YOU have to hand it to the Scottish Football Association for sheer damned arrogance. While everybody else in Scottish football waited for the judgment in the Big Tax Case, the SFA took legal advice some time before the UK Supreme Court handed down its decision.
That legal advice enabled them to say yesterday afternoon that the ruling body of Scottish football was going to do diddly-squat about the judgment. This is what they said: “Having had time to consider the opinion from senior counsel, and having examined the judgment of the UK Supreme Court, the board has determined that no further disciplinary action should be taken by the Scottish FA at this time.”
What that means is that having dished out a paltry fine some years ago, the SFA are going to turn a blind eye to the breaches of their rules by oldco Rangers and not even consider the implications of the fact that five UK justices have backed Scotland’s Court of Session who decreed that Rangers gained a competitive advantage by using a tax avoidance scheme that the courts have now finally declared unacceptable.
Remember what Sir David Murray said in court during Craig Whyte’s trial? Without the EBTs, Rangers could not have afforded the players they bought. By his own words he stands condemned.
The previous considerations of Rangers’ rule-breaking all ended with the finding that Rangers did not gain a competitive advantage from the EBT system. Now the Supreme Court ruling blows that pretence out of the water. According to the SFA website, the board consists of president Alan McRae, chief executive Stewart Regan, vice-president Rod Petrie, plus Ralph Topping (SPFL), Michael Mulraney (SPFL), Tom Johnston (Scottish Junior FA) and independent non-executive directors, Barrie Jackson and Gary Hughes.
Only one of these board members, Rod Petrie, is actually involved with a top-flight team, and that only since Hibernian won promotion at the end of last season.
So here’s a piece of advice for Stewart Regan and his fellow Toom Tabards. Do not underestimate the anger of fans across Scotland over this issue.
Fans are no longer supine like the SFA. They can and will kick up a rumpus because with this judgment, they believe Rangers cheated their way to 14 titles and cups.
Even now there will be fans of other clubs who will be preparing a protest to the European governing body Uefa, for to put it simply, nobody, but nobody, can trust the SFA on issues of integrity.
Not looking into the implications of this judgment simply is not an option. The SFA must think again.
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