A former SFA Head of Communications has appeared on the Heart & Hand podcast.
Last month the host of the podcast, David Edgar made some very detailed claims about Kevin Clancy, Heart & Hand continues to enjoy full media access to Ibrox.
Rob Shorthouse spent just under two years getting the message out for the SFA during a period where David Murray’s club used dual contracts to attract and retain players and staff.
A token contract would be registered with the SFA and SPL while a ‘Trust’ that was later ruled to be a disguised remuneration scheme was used to pay players NETTO without the Income Tax and National Insurance deductions that every other club in Scotland was paying to Her Majesty.
Despite using ineligible players for more than a decade no results were ever overturned by the SFA or SPL, following liquidation in 2012 an SPL investigation fined the dead club £250,000.
Hearts, Albion Rovers, Kilmarnock and Elgin City are among clubs that have had 3-0 defeats or point deducted by the SPFL for fielding ineligible players.
Gordon Smith was CEO of the SFA when Shorthouse was appointed Head of Communications at the SFA.
Campbell Ogilvie worked his way through the SFA as second Vice-President, first Vice President then as President of the SFA between 2011 and 2015 when a long serving member club died.
On 12 October 2009 Sports Journalists announced:
Rob Shorthouse, head of media at the Scottish FA, is leaving Hampden Park to become director of communications for Strathclyde Police.
Shorthouse, 34, had worked at the SFA since November 2007, having previously been head of PR and media for Glasgow’s successful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Shorthouse’s time with the SFA may not have been a bumpy ride, although his last international assignment was far from smooth.
The Scotland team’s flight to London before jetting off to Japan had to pull out of landing at the last minute. It is thought that another plane was still on the runway as the British Airways flight carrying the footballers made its final approach.
The plane circled the airport and landed safely 15 minutes later. Nobody was injured in the incident.
For Shorthouse, at least, the dramas on the journey were not over even upon his return: his luggage failed to arrive back when he did.
On his Linkedin profile Shorthouse describes his SFA stint from December 2007 to October 2009 as:
A member of the Senior Management Team, I was in charge of all of the Association’s communications – to stakeholders, members of the public and the media. I also oversaw the Association’s online presence – leading a major project to introduce more e-communications and a vastly improved online presence. I also oversaw the planning of all media accreditation for Scotland matches.
After Police Scotland, Shorthouse became Director of Communications for the Unionist Alliance at Better Together.
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— Tam sellic son (@TamseIIicsonIII) April 10, 2023