Some of us are old enough to remember the days when we played football in the streets with lamp posts for goals. The “baw” in my day was a plastic “Hampden Frido” (with wee studs that left yer forehead looking like a golf ball when heading it – see picture) and a “Wembley Mettoy”.
Cue memories of MouldMasters and days of pain and glory
But I digress.
The plastic ball was prone to bursting and on a good day or evening a replacement was secured by the original version of crowd funding.; However, the Calton then was a poor neighbourhood and sometimes the “baw” depended on the generosity of a single provider.
This came with risks because generous folk can still be bad losers and if the provider’s team of rags, taigs and bluenoses (remember when that didn’t matter) was getting a drubbing or a high shot was deemed a goal but he protested because he was only 4 feet 6 tall and ,with no crossbar ,height is but a subjective perspective, hence argumentative, or perhaps the goal that created a 10 goal gap occasionally saw the baw ,metaphorical if not physically, land on the slates, at which point the provider and now owner, out of his sense of entitlement as owner, grab the baw and threatened to storm off in the huff.
As long as the game was everything and in the Calton then EVERYTHING was fitbaw, the bawless plebs were only too willing to reduce the imaginary cross bar height or take their foot off the gas, hence the derogatory saying of those who capitulate too easily “they hivnae any baws”.
Memories! Wit are they like and what is the connection to modern day Scottish professional football?
I’m indebted to this article by The Battered Bunnet first posted on CQN on 30 June 2012 at https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/abject-failure-of-leadership/comment-page-2/#comment-1479329 since reproduced on other blogs including SFM but worth reproducing here:
“Senior Hampden source tells ch4news cannot see how RFC were allowed to play lastseason at all. Doesn’t believe they met finance criteria…”
Alex Thomson – Twitter
Alex Thomson’s tweets yesterday re ‘senior Hampden source’ casting doubt on Rangers’ eligibility to obtain a Club Licence last year were rather intriguing.
We have by now a clearer picture of the failure of governance at Rangers through the David Murray/ John McClelland/ Alastair Johnston/ Craig Whyte years, albeit we await further definitive details from the judgement of the Tax Tribunal. Essentially, over a period spanning 2 decades, the means that Rangers used to sustain its football operation utterly disregarded the requirements of both corporate governance and football regulation. While the scandal related solely to payments and procedures within Rangers, we could hope that it was contained internally.
However, the revelation that Rangers paid former manager Souness via EBT while he was manager at Blackburn Rovers confirmed for the first time that the scandal had become external. I understand that RangersTaxCase and Alex Thomson have further information on the extent of payments to Souness and also to Walter Smith, and look forward to the details being revealed, but it is now clear that the Rangers ‘toxin’ had leached out of the club by 2001.
The compelling question now is: How far did the toxin spread?
Was it contained within the ‘outer circle’ of former Rangers employees, however inexplicable such payments may appear? Or did it extend beyond that outer circle, and contaminate senior figures in the Game in Scotland. The contamination does not relate solely to payments from Rangers’offshore trust, but more subtly perhaps, the behaviour of individuals in positions of influence.
We know that Rangers’ Executive Chairman JohnMcClelland was an SPL Board member during the startling ramp up of EBT use from 2003 to 2005, and was himself a beneficiary of the scheme.
We know that Rangers’ Chief Executive Martin Bain was an SPL Board member 2008 to 2011, coinciding with the receipt by Rangers of the HMRC assessments on the EBT scheme, of which he was himself a beneficiary.
We know that current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie was simultaneously an SFA Director and Executive Director and Company Secretary of Rangers, and was a beneficiary of the scheme.
These parallel functions of course present a profound conflict of interest for each man, at once implementing a scam on the Game to disguise a fraud on the Revenue, while owing specific legal duties of care to the Game being scammed.
So far, so shabby.
Thomson’s tweets yesterday indicate a doubt on the part of a ‘senior Hampden source’ that Rangers were eligible to hold a Club Licence last season, thus disqualifying them from participating in European competition, and perhaps Scottish Football too. Is this doubt grounded in a retrospective review of the licence qualifying criteria given what has emerged recently? Or was there a ‘blind eye’ turned by the SFA’s Licensing Committee to information in the public domain at the time of the Licence application? In this respect the ‘Wee Tax Case’ represented a fundamental failure against at least one Licence criterion.
The proposals to the SFL clubs this week make it plain that should the SFA conclude the outstanding Disciplinary issues against Rangers with either suspension or expulsion of Rangers from the SFA(perhaps the only sanctions remaining available to the SFA following Lord Glennie’s Judicial Review) that the Game will face ‘financial meltdown’.
Concurrently, the SPL has adjudged Rangers to have a prima facie case to answer in respect of SPL rule breaches on player registration, the outcome of which will confirm that the club fielded ineligible players in upwards of 400 SPL matches. The only possible disciplinary outcome given such a sustained breach of SPL rules, corrupting the completion as it did from its inception in 1999 to 2011, is expulsion from theSPL.
As a consequence, the SFA, as the authority responsible for implementing FIFA’s Rules on the Registration of Players, will be required to act on these breaches of FIFA rules. Again, expulsion for what amounts to Championship fixing is inevitable.
Curiously, the SFL, this week asking its members to vote to admit the Sevco Rangers club into their top tier, has the same issue given that its League Cup competition featured dozens of ineligible Rangers players through the years, and further claims by Hugh Adam that its‘Premier Division’ competition during the 1990s was similarly bent through the use of ‘off the books’ payments to players by Rangers.
The scale of it all is breath-taking and were the rules of the Game to be applied, Rangers FC would be expelled from each Governing body in turn, before we even consider the extraordinary breaches of faith and duties by co-serving Directors.
But according to the SFL/SFA/SPL circular to clubs, “Rangers Terminated or Suspended’ will cause “Financial Meltdown”.
To avoid this meltdown, it is proposed by the Executives of the combined SFL/SFA/SPL that the rules of the Game are not applied to Rangers, and that the clubs effectively rewrite the rule book to permit what remains of the club to compete at the top of the SFL.
In effect, according to the Governing Bodies,the Rules of the Game CANNOT be applied to Rangers or the Game’s finances will‘meltdown’.
The corollary question this raises is: For how long have the Governing bodies been so unable to apply the Rules of the Game to Rangers? Is this a new epiphany, or a longer standing recognition?
When Rangers submitted their allegedly ineligible application for a Club Licence in 2011, did the SFA recognise that Rangers failing to participate in Europe would cause the club to fail, as it subsequently did? Were the Rules ignored to avoid ‘financial meltdown’ then?
How far did the toxin spread?
Did this recognition extend back to the period following the disintegration of Murray International, hitherto Rangers’ source of continuing funding? Was the season of ‘Honest Mistakes’ some absurd, dutiful reaction to the recognition that should Rangers fail, Scottish Football would melt down?
Was the ineligible status of so many of Rangers’ first team players noticed prior to the SPL’s Inquiry commencing on 5th March? Was it noticed in an Audit as part of the SFA’s Club Licensing process some years ago? Was it noticed by the recent SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith, who as an Agent had represented players on Rangers’ books through his Directorship of Prostar Management and other Agencies?
Beyond the duplicity of Ogilvie, McClelland and Bain, were Rangers’ irregular practices known to others at the SFA and SPL,others who chose not to address the matter, thus further contaminated the Governing Bodies with the Rangers toxin?
It is heartening that the Liquidators of Rangers plc will be instructed to examine all of the circumstances surrounding the failure of Rangers as a corporate entity. Equally, perhaps the detail contained in the Tax Tribunal judgement will reveal further connections,hitherto unknown.
What is likely to remain hidden from view though, is the full extent to which key influencers at the Governing Bodies were aware of Rangers’ conduct and circumstances, and how this affected their behaviour and their decision making in applying the rules of the Game to that club.
What we can say with certainty now though is that the people holding office at the Governing Bodies are unable or unwilling to apply the Rules of the Game to Rangers, despite the breaches being fundamentally and profoundly corrupt. The SFA and SPL, despite having outstanding disciplinary cases against Rangers that will, in all other circumstances see the club expelled from the Game, are intent to delete the cases provided the SFL clubs accept the Sevco Rangers into the SFL’s top division.
The Rules of the Game cannot be applied to Rangers.
When the rules cannot be applied, the Game itself is broken, and we can say now with some certainty that the Rangers toxin has spread beyond the club, its former employees and Directors of the Governing Bodies, and contaminated the very Game itself. The Office Bearers of the SFA,whose FIFA mandate requires them to “protect and foster the Game” in Scotland,and “protect it from abuses”, have contrived to do the contrary, to the point where the Game is stricken.
It is for this reason that a thorough clear out of the Office Bearers in the Governing Bodies is now a prerequisite to the Game recovering from the poison inflicted upon it by Rangers. The dissolution of the Governing Bodies is perhaps appropriate.
Clear your desk Gentlemen, the bus to ignominy departs shortly.
The position that the SFA and then SPL found themselves in is perfectly clear from the foregoing. Desperately keen for commercial reasons to hold onto the “baw” they changed the rules, but never took ownership of the baw from the owner and so are still beholden to him.
Hence the blog title “We Are Going To Need Another Baw “ because the one currently in play is burst, stuffed with £14M worth of share vouchers.
What was done in 2012 was understandably commercially necessary, but the price to be paid was twofold:
- Not just to the integrity of our game then but the ongoing price now, where all energies are directed at continuing to pretend that the rules are followed without fear of favour.
- The idea that the Scottish game cannot survive without a “ Rangers” is one that most folk would accept but the danger arising, which is unacceptable, is that because of it “Rangers” think they can do as they please as a result which requires rules to be reinforced. And seen to be reinforced.
They clearly aren’t under the SFA’s own rule enforcing process called the Judicial Panel Protocol https://www.sfm.scot/jpp-perverting-justice/ not to mention Club Licensing processes that have so far manged to avoid the scrutiny that, had Resolution 12 been acted upon in 2013, would have resulted in changes that would protect the game from all those who think it is still their baw.
The general perception of supporters is that lessons have not been learned from past behaviour.
Until there is evidence that they have, for example: the Judicial Panel Disciplinary Tribunal investigating at snail’s pace the process followed in 2011 that allowed a UEFA licence to be granted to Rangers FC without question, coming to conclusion or providing reasons why it cannot by the spring, the perception will continue to be “Its all about Rangers” followed by what is the point?.
Is it not about time now that the fear that drove thinking in 2012 was faced and recognised by all clubs as unfounded and a new integrity filled baw was used?
What is there to fear now from restoring integrity to its rightful place, unless of course you were party to the thinking that kicked the integrity of our game to death in 2012 and are still in a position of influence?
BogsDollox@17.31
In defence of the blog(not that anyone asked for a defence) it’s the SFA processes that are in the crosshairs. The referees are just collateral damage.
Dunderheid 16th January 2019 at 11:29
10 2 Rate This
World class breakfasts off the menu at Auchenhowie:
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/fire-breaks-out-rangers-auchenhowie-15685211
‘There are no reports of any injuries.’
…………………
Has Ally called it a ‘premeditated attack on Rangers’ and was he left in no doubt that it was his club’s who had been targeted.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2372336/Ally-McCoist-fumes-premeditated-attack-Rangers-team-bus.html
……………………..
You never know, he has been known to jump the gun a little.
John Clark 16th January 2019 at 13:17
15 0 Rate This
borderman67 16th January 2019 at 11:33
‘..Insurance job? ..’
…………………
John Clark 16th January 2019 at 15:22
10 2 Rate This
Corrupt official 16th January 2019 at 14:14
‘….Thankfully no injuries have been reported, although 3 firemen were red-carded for tackling the fire.’
======================
FFS, Corrupt official!
I nearly choked on my coffee…..But it did bring two big smiles today.
Corrupt official
16th January 2019 at 15:03
=========================================
I have absolutely no issue with the suggestion that Rangers cheated, I totally believe it to be true.
Similarly I believe the SFA have colluded in that cheating, both during and after. I also believe that they set up a corrupt "inquiry" with a pre-determined outcome to try to finish the whole issue off. We were all just supposed to let it go at that.
I believe that the SFA and SPL tried to blackmail and threaten the rest of Scottish football into accepting the new team into the top league. That they would have done it if they could. They have also lied about competitions won, history of the club etc.
I believe that for years referees have cheated to help one team over others. I remember Craig Levein inquiring if he should just take his team off the park, if there was any point in them being there at all playing against Rangers.
I believe Beaton cheated in the last game and I believe the authorities should have done something about it and they chose not to. Having done so in other instances.
I do not believe that it is a level playing field, in any sense, for any other team.
However the claim I disagreed with is wrong, no matter how many people would like it to be true and how many people try to justify it.
Good news, that's my last word on the subject.
normanbatesmumfc 16th January 2019 at 09:57
45 1 Rate This
“The Supreme Court ruled that disguised remuneration was earnings for tax purposes. For it to be match fixing the people doing the fixing would have to have been aware of the situation at the time, aware that it was illegal and either supported it or at the very least done nothing to stop it.”
I give you two words; Campbell Ogilvie.
……………………
https://mobile.twitter.com/ClusterOne2/status/979237203892166656/photo/1
https://mobile.twitter.com/ClusterOne2/status/1085624852260798468?p=v
……………….
He said “Nothing to do with the contrabutions being made to the trust fell within the scope of my remit at rangers”
He learned of the existence of the remuneration trust in 2001-02
John Clark
You Meatloafed me.
Took the words right out of my mouth with the response to Homunculus.
Thanks. I couldn't have answered better.
Kris Boyd now vying to be Brendan Rogers agent/promoter. It could be of course he is merely bolstering his CV to make it more appealing to the SMSM. I don’t think he’s going to go down the coaching route.
Homunculus 16th January 2019 at 19:49
Corrupt official 16th January 2019 at 15:03
=========================================
I have absolutely no issue with the suggestion that Rangers cheated, I totally believe it to be true……
———————————————————————————-
I kind of gathered where you were coming from, as we should not make false claims, no matter how indirectly cheating or match-rigging has been shown. I was just playing devils advocate, but your stance does underline the need to get this into a court-room under the appropriate charges…….. Something the PF of Sevconia doesn't appear to be very good at .
Homunculus 16th January 2019 at 19:49
…………….Good post.
…………………….
The match fixing thing,i believe sometimes the headlines are remembered more than the facts.
Rangers in crisis: SFA considered kicking Ibrox club out for offences almost as bad as match fixing.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-in-crisis-sfa-considered-kicking-895277
……………………………
https://mobile.twitter.com/ClusterOne2/status/1085663539824549888?p=v
"Scottish Premiership managers will meet with top flight referees on Thursday evening to discuss a way forward after recent high-profile controversies…
"The talks, chaired by Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell, will take place at McDiarmid Park in Perth…"
So says the BBC Scotland website https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/46902736
It's 23.26 as I write here in Brisbane, and only13.26 back in Scotland, so the 'talks' have not yet taken place.
On the talks, BBC Scotland's Jonathan Sutherland comments: "As for the authorities, they will be seeking to restore harmony to what has become an increasingly fractious and acrimonious climate of late between clubs and officialdom"
My comment on that is that 'the authorities' are in the same position as the mutineers on the "Bounty".
Fletcher Christian discovered to his cost that having himself disregarded legitimate authority and the rules of the Royal Navy, his fellow mutineers were quick enough to disregard his 'authority' when it suited them.
Every attendee at tonight's meeting knows that Maxwell and company , by their failure even now to denounce and rescind the 5-Way Agreement ( in the fabrication of which the SFA abandoned all precedent and sporting truth ) are bereft of any moral authority whatsoever, and that their writ no longer runs, any more than Christian's writ as an Acting Lieutenant in the 'Bounty' ran or had any moral or legal force once he mutinied.
A sports Governance body which permits a new club to claim the sporting honours and titles of a club that is Liquidated on the specious and wholly ridiculous basis that , no, it is not a new club, but is one and the same club as RFC of 1872 which is In Liquidation, carries no moral weight whatsoever, and any club chairman, any referee, any Compliance Officer and the general run of football supporters can give it the same contemptuous two fingers as did the cheating SDM-the root cause of the canker.
Scottish Football as a sport is in dire trouble.
Scottish Football clubs will die because there is no point in 'sport' unless it is clean.
If the heart of the Governance body is rank rotten with deceit and lies and abject subjection to unparalleled untruth , it is a nonsense to imagine that fiddling about with individual 'refereeing' failures will restore harmony.
And the heart of the Governance body is rank rotten now, and has been since the cheating by SDM began.
John Clark 17th January 2019 at 13:43
"Scottish Premiership managers will meet with top flight referees on Thursday evening to discuss a way forward after recent high-profile controversies…
=================================
Don't have high expectations from this, and would like to have seen the Agenda.
It should not be restricted to Beaton & co.
It should be about the integrity of the whole Scottish refereeing structure – and the perception of SPL refs held by many / most [?] supporters.
And about how appointments for a game are determined.
And about improving performance measurement for all match officials.
And about disassembling an 'old boys' network – from rising refs through to supervisors and refs' committee's.
…oh, and how about transparency?
As I doubt very much if us paying customers will ever get sight of an Agenda or Minutes from tonight's meeting…
I won't hold my breath.
John Clark 17th January 2019 at 13:43
"Scottish Premiership managers will meet with top flight referees on Thursday evening to discuss a way forward after recent high-profile controversies…
=================================
If only the media could seriously ask why for decades most Grade 1 officials have been provided from the Lanarkshire Referees Association. This suggests elitism, nepotism and a sense of social and moral superiority among an exclusive inner circle overrides having to actually have the qualities to be a top Referee. Something is just not right, and such a self serving situation has to be there for a reason, and the greater good of Scottish football is clearly not that reason.
StevieBC 17th January 2019 at 18:20
As I doubt very much if us paying customers will ever get sight of an Agenda or Minutes from tonight's meeting…
================================
I agree.
All I think we will get is a wishy washy joint statement abut respect and working together for the betterment of the game.
easyJambo 17th January 2019 at 21:00
——————————————————–
StevieBC 17th January 2019 at 18:20
As I doubt very much if us paying customers will ever get sight of an Agenda or Minutes from tonight's meeting…
================================
I agree.
All I think we will get is a wishy washy joint statement abut respect and working together for the betterment of the game.
———————-
But at least the Celtic board will have proved how very very angry they were..
easyJambo 17th January 2019 at 21:00
I agree.
All I think we will get is a wishy washy joint statement abut respect and working together for the betterment of the game.
================================
Nothing, absolutely nothing of any note, will come out of the meeting in my view.
Absolutely!
But, if Lawwell was serious, he would have done his homework / discreet lobbying of other clubs to canvas support in advance.
So, when nothing tangible / acceptable transpires from tonight's meeting, CFC and supporting clubs can issue their own – joint – pre-prepared statement which will be at total odds with any SFA statement.
But, as with the whole RFC/TRFC saga, CFC and all the other clubs are effectively the SFA, and SPFL.
A total cynic might suggest that the SFA welcomed / encouraged [?] CFC's complaint… so that the gullible supporters can be 'educated' about how thorough our refs are, but they can have off days like you or I, and are only human.
A compliant SMSM will copy/paste the propaganda without question.
Tick in the box for the SFA.
Tick in the box for Lawwell.
Job done!
And let's all just move on, for the good of Scottish football.
A quick look around Twitter shows the Scottish media are dead set against Scottish Referees having to declare allegiances. You have to ask why when our neighbouring Association, who are one of the big five, go out their way to avoid any conflict of interest, and the English media are fine with it. Clearly the media know what such an exercise in Scotland would reveal, and it would not suit their narrative at all!
Jonathon Sutherland discussing referees on Twitter. Looks like open code to me.
“In my experience refs have a huge sense of professional pride. They simply want to be the best they can be at their job. This idea they spend 15 years working their way up to the top just so they can then give slightly bias decisions to ‘their’ team is just utterly fanciful.”
His second sentence is very telling.
Dai;y record report of ref meeting.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/premiership-bosses-referees-unite-behind-13872629
Cup of tea and biscuits, and the introduction of VAR. …..Errrrr sometime…..mebbe….Considering VAR will probably be FIFA/UEFA mandatory soon, nuthin'.
VAR might be worthwhile, but who is the reviewer(s), and what incidents would be VAR compatible I think also need looked at. As we know, one anonymous ex whistler can veto anything.
There are no reasons why the VAR reviewer(s) need to be at the stadium. They could be anywhere on the planet reviewing multiple games when called upon to.
No matter how convivial the 'Summit' was claimed to be, it will mean nothing if the injustice and blatant inconsistency we have witnessed from Referees and Review Panels this season continues…and it does not even itself out over a season, no matter what anyone says.
As for VAR, I would be for it, but in my opinion the Refereeing appointment process in Scotland is so broken we will never be able to trust those who are asked to make a judgement through VAR. Trust in the integrity of the current system would help before VAR.
I watched an old episode of Still Game the other night, where Victor asked Jack if he would like a Tomato with his breakfast. Jack was unsure until Victor held it up and said "it's a Lanarkshire". Every time I see that I instantly think of Scottish Grade 1 Referees. We are constantly told Scotland is a multi-cultural society, and that discrimination is a thing of the past. Personally I think both views are nonsense, and the restrictions currently surrounding someone's ability to make it to the top in Scottish Refereeing are just one of the areas which I believe back my view.
UTH
I didn't expect them to relinquish their hold over our game to easily. but whatever way you look at it, this is a massive vote of no-confidence, in our referees ability to do their jobs honestly.
But it doesn't go far enough. Celtic asked for eyes on Beaton's match report, and the rest of us are waiting for some villains to be arrested for making threats and menaces.
Seriously? A year to be taught how to press the rewind button on a tv remote control? Are the SFA still using Betamax?
I can only hope that the views expressed behind closed doors were more robust than the anodyne report in the DR.
Introduction of VAR would no big deal.
It would simply be the SFA being seen to keep up with trends across the footballing world: no bad thing.
Getting ourselves full-time officials would be the same; although (as plenty of other have pointed out) how the quality of such a service can be assured would need to be clear from the outset. Plainly, such a task could not be left in the hands of the current regime.
I'm also pretty sure that the mere introduction of VAR (at least in its present form) will not help deal with the type of low-to-medium level, persistent bias manifest in the myriad of 'honest mistakes' we're seeing this year. The sort of bias that's difficult to prove – on an incident-by-incident analysis – as being due to conscious or conspiratorial 'cheating', yet cannot be denied when the cumulative effects of such dubious decisions are considered.
Dunderheid@09.34
You have highlighted an interesting point in terms of the cumulative effect of bad decisions. In legal terms I think the Moorov Doctrine would apply here.
“Series of offences connected closely in "time, character and circumstance and have underlying unity."
VAR will only be an improvement in terms of ensuring unbiased refereeing if we have a media that, itself, is unbiased, for it is the media who must/should hold the SFA/referees to account to force the SFA to take effective action. In most countries the media would be all over any cases where it is obvious the wrong decision was made on review, with the system, and reviewer, put under much pressure, especially if it turned out to be repeated when reviewing decisions in favour of/against the same club(s).
For example, but in another country, if the incidents involving Morelos had been subject to VAR and the decision had gone with the referee, we can be certain that there would have been an almost unanimous outcry from that country's sports media. But here in Scotland? Who could imagine an outcry exceeding the lukewarm reception Beaton's 'errors' received from our intrepid hacks? A few tut, tuts but not much more, and certainly no suggestions that there was bias in favour of one particular club.
Besides, VAR only covers major incidents, goals, penalties, bad tackles, but the ability to influence the flow of a game by awarding minor 50/50 decisions one way can still provide a large advantage to one team against an otherwise equal opponent (or an unequal opponent giving a better account of itself than expected).
VAR will not stop biased decisions in Scotland (that's not it's aim anyway) unless and until bias in referees is officially recognised and effective methods introduced to, at least, reduce it and expel referees held to be guilty of it.
Ex Ludo 18th January 2019 at 08:51 e
Seriously? A year to be taught how to press the rewind button on a tv remote control? Are the SFA still using Betamax?
==============
EJ show some compassion.
It's the SFA's blazered buffoons we're dealing with.
It's going to take several committees to decide what video devices should be bought, and several more committees to decide if Argos or Curry's are the best shops to buy from.
[And whose loyalty card to use!]
…and any amount of time to work out how to set the thing up.
18 months sounds like 'Fast tracking' for Hampden.
IMO.
Ex Ludo 18th January 2019 at 09:41
'..In legal terms I think the Moorov Doctrine would apply here.'
Ah, but perhaps not, if there were a number of referees taking it in turn against only one 'victim'.
If referees X, Y, and Z refereed three successive matches played by club T against three different opponents and each ensured a victory for that club T by, say, awarding unmerited penalties to that club or by making undeserving 'sendings off' against that club's three opponents, there would be no common testimony against a sole perpetrator and thus no corroboration of 'seriality' of offending!
Consequently, any 2 or 3 of referees, who might happen to be so fervently biased in favour of club T as to be ready to collude in dishonesty and criminality could ensure that club T was awarded really vital points where and when necessary.. [ They could do that as easily, say, as a governance body could ,say,slide a few million quid to an unentitled club by , say, the granting of a UEFA Competitions licence.]
It seems to me to be arrant nonsense that somehow Scottish football is different from football in England and Wales, and that Scots in the world of football business are so genetically different as to be proof against venality and corruption of one kind or another.
There is abundant evidence that Scottish Football has had, and continues to have, its baddies
a) at governance level,
b) at club level,
c) at refereeing level and
d) at refereeing 'supervisor' and 'appointments' level.
Until the 5-Way Agreement is consigned to the bins of history (as RFC of 1872 was) and Scottish Football is restored to some kind of sporting integrity, meetings about 'refereeing' , and about 'improvements' therein that might be effected by the use of VAR , are just so much sh.te and onions!
There is no TRUST , and there can be no trust,that our game is clean at its core until the cancer of a sporting untruth is cut from its body.
(And it is a laughable proposition that a governance body need only self-declare that it is clean, for everyone to have a duty to believe that self-declaration)
Ex Ludo 18th January 2019 at 08:51
Why would we need to wait a year ? We have a major league right next door which already uses the system and has personnel trained in it's use . I'm sure we could pay them to provide this service in the interim , and feed our referees into it when they reach the appropriate standard . No need to wonder which team they support .
Lawwell has played a blinder, IMO.
He's 'called out' the SFA.
A wee chat.
Nothing changes in the interim.
Problem kicked into the Tynie grass.
Lawwell can get back to counting his cash.
He's not interested in reform at Hampden.
He is complicit, and part of the problem
Along with all the other 41 senior clubs.
As in 2012, nothing will change until supporters threaten to withhold their cash.
Then, and only then, will the clubs / SFA / SPFL take notice of fans' complaints.
[My own small gesture: was going to buy tickets for a Scottish Cup tie tomorrow with wife. Not now.]
Excellent suggestion from a very good commentator who has worked in various countries.
https://twitter.com/RaeComm/status/1086066838520369152?s=19
Re VAR & its introduction in Scotland:
I'm sorry but the SFA are deflecting from the immediate issue which is the quality, performance & competence of match officials at every level of the game in Scotland.
VAR won't/doesn't/can't make those referees 'better'. A generalisation: nobody remembers the reviewed decisions that the referee got correct. The ones that stick in the mind are those that the referee missed or got wrong.
The SFA has a Head of Referee Development who has abjectly failed in post, yet the solution is use technology as a placebo for the ills he has overseen & allowed to propagate in the Scottish game. It's the basics that need attention first.
The SFA — as 'cutting-edge' as a butter-knife…
Cowdenbeath not happy with the postponement , and appear to be suggesting that it was a "big club" decision .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46926104
JC@12.51
I only had one referee in mind when I suggested the link to Moorov.
VAR = SQUIRREL
In much the same way Trump has used the wall to distract everyone from his actual policies and the present UK government has used Brexit to slip in benefit changes and other unpalatable policies so our own SFA are going to use VAR to deflect discussion away from the performance of referees. Like others on here I believe it is being done with the complete approval of all the clubs.
upthehoops I liked this comment on the link you posted
FFS The global super power of football that is Australia have managed to introduce it successfully with probably far less money or experience in their league. Why else would the SPFL be resisting it in the next few years! Hmmm
They need a couple of years to stop 10 in a row any one.
Ex Ludo 18th January 2019 at 19:56
VAR = SQUIRREL
In much the same way Trump has used the wall to distract everyone from his actual policies and the present UK government has used Brexit to slip in benefit changes and other unpalatable policies so our own SFA are going to use VAR to deflect discussion away from the performance of referees. Like others on here I believe it is being done with the complete approval of all the clubs.
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Hard to disagree, that it does appear decisions are being taken, not without fear or favour, but to influence the outcome of matches. The inescapable conclusion of that train of thought, is that insider knowledge would be a very favourable situation for bookmaking companies.
Blagged from the Bears Den –
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1086349484722929664
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46926104
paddy malarkey 18th January 2019 at 18:49
Cowdenbeath not happy with the postponement , and appear to be suggesting that it was a "big club" decision .
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46926104
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Luckily I listened to Clyde 1 tonight to make sure the facts were discussed in the right way.
Big DJ was able to reassure listeners that it was "nothing to do with Rangers"
Paddymalarkey@21.03
Enlightening audio from the learnered gentleman. I now can’t get the image of Jimmy Bell as t’Rangers Overlord out of my head. I wonder if he has a Darth Vader outfit to go with such a position of power?
Re: 'Cowdenbeathgate'…
A direct quote from the Cowdenbeath Chairman, and a QC no less;
"A referee was summoned but apparently the driving force behind the decision appears to be the Rangers kitman which, to me, seems a bit odd,” said Findlay.
Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/rangers/donald-findlay-claims-rangers-kit-man-jimmy-bell-influenced-cup-tie-call-off-1-4859154
==============================
Regardless of the truth in the call off, the point is that the SFA appears to have stumbled – seamlessly – from one self-inflected mess to another.
And as an organisation, the SFA is providing absolutely no confidence to supporters that it is learning from its many mistakes.
I’m guessing that the term ‘Continuous Improvement’ simply has no place in any internal communications at Hampden?
The match call-off Cowdenbeath v TRFC
The SMSM "reports say that the match was called off 3 hours afore kick-off time.
Has there been a change in the Rules of the Scottish Cup Competition that I must have missed?
"Rule 27:
(a) When a match is to be played on the ground of one of the two competing clubs, or on a neutral ground whether or not it has been selected by the Board or by the Secretary, and there is reason to believe that it may not be in a condition for play, the Secretary shall, at the request of either competing club or the club providing the neutral ground, appoint an official to inspect the ground.
In addition, the Secretary has discretion to initiate a pitch inspection. The inspection may be made on the day before the match is to be played. If an inspection is made on the day of the match, it shall be made early enough on the day of the match but not later than four hours before the time set for the kick-off, in order to warn the visiting club against travelling, if need be."
Has there been a change, or is it just another example of Rules being ignored?
StevieBC 19th January 2019 at 09:59
15 0 Rate This
Re: ‘Cowdenbeathgate’…
A direct quote from the Cowdenbeath Chairman, and a QC no less;
“A referee was summoned but apparently the driving force behind the decision appears to be the Rangers kitman which, to me, seems a bit odd,” said Findlay.
Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/rangers/donald-findlay-claims-rangers-kit-man-jimmy-bell-influenced-cup-tie-call-off-1-4859154
…………………………..
1. Why was the kitman inspecting the pitch?
2. And why would he then be pushing for the game to be called off.
3. Did the kitman have a night out to attend?
4. Or is there some other reason the only one from ibrox was the kitman and he was the driving force behind the decision?
5. Did the kitman have any kit with him?
6. If history has taught us anything.As in everything down ibrox way, always look for an alternative reason for something
"..the Secretary shall…………..appoint an official to inspect the ground"
I imagine that the official appointed in any given case will be the first one living nearest to the ground who is free to travel to it.
What we have is the kit man from the visiting club taking issue with the condition of the pitch, not willing to accept what the home club says about it being acceptably playable , phoning the SFA, and on the basis of his assertion, the Secretary uses his 'discretion' to arrange for some relatively junior ref to make a quick visit.
Perhaps the phone call went along the following lines:
'Scott, hello, hello there! Hey, listen, TRFC's kit-man tells me on the phone that the pitch at Central Park is not fit for TRFC to play on. Nip along, will you, and confirm that for me?
Don't worry that by the time you do that, it'll be only 3 hours till kick-off, and that's against the rules. But when you confirm the unfitness, your decision will be accepted, have no fear. I have your back."
I cannot possibly assert that the phone call was anything like that, of course, or that Scott Miller would be party to any kind of chicanery.
But , given the fundamental dishonesty displayed by the SFA in much more important matters than the condition of the playing surface of an individual pitch, I would be ready to believe anything that comes out of the 6th Floor that relates to the SFA's dealings with TRFC Ltd/RIFC plc.
That is the dreadful situation that the SFA finds itself in today: a situation where as an organisation it betrayed its very purpose, and brought about a horrendous situation where no one with any sense and knowledge believes anything that it utters in relation to application of rules, of sporting integrity, of transparency of governance…
It does gar me greet.
CO agreed.
My initial thought was: are there TRFC players unable to play? Like full of cold / flu after their return from warmer climes training?
Or,
is there bad blood between TRFC and Findlay?
Answers on a postcard to the SMSM…
Great spot there JC, re: 4 hours v. 3 hours.
Of course, the word 'NOT' should be inserted between 'ready' and 'to', in the seventh line up from the bottom of my immediately preceding post!
Cluster One 19th January 2019 at 11:55 StevieBC 19th January 2019 at 09:59 15 0 Rate This Re: ‘Cowdenbeathgate’… A direct quote from the Cowdenbeath Chairman, and a QC no less; “A referee was summoned but apparently the driving force behind the decision appears to be the Rangers kitman which, to me, seems a bit odd,” said Findlay. Read more at: https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/rangers/donald-findlay-claims-rangers-kit-man-jimmy-bell-influenced-cup-tie-call-off-1-4859154 ………………………….. 1. Why was the kitman inspecting the pitch? 2. And why would he then be pushing for the game to be called off. 3. Did the kitman have a night out to attend? 4. Or is there some other reason the only one from ibrox was the kitman and he was the driving force behind the decision? 5. Did the kitman have any kit with him? 6. If history has taught us anything.As in everything down ibrox way, always look for an alternative reason for something
___________________
7. Why on earth was the kitman there in the first place? Is it normal for a kitman to be sent to an away ground hours before the team bus (with kit) leaves the away team's training ground/stadium? Or is TRFC some special case with some sort of special needs?
StevieBC 19th January 2019 at 12:53
'..is there bad blood between TRFC and Findlay?'
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
In a word, yes.
In my opinion, Findlay is both lawyer enough and loyal enough to the deceased 'Rangers' to resent the knight who is the de facto murderer of Rangers 1872, and to acknowledge that the ersatz 'Rangers' of 2012 creation is not his beloved Rangers of 1872 vintage, but a shabby newcomer of a club from which , with the support of the SFA in its claim to BE the very Rangers , a succession of base creatures hoped and hope to make money or recoup previous losses brought about by the nefarious cheating of SDM.
Just a wee thought.
How many instances has there been so far this season of controversy involving TRFC, referees and the SFA, with TRFC getting whatever it was they wanted. And when they didn't get what they wanted, how often have they thrown the toys out the pram? And when they've thrown the toys out the pram, how often have they been dealt with in accordance with the rules of the SFA/SPFL?
As I say, just a wee thought and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to show me that TRFC have been given a raw deal by the SFA/Referees repeatedly throughout this season.
Jingso.Jimsie 18th January 2019 at 15:54
Re VAR & its introduction in Scotland:
I'm sorry but the SFA are deflecting from the immediate issue which is the quality, performance & competence of match officials at every level of the game in Scotland.
VAR won't/doesn't/can't make those referees 'better'. A generalisation: nobody remembers the reviewed decisions that the referee got correct. The ones that stick in the mind are those that the referee missed or got wrong.
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Nothing will change unless the nepotism which drives the current Refereeing system is removed. The same mindsets will sit behind the VAR screens and will still argue black is white if it suits a particular outcome. VAR is fine, but first of all we need to remove absolutely every conflict of interest that currently exists.
Can this article in the Times be accurate with Defoe's wages at £65,000 a week to be paid by TRFC? If true, he's due at least £65,000 (maybe more depending on when his contract began) and he's not even kicked a competitive ball yet. However many goals he scores for them, one thing's for sure, they will be the most expensive goals ever scored for either Ibrox based clubs.
I believe he's on some kind of rolling 18 month loan deal. Will that mean TRFC must continue to pay their share of his wages during the close season? And will he be happy if he discovers his July wage packet is short by £130,000 for unpaid holiday leave?
OK, the obvious question. Where on earth can this kind of money be coming from (we must assume, of course, that it's a legitimate source)?
Allyjambo 19th January 2019 at 14:55
"OK, the obvious question. Where on earth can this kind of money be coming from (we must assume, of course, that it's a legitimate source)?"
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I think it best to follow the Takeover Panel's lead on whether assumptions should be made Ally. For reasons best known to them, they have insisted that the share offer money be deposited in a UK jurisdiction escrow account, over which they have the have the maximum level of enforcement powers.
StevieBC 19th January 2019 at 12:53
'..is there bad blood between TRFC and Findlay?'
=========================================
'It is a different club,' he tells Sportsmail bluntly. 'They may play at Ibrox and they may play sometimes in royal blue jerseys.
'But you cannot pass on that which is undefinable. And that is spirit and tradition and all the rest of it.
'To me this is a new Rangers which has to establish its own history and tradition.
But it's not the Rangers I know. To me, genuinely, it is a new entity.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2816759/Donald-Findlay-says-Rangers-new-entity-establish-s-history-tradition.html
Donald Findlay to defend Craig Whyte over Rangers charges
https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/donald-findlay-to-defend-craig-whyte-over-rangers-charges
===============================================
I'm going to go with … yes, there is bad blood.
Erm, so Findlay could have had his name added to the forever growing list of 'Rangers haters' ?!
For a man who MUST typically be incredibly careful with every word he utters – both inside and outside of a court room – Findlay seems to have quite openly thrown the Ibrox kitman under the bus.
Not the TRFC bus of course…as it wasn't actually there.
It is indeed a strange call off story, which could develop arms and legs…?
Hopefully.
StevieBC 19th January 2019 at 18:01
1 1 Rate This
Erm, so Findlay could have had his name added to the forever growing list of ‘Rangers haters’ ?!
For a man who MUST typically be incredibly careful with every word he utters –
……………………..
But give him a karaoke mike and you can’t get him to shut up.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12211501.Findlay_considered_suicide_as_row_exploded_over_singing_of_Sash_at_Rangers_party_Nearly_one_kick_too_many/
Ha ha CO!
Exactly: singing the lyrics incredibly carefully…
Allyjambo 19th January 2019 at 14:55
Defoe Gamble.
Can this article in the Times be accurate with Defoe’s wages at £65,000 a week to be paid by TRFC? If true, he’s due at least £65,000 (maybe more depending on when his contract began) and he’s not even kicked a competitive ball yet. However many goals he scores for them, one thing’s for sure, they will be the most expensive goals ever scored for either Ibrox based clubs.
……………….
And if this gamble does not pay off. Where on earth does the money come from to keep the show on the road?
Let us for a moment say Mr Gerrard does not win the league or the scottish cup.
Will he for next season be given any kind of funds he has been given this season.The loses by the time of next season would be vast. And trying to spend their way out of trouble, with money they just can’t sustain shoving down a black hole.
If Mr Gerrard does not win anything and it may become apparent he may not get anywhere near this season’s funds for next season to mount a challenge, would he walk?
Would the ibrox fans take to another gimmick
We had warburton and he is all about youth and was part of some tournament at one time and would have his pick of young Gems.
Pedro and the fancy foreign names. Ally and the brining through the academy players and one or two others who were real rangers men.
And now a name in Mr Gerrard, not a name in management but a name in football.
just what gimmick can they come up with next time so that the ibrox fan’s would swallow and not see through.
Allyjambo 19th January 2019 at 14:38
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Agree totally, but the default position for many is that I can't comment because I am a Celtic fan and just bitter. So I was heartened to hear a St Mirren fan say in the pub last night in response to someone asking when the draw for the next round of the cup is "it will be whenever Rangers want it to be".
As ever the media can be relied upon to keep us apprised of the facts.
That bastion of truth and openness The Sunday Post have Rangers paying £35,000 per week towards Jermain Defoe's pension pot.
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/rangers-35000-per-week-gamble-on-striker-jermain-defoe/
"It is understood the 36-year-old earns £90,000 a week from his English employers, and that for the duration of his time in Scotland, Rangers are picking up the tab for £35,000 of that total."
A bit different from the club paying £65,000 towards his £130,000 per week obscenity.
Homunculus 20th January 2019 at 11:02
While we have no way of knowing Defoe's true salary we can be pretty sure that the Sunday Post will print whatever Traynor hands them, while, in all likelihood, The Times will have spoken to someone from Bournemouth and have no agenda that would encourage them to either exaggerate or understate the wages of a player in Scotland. That is not to say that the Times is necessarily correct, just that it, unlike the Scottish rags, is less likely to serve a Scottish club's needs to exaggerate or understate…anything.
Still, even £35,000pw would be a ridiculous wage for any player at a club already up to it's ears in debt to pay, especially one carrying successive going concern warnings in it's balance sheet and report…
Still, I am sure, the SFA will be their ever vigilant selves and check with Bournemouth to ensure the amount TRFC are contributing to his wage matches the amount on his registered contract! You know, just in case
Allyjambo 20th January 2019 at 12:36
==================================
And Darrell Currie has Bournmouth paying "the lion's share"
"Darrell Currie @darrellcurrietv 2h2 hours ago
There’s talk that Rangers are paying Defoe 65k per week. I’m told that’s not the case. Bournemouth are paying the lions share of the wages. Rangers have negotiated a superb deal…"
The Referee at the Celtic game yesterday clearly commenting on a Celtic player to opposition players in the tunnel, much to their amusement.
https://twitter.com/Springbokbhoy1/status/1086724482432155649
upthehoops
20th January 2019
=====================================
Unless I am missing something its not clear what they are talking about at all.
Homunculus 20th January 2019 at 12:54
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It seems clear to me they are talking about Timothy Weah just after he walked past.
upthehoops 20th January 2019 at 12:41
0 3 Rate This
The Referee at the Celtic game yesterday clearly commenting on a Celtic player to opposition players in the tunnel, much to their amusement.
…………………..
I can’t get it to play.
Hope they said”This guy will score goals”
Upthehoops@12.41
The audio isn’t clear but the reaction of the referee and the goalkeeper seems to have been triggered after Timothy Weah walked past. A generous interpretation would be they were both star struck by being in the tunnel with the son of George Weah and it wasn’t anything that might be construed as distasteful.
Ex Ludo 20th January 2019 at 13:40
===============================
The look on the goalkeeper's face was less than complimentary, although it seems Andrew Dallas was speaking only to the Airdrie captain and the keeper decided to get involved. It also seems the Assistant Ref, realising it was being filmed, was trying to block the view.
upthehoops 20th January 2019
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Fair enough, I just don't see how. They could just as easily be talking about the disco lights from what I can see.
upthehoops 20th January 2019 at 13:09
'…It seems clear to me they are talking about Timothy Weah just after he walked past.'
I'm not long in ( it's now 00.07 but we've been 'home' for about an hour)from a most enjoyable evening with son and daughter-in-law ( grandkids away to stay with the other grandparents for a couple of days before the start of the new school year on Wednesday) in Brisbane, enjoying the quite fascinating new walkway, recently completed and opened, that runs along under the rocks at the Story Bridge , with a brewery on it, and fabulous views of the 'city' and the river at Kangaroo Point, and heaving with people in the bars and restaurants.
There is also an at least six or seven storey lift shaft from the top of the rocks down to water level. A quite brilliant addition to the amenities.
But I have to say, uth, that I can't see in that clip that there is any connection between Weah walking past and what the ref was saying .
And I am not under the 'affluence of incahol' at 18 quid for 3 drinks:a schooner of beer, a pint of of beer and a small glass of red wine!
City centre + prices as opposed to golf or bowling club prices!
So, whenever VAR appears in the SPL.. will it be the linesmen's job to block the ref's view of the TV screen?
And Lennon 'helping the SFA'?
If true, (well it was in the SMSM), it sounds like;
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."
And according to the DR, the Cowdenbeath call off had nothing to do with the TRFC kitman, and it's all a Bampot conspiracy.
So that's us told!
No mention of timing of ref inspection, or why the kitman was sent in advance of the team bus, etc.
https://twitter.com/r_kilday/status/1086721132806459392?s=21
If the content of the above tweet is accurate then it’s safe to say that the Airdrie/Clydebank/New/Old Club is not a Celtic fan.
StevieBC 20th January 2019 at 14:17
'..No mention of timing of ref inspection.'
+++++++++++++
And that's important.
And the Secretary is required , must be required, to justify the breach of rule 27 which explicitly forbids any postponement announcement made later than 4 hours before kick-off time.
The Secretary has no power to override that absolute rule, and has to be questioned as to why he felt he could do so.
Will he be questioned?
Not by the board of the SFA, that's for sure.
And not by the SMSM- that's doubly for sure!
God Almighty!
The damage those lying basta.ds have done is truly incalculable.
To various. It's obviously just a complete co-incidence that Andrew Dallas gestures twice with his head in the direction of the departing Celtic substitutes as he shares a wee laugh with the Airdrie Captain and goalkeeper.
upthehoops 20th January 2019 at 15:39
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To you, he could have been gesturing at anyone or anything with his head.
An equally valid interpretation is he was gesturing down the tunnel at the lights and laughing at how much they cost, or saying bet you haven't been in an atmosphere like this before, or wait till we give a perfectly good goal as offside see if they are happy then.
To say he was "talking about Timothy Weah" is just reading too much into it in my view. Its guess work.
I have no time for Dallas Jnr, he is a dreadful referee and if he is anything like his father likely to be a bigot, however without more evidence there is no way of knowing what he and the Clydebank players were laughing about.