This afternoon, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain has released a piece about the MSP James Dornan, who has sent him the details of a motion he has submitted to the Scottish Parliament backing the Ibrox club in calling for full transparency from the SFA.
“That the Parliament supports recent reported moves by Glasgow Rangers FC to get the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to release the conversations by video assistant referee (VAR) officials during the recent game against Celtic FC; recognises what it sees as the longstanding culture of secrecy that exists within the ruling hierarchy of Scottish football; urges the SFA to ensure that all VAR decisions, and any other decisions requested by a club involved, are made publicly available on such a request, and believes that, if the SFA and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) continue with what it considers is their ongoing culture of secrecy, then there is a need to consider an independent regulator for football, similar to the plans reportedly due to be introduced into the UK Parliament, but one which would be unique to the circumstances of Scottish football.”
This is an opportunity and we should not simply wait for Ibrox and Hampden to blunder about knocking lumps out of one another when there is a chance to use this crisis of theirs to get real reform. The rest of the clubs have not uttered one word, at least not in public, but who knows what’s happened in private?
Dornan has had some run-ins with the Ibrox club over the years, so it is interesting to see him come out and so publicly back them, but it’s interesting to note he’s done so first through Phil’s site.
You have to take your hat off to him and whoever else he’s been talking to; this is exactly what I was calling for, exactly what I was hoping for …
Ibrox and the SFA have been engaging in a little war of words primarily for the cameras and this isn’t even a disguised attempt to hijack this largely manufactured controversy to put front and centre what many us have called for this whole time.
Now, to use a favoured expression, “this sh@t just got real.” And let me tell you, neither the SFA nor Ibrox wanted this to get real.
What a stunning development.
It is a beautiful move, a potential game-changer, and the best part of it is, now Dornan has done this it’s clear that Ibrox and the SFA have blundered into a trap of their own making.
We know the last thing Ibrox wants is full SFA transparency. Imagine what that will do? You only have to look at who the two full-time VAR officials are to know that Ibrox would be perfectly happy with the status quo from now until kingdom come.
On top of that, football’s two governing bodies have treated the parliament with grotesque contempt, as was exemplified last year by Neil Doncaster’s dire appearance and by Ian Maxwell just last month in a brain-bending session in front of the legislature where he actually claimed that Scottish football doesn’t need a robust financial control framework because everything here is just fine and dandy, and that we don’t need a pesky regulator either.
But Scottish football plainly needs both of those things, and that’s why Dornan has taken this moment to move.
All it was ever going to take was for one club to openly call for it … and it turns out to be the one across the city, acting against its own interests, in a blood-boiling rage and proving Sun Tzu’s maxim about winding up an opponent until he does something daft … all it took was us winning a game of football and they’ve gone off the deep end and into shark infested waters.
Amongst Dornan’s statement is, you’ll notice, a call for that very regulator we’ve all been talking about, and calling for. It’s a superb development. Independent scrutiny. An independent body. You’ll notice too how he talks about Scottish football’s “unique circumstances.”
I’d love to know who worked on this with him and buy them both a beer.
To say I am happy about this is an understatement.
We could not have wished for a better response, and I hope the Parliament votes in favour of it and gets the SFA heirarchy in front of them and forces it through.
If we had planned this it could not have gone better.
I would love it now if some of the clubs jumped on this in support of what Dornan has said and done here, he’s provided the necessary political cover for it and ladies and gentlemen, we might be closer to real reform tonight than we have been in years.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Sevco are the best at that!
To my my mind,they have opened a can of worms. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the clubs react.
The sense of entitlement, emanating from that club and its followers is stomach churning.
For sure Marky…a stupider support/klub is impossible to find on this planet & their sense of entitlement is off the radar-imagine all the clubs in Scotland carried on like sevco footy klub???
Sevco fk will never get it—they are not on a par with Celtic & never will be, but apparently they are still coming which is impressive for such a new klub!!!
You are right but if they keep picking Scots it will not resolve its got worse since var then something dosent go they way it usually went two things sevco never got in there favour against Celtic F.C at ibrox for foul the ref done his job and gave a foul but after var had to give foul no honest mistake then Celtic Park ref done his job var backed him by the law book now all he’ll breaks loose
Yes James, it is a very important development in potentially turning the tide and bringing football and the Scottish football authorities into the 21st century. I do hope the whole affair snowballs now, gathers momentum and our elected representatives do the right thing and seriously implement the required changes.
My own cynical personna though suggests to me that, after the initial stir it will be partly ignored and be then kicked into the long grass until it is forgotten about. I hope I am wrong.
I wouldn’t get too excited, any regulator appointed in Scotland and made up of Scots will make no difference whatsoever. That’s the most that could to come out of this and is still very unlikely to happen.
By the way James Dornan sending his statement to Phil Mac wasn’t one of his cleverest of ideas. In doing so he alerted everyone to his real intentions, he should have at least waited until the shit hit the fan.
Haha don’t let that worry you mate.
The thing is, when you’ve stepped into a trap it does you no good to recognise it after the fact! They’re already in the hole. They’ve spotted the guy filling it in, but it won’t help them. What are they going to do now? Roll back?
But that would reveal this whole thing as a manufactured controversy, wouldn’t it?
They are down the hole. 🙂
Nope.
The way I see it, is that fellow MSP’s who might have fully supported James Doran’s motion, may now have second thoughts when they realise his real reasons for doing it. He would have been better served keeping his powder dry a bit longer.
They’ll need to do better than “you have an ulterior motive.” Try proving that he does 😉
This is a perfectly good motion which should command widespread support!
Wonderful move by JD. touché,
Surely Murdo ‘bigot’ Fraser must support this motion, seeing that it was his klub that inadvertently instigated the matter.
Let’s just hope that the entitled lot have sleepwalked right into the point of no return. HH
Yeah, James.
In a perfect world we would get what should have been implemented in 2012.
The major fly in the ointment is that we still have most of the major players (or similar in outlook)pulling the strings in not so bonny Scotland.
Even if this were to come to pass,l could see the independent (haha,oh ma fuckin ribs)regulatory team being made up of Hugh( the bigot) Dallas,Campbell (ebt) Ogilvie,with a newly excommunicated Celtic chairman,Peter(the parasite)Lawwell heading up the 3 man commission, all in the name of football integrity.
These particular turkey’s will NEVER vote for Christmas and Scottish Football will remain the backwater it has always been.
Cue,the resolution of the current seemingly impossible impasse in indecent haste as this shower of trough dwellers put their own interests above all others AGAIN !
I sincerely hope l am monumentally wrong in this but l reckon unless all control in the setting up of aforementioned commission is taken out of these bastards hands then l’m afraid this will be just another false dawn for the long suffering Scottish football supporters.
Ps James.
I hadn’t seen your reply to Johnny Green 6:50pm as l was busy posting my original comment.
I really, really hope upon hope that you are right in this instance.
Perhaps James, something could be done along the lines of suggestions to FIFA, UEFA that all league bodies should have an independent regulator. Standard practice for all. Each body approved outside of the domestic Governance.
I think the great irony is that most SNP MSPs and councillors will support “Rangers”. Didn’t one of them host a celebration for them in the Glasgow chambers recently to mark their long history!
You couldn’t make it up. Oh! wait a minute that is what Charles Green did.
Music To my Ears.. May not be 1924 in Scotland after all.
It’s known as “blind rage” for nothing….
Harry Enfield’s annoying busybody should wander in saying “I don’t believe you wanted to do that now, did you?” round about now in the sitcom version of this story!
The meltdown following our win last Saturday, has been monumental and hugely hysterical. If we had to rely on our “smsm,” for a fair, unbiased appraisal of events, we would be waiting an awful long time. Hence the reason I’ve not bought or read any of their dross for many a year, and get regularly updated by our excellent bloggers. ( well done James et al!)
Let us all hope, this may be the start, or catalyst for transparency, reform and real change in the way our game is governed. By god, it is required !!!
It would be nice if James Dornan ‘s motion to Parliament regarding secrecy at the SFA ,would include the Scottish version of the BBC ,especially the sports programmes dept ? Public money being used in a God only knows capacity especially in its employment policy towards certain individuals and their allegiances to a certain clumpany needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency !
James please post this he did not give phil the story it was announced in the Scottish Parliament as a matter of interest motion maybe phil latched on to it ,if anything you have been an advocate of this for years
Interesting development.
But, I’d trust any MSP / MP – of any party – only as far as I could throw them.
It’s all about self-interest and self-enrichment for most politicians, unfortunately.
ALL the polticians looked the other way in 2012, when the SFA made up and broke
rules to satisfy ibrox – whilst Hampden continued to receive public monies,
[i.e. our monies], and without any pertinent questions asked
at either Holyrood or Westminster.
🙁
I’d say you’d be a fantastic MSP yourself James !
Just as long as you’d be an SNP one (or even better – a Scottish Sinn Fein party)…
But not a Butchers Apron loving Labour one –
Nor a Butchers Apron loving Tory one…
Nor a Butchers Apron loving Liberal Democrat one –
But please stick to being one of Scotland’s finest ever journalists…
Yeah – I get there’s not much journalistic competition in this bloody peculiar country (c. Stewart Regan)…
But your output is truly BRILLIANT indeed !
Yeah lmfao when I seen it on Phil’s site.
My first thought was , the wee Tory unionist pish stain that is Douglas Ross will not support it.
Every spectator sport has clarity rugby American football tennis so why not football yes it would clear a lot up it I’m sure Willie column and his family are going unwanted attention from idiots rifc and there manager should think of the threats he has brought to this mans family he is being treated as a villain rufc have to come out a step this personal disrespect I remember Celtic fc was complaining against referees they went on strike I sometimes shout at some poor decisions made by certain refs but if I look at my life I make mistakes daily var is run by humans that’s why its not perfect one man it should be three but we can’t afford three so if you can’t do it right by cameras in the right place I’d say Celtic Park ibrix are the only butches that have suffenceints cameras for it I’d don’t think hampden has sky TV don’t cover spl the way they cover Europe leagues maybe three cameras at most got one on managers we don’t need I know it’s not there coverage to help spl but they have subscribers paying the same amount as all in uk fir a second rate service if it was anywhere else in Europe they would have shown the offside but do to there poor coverage which we are paying top fir top quality and biggest talking point apart from the goals they didn’t have a camera covering the 18yd box have we not got people that are there to show poor service
It would benefit Celtic F.C the MP no fool he knows there is a it would hatred and things that have been against Celtic F.C for years
.
This is a good development 🙂
It is to be hoped that all the other clubs get involved in calling them out.
The Govan club have been holding Scottish football back for a century with their bigoted and outdated views. The SFA are totally incompetent and both the SFA and the SPFL need an external regulator to ensure fairness and a lack of corruption. Why would they not want to be regulated? The answer is obvious. So they can hide their wrongdoings and prevent the changes which would benefit all clubs in the leagues. Their reluctance is what prevents the changes which would ensure good competition with all clubs treated equally. Scottish football is a joke run by clowns in the so-called official bodies.
By the way, don’t get too excited about this. The SNP would seem to be riddled with lies and corruption. Look at the way Salmond and some others were treated by this Party. The other Party’s are no better and merely look after their own interests. The do not care a jot for the voters and that is why we have a country with councils going bankrupt. Modern politicians generally do not have a good track record, no matter the party. However, some decent ones have since left the SNP to join ALBA due to becoming disillusioned.
So don’t bet on the Scottish Parliament going with this one.
They either will or they won’t, but I always believe that this hatred for politics and for all politicians actually serves the interests of a very small number of people in the political system … it’s lack of engagement, proper engagement, that lets these people get away with the things they do.
The political machine triumphs because it is a united minority acting against a divided majority.
Will Durant
” Never let a good crisis go to waste” time for Celtic n all other clubs to man up.At long last a real opportunity to get rid of this corruption n a level playing field for all.Who said Moon howling does not work!!