Regan’s sympathy for Ibrox fans
The tangled ownership web between Charles Green, Craig Whyte, Sevco Scotland and Sevco 5088 is starting to unravel putting at risk the associate membership of the Third Division winners.
Regan was involved in the secretive five way agreement that awarded associate membership to Green’s consortium which should have resolved all issues.
Key to the agreement was the non-involvement of Craig Whyte but recent recordings and interviews suggest that the former billionaire from Motherwell was heavily involved in the deal to bring Green to the table.
“All the uncertainty and kind of turmoil that is going on at the club is a cause of concern,” the SFA chief stated. “You have to feel for the fans, given what they’ve had to endure for the last 18 months or so.
“They thought they had a new dawn with Messrs Green and Ahmad coming in and it has turned sour on them again.
“We’re all hoping the board can get it sorted out and get them back on an even keel again.”
The Rangers have ordered an investigation into the links between Green and Whyte which question the ownership and assets of the club.
Those issues would normally be the responsibility of the directors who have asked Pinsent Masons to look into Whyte’s claims.
If Whyte does have a case the legitimacy of December’s share issue and the SFA license would be open to question with Regan claiming that the SFA are taking a hard line on the issue.
“There are some very specific questions we have asked that require some very specific answers,” he added. “If we don’t get those answers, we reserve the right to further investigation.
“The nature of the questions we have asked relate to the links between Green, Ahmad and Whyte, the details surrounding money lodged in Ahmad’s mother’s bank account and various conversations that allegedly took place.
“We should get some specific answers on those. We have seen the scope of the Pinsent Masons report, it is very detailed and thorough. We expect to see quite a lot of detail when it comes back.”
Coming close to admitting that the matter was too complex for the SFA to deal with Regan added: “It’s been really tough. It does take a lot out of you because you’re not taking about problems you can make a simple decision on.
“We’ve had hours of meetings, we’ve had reports and investigations and legal challenges. You’ve got to be really sharp and able to absorb hugely complex issues. And you just get your head around one of them when another one hits you and you’re into something else.
“I can’t believe after 12 months we are still talking about Rangers, the machinations in the boardroom and what may or may not have been the case.
“To be fair to the club, I think men like Ally McCoist and Walter Smith also thought we would have moved on.”
Had the SFA did their job properly with Green’s application the issue would have been clear cut. With the five way agreement remaining a closely guarded secret the issue looks certain to dominate the headlines through the summer.