Four days after making very serious allegations against the SPFL, Douglas Park still hasn’t been hit with a disrepute charge. A charge would come from the SFA but clearly they haven’t yet been prompted by the colleagues inside Hampden.
In the midst of the biggest crisis that the domestic game has ever faced the interim-Ibrox chairman claimed to be in possession of evidence from a ‘whistle-blower’ that exposes serious issues at the heart of the SPFL.
Also at the heart of the SPFL is Ibrox MD Stewart Robertson, a board member and in at the core of all SPFL business. While the statement called for the suspension of Neil Doncaster and Rod McKenzie the other SPFL board members are guilty by association.
On Saturday the statement from Ibrox opened with:
WE have been presented with evidence via a whistleblower that raises serious concerns surrounding the SPFL’s processes relating to its stewardship of the voting on the resolution presented to member Clubs.
The statement was published soon after Scot Gardiner of Inverness Caley Thistle shared his WhatsApp chats with BBC Scotland’s Sportsound programme.
While the SPFL try to resolve a way forward for Scottish football their second biggest club has tarred them with very serious claims. Forgotten in the current crisis is the lack of a sponsor for next season, a situation that Doncaster has failed to resolve in the last six months.
With the Ibrox allegations going unchallenged it’s little wonder that no company wants to be associated with the SPFL.
Responding to those claims SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan wrote to all 42 member clubs on Sunday with The Sun reporting:
I have seen allegations made by the Rangers FC Interim Chairman Douglas Park, in a statement issued by Rangers at 3pm on Saturday, about the SPFL, its corporate governance, its culture, its office-bearers and its business operations.
I wrote to Mr Park on Saturday evening, requesting any material to support these allegations. I regret to inform you that, at the time of writing, I have received nothing from Mr Park.
It is difficult to understand why Mr Park should not wish to share this alleged material with me.
I am entirely satisfied, based on all the information at my disposal, that the SPFL and its executives and legal advisers have acted wholly properly at every stage in this process.
Should any member club have evidence to the contrary they should bring it to me – indeed, I would argue they have a duty to do so – and I will deal with it in an entirely even-handed way.
To do otherwise is harmful to the standing, performance and effective operation of the SPFL and runs counter to the wider interests of our game.
MacLennan has failed to follow up his letter. Mud sticks and for some reason the SPFL are reluctant to apply the same rules that govern other clubs to the entity from Ibrox.
On Saturday Park told his club website:
As a member club, we are disturbed by the evidence that has been presented and feel there is no choice but to call for an independent investigation into this entire matter. Each member of the SPFL board has a duty to its members to ensure that such an investigation is instructed without delay.
All we ask for is equality and respect. In the past few days, we have become alarmed at a seeming lack of even-handedness and fair play from the SPFL. This is surely unacceptable and, if substantiated, must be remedied.
Other member clubs, who have seen the evidence we hold, share our concerns.
While those claims go unchallenged it’s fair to assume that Park does have evidence that is damaging to the SPFL.
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The longer they linger the more they gain in credibility ensuring that no reputable firm will want associated with the SPFL let alone be seen standing beside Doncaster and MacLennan as sponsor of Scottish senior football.
