Stewart Regan easily brushed aside the issue when he was asked about Resolution 12 at the SFA AGM in June but the answers given in public and private by the SFA chief executive are at odds with documentation between UEFA and the Resolution 12 lawyer.
The issue will be back in focus on Wednesday when Celtic host their AGM- three years after the matter was first raised and adjourned after talks between the board and the some shareholders now known as the requisitioners.
UEFA’s licensing process is fairly complex but the requisitioner have developed a keen eye for detail and have been able to highlight a number of inconsistencies between Regan’s limited public comments and the paper trail surrounding the 2011 licence.
In summary Regan gave the impression that beyond 31st March licensing matters were a matter for UEFA- not true.
UEFA are reliant on the vigilance of national associations to ensure that clubs are compliant with the SFA giving full approval to Rangers Champions League application after mid April, which was later notified to UEFA on May 26. By that time the wee tax case liability was public property- causing the price of Craig Whyte’s purchase to drop from £6m to £1.
With little public questioning of the issue Regan has little to concern himself with but every inconsistency is being noted and highlighted by the vigilant Celtic requisitioners.
In June following the SFA AGM Regan said: “My understanding is that the requisitioners have accepted that they have no issues with the granting of the licence to Rangers in 2011 .
“What they do have an issue with is the monitoring period immediately following that licence in March 2011.
“Our position on that is that we have complied with UEFA requirements in the period immediately following March 2011 and clearly if there is still an issue with the requisitioners then that’s for them to take up with UEFA.
“We’ve said if they do that then we’ll fully cooperate and comply with any requests for information from UEFA and we’ve provided details at UEFA for the requisitioners to make contact.
“So we believe that the matter has been communicated to those involved and they will deal with it as they see fit.”
CLICK HERE for the documentation
With UEFA corresponding openly with the Celtic shareholders it is known that the SFA approved the Rangers licence for 2011/12 with the overdue tax bill public knowledge having been presented as a ‘potential’ liability in Rangers accounts at 1st April when it was not. There was no potential, the liability was real.
According to the rules, as applied to the Greek club Giannina FC in 2013, who had a similar tax liability as well as discovered private agreements (like side letters) that violated UEFA FFP accounting requirements, their application should have been rejected since their success in winning the SPL had been while owing HMRC tax from 2001.
In that case Celtic would have stepped up to the Champions League qualifiers, the evidence obtained by the requisitioners is very very persuasive.
As the SFA hierarchy attempt to move on it seems that there is no one in the game willing to address governance failure on an epic scale- one that potentially cost a member club £20m.
With a new club from Ibrox (as UEFA have now confirmed they view the current lot) going public over how important European income is for their future it’s essential for every club that the SFA know the rules, their responsibilities and the timelines.
At best if the SFA’s position re their responsibilities in respect of granting is correct, then the rules need tightened. If only for that reason and no other Celtic should be asking UEFA to clarify. At worst the SFA should be asked exactly on what grounds was the licence granted in April 2011 before UEFA were notified of such in late May? Conflicting stories are now emerging.
It’s unlikely that Celtic will suffer this time around with UEFA income more or less assured but on behalf of Hearts, Aberdeen and St Johnstone some transparency and accountability about the events of 2011 is essential if Scottish football is to move on.
CLICK HERE for survey shows up Murray’s hollow fiver/tenner comment.
CLICK HERE for the delusions of Kris Boyd.
CLICK HERE for young Celts are way too strong for Sevco.
