Gerrard, Park, Beale and Bennett- SFA double standards exposed as Ibrox attacks go unpunished
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Rangers vs Celtic - Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - January 2, 2023 Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson, former Celtic CEO Peter Lawwell, Rangers chairman Douglas Park and Rangers honorary Life President John Greig pay their respects during a service on the anniversary of the 1971 Ibrox disaster in which 66 people died, outside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
For using the word incompetence on Sunday Brendan Rodgers will face a charge of Bringing The Game Into Disrepute- 25 days after the match at Hearts and 10 days before Celtic visit Ibrox. A two match touchline ban is the minimum punishment.
Sadly the Celtic manager hasn’t received ant public backing from anyone at Celtic Park. A bland statement from an un-named person alongside the Yan appeal statement claimed ‘We have also written to the SFA to raise our serious concerns regarding the use of VAR and the decisions made within the match’.
Following the rejection of the appeal a Celtic spokesman was ‘surprised and extremely disappointed’ by the verdict. The only surprise was adding extremely to the standard reaction to SFA decisions.
While Rodgers prepares for his hearing and a likely touchline ban his esteemed CEO, apparently a sports lawyer rearranges the paper clips on his desk and checks in with his Chairman to ensure that silence remains golden.
Not one was charged for bringing the game into disrepute pic.twitter.com/6M7lZVbUzr
— Craig Whyte (@RIPRFC) March 6, 2024
Over at Ibrox they have a different way of tackling issues with the SFA and SPFL even if they are often imagined.
When the SPFL signed a five year sponsorship with Cinch they just ignored it, a year later the SPFL rearranged the contract to exclude one club before Cinch told them to stick it. No sanctions were ever applied.
In the spring of 2020 the Ibrox club genuinely did go to war with the SPFL with the SFA sitting back doing nothing.
Maybe it has something to do with the Five Way Agreement emailed to Peter Lawwell and Eric Reilly at 21.01 on Thursday 26 July 2012. Twice the multi-millionaire Celtic Chairman has told the club AGM that he has never seen or read the Agreement.
Have the Celtic board backed Brendan Rodgers since Tynecastle?
Yes, quietly expressing concerns to the SFA
No, the usual spineless surrender we expected
Anything goes at Ibrox as the recent campaign on Willie Collum proved. Through their media messengers three statements were released through ‘club sources’ finishing up with the demand that Collum isn’t involved in future matches, in 11 SPFL matches since the SFA have complied.
On 8 May 2020 The Sun reported an SPFL statement sent to all member clubs following a 200 page Ibrox dossier about nothing in particular:
In a phone call on the evening of 10 April, Rangers chairman Douglas Park made a very serious allegation and threat to act in a particular way to the SPFL Chief Executive. This allegation has been entirely unsupported by any evidence, either then or since.
The allegation was so serious and defamatory that the League’s Legal Counsel, Rod McKenzie immediately sought a commitment from the Rangers Company Secretary that it would not be repeated. This was a wholly appropriate and proportionate legal response to an entirely unfounded and damaging allegation.
That was the only respect in which Rangers was called upon not to repeat what had been alleged and what had been threatened. On no conceivable basis could this be considered as ‘bullying Rangers into silence’.
It is noteworthy that there is not a shred of evidence in the so-called dossier to support the allegation made or to justify the threat.
No action was taken by the SFA, perhaps the lesson to learn is to stay silent on the record and share your comments and criticism by phone call.