Clyde have become the first football club to call for change at the top of the SPL and SFA.
Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster have come under a barrage of criticism as they attempt to create a First Division place for Sevco and trample all over the principles and traditions of fair play.
Rangers fans have called out loud and clear for Sevco to start life in Division Three ahead of Friday’s SFL meeting where it is hoped that the board of the SFL can negotiate a package of favours from the SPL for presenting Sevco with a First Division spot.
Clyde have shown Doncaster and Regan that accountability and transparency aren’t buzz words to be treated with contempt with the Third Division side calling it as they see it at the end of a statement on the club website.
They said: “We see Resolution 2 as a matter of trust and it would take a change of personnel and attitude for us to be confident that David Longmuir (of the SFL) would be entering discussions with a group of people committed to a collaborative process in a spirit of genuine partnership.”
The wording of the three resolutions that the SFL will meet over is amongst the many concerns that Clyde have while the haste with which the SFA wish to award membership to a club with no audited accounts and little known of their ownership or viability is another major unknown.
The resolutions are as follows:
(i) That the Scottish Football League Members agree to admit Sevco Scotland Limited as an Associate Member and agrees to permit Rangers F.C. to play in the League during Season 2012/13.
(ii) That the Scottish Football League Members direct the Board of Management of The Scottish Football League (the “Board”) to provide that Rangers F.C. shall play in the Third Division of the Scottish Football League during Season 2012/13 unless the Board shall have to its satisfaction negotiated and reached agreement with The Scottish Premier League and The Scottish Football Association on a series of measures which the Board shall consider to be in the best interests of the game, how it is structured, how it is governed and how it is financed, whereupon the Board shall be authorised to provide that Rangers F.C. shall play in the First Division of the Scottish Football League during Season 2012/13.
- That the Scottish Football League Members in terms of Rule 12 approve the resignation of either Dundee F.C. or Dunfermline Athletic F.C., whichever shall be admitted to join the Scottish Premier League for Season 2012/13, such resignation to take effect as at the date of admission of such club to the Scottish Premier League, notwithstanding that the requisite notice under Rule 12 shall not have been given.Details of the series of measures referred to at (ii) above shall be made available to the Members in advance of the meeting and an opportunity for full discussion of those measures will be given prior to the proposals being put to the meeting.
The attempt by the SFL board to vote Sevco into the Third Division then promote them up two divisions has set alarm bells running with Clyde and if unamended will lead to a no vote denying Sevco the chance to play in the bottom tier of the senior game.
Responding to Regan’s claim of a slow lingering death to the game that he rdaws a significant salary from Clyde stated: “We first concluded that there was limited risk to the SFL from the ‘Armageddon’ theory, as depicted in the detailed presentation by Neil Doncaster and supported by Stewart Regan, which had prompted fears of cash flow loss to the SFL next season.
“We have obtained a copy of the Settlement Agreement signed up to by the SPL and the SFL in April 1998 – it is clear that the agreement is not ambiguous in this regard and there is no scope for the SPL to fail to meet the obligations to the SFL except by deliberately breaching the agreement.
“Neil Doncaster was unequivocal when he said that there would be no payment under the agreement and stressed that it was not the board of the SPL that made big decisions, it was the clubs themselves. We have concluded that it defies credibility that the SPL clubs would instruct the SPL to deliberately breach a legal agreement.
“To assist the SFL clubs to take decisions in the right manner then the external threat should be removed by the SPL clubs, confirming to the SFL that they have not and will not instruct the SPL to breach the Settlement Agreement.”
Turning to the uncertainty over the status of Sevco Clyde added: “The matter is made worse because of the extent of uncertainty which hangs over Sevco.
“There is no need to prepare an exhaustive list of the issues as they are well publicised, however the extent of outstanding sanctions that may or may not be levied against a club which has yet to obtain SFA membership, together with the increasing number of possible commercial and legal challenges to the transactions to date simply presents a significant risk to the ability of the club to fulfil its fixtures in any league.
“Given that some of these matters are in the hands of the governing bodies it seems inexplicable that they are left hanging. We are clear that for the good of the game that we would want a swift and positive conclusion that would see Rangers Football Club taking part in the game again and we would wish to be able to support a Resolution that saw them entered to SFL3.
“However, until we receive enough information to inform such a decision then we are being pushed into a corner which would actually leave any club making a logical decision arrive at the conclusion that Resolution 1 should not be supported.
“The SFA could assist the process by transferring the SFA membership to Sevco prior to the Friday meeting if they have satisfied themselves of fit and proper tests and have carried out their own diligence on the viability of the club and the various legal challenges.”
Should Sevco live to see the light of day they’d be well served if they were run by men with the honesty of the Clyde board, it goes without saying that the Scottish game would be in a far healthier position if Regan and Doncaster had some of the backbone and resolve of the club that finished second bottom of last season’s Third Division.
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So having stood by while the spl refused a new club entry to its league.
The sfa are again set to stand by while the sfl vote on the same entity being voted into the top division in the sfl.
If you are not governing the game when its in the midst of its biggest ever crisis
When do you ?
The sfa are not fit for purpose.
Yet again we are seeing so called `smaller clubs` standing up and stating what we all know. Great to see they have the guts to do it in the face of threats. Well done Clyde! Let’s hope others now stand up with you.
I wonder if regan doncaster are really as stupid as they appear to or are president what school did you go to ogilvies lap dogs thank god for clyde and raith rovers for highlighting how corrupt the sfa are
Regan & Doncaster have most likely been summoned to their respective lodges to be instructed what is expected of them. Dance with the devil – do the devil’s bidding.
how can regan/doncaster keep kicking the can down the road. their leadership qualities are shite.
The attemopts by these two galloots to keep Sevco in the First Division is embarrassing, even to the oldco of rangers.
They have been dropping their pants for weeks, and need to get a damn grip! Get out guys, you are an absolute joke. No-one in the game today has the slightest respect for you.
call me paranoid, but i think if it was really up to regan and doncaster they would have given this up by now. the rangers fans dont even want this, and up until a little while all its been about is what they , both the fans and the media, want. anyone else think there could be something else behind this? david murray has been EXTREMELY quiet in all this. not his club anymore, but not even a peep has been made about him by the media, still. could he be still involved with this?
Whatever has been happening in Scottish football over the past several weeks its clear that the footballing authorities (namely Regan & Doncaster) have not been reading the same rule book as everyone else. This is no longer about what happens to Sevco any more.
This is no longer about rangers f.c. This is no longer just about accommodating a cheating establishment. No!
This is now about the absolute corruption of the Scottish Footballing authorities in the shape of the two men running and ruining the game, Regan and Doncaster, and what we as a nation of football supporters do about it.
They have driven a coach and horses through the rule book. They have ignored every strand of logic and reason. They have trample over the dignity and honesty of the supporters and club chairmen in their single minded and obsessive determination to pander to some external force or society over and above the heads of the associate members and supporters.
Put simply. . .they have got to go.
Clyde have sent out a clear message.
A message that carries the broad feelings and agreements of the supporters up and down the length of Scotland. They must be given a vote of no confidence at the earliest opportunity.
Otherwise THEY and not RANGERS will sound the death knell for the beautiful game for all of us. So let’s be very clear…this is no longer about Rangers…this is now about cutting out the cancer of Scottish football before they are allowed to kill it off under the guise of ”progress”.
We’ve come a long way since only a few months ago we were being told that Celtic and the SPL could not survive without rangers.
They are like the school bully who has been rumbled and even the little kids are lining up to kick his ass.
I can honestly see this carrying on until somebody says it is too late to enter any league thus taking it out of the authorities hands and then they will be picked over for tax bills and dual contracts, Division three must seem like the promised land to them but is that now getting out of reach. Thanks for the memories deadco.
Bully wee, what an apt name. Proud to have watched you as a kid, proud my ma worked for you when you won the cup.
Everyone keep up the fight, dont let the rags let their lies frighten us FOOTBALL WILL SURVIVE in this proud land we grew up strong dont give up you know you have friends,sorry Peter G.
Everyone will be better for this, every club will make dosh, as deadco make there way to the top league.
And a warning to the GUTTER press, SKY, ESPN, CELTIC FANS KNOW HOW TO BOYCOTT BETTER THAN ANY CLUB IN THE UK.