News that Manchester City have been hit with over 100 charges from the EPL brought some predicatable comparisons to what happened to Rangers in 2012.
While there are a few minor similarities such as disguising payments to players and management and a refusal to co-operate with the questions from the football authorities there are far more differences.
Rangers received next to no punishments from the SFA or SPL. A fine of £250,000 was applied for years of fielding ineligible players with a registration ban placed on a club that went into administration, four months before a CVA was turned down to kick off the liquidation process. Understanding of administration was highlighted by Ally McCoist trying to sign Daniel Cousin while the club refused to pay HMRC.
The issues at Rangers were brought on by actions from HMRC- the SFA and SPL did nothing to punish the disgraced club which had been using players that they couldn’t afford for over a decade. So far there has been no sign of HMRC action against Manchester City.
From 2000 to 2011 a scheme of disguised remuneration was used to recruit players to the club. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in July 2017, it wasn’t a programme of EBTs as the club claimed since there were side-letters guaranteeing the ‘discretionary’ payments.
From September 2011 Income Tax and National Insurance deductions weren’t passed on to HMRC, they were retained and used to keep on paying the wages of players who were generally winning matches to deprive opponents of points and players of bonus payments.
As ever with no regular media source prepared to publish and explain the truth Rangers Tax Case is required to set the record straight.
One of the nails in Rangers’ coffin.
Andrew Dickson’s statement to the FTT where he admits Rangers treated player wages and EBT payments the same.There was no internal pretence that EBT payments were anything other than contractual obligations.
Thanks City of London police! https://t.co/CyNgqV9Ftq— Rangers Tax-Case (@rangerstaxcase) February 7, 2023
Just to address the widely repeated lie from Rangers fan sites, there was no law change that had any bearing on the Rangers Tax Cases. None at all.
Rangers knew what they were doing was illegal from the start and lied and shedded to keep it a secret. https://t.co/eyaklDg9IJ
— Rangers Tax-Case (@rangerstaxcase) February 7, 2023
Any idea what Ogilvie’s up to these days, btw? Last I heard of him, after leaving the SFA when “fatally compromised”, he got a cushy wee number as an official UEFA Champions League observer, but that was already a few years ago, long after he did his duty on Ranger’s behalf. pic.twitter.com/vLi7RknHLY
— ? ??? ?????, ??? ????? ? (@CarlJungleBhoy) February 7, 2023
The whole Rangers saga becomes surreal when you remember that the SFA President, Campbell Ogilvie, had to pretend that he didn’t know that Campbell Ogilvie, Rangers Secretary, had signed off the paperwork that brought the whole EBT scam to life!
He was also a EBT recipient. ? https://t.co/6BsD9E2yP7
— Rangers Tax-Case (@rangerstaxcase) February 6, 2023