The Biggest Club In Scotland Is Concerned Enough To Have Asked For An Inquiry Into The SFA.
Is Scottish football’s corruption scandal real?
That’s the first question that any enterprising journalist would have to ask before they even started to look in to it.
And the answer to that question is obvious; it’s real enough that Celtic, the biggest club in the country by far, wanted an official inquiry commissioned into what was going on at the SFA during the period when Rangers was using EBT’s and in the 12 months plus from Craig Whyte’s takeover of that club to the moment Charles Green’s Sevco got its license and league place.
Celtic is grievously concerned by these matters.
Other clubs express their disquiet in private.
Some are too afraid of outside pressure – from Sevco fans and from criticism from the press.
The nature of debate in the game here is worth looking at on its own, because Celtic approached this matter through the avenue of the SPFL, who’s board supported an inquiry claim only for the SFA to over-rule the clubs and their wishes.
Not one of the clubs who supported Celtic’s stance spoke up in public about it. Not one.
That should alert anyone interested as to the climate of fear that surrounds this issue.
Two senior clubs, Aberdeen and Hibs, immediately released statements saying they did not support us. That made a lot of people suspicious. The supporters of both clubs have been vocal critics of the SFA over these matters and are solidly behind an inquiry.
Something stronger than fan pressure was influencing this.
Aberdeen was facing local authority pressure over the new stadium proposals; rumours continue to be rife that it was brought to bear over this issue. Hibs’ chairman Rob Petrie wants to be next in the SFA hot-seat and was instrumental in the McLeish decision which was announced today. Both clubs were later handed a Scotland international apiece, a rare occasion when the SFA allows a match to be played outside of Hampden.
The SFA does not want an inquiry into those events; a lot of us have spent years investigating this and we can wholly understand why.
