New Ibrox chief Bennett holds meeting with ultimate SPFL bogey-man

New Ibrox chairman John Bennett has held a meeting with Murdoch McLennan of the SPFL.

A search on Ibrox fan media sites will uncover some interesting opinions on McLennan who appears to have dedicated his entire career to destroying football clubs from Ibrox.

Urban myth has the SPFL Chairman as a member of Opus Dei, a Celtic shareholder and frequent guest of Celtic Park hospitality while working behind the scenes to harm football clubs at Ibrox.

Typically his glittering career in industry includes the following passage on Wikipedia:

MacLennan was appointed chairman of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) in July 2017.[12] There was criticism that MacLennan is not impartial in his role with the SPFL considering the fact that INM’s majority shareholder is Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond.

One of Desmond close associates and fellow Celtic fan Denis O’Brian is also an INM shareholder. MacLennan has shown his hatred and loathing of Rangers FC, having been quoted as saying “Ah cannae stand the b###ards”. He also held an executive box at the home of Celtic football club.[13] The SPFL refused to investigate the connection and possible conflict of interest between MacLennan, Celtic and the SPFL.

INM is the Independent News and Media Group, O’Brien sold his stake in the Group in 2021.

Speaking to James Bisgrove about the new Ibrox diplomacy of chairman John Bennett, The Scotsman reports:

John won’t mind me sharing that last week he had dinner with the chairman of the SPFL so that dialogue is there. But I think at the same time Rangers will always robustly defend our perspective and our position if we don’t believe something is right – whether that’s related to governance or a TV deal.

I think if you compare the new Sky deal to the EFL deal then there are question marks that we have got around that. Then, you know, we will portray those views but we want to do so in a way that is building relationships as we go and we’ll see where those conversations are going. What we won’t do is bury our head in the sand and not have conversations. We will be prepared to engage and communicate.

The new, extended Sky Sports deal is truly horrendous with the stamp of Neil Doncaster all over it.

While the SPFL splits up £30m a year among members the English Football League has just agreed a deal for £187m from Sky Sports, further pushing Scottish football onto the fringes as the third most important broadcasting deal in the UK.

Not a shred of evidence has ever been presented about the claims on MacLennan who was the CEO of The Telegraph Media Group from 2004 to 2017, stepping down to become vice-chairman. Hardly the CV entry for someone dedicated to harming a football club. In his early days MacLennan worked for The Scotsman, Daily Record and The Express.

“It crossed the line.”

SPFL chief Neil Doncaster refuses to back down in claims Rangers interim chairman Douglas Park threatened himhttps://t.co/DoMBw9o8rV pic.twitter.com/uxaLuTXsls

— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) May 11, 2020

SPFL chief Neil Doncaster has accused Rangers chairman Douglas Park of being rumbled by his own dossier in today’s Record Sport pic.twitter.com/Zia7NruHdG

— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) May 11, 2020