Today I opened my first piece by saying that Celtic had fired a last warning shot across the bow of the SFA over the issue of an inquiry into the goings on at Ibrox and Hampden.
Tonight we know how the SFA has chosen to respond.
They have formally, in letter, rejected the SPFL’s call for an inquiry, which was made at the behest of Celtic.
They have officially told our club to piss off.
It is an open declaration of war.
Tomorrow I intend to write a lengthy article on what that means for them, and for Celtic, but for now let me say that the communique in question, which Chris McLaughlin of the BBC has seen and is in possession of, is about as arrogant and duplicitous as it is possible for the governing body to have been.
Its naked contempt for us all is clear.
Celtic will now respond.
I do not expect them to respond with a thank you.
My understanding is that having made the request for a review formally, and by the correct process, they are now in a position to remove this matter from the jurisdiction of the Scottish football authorities, both of whom have been derelict in their duty towards the game and towards sporting integrity.
The SPFL hoped to hide behind the SFA.
The SFA has put up the barricades.
The club will consider its next move carefully, but the door to UEFA and an official request for them to sort this shambles out is now in the offing. We have exhausted nearly every avenue open to us within the structures of the game here.
Let no-one suggest otherwise now or in the future.
The SFA had the chance to do the right thing; they have chosen not to.
The agenda will now be taken out of their hands.
In the letter the SFA has sent out, they have suggested that they have now instigated an investigation into the decision to grant Rangers a European license in 2011; this is an astonishing, blatant, attempt to ward off the full investigation, and a complete volte-face on everything they’ve spent the past three or four years telling the guys who have been active on the Resolution 12 issue. It does what I always expected the SFA to do … they’ve effectively thrown OldCo Rangers to the wolves to protect themselves.
For them to plead ignorance as to the full facts of that case – the Res12 guys laid it all out to them years ago – is breath-taking audacity and it’s a clear attempt to fob us off with a “jam tomorrow” promise that not one of us has any doubt will go exactly nowhere.
The idea that they will open a disciplinary case against Sevco for the crimes of Rangers is ridiculous and all involved know that it simply will not happen.
An organisation which acts like this is hiding something pretty big.
You can see it a mile away.
They would not be attempting this move if their hands were clean. They are flying in the face of opinion at every club and contravening the wishes of supporters all across the country, at a time when they are not short of critics.
This will only have one ending, the same one as Fergus achieved when he took Jim Farry to court.
Except this will be bloodier, and I expect us to finish the job even the man in the bunnet backed away from.
We’re going to have to clean house before this is over.
And you know what? We will.