What the Hell is happening at the SFA?
One non-executive director has run for the hills following a campaign of fear and smear out of Ibrox and now the compliance officer, whose job it is to deal with disciplinary cases and who put forward the one currently relating to Sevco, has handed in his notice, just days after that club was supposed to make its submission to the disciplinary body in relation to that case.
Are we meant to believe that’s a coincidence?
What are we being set up for here?
A fudge? A grubby compromise? A brush under the carpet or a full-court press out of Ibrox that has SFA officials scurrying for cover? Why is it that the simplest thing – and this is a very simple thing – results in carnage when it relates to the Ibrox operations?
The media can blow as much smoke as they like – and The Record’s headline about this has put the word “resigns” in quotation marks just like that, which you only do outside of a quote if you’re questioning the use of the word – but this matter is about as uncomplicated as it can be.
The EBT court case proves that Rangers misled people over the Wee Tax Case. The granting of a UEFA licence for that season was a fraud. It’s the subject of a disciplinary because the OldCo lied and got away with it, at least at the time.
Now if Sevco’s argument is that they’re not Rangers then I agree and they should be allowed to walk away from the case unscathed. But all parties have bound themselves to the scandalous Five Way Agreement and are pretty much stuck with the consequences of it.
Sevco will be punished for that crime, and that’s why people are squealing.
Since the announcement that his would proceed to a disciplinary case was made, Sevco has gone on the offensive using its media lackeys to cast doubts on the characters of all those who made the decision to bring those charges. Their conduct has been deplorable, more that of a mafia family trying to intimidate judge, jury and witnesses than a football club going about its business in a normal, professional manner. And the press has lapped it up.
I don’t know what the story today is, but you cannot look at it with anything other than suspicion. Sevco has launched a deranged campaign of intimidation against the SFA and it looks to the outside as if it’s claimed its second scalp in a week.
Was Tony McGlennan forced out of his job?
Did he think he was going to be?
Did he run from a case he knows will explode like an atom bomb when the verdict and sentence are revealed or did he jump from a burning building, where the fix is already in? Or was he pushed either by some inside the walls of Hampden or forces out-with it in relation to this particular investigation?
The SFA has a new CEO and this website believes he’s an honest man who wants the best for the whole game here.
King and his demented club want reviews and inquiries on certain narrow issues. Celtic wants them to look into much larger matters, and it is now past due for such a sweeping look at the game here and how it’s been run.
Everything about the last few weeks’ stinks, and as I said in a previous article the Ibrox club will never, voluntarily, agree to adhere by the rules of the game as they are followed by every other side in the country. And the SFA can choose to enforce those rules and bring them into line or they can fold the hand, and in gutless, craven surrender leave our national sport without leadership at a time when King is riding roughshod over all of it.
There is no taming the beast at Ibrox. When I put up an article yesterday on the ticket issue and why Celtic must stick to their originally announced intention to cut Sevco’s allocation in line with their plan to cut ours, I was astonished how many people think we should give them 8000 tickets for Celtic Park in the hope that it gives us some moral position from which to change their minds … they’re not going to change their minds and thinking they might is completely delusional. King does not play by the normal rules and expecting him to suddenly find the milk of human kindness in his veins is to ignore all previous evidence of his conduct.
King respects strength. Show that and he’ll wail like a whipped dog, as he always does. If the Takeover Panel bared its teeth and showed intent to do more than talk this guy would either bolt from Ibrox like someone caught riffling a collection box or he’d stump up the cash. When Ashley flexed his muscles he caved like cardboard in the rain and beat a hasty retreat with a media smokescreen covering his embarrassment.
If the SFA man’s up he’ll fall into line. If they don’t … well bullies love nothing more than to see their victims cower. Is that the basis on which Scottish football is to be run? I won’t lie; anyone who takes on Sevco in that fashion is in for a Hell of a time of it, but if people aren’t prepared to stand up in defence of the rules they ought not to be in post.
It’s time for people at Hampden to decide how it’s going to be.
Who is this game run for?
All of the clubs or just one of them?