The Arab Trust, representing fans of Dundee United, has become the second supporters group to call on the SFA and SPFL to review the tax cheating years of Rangers.
Wednesday Supreme Court ruling that the EBT scheme operated by Rangers was illegal has been greeted with a mix of delight and anger by supporters across Scotland.
Delight that the very obvious scam has been exposed and anger at the silence of almost all clubs and the lack of interest from the Hampden authorities.
EBTs are perfectly legal but secret payments to players and staff guaranteed by side letters isn’t an EBT it’s simply a form of payment that is liable to Income Tax and National Insurance.
For a decade Rangers (IL) fielded players for whom they hadn’t registered their full payments details with shadow contracts only lodged to disguise the true levels of payment.
While opponents paid HMRC their dues on Income Tax and National Insurance the club from Ibrox were able to pour virtually all of their player budget into the pockets of players- if effect, as David Murray stated at the Craig Whyte trial, allowing them to buy players that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to afford.
In 2008 Dundee United lost in the final of the League Cup to a Rangers (IL) team rammed full of players being paid money into offshore trusts.
Yesterday on facebook the Arab Trust announced: “The Supreme Court ruling from the 5th July where HM Revenue and Customs won its case against Rangers FC over the use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) between 2001 to 2010 confirmed what the majority of football fans have believed all along that the use of EBTs gave Rangers FC an unfair advantage in the recruitment of players they would otherwise not been able to afford while also reducing their tax liability in respect of these employees. It is therefore clear that Rangers FC cheated not only Scottish Football in how it won 14 trophies during this period but also Scottish taxpayers by its use of EBTs.
“As fans of our national game the least we should expect from the sport’s governing bodies is that the implications of this ruling on the integrity of the game are fully investigated and appropriate action taken as required. The haste with which the SFA have already responded to this ruling is disappointing but not unexpected given their general disregard and detachment from the views of fans who are ultimately the life blood of the game.
“Via our Associate Director we will be asking Dundee United FC to ensure that supporter’s concerns around the implications of this ruling are investigated fully by both the SFA and SPFL. As the governing bodies of our national competitions both these organisations have legal and moral responsibilities to ensure that not only the letter of their rules and regulations are adhered to but also the spirit of them. Without this the normal football supporter can have little confidence in how our game is run.
“We would call on all those involved in Scottish Football at whatever level and in any capacity from individual fans, supporters groups, clubs, media and politicians etc. to ensure pressure is brought to bear on the governing bodies to properly investigate this matter.”