With the SFA offices now closed until April 3 who knows what will be going on behind the scenes as they assess which clubs are eligible to play in next season’s UEFA competitions.
The rules are clearly laid out but despite unaudited half year accounts showing accumulated debt of well over 5 million euros Sevco were given the all clear from the sixth floor at Hampden to compete in this season’s Europa League.
Fortunately a first round exit from Progres Niederkorn prevented UEFA from looking closely at the licence issue although the silence from Hearts illustrated the misplaced esteem that the so-called blue pound is held in across Scottish football.
Half a dozen different clubs have won cup competitions since Dave Murray accepted £1 from Craig Whyte, Ross County and Inverness Caley Thistle have staged European football and fared no worse than Sevco did against the fourth best side in Luxembourg.
Auldheid is right. Even SFA says so.
The attached are from https://t.co/n2uq6Ow1YY
Per these guidelines, granting Rangers a license for 2017/18 was questionable as their interims only contained an income statement.https://t.co/bR4j9AdwVS pic.twitter.com/MaO8xGz2wY
— John Bradshaw (@JBLuvsCeltic) March 29, 2018
Without question Sevco fail on almost every level to qualify for a UEFA licence, under Graeme Murty they might even fail to qualify from the football pitch.
Despite a slight sea change at the SFA with the departures of Stewart Regan, Andrew McKinlay and Darryl Broadfoot it’s unlikely that there is anyone prepared to stand up or even ask questions about applying the rules of the game to a club from Ibrox.
Regan’s successor will face that decision very quickly, if he fails to act he will join the rogues gallery that includes Jim Farry, Gordon Smith, David Taylor and other blazers such as Rod Petrie, Geirge Peat and Alan McRae.
Should the SFA try to push through the licence issue there is likely to be pressure from fans of Aberdeen or Hibs for answers from their club. Unfortunately the directors of those clubs seem to be of the same mindset as Ann Budge.
Sevco have much more to worry about this weekend than whether their UEFA application is questioned but it is a significant factor in their current predicament.
Having dodged more than a few financial and regulatory bullets in recent times they \are running out of lives.
Should someone within the SFA stand up and apply the rules they’ll be doing the Ibrox support a massive favour although the initial reaction will be of anger.
In 2011 if the SFA had did their job properly Whyte may have been forced out before he stopped paying income tax and national insurance.
A year ago refusing a licence would have called out King and exposed the financial fiasco that has been dipping the pockets of supporters.
Does the SFA possess that person to apply the rules without fear or favour?