G is for Gordon Smith
In the fullness of time, I do believe that the SFA will have to make a full accounting of the decision to appoint Gordon Smith as its CEO. His loyalties were never in the slightest question; they were to one particular club and not the game as a whole.
His appointment as Chief Executive at the national association was a scandalous one.
His tenure was a disaster.
One story from that period will be covered later; that we have a few to choose from speaks volumes about the guy and the decision making process which led to him getting the gig.
The SFA published a detailed critera for the job of CEO when they advertised the post. At the time, the SFA seemed to be a reasonably sane organisation; this was the first sign since Farry that there was something dark and rotten behind the scenes.
Because Smith ticked not one of the boxes on the SFA’s personal profile, the one on which they were basing their hiring process.
He was an ex footballer who had become an agent and then went into broadcasting.
His pro-Rangers credentials were solid though, and that appeared to be a key factor in appointing him, which can be surmised by a book that was published a matter of weeks after he took the job, a book about the club in which he had contributed a chapter.
And what was the chapter about? It was about the SFA’s “historical bias” against the club, an assertion so laughable I still don’t quite believe he made it.
Smith’s myopia involving Ibrox was, and is, legendary.
During UEFA’s first investigtions into sectarian singing at Ibrox he started by trying to drag Celtic into the debate and then finally settled for asking what was wrong with some of the songs the club had been cited for.
It so exasperated even Jim Traynor – yes, no joke – that he famous asked, live on the air, “What part of F the Pope do you not believe is sectarian, Gordon?”
Smith’s tenure ended in some controversy; with Livingston chasing him because he had personally intervened in a disciplinary case to have their striker banned for diving; Smith had been a spectator at the game and highlighted the incident himself, after it had been missed by all the officials.
The club was alleging misuse of office when he quit all of a sudden.
It was also around about the same time as the EBT story was breaking; perhaps he feared having to do something about it.
You can discuss this and and all the other stories by signing up at the Celtic Noise forum at the above link. This site is one of the three that has pushed for the forum and we urge all this blog’s readers to join it. Show your support for real change in Scottish football, by adding your voice to the debate.
