SFA considered kicking Ibrox club out for offences almost as bad as match fixing

[ian1964 10,626]

May 12 2012 by Colin Duncan and Gary Ralston

 

THE SFA last night revealed they considered throwing Rangers out of Scottish football after finding them guilty of bringing the game into disrepute.

 

A Hampden judicial panel hit the stricken Glasgow giants with a 12-month transfer embargo, ordered them to pay a £160,000 fine and banned disgraced owner Craig Whyte, left, for life. But the SFA claim the punishment could have been much worse, insisting Rangersâ?? crimes were second only to match fixing.

martin bain craig whyte Image 1

 

The Ibrox club are contesting the sentence and their appeal will be heard on Wednesday.

 

A three-man tribunal comprising the Rt Hon Lord Carloway, Spartans chairman Craig Graham and former Partick Thistle chief Allan Cowan will listen to the club plead their case.

 

Rangers are hoping for a reduced sentence but Record Sport understands the panel have the power to increase the severity of their punishment.

 

The SFA yesterday came out fighting ahead of the appeal when they opted to publish their reasons for finding Rangers guilty of financial irregularities.

 

The judicial panelâ??s report stated: â??The Tribunal attempted in its exercise of fixing these matters on the scale of offences to identify a more serious offence than those on the complaints, and concluded that only matchfixing in its various forms might be a more serious breach.

 

â??Having regard to its view on the undoubted gravity of the breaches, the Tribunal considered whether it should terminate Rangers FCâ??s membership of the Scottish FA and concluded that punishment was too severe.

 

â??It considered if suspension of membership was a less serious but an appropriately severe punishment â?? but concluded that was also too severe.

 

â??The Tribunal was dealing with a club at the top of Scottish football who had a history of signing top players, who, logic demanded, commanded commensurate wages.

 

â??It appeared that in a case such as this the punishment should relate in some meaningful way to the unpaid taxes arising from high wages and salaries.

 

â??It appeared that a temporary prohibition on registering any new players during a period of 12 months was a suitable, relevant and proportionate sanction.

 

â??The Tribunal recognised that it would place pressures on Rangers and accordingly limited the period and specifically excluded from the prohibition the registration of persons under 18.â?

 

But raging former Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston laid into the SFA last night and accused them of dealing in â??bull****â?.

 

Johnston is incandescent after the explosive SFA report criticised him and fellow board members for not passing on their concerns about Whyte to the football authorities.

 

He claims Rangers are the biggest victims of Whyteâ??s reign and again fingered Sir David Murray for selling to the dodgy dealer.

 

The SFA report claims they may have been able to block the takeover of Whyte, or at least stall the process, had they been told of a private investigatorâ??s dossier that exposed the prospective ownerâ??s ropey business background.

 

The report was commissioned by a third party in March 2010 and former chief executive Martin Bain discussed its contents with Johnston â?? but they didnâ??t contact the SFA with their fears.

 

Johnston said: â??All information we received independently was passed on to David Murray as the seller of the shares. All our concerns were expressed to the Murray Group and the one person who could actually act on them.

 

â??Iâ??d throw it back to the SFA. At no point did we receive a call asking for any information about Whyte. They did not reach out. If they had we would have been happy to share what we knew.

 

â??The SFA sat back so far they might as well have not existed. Why didnâ??t the SFA ask why board members were sacked or felt forced to resign? We spoke publicly and loudly about our concerns.

 

â??Do the SFA not read papers or watch television? Thatâ??s bull****.

 

â??If they wanted to pick up the phone we would have been happy to talk but they showed no interest whatsoever.â?

 

In addition to banning Whyte for life, the SFA hit him with a £200,000 fine which he says he has no

intention of paying.

 

And Johnston said: â??The SFA punished Whyte and acknowledged he was responsible for approving payment of every bill from Dundee Unitedâ??s ticket money to the local newsagent.

 

â??How can they turn around and also find Rangers guilty? Rangers were, are and always will be the victims in all of this.

 

â??The SFAâ??s actions against the club are akin to someone being murdered and their family being told it was all their fault.

 

â??I feel sorry for Dundee United and Hearts â?? and everyone else who wasnâ??t paid â?? but the biggest victims of Whyteâ??s malfeasance were Rangers themselves.

 

â??For the SFA to then find Rangers guilty is diabolically incongruous. Itâ??s just not logical.â?

 

Other directors at the time, including Martin Bain, John Greig and John McClelland, were last night unavailable for comment.

 

Meanwhile, the SFA took the unusual step of naming those who would sit on the tribunal on Wednesday but after the three members of the original panel received security advice from police they have warned against intimidation.

 

An SFA spokesman said: â??In light of the subsequent leaking of the identities of members from the original tribunal, and given the exceptional circumstances of the appeal, it has been agreed we will identify the members of the appellate tribunal.

 

â??This decision has been taken with the approval of the individuals involved and after consultation with the police authorities.

 

â??It is essential these members are allowed to conduct the appeal without fear of intimidation and we respectfully ask all involved in the process to do their utmost to observe our wishes and the wishes of the panel members.â?

 

Rangers manager Ally McCoist has welcomed the decision to make the names public knowledge.

 

He said: â??We want transparency and clarity and Iâ??m delighted the panel has been named. The three gentlemen have a decision to make and we hope itâ??s a good one for us.

 

â??The worst scenario is that the embargo stays and we are not allowed to sign players for a year. Half our squad could then go in the summer and we are left with a pretty depressing situation.â?

 

However, Celtic boss Neil Lennon believes it is grossly unfair the SFA have named the panel.

 

Lennon said: â??These people do this voluntarily, they do it because they love the game and for the

right reasons.

 

â??This puts extra pressure on these people and they are under enough pressure as it is.â?

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2012/05/12/rangers-in-crisis-sfa-considered-kicking-ibrox-club-out-for-offences-almost-as-bad-as-match-fixing-86908-23856330/

[Zappa 0]

You couldn't make it up!

 

We're in the process of a total stitch-up! :fuming:

[foggy dewhurst 0]

its easy to kick us when we are down(but not out) remember the club has no one to represent us at this period in time .

[ian1964 10,626]

its easy to kick us when we are down(but not out) remember the club has no one to represent us at this period in time .

 

I'm playing catch up,but have the RFFF not appointed a QC to look into all this?

[Zappa 0]

The Scottish media really are out to alter and sway public opinion on this one, of that I have no doubt Ian.

 

It might not matter if we have a QC or not the way things are going.

[Zappa 0]

No doubt they just want to wind us all up though!

[ian1964 10,626]

The Scottish media really are out to alter and sway public opinion on this one, of that I have no doubt Ian.

 

It might not matter if we have a QC or not the way things are going.

 

It's been clear from the beginning of this shite that is the case Zappa,witch hunt it is

[andy steel 0]

Brought a smile to my face to hear Lennon's concerns for football officials being under pressure.