The SFA have announced that they are surprised by a Court of Session verdict that they weren’t entitled to impose a 12 month transfer ban on Rangers.
FIFA have issued a statement saying that they are monitoring the situation closely.
Lord Nimmo Smith delivered the original verdict with the appeal dismissed by Lord Carloway.
In the appeal verdict it was stated that the SFA had acted leniently when it was within their powers to suspend or expel Rangers from the SFA. That generosity has backfired with FIFA now looking in on the matter as a member association had their authority questioned in a civil court.
The explicit punishments stated in the SFA’s rule 66 are a maximum £100,000 fine, suspension or expulsion from participation in the game, ejection from the Scottish Cup or termination of membership.
Responding to today’s verdict an SFA spokesperson said: “We are surprised by today’s verdict at the Court of Session, especially since the original sanction against Rangers FC was imposed by an independent panel chaired by a leading QC and upheld by an Appellate Tribunal chaired by a Supreme Court Judge.
“We will now consider our position with our legal advisers before making any further comment.”
Highly paid SFA chief Stewart Regan will be expected to use some leadership qualities tomorrow to deal with a crisis that could see sanctions imposed by FIFA on the international sides as well as other member clubs.
Over the last 12 months the SFA have failed to act when Rangers refused to comment on whether Craig Whyte had been disqualified as a director and refused to take action on their failure to produce audited accounts required to gain a footballing licence.
Despite the multiple problems facing Rangers including their failure to pay transfer fees dating back two seasons and imposing wage cuts on players today’s verdict was welcomed by Duff and Phelps.
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Paul Clark stated: “We welcome the decision by Lord Glennie today that vindicates the Club’s position that the original SFA judicial panel tribunal and the appellate tribunal acted beyond their powers in imposing a transfer embargo on the Club.
“The costs for this legal action have been awarded against the SFA and it is our position it is very regrettable that court action was required.
“Both we, and the SFA, will have to study the full ramifications of the judgment when it is published and either side has 21 days in which to decide the next course of action or whether they wish to appeal.”
A statement from FIFA read: “At the time of writing we have not received any communication from the Scottish FA.
“In such a case, FIFA will ask the member association to take action so that the club withdraws its request from the ordinary courts.
“FIFA will closely monitor the situation so that the issue is resolved as fast as possible.”
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Give them an inch and they will take a mile….Now is the time for the SFA to stand up and be counted :
1) Accept the lenient 12 months embargo on players
2) A further £ 50,000 fine for taking the case to outside courts
or
3) Be excluded from the SFA – therefore no signings of ANY age will be accepted.
williebhoy Says:
I do not get the options scenario. If you will not adhere to an organisations rules, then the sanction must simply be ‘get out!’.
Never in my life, and it has not been a short one, have I seen any organisation or individual get away with the flagrant abuse of position that those people are being allowed to. In support of your statement, though, it is them and it is Scotland.
There has to be people power somewhere in all of this.
Someone (Morton supporter – interesting the division that is coming from) posted on another site that, for the survival of any sort of footballing integrity, all supporters should hit all clubs in the pocket as a wake up call.
Money talks and it is time for supporters’ money to do some talking. I am sure it would only be short term and the sacrifices would be worthwhile for the long term good of football. Besides, if our petrified (both meanings) SFA don’t do the right thing, Scottish football will be scuppered anyway.
A financial protest from supporters might help a little towards FIFA viewing the national sanctions a bit more sympathetically. I will certainly be on the front line if there is a supporters revolt.
Too much is at stake and too many people are being tramped on for everybody to just accept biased outcomes. It boils down to them just not caring about anybody bar themselves. It very much appears they will never change and that is why they must go.
H H
This is getting interesting. Now it is a case of who has the bigget dick! Not who is the biggest dick!
A statement from FIFA read: “At the time of writing we have not received any communication from the Scottish FA.”
They won’t get anything either.
The SFA don’t do communicating.
This is beginning to stink like a corpse that has been lying out in the sun for three weeks.
Agree with joeG but i think that the SFA also won’t have the balls to match…!!!
Sion will be watching this like a hawk they got a 36 pts deduction for going to court this has got interesting again sure the Huns are happy thinking they won something today but at what cost silly Williams hail hail
The SFA is the laughing stock of world football. Next season we will be playing matches when it will be impossible to score a goal because they have no balls available.
Why did the SFA not cite Article 95 of their Association, which basically states they can hand out any punishment or sanction they deem fit to the crime?
A mere Pyrrhic victory for the Hunnities.
As that old Greek geezer once said:
‘In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king’
Do the other clubs in Scotland have no power at all? Can the other clubs not inform the SPL/SFA that if no appropriate action is taken against the biggest miscreant in Scottish football that they will resign from the League and form a new League?
If Rangers appear to be so powerful they can ignore the rules of the national governing body, the European body and the government of World football surely the combined strength of the other clubs eclipses them.
Rangers are a football club, they need opposition, if they are refused the right to play in the League because of not wishing to follow the rules of the game then they are finished.
Why is everyone sitting back and taking this? I simply don’t understand.
There are many SPL clubs who have worked out methods of paying players signing on fees and by passing tax being paid.Just waiting to see what SFA do to Rangers then will blow open the can of worms.
We have known for years that the SFA is corrupt but nothing was done about it.I was always hoping that FIFA would get involved in this case as it will show up the SFA for what they really are.Why are they allowed to have a member of staff who received illegal payments from Rankers why have they dodged to investigate Rankers for non tax payments or having players on 2 contracts.
They did nothing but sat back and allowed the SPL do all the work.The SFA will not hit Rankers instead they will allow FIFA to hand a european and international ban to all Scottish clubs.
After that I would predict an uprising from clubs as Celtic , Dundee Utd , Hearts and St Johnstone will not sit back and be banned from europe.
I always thought Lithuania had a corrupt football governing body but the SFA are slowly starting to prove that they are alot more corrupt.