Ibrox EBT man gets appointed onto influential SFA board

The man who declared Craig Whyte as a fit and proper person has been appointed to the SFA Congress by the SPFL!

Andrew Dickson was Head of Football Administration of Rangers FC (IL) in May 2011 when the former billionaire was brought on board with the ‘fit and proper’ documentation delivered to the SFA.

At that time Whyte was serving a ban from holding a directorship with any UK company. Mr Dickson either concealed that fact from the SFA or was incapable of doing the background checks as Dave Murray pocketed a pound coin after six months of negotiating with the man some believed had wealth off the radar.

After being nominated by the SPFL to join the SFA Congress the SFA website announced: “Heart of Midlothian owner Ann Budge has also been appointed to the Scottish FA Football Regulatory Advisory Group. She will join Brian Caldwell (St Mirren FC), Andrew Dickson (Rangers FC), Henry McClelland (Annan Athletic FC), Michael Nicholson (Celtic FC), Rod McKenzie (Harper Macleod solicitors) and Iain Blair (SPFL Company Secretary), all of whom stay on the Group as SPFL representatives.

Dickson has held down a number of high profile jobs at the various Ibrox regimes serving under undesirables such as Dave Murray, Whyte, Charles Green, Malcolm Murray and Graham Wallace, formerly of Manchester City.

It’s believed that Dickson took over the bulk of the player registration work from Campbell Ogilvie, working closely with the SFA and SPL while players were being handed EBT’s that went undeclared to the football authorities.

In 2013 Rangers (IL) were found guilty of failing to declare EBT payments to players over a ten year period and fined £250,000.

While Mr Whyte became the scapegoat for the final season of Rangers’ collapse into liquidation, Dickson was the middle man that soothed his passage into Scottish football which eventually led to hundreds of creditors, including newsagents, florists, taxi companies, HMRC and other public bodies including Strathclyde Police and St Andrews Ambulance Service going unpaid.

In the 2013 SFA Disciplinary Tribunal into Rangers (IL) and Craig Whyte (pages 16 & 17) the role of Dickson is laid out explaining: “That for some years commencing prior to 6 May 2011 Mr Andrew Dickson C.A. has been the Head of Football Administration of Rangers FC.

“His duties prior to 6 May 2011 included preparation of players contracts with players and their agents. His duties included representing Rangers FC and the Glasgow Football Association on various committees within the sport. His duties included all administrative responsibilities, and in particular he dealt with all football registration requirements and documentation which required lodging with the Scottish FA, the Scottish Premier League, UEFA and elsewhere.

“The role included preparation of the Official Return detailing the identities and personal details of all directors and officers of Rangers FC which required to be lodged with the Scottish FA each year prior to the new playing season and any amendment form which might become necessary on account of board or management changes occurring during the playing season.

“Mr Dickson had carried out this role continuously and competently for many years and is highly experienced and knowledgeable about club, player, official, and ground registration and licensing matters.

“The appointment of any new director to the Board of Rangers FC was an appointment which required registration procedures to be completed and fell squarely within Mr Dickson’s experience and remit.

“Such an appointment required to be intimated by the completion and lodging of an amendment form relative to the Rangers FC Official Return, specifying the appointment and lodging the director’s details with the Scottish FA.

“The amendment form requires the director involved personally to sign a declaration, having regard to Article 10 of the Articles of Association of the Scottish FA, in relation to disclosure of any matter (emphasis added) which should be brought to the attention of the Scottish FA in order to allow it to satisfy itself that the director is a fit and proper person to be appointed to the position within the game. Rangers FC through its Secretary is required to sign and “confirm that the information supplied above is complete, true and accurate and that Articles 10, 13, 14 and 15 have been complied with”.

In May 2013 the BBC claimed that Mr Dickson was paid £33,000 by EBT, it was an earlier BBC programme that revealed that Mr Whyte was disqualified from being a director.

If Mr Dickson had dealt properly with Mr Whyte the Ibrox club may have avoided the shame and embarrassment of administration and liquidation.

Today the same man sits on the SFA’s Football Regulatory Advisory Group.