed from Scottish Parliament this morning. Regarding the committee looking into the Offensive behaviour at football act. Great debate/ discussion.
paddy malarkeyOctober 3, 2017 at 20:34
‘..I thought RFC 2012 plc was the name Craigie boy changed RFC plc to before dispatching them to liquidation ‘
_________
The name was changed on 31/07/12. (No doubt to try to kid everyone into thinking that it was not Rangers that was about to go into liquidation!
But you’re right: it was the Rangers of 1872 , the real thing of Struth, Waddell, and Walter and McLeish that did go into Liquidation, where it still is.
But I think that the action by BDO is an action not against the liquidated club as such, but against the Administrators personally for the way they handled the Administration. BDO clearly thinks the Administrators did not act entirely properly ( and perhaps could at least have got a better deal for creditors).And their action must be based on one or other of the (a) (b) (c) or (d) sub-paras of Para 75.
But maybe the judge will rule that because ‘Rangers’ is mentioned, nothing should be reported!
Very sad to hear of Tom Petty dying. Scroll past if you don’t like but some talent in this song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o4s1KVJaVA
paddy malarkeyOctober 3, 2017 at 20:34
‘I thought RFC 2012 plc was the name Craigie boy changed RFC plc to before dispatching them to liquidation’
_______
(See below)
Aye, the name was changed on 31/07/12, to try to kid us all that it wasn’t ‘Rangers’ that were going into liquidation! But, of course, it was indeed Rangers FC founded in 1872 that went into, and are still, in Liquidation.
I was supposing that since the action by BDO tomorrow is an action against the Administrators personally rather than against the club, or any of its directors, there would be no call for ‘reporting restrictions’ to be imposed.
But maybe the judge will take the view that anything that mentions any ‘Rangers’ should be kept quiet until all proceedings whatsoever have been completed.
We’ll find out tomorrow.
[Apologies for this almost repeat:I thought my first version hadn’t been sent!]
JOHN CLARKOCTOBER 3, 2017 at 21:39
That’s along the lines of my own train of thought . What the court is considering is RFC(IL) and I presumed the action involves the liquidators ,rather than the administrators ?
JOHN CLARKOCTOBER 3, 2017 at 20:08 Since neither RFC(IL) nor TRFC is a party, I don’t suppose there will be any reporting restrictions?
=============================
Surely we are beyond this now save for a criminal case? The public purse has been completely robbed by RFC(IL) as confirmed by the highest court in the UK. As you say, TRFC are not a party. I think those of us who pay our taxes in full and time deserve to know what’s been going on.
I had thought the action BDO are taking relates to how the administrators dealt with the CVA process and whether, at the point it was rejected, they acted in the best interests of the creditors, which is their duty at that time. The objective of saving the company (not the business) had failed so their only concern should have been the creditors.
Sorry if that is wrong, if it’s not about that then it should be.
This is the order in which an IP must act in an administration.
Company rescue.
If this is not possible, to achieve a better outcome for creditors than if the company was liquidated.
If the previous two options are not achievable, the IP must attempt to realise the company’s property with a view to paying secured or preferential creditors.
https://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk/articles/uk-company-law/what-are-the-duties-of-an-insolvency-practitioner
You will note that it is the company they are trying to rescue. If they cannot do that then they must consider if they can do better (for the creditors) than liquidation. If they cannot do that then they must get the best outcome (for the creditors)
It could not be clearer they did not do this.
JIMBO
OCTOBER 3, 2017 at 21:11
…I was watching the live feed from Scottish Parliament this morning. Regarding the committee looking into the Offensive behaviour at football act. Great debate/ discussion…
——————————————-
I caught a short piece from the debate on the STV News.
Did ACC Higgins actually say that sectarian singing wasn’t an issue anymore? Does he mean it doesn’t occur anymore, as that is blatantly incorrect; or that it’s not an issue for Police Scotland to manage/prosecute?
(Incidentally, in his twenty-second duration soundbite, he managed to use the ‘Old Firm’ descriptor twice. Not bad!)
(seem to have lost a post or two so sorry if this is a repeat)
Given the SFA and others the benefit of the doubt, I am sure they are fully concentrated on the next two important games for the national team.
However just a wee reminder that tomorrow is four weeks since the reports that the Compliance Officer was being asked to investigate the Euro Licence issue.
Has anyone got Brenada’s old clock so we can keep an eye on when the SFA and/or the MSM are going to provide us with some kind of update / progress report?
If Regan is to believed in that he wants people to move on, then why the pussy footing around this investigation?
Duly turned up at Lord Tyre’s Court (No 6).
Took up where we left off months ago!
instead of 80 000 documents (mainly emails) , there are now ‘only’ 4,500 to be further sifted.
The geeks are using 5 new filter words on these to reduce the number that they might finally end up with to manageable proportions.
Counsel for D&P only got a printout of the 4000 on Monday.
Judge Tyre said that was still a lot. That would surely have to be reduced much further.
Counsel said it was not as if people were sitting on their thumbs:teams had been working for 282 hours.He had been thinking of asking for case to be sisted for about 2 months, but now thinks and hopes that the parties might be able to speed things up without requiring Court Orders.
Judge remarked that ‘litigation by document’ was a trend that the Scottish courts were trying to resist.
Counsel for BDO had mumped and moaned about how long it was all taking, and how he would like to be told what the 5 key words being used to sift the docs are.!).He was not told.
As well as ‘ordinary’ documents there are the documents held by the Police in relation to criminal matters. These are difficult to get hold of, and some have notes scribbled on them as they had passed through lawyers’ hands. The Crown Office is cautious about just handing these over.
Lord Tyre said that we would just have to accept it, if documents relating to criminal matters couldn’t be produced until those matters had been concluded.
Conclusion: kicked forward till 7th November, to see what the situation with the documents will be at that time.
[ I suspect we could have fun guessing what some of the key words might be that the Administrators might be using to screen out documents they wish use to defend their client!)
JOHN CLARKOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 11:41
Duly turned up at Lord Tyre’s Court (No 6).Took up where we left off months ago!
————————————————————————————
Cheers JC. Much appreciated. I thought I would look into the judges “litiation by document” comment, and came across an interesting wee read as to why.
https://www.bbmsolicitors.co.uk/Knowledge/recovery-of-documents-in-scottish-litigation.html
Further to JC’s post about the BDO v D&P action today, can anyone recall the source of information that suggested that the former MCR partners would receive a bonus if D&P were appointed administrators at Rangers.
I have a recollection of reading about it a few months ago but I can’t recall where. The statement may have come from a D&P executive.
JIMBOOCTOBER 3, 2017 at 21:27
Very sad to hear of Tom Petty dying. Scroll past if you don’t like but some talent in this song:
______________
Thanks for that, Jimbo, hard to believe only Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynn left of that true supergroup. Gods of music, one and all.
But as George Harrison wrote, so many many years ago, ‘All Things Must Pass, All Things Must Pass Away.’
What a truly sad week this has been.
“Leicester see Adrien Silva registration appeal REJECTED by FIFA after £22m transfer was made 14 seconds late
…
But it has been denied and Silva will now not be registered to play for Leicester until January.
…
In the meantime, Silva is not legally allowed to even train with the rest of the Leicester squad.
Instead, Silva has been training alone rather than with the rest of Craig Shakespeare’s first team as the wrangle has dragged on.
…
The 28-year-old recently flew back to his homeland to be with his pregnant wife, and Shakespeare admits that the player’s professional concerns lies with not just Leicester but his place in the national team too.
‘The conversations I’ve had with him so far are very brief. But of course in the back of his mind the World Cup will be a concern,’ Shakespeare said recently.
…”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4947582/Adrien-Silva-s-Leicester-City-registration-appeal-rejected.html#ixzz4uY7V0fB3 
========================================
So, we have our own, dodgy SFA treating their rulebook as a discretionary set of ‘guidelines’.
Yet the really, really dodgy FIFA is sticking rigidly to its rulebook.
Common sense is not a requirement it seems in football governance ?
‘Poor’ chap, and he could miss possibly his only chance of playing at a World Cup – because of someone else’s admin. issues ?
You think they could have allowed his registration – but heavily fined Leicester to boost the FIFA exec’s Christmas Party Fund ?!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-41499165
Not directly an issue with T’Rangers but one to do with someone who until recently had a significant shareholding and the club named has been linked before to dodgy deals between French and English clubs with Rangers being in the middle.
Was thinking the other day that, with the cancellation of the Benfica game, there is just a stench of tragedy hanging around the Ibrox club.
While folk may indeed want to move on it just seems like to me that even if we do, I am still left wondering what T’Rangers (other than the significant fan base) bring to the Scottish game being that a week doesn’t go by that they seem to be embroiled in one shambles or another.
Prior to the release of the accounts of RIFC later his month I though I’d re-apprise myself of the last couple of years accounts. However on the company website the previous accounts have all disappeared except for the unaudited work of fiction from this summer,
Luckily I retrieved what I wanted from the good old web-archive. I’m assuming this is just a IT glitch rather than something untoward happening.
WOTTPI
OCTOBER 4, 2017 at 16:02
…
I am still left wondering what T’Rangers (other than the significant fan base) bring to the Scottish game
…
=========================
Laughter ?
The ‘Scotsman’ has a wee piece reporting that if Cataluna ‘secedes’ from Spain, and gets kicked out of La Liga, the Catalonian sports Minister thinks they could get into the English premier league.
Arsene Wenger, though, opines that ” We have to invite the Scottish clubs before we go for the Spanish”
Who’s been biting his ear?
Corrupt officialOctober 4, 2017 at 12:05
‘..“litiation by document” comment, and came across an interesting wee read as to why…’
_______
Thanks for that link, C1.
That was an interesting read that puts this morning’s exchanges in Court, particularly Lord Tyre’s observations, into a fuller context, and explains Counsel’s hope that the parties can mutually agree on which documents can be used much sooner than originally feared.
I
Newcastle United now on the radar of HMRC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-41499165
The Judgement:
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2017/2402.html
JOHN CLARK
if wenger actually said that,which i don’t think he did,he knows if it came to pass barca would stroll that league and make arsenal look worse
WOTTPIOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 11:23
However just a wee reminder that tomorrow is four weeks since the reports that the Compliance Officer was being asked to investigate the Euro Licence issue.
Has anyone got Brenada’s old clock so we can keep an eye on when the SFA and/or the MSM are going to provide us with some kind of update / progress report?
If Regan is to believed in that he wants people to move on, then why the pussy footing around this investigation?
————–
Why are you raking over old coals
From the SFA official web page.
Respected and Trusted to Lead.
There will be a statement tomorrow just before the big game or maybe Friday after the game just you wait and see. Honest, trust the SFA, TRANSPARENCY AND ALL THAT
Extracted from DR today;
“Rangers reveal new black and royal blue third kit and fans either love it or hate it
The Ibrox club agreed a new one-year deal with Sports Direct in June and the new top is splitting opinion amongst the Gers faithful…
=============================
And apparently these mainly black tops are only to be worn for home games around 14th of February.
True.
EASYJAMBOOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 12:34 9 0 Rate This
Further to JC’s post about the BDO v D&P action today, can anyone recall the source of information that suggested that the former MCR partners would receive a bonus if D&P were appointed administrators at Rangers.
I have a recollection of reading about it a few months ago but I can’t recall where. The statement may have come from a D&P executive.
————-
Was looking over some old articles trying to find something for you,but found this (picture).
wonder if Richard feels the same now?
You should see some of the stuff i’m finding.
Alastair Johnston. Insisting We didn’t cheat.
Gers war with the BBC.
The orange strip option.
The secret documents seen by the sun the beaks wanted gers stripped of 9 titles.
Gers set for ADIDAS strip deal.
Green stating touch our titles and we will sue.
Greens SPL WAR.
Ally plans for return to SPL in two years.
Green calling the SLP Drunk or dopes.
Green claiming SFA have an agenda against the ibrox club.
David murray saying stop twisting the knife.
Green meets with DM 4 months after he takes ownership.
———
If i find anything i will let you know.but i may be some time reading back over that lot and more
OK last one before i go for a read.
Alex Rae.
My Agent Phil Graham was vastly experienced in the way of football contracts and assured me the one i was signing for rangers was commonplace throughout the game.
I’d never heard of EBT’s and to this day I’m not exactly sure how it all works.SEP 29 2012
GiovanniOctober 4, 2017 at 16:33
‘….on the company website the previous accounts have all disappeared .’
___________
Nothing too sinister about that, Giovanni. PLCs know that anyone wanting to see their accounts can easily find them on Companies House: there’s no hiding place.
Of course, if the company doesn’t file their accounts……they get hit with penalties, and if they bugger about ,they can be struck off..
“UEFA President visits Scotland ahead of UEFA EURO 2020
Wednesday, 04 October 2017
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin visited Hampden Park today in recognition of the successful completion of the first phase of UEFA EURO 2020 stadium development works.
…
Hampden Park will play host to three Group Stage matches and a Round of 16 game for the championships, which will be held in 13 different cities across Europe.
As part of the preparation for the tournament, new LED giant screens have been installed inside Hampden Park, in addition to 26 new skyboxes that have been constructed across the South Stand. Two sky lounges have also been fitted-out in the North Stand to enhance the hospitality experience in line with UEFA EURO 2020 Tournament Requirements.
The UEFA President toured Hampden Park to learn more about the history of the stadium and Scottish football…”
http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=3&newsID=17268
=======================================
Few questions spring to mind;
1) Does anyone in Scotland consider Hampden to be fit for purpose ?
2) Is it wise to spend scarce financial resources on continuing development of this stadium ?
3) Who was tasked with talking about “the history of the stadium and Scottish football” ?
If it was Regan, did his history lesson version stop abruptly at 2012 ?
TONYOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 17:50
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41477896
EASYJAMBOOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 12:34 12 0 Rate This
if anything else was said,
Further to JC’s post about the BDO v D&P action today, can anyone recall the source of information that suggested that the former MCR partners would receive a bonus if D&P were appointed administrators at Rangers.
I have a recollection of reading about it a few months ago but I can’t recall where. The statement may have come from a D&P executive.
—————
Was reading the craig whyte court case and found this don’t know if it’s any help or may point you in the right direction.I don’t recal
——
Withey says Grier got 200k fee for negotiating with the bank,then became administrator of rangers.
Adds it was a nice deal for them.
———-
Or i may be way off the mark
STEVIEBCOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 18:47 6 0 Rate This
Extracted from DR today;
“Rangers reveal new black and royal blue third kit and fans either love it or hate itThe Ibrox club agreed a new one-year deal with Sports Direct in June and the new top is splitting opinion amongst the Gers faithful…=============================
And apparently these mainly black tops are only to be worn for home games around 14th of February.
True.
—————–
Was it registered with the SFA by the 30 june?
Cluster One October 4, 2017 at 21:45
Was reading the craig whyte court case and found this don’t know if it’s any help or may point you in the right direction.I don’t recal if anything else was said,
——————- Withey says Grier got 200k fee for negotiating with the bank,then became administrator of rangers. Adds it was a nice deal for them.
=======================
Thanks, I think that was certainly around the time when it surfaced and seems related to what I was looking for. From what I remember, the former MCR partners were promised a bonus by Duff and Phelps as part of their takeover deal, if D&P was successful in obtaining the brief for a high profile insolvency event that was to happen soon. Their belief was that a significant amount of revenue could be generated from it.
I don’t think that RFC was actually mentioned in the report, but the implication was there. There was further comment that the ex MCR guys did indeed receive their bonus.
The takeover of MCR was agreed in October 2011, so D&P must have been given the heads up on what was coming down the line, which makes a mockery of what was said about who knew what at the time.
JOHN CLARKOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 16:41
The ‘Scotsman’ has a wee piece reporting that if Cataluna ‘secedes’ from Spain, and gets kicked out of La Liga, the Catalonian sports Minister thinks they could get into the English premier league.Arsene Wenger, though, opines that ” We have to invite the Scottish clubs before we go for the Spanish”Who’s been biting his ear?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
My understanding is, historically Catalonia included parts of South Eastern France, where many inhabitants of the border towns and villages see themselves as Catalonian, rather than French.
Therefore a more suitable “home” for an exiled Barcalona team would be the French League. Unless of course, money is more important?????????????
Seen this on twitter (The Clumps)and looked it up on the court rolls
COURT OF SESSION
CALLING LIST
Wednesday 4th October
4Walter Ferguson Smith, 26 Blackhall Drive, Helensburgh AG Neil Caisley, 7 Heath Lane, Codicote, Herts &cDrummond Miller LLP
———-
Is this the walter we know?
Cluster One October 4, 2017 at 22:24
Wednesday 4th October 4Walter Ferguson Smith, 26 Blackhall Drive, Helensburgh AG Neil Caisley, 7 Heath Lane, Codicote, Herts &cDrummond Miller LLP
———-
Is this the walter we know?
=======================
From Wiki:
Walter Ferguson Smith, OBE (born 24 February 1948) is a Scottish football player, manager and director. He is primarily associated with his two spells in charge of Scottish club Rangers.
I wish we had picked up on this earlier. I’m sure that JC & I would have hung around at the CoS earlier today.
Edit:
http://efpg.net/team/
Neil Caisley – Adviser
Neil has considerable financial sector experience acquired at Midland Bank (now HSBC), Sun Alliance, Prudential, and Henderson and M&G fund managers. He has also previously owned his own firm of financial advisers. He is particularly experienced in UK financial planning aspects and one of his specialisms is advising professional sportsmen and footballers. Neil is a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments.
——————
Seems like the right guy, giving advice to professional sportsmen and footballers
easyJamboOctober 4, 2017 at 22:56
‘.. I’m sure that JC & I would have hung around at the CoS earlier today.’
______
You just beat me to it, eJ.
I was about to post on the point,decided to’refresh’, and saw your post-more or less the same as mine.
That might have made for a more interesting morning than we had!
Have a dekko at
http://www.blglobal.co.uk/BusinessNews.aspx?id=whitmill-announce-their-involvement-in-the-innovative-visionpro-sports-institute
and weep when you read this:
“Football, or Soccer as known in the US, continues to grow at a significant rate and now has the largest participation of youngsters than any other sport in the country. This growth is also reflected by the number of players from the US now competing in the Premiership and currently includes Tim Howard (Everton), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Brad Friedel (Spurs) and Stuart Holden (Bolton).
Neil Caisley (pictured, top) a Director of VSI commented “I am delighted that our VSI soccer business now extends across the Atlantic and embraces North America through our Tampa franchises. It has been a major part of our plans for growing the business and we look forward to exciting times ahead and becoming part of the USL family”.
No harm to oor Walter, because very few of us-well, ok, maybe it was only me-hadn’t enough savvy to know that , in the abstract and without reference to any particular person,describing oneself or being described, as a ‘financial adviser’ or ‘financial consultant’ or an ‘expert ‘ in sport entrepreneurship’ might just mean that you can spot,like Del boy, a sucker from the length of two fitba’ pitches.
Lord preserve us from making rash, ill-founded judgments!
But if indeed it is oor Walter,I am torn in two!
Why?
Well, because oor Walter has not acknowledged the cheating by RFC(IL).
On that account alone it would be a sort of moral justice if he himself has been banjoed by a cheat. ( and, of course, I do not in the least asseverate that that may be so!)
On the other hand, such has been my disgust at the kind of ‘financial adviser’ trash, the dirty, verminous crap in pinstripe suits that we have learned actually exist,( not , I hasten to add, that I refer to any particular financial adviser)that I would tend to have a degree of sympathy with anyone in dispute with a ‘financial adviser’or ‘sports entrepreneur’.
Just generally, in principle.
HOMUNCULUSOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 09:08
=======================
Great points you make about what should happen when a company is liquidated. At the time though Chick Young’s very simple law was applied, i.e ‘Rangers are special’.
CLUSTER ONEOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 22:07
STEVIEBCOCTOBER 4, 2017 at 18:47 6 0 Rate This Extracted from DR today;“Rangers reveal new black and royal blue third kit and fans either love it or hate itThe Ibrox club agreed a new one-year deal with Sports Direct in June and the new top is splitting opinion amongst the Gers faithful…=============================And apparently these mainly black tops are only to be worn for home games around 14th of February.True. —————–Was it registered with the SFA by the 30 june?
=============================
Even if it wasn’t the SFA will do nothing about it. The only SFA rules that apply to Rangers are those that Rangers themselves choose to comply with.
UPTHEHOOPSOCTOBER 5, 2017 at 07:11
Even if it wasn’t the SFA will do nothing about it. The only SFA rules that apply to Rangers are those that Rangers themselves choose to comply with.
————–
Anyone know the rule if a team played a game in a strip that was not registered by 30 june?
philmacgiollabhain.ie/2017/10/05/return-to-lender/ …
Cluster OneOctober 5, 2017 at 07:29
“Anyone know the rule if a team played a game in a strip that was not registered by 30 june?”
______________________
The Articles of Association of the SFA at Article 30 seem to mention only that prior approval is required for team colours, no ‘date-by-which ‘ is given.
The Rules of the SPFL (Rule G29) have this :”By 1st June (or such other date as may be fixed from time to time by the Board) in each year, all Clubs shall submit to the Company written details of their first,second and, where applicable, third choice colours (of shirts, shorts and socks)”
There is no apparent reference to any penalty for non compliance. And maybe the 1st has since been amended to 30th?
The Rules of the Scottish Cup (rule 21) stipulate:
Registered Colours(a)Before the first day of August in each year, each club shall register with the Secretary,the colours and design of its shirts and stockings. Clubs will register their first choice colours and second choice colours and, should clubs so desire, they may also register a third set of colours. Subject to the terms of the following sections (b) (c)and (d) of this Rule, a club shall play in its registered colours, failing which it shall be liable to disciplinary action under the Articles and/or these Rules.
On page 87 of the Judicial Protocol( in relation to the Scottish Cup competition )( I see no reference to league games) there is a list of penalties for non-compliance with that rule.
These range from Low end , Middle Rate , Top end to maximum
“Fine equivalent to loss of payment for round””Fine equivalent to loss of payment for round plus £5,000″”Fine equivalent to loss of payment for round plus £10,000″”Fine equivalent to loss of paymentfor round plus £20,000”
On the face of it, it looks as if there are penalties for clubs participating in the Scottish Cup if they don’t meet the ‘registration-of-colours’ date (1st August), but there is no reference to punishment for SPFL clubs if they do not, by a certain date, get approval, only if they play without prior approval.
But then, I’m no Jim Farry!
To be fair to Sevco, they can choose to sell whatever they want, whether it be bathroom ducks or naughty beanie hats. However if they haven’t registered the third jersey (or had the nod) then they would be mental to try to put it on the players backs for a game.
Having said that, it is being advertised as a third jersey, and maybe of more concern to their friends at ASA, than to the SFA.
It seems so long ago now since we dealt with the basic tax impropriety at the root of all this.
Remind me, did the side letters provide any sort of indemnity to the recipient (the recipient of the loan funded by the investment sub trust put in place by the main trust for the ultimate benefit of the spouse or child that is
) if HMRC were to come calling regarding back tax or did they only commit to making the initial non discretionary (oopsie) payments to the trust?
I seem to recall from the FTTT quite lengthy discussion regarding Mr .. (I forget the colour now but it was clearly McLeish) and the assurances his agent and advisors sought before accepting what was being proposed by Murray’s team.
Having arrived at a landmark birthday last Friday, at which point I retired from work, I was lucky enough to be whisked off to Barcelona for a long weekend by my daughter, son-in-law and 15-month-old grandson, accompanied by my wife.
We witnessed large-scale political unrest throughout our visit, with numerous demonstrations and rallies all over the city, all of it vociferous and noisy, but also good natured and trouble free. Fortunately, we saw nothing of the brutality dished out by the Spanish police that we were later to see on TV back at the hotel.
It was my son-in-law’s birthday at the weekend too, so I’d bought a pair of tickets for us to watch Barca against Las Palmas at the Nou Camp on Sunday as part of my present to him. We began to hear rumours of the match being postponed as we got off the Metro near the stadium but we joined the throngs outside our designated stadium entry point before discovering via my smartphone that the match was to be played behind closed doors in the light of the political unrest in the region.
What has any of this got to do with Scottish football governance? Well, nothing directly, but bear with me. I’ve long been of the opinion that money has been the ruination of football in modern times, as well as many other things in life.
We now live in an era where an elite group of clubs are so wealthy and powerful, they can control the future direction of football for their own benefit and are given carte blanche to do so by football’s governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA, who are increasingly powerless (or perhaps willingly compliant) to do anything about it. The rich get richer and stick two fingers up at the rest of us resorting to feeding off scraps.
I’d had a massive moral dilemma when deciding whether to donate a far from paltry £243 to one of these elite clubs in order to watch the sublime skills of Messi in what I am told is a majestic stadium. I was equally mortified when my family gave me an array of FC Barcelona merchandise for birthday presents. As it happens, I received a full refund for the tickets shortly before we had to head to the airport, so Barca never made any money from me, even if they did from my family. I have tried to explain to my wife as best as I could why she won’t see me wearing the lovely Barca present she bought me, but I don’t have the heart to tell the rest of my family that the t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets they bought me won’t be worn unless hidden by outer garments.
Finally, like Barcelona, Rangers Football Club is an elite, big money club. However, in Rangers case, what makes them elite is the unique set of qualities they share with only Third Lanark, Airdrieonians and Gretna.
JOHN CLARKOCTOBER 5, 2017 at 14:09
The Rules of the Scottish Cup (rule 21) stipulate:
Clubs will register their first choice colours and second choice colours and, should clubs so desire, they may also register a third set of colours. Subject to the terms of the following sections (b) (c)and (d) of this Rule, a club shall play in its registered colours, failing which it shall be liable to disciplinary action under the Articles and/or these Rules.
—————
If the club company has not registered a third set of colours by the dates set and play’s in the scottish cup, the club company shall be liable to disciplinary action under the Articles and/or these Rules.
how will we know if a Black top is worn in a scottish cup game will we know if that colour has been registered.?
Maybe it would come to light if a team playing against a club in the scottish cup that may not have a registered colour,if the opposing team had a word with the compliance officer.
rules are rules
After all, if they are telling the fans they missed the deadline to register a new home top for this season and that is why they are sticking with the old one, how is it possible they have registered a new third black one?
Highlander, what a bittersweet story. Wish it had worked out better for you.
Anybody watching the Scotland game ? wou;l love to hear some comments. (Its allowed because this a neutral board and we are all Scottishy)
Ref. gave a right good talking to Halsinki? for some reason.
Anybody watching the Scotland game ?
not me, sorry
shit that’s all we need andy injured!
well done craig
we are allowing them too much possession, only got ten men too!
unlucky LG
Chris Martin, a good footballer, but also a lovely singer in Coldplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxeF4KMsY
15 mins to go. At times they try to play like Celtic but fail.
Look at wee Strachan. Totally lost. Get Rid.
CHRIS MARTIN!!!!!! I told yeese!
its all over my friends 1-0 to the good guys
That’s me calmed down. great result. Hope you are all happy too. EJ AJ JC BB etc. Homun. Hoopy, wish I could remember all my favourite posters. NY guy. And of course Auldheid.
Calling John Clark ……
Friday 6th October
LORD TYRE
PETITION DEPARTMENT
UNSTARRED MOTIONS
P341/17 Pet: The Panel on Takeovers & Mergers for Orders Sec955 – Lindsays
……….. and
LORD BANNATYNE – L McNamara, Clerk
Thursday 12th October
Debate (2 days)
At 10.00am
P341/17 Pet: The Panel on Takeovers and Mergers for orders sec955 – Maclay Murray & Spens LLP – Lindsays
=================
The case number is the same as the initial one involving Dave King heard by Lady Wolffe on 6th June.
An “Unstarred Motion” normally doesn’t require the attendance of counsel, so I don’t expect much tomorrow. The two day debate next week, however, may be more interesting.
Apparently, letters have gone out from BDO to RFC (2012) creditors, indicating that they will receive an initial dividend of 3.91p in the £. Obviously, the EBT case has impacted dividend prospects, but BDO’s own costs have diminished the pot available.
I think the only hope of any significant future dividends will depend on the success of the court action against D&P Administrators (or their insurers). The costs of the court action will also affect the amount available to creditors if the action fails (I assume that the dividend offered will have taken account of this possibility)
jimboOctober 5, 2017 at 21:55
That’s me calmed down. great result. Hope you are all happy too. EJ AJ JC BB etc. Homun. Hoopy, wish I could remember all my favourite posters. NY guy. And of course Auldheid.
———————————————————————————————-
Watched in pub in the Borders. Supporters of most teams there but ALL supporting Scotland. My company 3 Dandies (naturally), 1 Hun and 1 Timmy. I know a lot of self righteous posters will claim that they will not support Scotland because of the SFA/SPFL shit but I could never ever be in that camp much as I agree that they are rotten to the core.
Thoughts on the game: LG ran his socks off and was unlucky not to have scored. Their Goalie had a Tomashevski (sp) night! Wee GS had inspired substitutions! Why did KT not even move his lips at Flower of Scotland? He had a decent game though on his unusual flank. Goodnight.
I don’t suppose I’m alone in my mixed emotional state!
It’s so bloody annoying that the SFA folk will bask in the glow of tonight’s win. Unlike the diving Mak, they have not (yet) been punished for their much more serious cheating!
It kind of takes the pleasure out of the fact that by common pundit and commentator consent Scotland played well enough to win, and make it possible that we might have a reasonable prospect of qualifying.
And, for my part, it is a pleasure when Scotland win.Dangerous ‘political’ territory, but I don’t particularly like being mocked, even in jest, by our continental neighbours, or by nations furth of Europe!
Those of us who have lived and worked abroad do actually feel a need to assert the land of our birth….. in the nicest possible way, of course!
Congratulations to the Scotland team tonight for a great result, looked like a goal would never come due to that intrepid crossbar but it’s great to see a Scotland side look as accomplished as we have recently. Just think where we’d be if we’d kept our concentration in the last minute against England!
easyJamboOctober 5, 2017 at 21:59
‘..Calling John Clark …’
______
I think I’ll try to attend tomorrow ( or later this morning, as I look at the clock!)
And certainly next week.
Well spotted.
EASYJAMBO
OCTOBER 5, 2017 at 23:05
=====================================
Indeed, clearly HMRC winning has meant that BDO have had to recognise their full claim, making the overall claim much higher and therefore the payment in the pound less.
I’m assuming it also means that BDO have resolved any claim as a preferred creditor as well, as they would have been paid in full prior to any payments to the unsecured creditors.
It will be interesting to see what action BDO are taking with regards the administration. It may be something similar to the one against the lawyer with regards the potential income lost (if I remember correctly). Something along the lines of … You could have sold the assets and obtained income of £25m, however you sold them for £5m, losing the creditors £20m. You did this deliberately to the detriment of the creditors and we are suing you for that amount.
Yet more interesting times.
On the Dave King / Takeover Panel hearing.
Maybe someone can clarify this for me, does the Court of Session have to do anything other than enforce the decision.
From what I can gather he was told to make the 20p offer to everyone not part of the concert party. He failed to do that and appealed. The appeal failed and he was again instructed to make the 20p offer. He again failed to do that and the Takeover Panel took the matter to the Court of Session.
My question is, are the proceedings about
1, The Court of Session deciding on whether the initial decision was correct. In effect a further appeal.
2, Simply taking action to enforce the decision e.g. Make the offer by 6th November 2017 or you will be in contempt of this Court
3, Something else.
Reporting on this seems to be a bit confusing, it is my understanding that 2, is the position but I would be interested to know if that is not the case.
I suppose it could be 2, with Dave Kings lawyers arguing on how it is to be enforced.
Homunculus October 6, 2017 at 11:25
——————————-
I would doubt very much if King would be allowed to re-argue the case he made to the TOP at the CoS, given that he has already gone through the appeal process there.
However, I do think that the main argument will be that enforcement is not in the interests of the club or its shareholders. He will argue that trading shares above the 20p demanded by TOP has already taken place since the TOP and TAP rulings (MASH selling out to Club 1872 and Julian Walhardt @27.5p), meaning that it would be a costly exercise with no benefit to the allegedly disadvantaged shareholders.
King’s representatives are also likely to ask for only a token sanction to be imposed if the judge finds in favour of the TOP, e.g. a nominal fine of £1 or something similar.
I’d imagine that the TOP would argue that a principle is at stake and that it needs to be enforced regardless, and that King was all to aware of the 30% threshold beforehand.
EASYJAMBO
OCTOBER 6, 2017 at 12:55
=================================
That makes sense.
However the point is not about whether people are going to sell for 20p or not, whether they will accept the offer. It is whether or not they should have been made the offer at the time. The belief that they would reject the offer (either then or now) does not mean that King can just ignore the instruction.
Re the potential sanction and your comment “if the judge finds in favour of the TOP”, that’s kind of my point. Does the Court have to “find in favour of TOP” at all. Surely the whole matter has already been settled, the Court of Session is just being asked to use it’s powers to force King into making the offer. Not decide whether he has to or not.
Homunculus October 6, 2017 at 13:08
Re the potential sanction and your comment “if the judge finds in favour of the TOP”, that’s kind of my point. Does the Court have to “find in favour of TOP” at all. Surely the whole matter has already been settled, the Court of Session is just being asked to use it’s powers to force King into making the offer. Not decide whether he has to or not.
===========================
It is TOP that has initiated the court action because King has failed to comply with the TOP/TAP rulings. It seems that the only way to enforce the action, if the respondent (King) refuses to comply, is to go down the legal route.
I don’t know the range of sanctions that are available. “Cold Shoulder” has been mentioned as a possible sanction, but I don’t know the mechanics of how it would be implemented. A fine an/or an instruction to reduce his shareholding might be alternatives.
There is also the possibility that King could comply to some extent by selling his shareholding before next week’s hearing.
I don’t have enough knowledge to make anything other than a guess as to what will happen next.
Join us on Tuesday, October 24 for an evening with football legend Graeme Souness, discussing his experiences as a player, manager and pundit.Graeme will also be discussing his new book Football, My Life, My Passion with Scottish football correspondent Douglas Alexander. The book is a perceptive and opinionated assessment of the game which has been his lifetime obsession. It is a shrewd, incisive and hard-hitting exposition which grapples with the major talking points affecting the game today, shot through with Souness’ trademark tenacity and wisdom, and laced with fantastic anecdotes.
Graeme’s career started in the 1960s and has seen him play for Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Sampdoria. He has been awarded 54 caps for his country and played at the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals. He returned to Britain in 1986 as player-manager of Rangers, ushering in ‘The Souness Revolution’ and bringing with it four Scottish Premier Division titles and four Scottish Cups.
Since retiring from the pitch Graeme has managed Liverpool, Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, Benfica, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, achieving wins in the FA Cup, Turkish Cup, Super Cup and League Cup along the way.
Copies of Football, My Life, My Passion released in hardback on 19th October, will be available to purchase at the event and guests will also have the opportunity to meet Graeme and get their books signed at the end of the evening.
Fro the Times
What will it be then – the bears ask questions of what happened to their club,or a selfie opportunity?
So that’s over four weeks now since the SFA announced the Compliance Officer would investigate the awarding of a European Licence to Rangers in 2012. Call me cynical, but the amount of information in the public domain over this matter makes it seem to me four weeks is a rather long time. The SFA will surely be in possession of all they need, and as I understand it Celtic have every piece of information the Resolution 12 people have made public. Is that the problem? Has the apparent narrow focus of the investigation into whether Rangers lied now causing an issue given others already know there is a lot more to it than that? I don’t know the answer but I would not be at all surprised if the only thing holding up the announcement is finding a QC who will say no action can now be taken. As I said though, call me cynical!
tamjartmarquezOctober 6, 2017 at 16:07
‘…and laced with fantastic anecdotes.’
_________
Like the story of how he got an EBT , for instance?
Sorry for all my posts last night, it was my birthday and a few Itallian white wines. You know what it’s like. Meanwhile, I’m listening to R. Clyde. Hugh Keevins is doing my head in.