Stewart Regan has defended SFA President Campbell Ogilvie and sees no reason for the former Rangers director to step down.
A BBC documentary ‘Rangers- The Men Who Sold The Jerseys’ claimed that Ogilvie had £95,000 paid into an Employee Benefit Trust.
The way that Rangers operated the controversial scheme is at the centre of a long running dispute with HMRC that could see the club hit with a bill in excess of £50m.
Separate to the HMRC enquiry the SPL are holding their own investigation into the issue of undeclared payments which would render any player ineligible from matches staged by the SFA.
Ogilvie built up a reputation as a great administrator in the game but despite being a Rangers director for five of the years when the EBT scheme was operational- and personally benefiting from payments- Regan sees no reason for the President of the SFA to step aside.
“As far as the board of the Scottish FA is concerned, we have got no issue with the position that we currently find ourselves in,” Regan replied when asked about Ogilvie.
“This is a board decision and the board has got no reason for Campbell Ogilvie not to be doing the job he is doing, providing that he doesn’t get involved in decision-making matters involving Rangers Football Club.”
Regan added: “Campbell was Rangers’ secretary but he wasn’t involved in any of the correspondence relating to players’ EBTs.
“That was done much higher up the chain of command and we are satisfied the president has disclosed all of the facts as he knows them to us.
“The SFA board see his integrity as being intact and they are happy he’s done nothing wrong.”
The most immediate task facing the SFA is to deal with the charge against Rangers of bringing the game into disrepute.
Last week Rangers went to the Court of Session to get a 12 month transfer embargo overturned but found the matter referred back to the SFA.
The only punishments available are for a suspension or expulsion from the SFA or a Scottish Cup ban.
Would be Rangers owner Charlie Green had suggested that a compromise could be achieved ‘for the good of Scottish football’ but Regan has warned that the SFA will apply one of the prescribed punishments.
He added: “As a board, we recognise the independence of the process and we will not interfere.
“There won’t be and can’t be any deals, as has been highlighted in the press recently.
“There is no need for guidance as such. In terms of the appellate tribunal themselves, they will deal with the matter as they see fit.”
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I know he wont be allowed to be part of any panel deciding a punishment on the huns , but,everyone and their dog knows in the halls of hampden he will exercise his influence.Rotten to the core,the whole country.
Surprise surprise
I don’t think
Corruption is a way of life for these scoundrels
These clowns at the SFA are not fit for office. The biggest sporting scandal in british history and Ogilvie who is highly conflicted remains in position.
Regan you have failed and supporters have no confidence in you.
It is a business culture thing. Don’t rock the boat, cover your back, keep it between ourselves and self-preservation are the ethics of the business world. Why are we so surprised. The collapse of a football club is simply contributing further to a greater moral decline that has been gathering pace in our modern society for decades, in politics, in religion, in sport, in education in ………ad infinitum!
H H
Words utterly fail you when you are offered this level and scale of corruption. Why is there no Supporters Representative on the SFA board that can lambaste this kind of Mafia style collusion? Supporters need to get organised into a ‘FOOTBALL’ union and flex some muscle against this nonsense.
Can the European authorities not get involved, surely the rest of the world must see what is going on here.
People like Dermot Desmond, and Peter Lawwell should be contacting FIFA and UEFA to look into the corruption in this country. This is unbelievable. In no other country in the world would oglvie survive his position with the sfa.I am utterly disgusted.
I fully expect the situation to change when the result of the FTT is announced and RIA are found to be guilty…Ogilvie will have no choice but to stand down…although he should be sacked
It was a complete joke. Regan is spineless, talk about avoiding questions.
As others have said Ogilvie should have been sacked a long time ago.
in reply to dhomboy if they had a fans rep on the board he would probably be somebody like Mark Dingwall so no improvement there.
Sfa have said they are not going to punish the tainted club for taking them to court.