Regan putting pressure on the SFL clubs

[ricksen_da_best 2,034]

An absolute disgrace of a man. The SPL should have fuck awl to do with it now, they've voted.

COTTISH Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has issued a startling warning of “social unrest” in Scotland if newco Rangers are denied entry to the First Division of the Scottish Football League following the emphatic rejection today of their application to retain top-flight football at Ibrox.

Regan’s remarkable comment came as he insisted admission to the First Division is now the only viable option if Scottish football wishes to avoid what he described as a “slow, lingering death”.

The Scottish Premier League turned down Charles Green’s bid to have Rangers’ existing share in the organisation transferred to his newco for next season, with ten of the member clubs voting against the application. It is understood Green cast the only vote in favour, while Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston is believed to have abstained.

The SPL will now await the outcome of an SFL meeting next week when that organisation’s 30 clubs will vote on a proposal to accept newco Rangers into the First Division in the new season ahead of an amalgamation of the league governing bodies from 2013-14.

There is considerable opposition and resistance to the plan among SFL clubs and their supporters with many believing Rangers should have to apply for entry to the Third Division in the wake of their spectacular financial collapse.

But Regan bluntly asserted that Scottish football simply cannot afford to have Rangers outwith the top two tiers of the league structure, with his argument not confined to the commercial impact their absence would have.

“Without Rangers, there is social unrest and a big problem for Scottish society,” claimed Regan. “They have a huge fan base and to contemplate the situation where those fans don’t have a team to support, where those fans are effectively left without a game to follow, I just think that could lead to all sorts of issues, all sorts of problems for the game.

“Tribalism in football is really important. It is part of the game. People follow their clubs with pride, it is passed down from generation to generation. There are thousands of Rangers fans whose fathers and parents and grandfathers have been Rangers fans. You can’t contemplate a situation without that and if Rangers weren’t to exist that could have real dire consequences.

“There is a lot of emotion around this subject because Rangers are a huge institution in Scottish football history and they are where they are. Their fans have been hurt, they don’t know what’s happening. There hasn’t been a great deal of leadership at the club and there hasn’t been a huge amount of communication from the football authorities.

“The SPL have now decided that Rangers won’t be coming back into the SPL. From our perspective it’s important we set out the landscape because there is only one solution for the game now.

“The only solution for the game now is that Rangers come into the Scottish Football League and they come into it in the First Division. If Rangers were to go anywhere other than the First Division, then there would something in the region of £15.7 million worth of losses to the game.

“For the bigger clubs at the top of the league, that’s half their annual distributions. For clubs at the bottom it is basically wiping out their entire distributions, for some of the smaller clubs it’s a huge proportion of their annual turnover.

“The same will be true for most clubs. Perhaps clubs could survive for a short period of time but it’s not sustainable. Even if Rangers end up in the First Division, there is still going to be a £5 million loss of income to the SPL clubs. The game is not sustainable so there would be a slow lingering death for the game in Scotland. It would then trickle down to the SFL. From our perspective as the governing body and we cannot allow that to happen.

“If we allowed that to happen, it would simply be a dereliction of duty. Therefore, this whole decision-making process has been one of the most challenging and complex decisions that I have ever been involved in in 27 years of business as sport.

“Some clubs in the SFL are afraid of the implications of the decisions. There is the moral argument, the fear of a fans’ backlash and there are financial implications to consider. But when we look at the alternative, it is not possible to think about it without thinking of the game withering on the vine. We cannot contemplate that and the message has to be that Division One for Rangers is the only show in town as far as the future of Scottish football is concerned.”

Regan admits the influence of television contracts, which are largely predicated on the presence of Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish game, are the biggest single factor in his determination to ensure the Ibrox club drop no lower than the First Division. “We have had dialogue with the broadcasters,” he added, “and we understand what the various stakeholders from Sky television, ESPN, Sport Five and a number of the SPL’s other commercial partners are likely to do in the event Rangers are not in either of the top two tiers. It’s not pretty. That’s why we cannot sit back and let that happen without trying to get all parties to accept this is the only solution which can keep the game afloat.

“Without Old Firm games, the value drops, the overseas deals are almost exclusively about the Old Firm derby and that would go immediately. Then you look at the rest of the game and what it is worth. It is fair to say the broadcasters would live with a year without Rangers in the SPL, because it could be a fantastic story for them, which is why I think First Division rights will be an interest as people will want to see how this club is going to bounce back.”

Regan conceded, however, that there can be no guarantee a financially weakened Rangers will climb back to the top flight at the first attempt. “If Rangers don’t get promoted, then the game has got another year to suffer with the financial consequences that brings,” he said. “I can’t predict what will happen, because Rangers at the moment are a weakened team because of everything that has gone on.

“They are a newco at the moment, they have got very few players on their books. They are going to be entering the SFL in whatever division with a weakened team and I don’t think it’s by any means certain they are going to come back in the way they or their fans might like them to recover.

“It’s going to be a slow recovery to get back to the football fitness they have shown in the past. So we can’t look into the future and say ‘what if they don’t operate in a certain way?’. We can only look at building the foundations, to change the game for the better and provide an infrastructure that can bring financial certainty to the other 41 clubs.”

Regan confirmed that sanctions will apply to newco Rangers in the First Division and also made it clear the formation of an SPL2 will be pursued in order to accommodate the Ibrox club if they are rejected by the SFL next week. “The SFA have to transfer Rangers’ membership from oldco to newco,” he said. “That can be done with any conditions attached to it that the SFA board deem fit. We would expect a newco to carry some of the sanctions which would have related to the club had it still been in the previous incarnation. The membership cannot be transferred on financial grounds alone. It has to have a degree of sporting integrity and that means sporting sanctions.”

[Rfc#1. 1,877]

Hahahaha die you bastards. Too chicken to send us to the 3rd. What about the integrity of the game. Fucken joke. And what more sanctions does the bell end think we should get now. Fucken prick. If I were to bump into him I'd break his jaw( obviously I'm joking officer)

[King Jela 20,662]

A vile, big-headed, stuttering reptile of a man.

The sooner he's out of a job, and on the street, the better.

[Smile 26,622]

He's killed Scottish football.

[GLASGOWRFC 101]

Regan makes my blood boil!

Surely he has been pulled to the side and a word said to curtail this evil man's deeds up to now?

His days are numbered...fuckin scum cunt!

[scouseblue 145]

Hahahaha die you bastards. Too chicken to send us to the 3rd. What about the integrity of the game. Fucken joke. And what more sanctions does the bell end think we should get now. Fucken prick. If I were to bump into him I'd break his jaw( obviously I'm joking officer)

That's the key they want to bullshit about sporting integrity but protect their members failing finances . They want their cake & eat It , it's a fucken disgrace . The whole this is about rhetoric & no actual substance , "all fur coat & no knickers"

[ricksen_da_best 2,034]

We've been chucked out the SPL, why should we queue jump the 30 other teams to please the SPL now? they've voted for their own downfall.

Send us to division 3 and be done with it.

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

He's killed Scottish football.

Na lets not make any mistakes Mate, they want to kill Rangers, as does salmond and co, they want this a rhepublican country and if we are out the way it makes it easier for them. No Union Flag wavers. Mark my words this has been worked out .

[Jamie0202 12,561]

Pretty clear they want 1st division and Rangers to go straight back up for the following season. He then says that we will be hit by sanctions. What sanctions wouldn't hinder us going straight back up? I think they might hammer us if and when we get promoted. If the SFL vote for us to go into the 1st and we then get hit with ridiculous sanctions can we refuse the 1st Division? I hope I'm wrong but I get the feeling we don't have a choice but to accept anything they give us because if we refuse to co-operate then they will refuse to transfer the SFA registration from OldCo to NewCo. England anyone?

[GLASGOWRFC 101]

Na lets not make any mistakes Mate, they want to kill Rangers, as does salmond and co, they want this a rhepublican country and if we are out the way it makes it easier for them. No Union Flag wavers. Mark my words this has been worked out .

Out on a limb here, but would a word with David Cameron not be a good thing?

I'm sure the whole Rangers support would vote down Salmond's independance shite, i will anyway!

[Blue corn flakes 1,282]

An absolute disgrace of a man. The SPL should have fuck awl to do with it now, they've voted.

COTTISH Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has issued a startling warning of “social unrest” in Scotland if newco Rangers are denied entry to the First Division of the Scottish Football League following the emphatic rejection today of their application to retain top-flight football at Ibrox.

Regan’s remarkable comment came as he insisted admission to the First Division is now the only viable option if Scottish football wishes to avoid what he described as a “slow, lingering death”.

The Scottish Premier League turned down Charles Green’s bid to have Rangers’ existing share in the organisation transferred to his newco for next season, with ten of the member clubs voting against the application. It is understood Green cast the only vote in favour, while Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston is believed to have abstained.

The SPL will now await the outcome of an SFL meeting next week when that organisation’s 30 clubs will vote on a proposal to accept newco Rangers into the First Division in the new season ahead of an amalgamation of the league governing bodies from 2013-14.

There is considerable opposition and resistance to the plan among SFL clubs and their supporters with many believing Rangers should have to apply for entry to the Third Division in the wake of their spectacular financial collapse.

But Regan bluntly asserted that Scottish football simply cannot afford to have Rangers outwith the top two tiers of the league structure, with his argument not confined to the commercial impact their absence would have.

“Without Rangers, there is social unrest and a big problem for Scottish society,” claimed Regan. “They have a huge fan base and to contemplate the situation where those fans don’t have a team to support, where those fans are effectively left without a game to follow, I just think that could lead to all sorts of issues, all sorts of problems for the game.

“Tribalism in football is really important. It is part of the game. People follow their clubs with pride, it is passed down from generation to generation. There are thousands of Rangers fans whose fathers and parents and grandfathers have been Rangers fans. You can’t contemplate a situation without that and if Rangers weren’t to exist that could have real dire consequences.

“There is a lot of emotion around this subject because Rangers are a huge institution in Scottish football history and they are where they are. Their fans have been hurt, they don’t know what’s happening. There hasn’t been a great deal of leadership at the club and there hasn’t been a huge amount of communication from the football authorities.

“The SPL have now decided that Rangers won’t be coming back into the SPL. From our perspective it’s important we set out the landscape because there is only one solution for the game now.

“The only solution for the game now is that Rangers come into the Scottish Football League and they come into it in the First Division. If Rangers were to go anywhere other than the First Division, then there would something in the region of £15.7 million worth of losses to the game.

“For the bigger clubs at the top of the league, that’s half their annual distributions. For clubs at the bottom it is basically wiping out their entire distributions, for some of the smaller clubs it’s a huge proportion of their annual turnover.

“The same will be true for most clubs. Perhaps clubs could survive for a short period of time but it’s not sustainable. Even if Rangers end up in the First Division, there is still going to be a £5 million loss of income to the SPL clubs. The game is not sustainable so there would be a slow lingering death for the game in Scotland. It would then trickle down to the SFL. From our perspective as the governing body and we cannot allow that to happen.

“If we allowed that to happen, it would simply be a dereliction of duty. Therefore, this whole decision-making process has been one of the most challenging and complex decisions that I have ever been involved in in 27 years of business as sport.

“Some clubs in the SFL are afraid of the implications of the decisions. There is the moral argument, the fear of a fans’ backlash and there are financial implications to consider. But when we look at the alternative, it is not possible to think about it without thinking of the game withering on the vine. We cannot contemplate that and the message has to be that Division One for Rangers is the only show in town as far as the future of Scottish football is concerned.”

Regan admits the influence of television contracts, which are largely predicated on the presence of Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish game, are the biggest single factor in his determination to ensure the Ibrox club drop no lower than the First Division. “We have had dialogue with the broadcasters,” he added, “and we understand what the various stakeholders from Sky television, ESPN, Sport Five and a number of the SPL’s other commercial partners are likely to do in the event Rangers are not in either of the top two tiers. It’s not pretty. That’s why we cannot sit back and let that happen without trying to get all parties to accept this is the only solution which can keep the game afloat.

“Without Old Firm games, the value drops, the overseas deals are almost exclusively about the Old Firm derby and that would go immediately. Then you look at the rest of the game and what it is worth. It is fair to say the broadcasters would live with a year without Rangers in the SPL, because it could be a fantastic story for them, which is why I think First Division rights will be an interest as people will want to see how this club is going to bounce back.”

Regan conceded, however, that there can be no guarantee a financially weakened Rangers will climb back to the top flight at the first attempt. “If Rangers don’t get promoted, then the game has got another year to suffer with the financial consequences that brings,” he said. “I can’t predict what will happen, because Rangers at the moment are a weakened team because of everything that has gone on.

“They are a newco at the moment, they have got very few players on their books. They are going to be entering the SFL in whatever division with a weakened team and I don’t think it’s by any means certain they are going to come back in the way they or their fans might like them to recover.

“It’s going to be a slow recovery to get back to the football fitness they have shown in the past. So we can’t look into the future and say ‘what if they don’t operate in a certain way?’. We can only look at building the foundations, to change the game for the better and provide an infrastructure that can bring financial certainty to the other 41 clubs.”

Regan confirmed that sanctions will apply to newco Rangers in the First Division and also made it clear the formation of an SPL2 will be pursued in order to accommodate the Ibrox club if they are rejected by the SFL next week. “The SFA have to transfer Rangers’ membership from oldco to newco,” he said. “That can be done with any conditions attached to it that the SFA board deem fit. We would expect a newco to carry some of the sanctions which would have related to the club had it still been in the previous incarnation. The membership cannot be transferred on financial grounds alone. It has to have a degree of sporting integrity and that means sporting sanctions.”

Rhegan go and hang yourself you fucking twat. Division 3 for us Bears.

[LegendofCoop 17,486]

How fucking desperate does he sound??? Dead man walking!! He wanted to be the one sticking the knife in to us. I have no doubt that had the SPL voted us in, the appellate tribunal would have received 'guidance' to suspend our membership. Now, he's virtually powerless to stop us going into Div3, short of restructuring the SFL & SPL.

Both he & Doncaster should be looking for new jobs in a month or so, I reckon!

[Reservoir Dug 5]

Pretty clear they want 1st division and Rangers to go straight back up for the following season. He then says that we will be hit by sanctions. What sanctions wouldn't hinder us going straight back up? I think they might hammer us if and when we get promoted. If the SFL vote for us to go into the 1st and we then get hit with ridiculous sanctions can we refuse the 1st Division? I hope I'm wrong but I get the feeling we don't have a choice but to accept anything they give us because if we refuse to co-operate then they will refuse to transfer the SFA registration from OldCo to NewCo. England anyone?

I'm pretty sure the sanctions would be brought in ASAP once we get SFA membership and clearance for D1 or D3, so if it does go the D1 route then the only thing we can do to mess up their plans is to not get promotion back to SPL

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

Out on a limb here, but would a word with David Cameron not be a good thing?

I'm sure the whole Rangers support would vote down Salmond's independance shite, i will anyway!

Sure they would, how will we get Camerons attention ?

[GLASGOWRFC 101]

Sure they would, how will we get Camerons attention ?

I don't know bud to be honest, it's just my thoughts i hope it happens

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

I don't know bud to be honest, it's just my thoughts i hope it happens

Well lets have a go, I know a man who knows a man . . .

[Reservoir Dug 5]

shouldnt be too hard, he stated on TV hes a fan, last time he was in Glasgow shortly after admin

[The Beast 9,264]

This utter cunt of a man is talking as if Rangers wouldn't exist below Div1.

These thousands of Rangers fans he mentions would continue to support our team and would continue to flock to Ibrox no matter the opposition.

If anything Rangers spending a year in each of the lower divisions will be a shot in the arm for these small clubs. Everytime we draw an Arbroath or East Stirling in the cup we're told that the money they make from the tie will pay for the whole season. If Rangers games are televised in the lower divisions then these clubs will also get a share.

Div 3 works for Rangers. We get three years to rebuild on and off the field while at the same time the leeches in the SPL either learn to live within their means or they die.

[GLASGOWRFC 101]

Well lets have a go, I know a man who knows a man . . .

I honestly think if DC was to make a statement regarding Westminster taking an interest in Scottish football and the illegalities and hatred/descrimination of our club it would get real attention, to kick Salmond into touch regarding independance i'm sure he would be interested and take great joy from it, and it would put some serious weight behind what is now happening with the club we love.

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

I honestly think if DC was to make a statement regarding Westminster taking an interest in Scottish football and the illegalities and hatred/descrimination of our club, to kick Salmond into touch regarding independance he would be interested and take great joy from it and it would put some serious weight behind what is now happening with the club we love.

As I said lets have a go

[sergio 1,199]

This utter cunt of a man is talking as if Rangers wouldn't exist below Div1.

These thousands of Rangers fans he mentions would continue to support our team and would continue to flock to Ibrox no matter the opposition.

If anything Rangers spending a year in each of the lower divisions will be a shot in the arm for these small clubs. Everytime we draw an Arbroath or East Stirling in the cup we're told that the money they make from the tie will pay for the whole season. If Rangers games are televised in the lower divisions then these clubs will also get a share.

Div 3 works for Rangers. We get three years to rebuild on and off the field while at the same time the leeches in the SPL either learn to live within their means or they die.

Regan is doing this for one team, and one team only. The "we don't need Rangers" mob. nothing else, its so fucking obvious its ridiculous

[GLASGOWRFC 101]

As I said lets have a go

You're a man of few words no disrespect intended as per your last post

Can you elaborate a wee bit ?

[AlbertzLoyalRSC 18,124]

This utter cunt of a man is talking as if Rangers wouldn't exist below Div1.

These thousands of Rangers fans he mentions would continue to support our team and would continue to flock to Ibrox no matter the opposition.

If anything Rangers spending a year in each of the lower divisions will be a shot in the arm for these small clubs. Everytime we draw an Arbroath or East Stirling in the cup we're told that the money they make from the tie will pay for the whole season. If Rangers games are televised in the lower divisions then these clubs will also get a share.

Div 3 works for Rangers. We get three years to rebuild on and off the field while at the same time the leeches in the SPL either learn to live within their means or they die.

This.

[Raligt 2,541]

Please Mr Green send us down to Division 3.

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

You're a man of few words no disrespect intended as per your last post

Can you elaborate a wee bit ?

No disrespect taken, but I've elaborated enough when I said I know a man etc, In fact I will test the clout of said man/men and see what happens !