Friday D-Day for SFA v Rangers
Last week’s Court of Session decision that the SFA can’t apply a 12 month transfer embargo on the stricken Ibrox club has brought the ongoing crisis to a head with next season’s fixtures due to be published next week.
Both the SPL and SFA have been brushed aside by Rangers in the search for documentation this season with confusion over who represents the club adding to the problems.
Administrators Duff and Phelps are in talks with the SFA, would-be owner Charlie Green is reported to be anxious to speak to Stewart Regan while banished director Craig Whyte retains 85% of the clubs shares.
While the eyes of UEFA will be on Poland on Friday FIFA will be watching carefully how the SFA deal with punishing Rangers for bringing the game into disrepute through the non-payment of taxes and transfer fees.
Rangers appealed to the SFA against the transfer embargo then went to the Court of Session after the SFA appellate tribunal upheld the original decision.
Despite having football administrator Andrew Dickson and former Sheffield United chief Green involved the decision to go to court could prove extremely costly.
The Court of Session verdict means that the SFA are forced to choose between suspending the club or providing them with a token ban from the Scottish Cup.
Taking the Scottish Cup option would lead to unrest at a number of clubs who’ve found themselves being hit with the same punishment for minor registration issues.
Yesterday Dunferlmine owner John Yorkston said: “Most of us feel that because they are who they are, Rangers would get away with the lesser sentence but a cup suspension is not enough.
“This is more than a small administrative error that saw us and other clubs expelled from the Scottish Cup.”
The SFA hold their AGM on Wednesday and it’s believed that a number of clubs are growing hostile to the damage that the Rangers situation is causing the game.
While many clubs are sympathetic to Rangers the threat from FIFA to the Scotland international teams and European competitors has brought urgency to the issue.
Four weeks on from his arrival little is known of Green’s so called consortium and the money that convinced Duff and Phelps to install the Yorkshireman as preferred bidder for the club.
Last weeks CVA did nothing to boost the credibility of the club with a 12 month suspension to sort out the various on-going problems looking the most likely outcome of Friday’s hearing.
CLICK HERE for Yorkston says cup ban isn’t enough
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