SPFL Season declaration challenged legally (ongoing discussion)

[CammyF 8,100]

Gary Keown - Mail On Sunday 

 

RIGHT, can we get this independent investigation into the disgrace that is the SPFL up and running now, please? Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack supports it, along with Ann Budge at Hearts and Douglas Park at Rangers, and has given fresh evidence to suggest it is more than worthwhile. Despite later attempts to change the subject, Cormack (left) admitted on radio yesterday that he was told in a call from SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster at 4:40pm last Friday — when Aberdeen had not submitted their ballot paper — that another ‘yes’ vote was no longer needed to push through the league’s resolution on calling the season as it stands.

Forgive my naivety here, but what kind of process is this when the governing body are letting clubs know how other votes are shaping up to let them work out how best to cast theirs?

That’s before we even get to the ‘coercion’ Budge and Park have spoken about, incomplete results being released and Dundee submitting a ‘no’ vote that somehow got lost in the internet and was later allowed to be changed to a ‘yes’.

The more you hear, the more the whole thing stinks. The insight it has given into the politicking that goes on behind the scenes has surely been alarming to fans of all clubs no matter whether they were affected in a sporting sense by that resolution or not.

What’s more, there hasn’t been a single note of contrition from the SPFL.

Instead, they seem quite happy with themselves, their chairman Murdoch MacLennan offering his pearls of wisdom to the proles for the first time in pretty much three years and, almost immediately, making you wish he hadn’t.

It is impossible to have any trust in the workings of the SPFL right now. Sure, that might be an uncharitable position to take, but it is hard to see how anything other than a fully independent inquiry can even begin to turn that round.

[Stevie - 4lads Blog 922]

1 hour ago, buster. said:

Thank´s for the reply Stevie !

 

I was just giving my tuppence regards mostly what the club had done thus far.

Wasn´t having a go at you in any way.

I really should have thanked you for putting the blog up,... I do so belatedly

 

 

 

I know that mate don’t worry 

 

I just meant the blog was as close to telling folk exactly where Rangers are at moment 

 

It’s a emotive subject, I don’t blame anyone for their opinion really

 

I’m prepared to wait and see how it goes but doesn’t mean I don’t disagree with peoples worries etc   

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[Bill 13,717]

Making a pitch for Doncaster's job.

[RANGERRAB 3,671]

1 hour ago, Bill said:

Making a pitch for Doncaster's job.

He won’t be the only one. They all sense blood. £388k p.a. Jobs in Scottish football few & far between.

 

This opportunity to remove one of liewell’s key lieutenants must not be passed up. 

[Franc Ergs 1,651]

12 hours ago, Bill said:

I've seen it all now. Rangers fans looking for succour in the ramblings of Sportsound, as if the world was holding its breath to see what Billy Dodds or Tom (didn't he do ever such a good job) English would say next. Seriously, if you're going to clutch at straws at least find one that floats. No one listens to Sportsound, least of all the SPFL. No one cares what they say. Sportsound reflects anti-Rangers sentiment, it doesn't create it. Sportsound is an echo chamber designed to fill your head with shite and make sure people don't accidentally think for yourselves. Does anyone seriously believe Tom English would be passing time in the backwater of Scottish media if he was wise or insightful. Forget Sportsound. It's irrelevant, a distraction, a signpost to nowhere.

 

[der Berliner 3,744]

 

Quote

 

The questions the SPFL must answer in an independent investigation into the votegate fiasco (Evening Times)

 

By Matthew Lindsay

The final outcome may have been, despite the protests emanating from Falkirk, Gorgie, Govan, Inverness, Maryhill, Pilton and Stranraer, the most sensible solution in the exceptional circumstances.

And if the 42 senior clubs can now agree, as they surely have a moral obligation to do, to change to a 14-10-10-10 set-up so that Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer can avoid unjust relegations, the entire process will have had just about as satisfactory an end result as was possible all things considered.

Should Caledonian Thistle, Falkirk and Edinburgh City be promoted and Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts step up from the Highland League and Lowland League respectively then everybody, or just about everybody, will be happy.

Yet, an independent investigation into the vote on the controversial resolution which the SPFL presented to their members 12 days ago is still necessary if the besieged organisation is to put this acrimonious episode behind it and lead the Scottish game out of one of the greatest crises it has ever faced.

There is currently little if any faith in the individuals who occupy the sixth floor of Hampden – or did until the coronavirus outbreak and subsequent lockdown last month – among supporters across the country in the wake of a series of extraordinary public gaffes, bizarre twists and damning allegations.

An external inquiry is now vital. An internal review, which has been launched, is unacceptable. If the very people whose conduct is under the microscope are in charge of the inquest how can their findings possibly be taken seriously?

If chairman Murdoch MacLennan, chief executive Neil Doncaster, secretary Iain Blair and legal advisor Rod McKenzie as well as the board members are all content they acted properly and in the best interests of all clubs at all times during the unfortunate affair they should welcome, not resist, the chance to prove as much.

It may, given the challenges they face amid the first global pandemic in a century, given the ongoing uncertainty about both this season and next which they are wrestling with, given that league reconstruction is on the table, given that many clubs face going out of business amid an unprecedented economic downturn, be an unwanted distraction at a demanding time.

But there are many, many questions which need to be satisfactorily answered before the SPFL can possibly move forward.

Why was only one option out of a possible six presented to clubs? Why weren’t alternatives debated at any length outwith the executive and board? Why couldn’t loans have been advanced before end-of-season fees were paid out? Why were clubs only given two days to digest a dense 105 page document? Why were the proposals presented by Hearts and Rangers deemed not competent? Couldn't more have been done to help them?

Why didn’t board member Ken Ferguson of Brechin City recuse himself from the discussions? Wasn’t there a clear conflict of interest if his Angus club were going to avoid the drop out of League 2 if the resolution was passed?

Why were the votes cast made public before the final result was known and the decisive vote had been received? What happened to the email that Dundee sent in before the informal deadline? Why were the Dens Park club allowed to ask for it to be disregarded if it arrived? Why did they then change their mind?

Why did Doncaster tell Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack that nine out of the 12 Ladbrokes Premiership clubs had voted in favour of the resolution 20 minutes before the deadline? What kind of way is that to run a democratic ballot? Will the SPFL board or 75 per cent of the top flight clubs now decide to end the 2019/20 campaign? It could all take some time.

Then there are the accusations of “bullying” and “coercion” which Rangers have made. Ann Budge, the Hearts owner who joined Cormack in backing the Ibrox club’s call for a probe into events on Saturday, insisted she had no evidence of the former. But she did describe the stories she had heard as “distressing”.

Lobbying in these sort of situations is commonplace. It can get pretty nasty when a great deal is at stake and emotions are running high. If harsh words were spoken it would be nothing out of the ordinary.

But did such behaviour overstep the mark on this occasion? Were actual threats made? If so, who by? If senior officials or board members have crossed the line between what is acceptable and what isn’t then that must be determined.

Putting the votegate fiasco in the past and working together to ensure the future health of the Scottish game is important at this critical juncture. So, though, is identifying what mistakes have been made and what lessons can be learned so the SPFL function more effectively and harmoniously in the years to come.

If there has been subterfuge then it must be exposed and the perpetrators weeded out.

It was claimed last week that representatives of one club were so disturbed by what had taken place that they were considering involving the police. It hardly reflects well on the body responsible for overseeing proceedings. An independent investigation is a must if trust is to be restored. Otherwise the ill-feeling and suspicion will linger and continue to do damage.

 

https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/18390212.questions-spfl-must-answer-independent-investigation-votegate-fiasco/

 

... so slowly every journo in this country follows the party line.

 

At the end of the day, many opinions, but whether there is action ...

[Bill 13,717]

There's no way in this world I am going to believe a media corps, with a track record of compliance as long as your arm, has suddenly changed the habits of a lifetime. These are journalists who wouldn't know an original thought if it bit them on the arse. They're taking their lead on this from somewhere and it's clear no one knows or is prepared to acknowledge where that is. If you think these snakes have suddenly sprouted legs then good luck to you.

[Uilleam 5,939]

14 hours ago, ian1964 said:

 

Now here we have an unusual phenomenon, common only in Scottish fitba' : a snake peddling snake oil. 

[Gaffer 1,665]

1 hour ago, Bill said:

There's no way in this world I am going to believe a media corps, with a track record of compliance as long as your arm, has suddenly changed the habits of a lifetime. These are journalists who wouldn't know an original thought if it bit them on the arse. They're taking their lead on this from somewhere and it's clear no one knows or is prepared to acknowledge where that is. If you think these snakes have suddenly sprouted legs then good luck to you.

I can't make up my mind on this.  I often think our 'journos' are just lazy.  Since this story has landed on their laps it's the easiest one to write about for days and days.

 

Equally I know there's an orchestrated agenda and it could be that's they're all lined up to help achieve something for the cabal.

 

As with most of these things, the only time you know if it's part of an agenda is when they manage to push throughout the changes they wanted all along, and by that stage it's  too late.  (I actually think similar things regarding COViD19).