SFA: Green 'not proven' on charges

[Ricky_ 893]

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2566&newsCategoryID=1&newsID=10715

Disciplinary Proceedings outcome: Charles Green

Thursday, 04 October 2012

Alleged Party in Breach: Charles Green (Rangers)

Date: On or around 12th September 2012

Disciplinary Rule(s) allegedly breached:

(1) Disciplinary Rule 66 (Bringing the game into disrepute by calling into question the integrity of the Commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith and appointed by the Scottish Premier League Limited (“SPL”) to examine alleged breaches of the SPL’s Rules regarding the use by Rangers PLC and Rangers FC of Employee Benefit Trusts to pay players, by suggesting in a media interview that the outcome and sanction of said Commission had been pre-determined by the SPL.)

Outcome: Not proven

(2) Disciplinary Rule 71 (Not acting in the best interests of football by calling into question the integrity of the Commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith and appointed by the Scottish Premier League Limited (“SPL”) to examine alleged breaches of the SPL’s Rules regarding the use by Rangers PLC and Rangers FC of Employee Benefit Trusts to pay players, by suggesting in a media interview that the outcome and sanction of said Commission had been pre-determined by the SPL.)

Outcome: Not proven

Rule 66: No recognised football body, club, official, Team Official or other member of Team Staff, player, referee, or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall bring the game into disrepute.

Rule 71: A recognised football body, club, official, Team Official, other member of Team Staff, player or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall, at all times, act in the best interests of Association Football. Furthermore, such person or body shall not act in any manner which is improper or use any one, or a combination of, violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour.

-----------------------

looks like Green has the SFA backtracking on the statement he made declaring the commission has decided it's outcome before it even started.

EDIT: Charles Green statement:

RANGERS Chief Executive Charles Green has released the following statement today.

“I am pleased the judicial panel accepted today that I had not brought the game into disrepute.

“What I said, I said in good faith and I was speaking up for the interests of Rangers. To be critical of the SPL’s handling of the EBT issue, does not mean that I am showing disrespect for the game and that view appears to have been shared by the judicial panel.

“It is my hope that we can all move on from today and start working constructively for the good of the game.

“The creation of the EBT Commission by the SPL following the events of the summer and the Club’s attempts at constructive discussion has been particularly difficult for those of us who are new to Rangers and are trying to rebuild the Club.

“It appears for all the world to be yet another obstacle being placed in our path as we try to rebuild a great Scottish sporting institution.

“I am the first person to accept that there are people who have been associated with Rangers who have brought the game into disrepute, particularly the previous regime whose delinquent approach to paying taxes triggered a series of events that brought the Club to the brink of destruction.

“The consortium I led came to the table with one objective in mind: to save Rangers Football Club and rebuild what is a great sporting institution.

“There has been an enormous amount of goodwill towards us. Rangers fans have shown beyond all measure what loyalty to your team really means. Staff, who have worked through dreadful turmoil in recent years, continue to go the extra mile. Some players have stayed when they need not have and youngsters have become young men in the team.

“There has also been great goodwill shown by investors who recognise the potential of Rangers and sponsors who see the tremendous opportunities at Ibrox. The international media are queuing up to speak to us and chart the recovery of the Club.

“In football too, there has been real goodwill from the Scottish Football League and its member clubs who have taken a view that it is better to look forward than back and that the game benefits from a vibrant Rangers.

“Perhaps it is now time that those people within the SPL who have been pursuing Rangers at every turn take stock. As a member of the SFA, we want to work constructively within its structure and hope that all parties and organisations can take a view that what is of paramount importance is the good of the game.

“To that end, we will be meeting with SFA President Campbell Ogilvie in the near future.

“We want to be a force for good in football and it is surely to the benefit of all that the way forward is not frustrated by continually trying to look back.”

http://rangers.co.uk

[Art 4]

Quite right,if true. At no point did Charles Green question the integrity of the panel members. He simply pointed out, quite obviously, that an agenda had already been set by those who commissioned the tribunal (the SPL). Last time I checked, we were still allowed free speech in this country?

[54andcounting 627]

It is all starting to crumble. The SPL/SFA are defiantly looking for a way out!!! :SPLbroken:

[Dutchy 1,200]

What a fecking waste of time and money all this shite is/was!!!

I thought the SFA/SPL were meant to 'protecting and promoting' Scottsh football. How much money did this piece of shite consume? s

[Blue and True 311]

Not Proven

what a crock of sh1t

How on a situation where exactly what you have been charged with is in BLACK AND WHITE can the result be NOT FRIGN PROVEN

He either broke their crappy rules or he didnt

Seems to me they couldnt get it to stick

The verdict in that case should have been NOT GUILTY.

ass wholes covering their incompetent backs

[NamibianBear 1,851]

EDIT: Charles Green statement:

RANGERS Chief Executive Charles Green has released the following statement today.

“I am pleased the judicial panel accepted today that I had not brought the game into disrepute.

“What I said, I said in good faith and I was speaking up for the interests of Rangers. To be critical of the SPL’s handling of the EBT issue, does not mean that I am showing disrespect for the game and that view appears to have been shared by the judicial panel.

“It is my hope that we can all move on from today and start working constructively for the good of the game.

“The creation of the EBT Commission by the SPL following the events of the summer and the Club’s attempts at constructive discussion has been particularly difficult for those of us who are new to Rangers and are trying to rebuild the Club.

“It appears for all the world to be yet another obstacle being placed in our path as we try to rebuild a great Scottish sporting institution.

“I am the first person to accept that there are people who have been associated with Rangers who have brought the game into disrepute, particularly the previous regime whose delinquent approach to paying taxes triggered a series of events that brought the Club to the brink of destruction.

“The consortium I led came to the table with one objective in mind: to save Rangers Football Club and rebuild what is a great sporting institution.

“There has been an enormous amount of goodwill towards us. Rangers fans have shown beyond all measure what loyalty to your team really means. Staff, who have worked through dreadful turmoil in recent years, continue to go the extra mile. Some players have stayed when they need not have and youngsters have become young men in the team.

“There has also been great goodwill shown by investors who recognise the potential of Rangers and sponsors who see the tremendous opportunities at Ibrox. The international media are queuing up to speak to us and chart the recovery of the Club.

“In football too, there has been real goodwill from the Scottish Football League and its member clubs who have taken a view that it is better to look forward than back and that the game benefits from a vibrant Rangers.

“Perhaps it is now time that those people within the SPL who have been pursuing Rangers at every turn take stock. As a member of the SFA, we want to work constructively within its structure and hope that all parties and organisations can take a view that what is of paramount importance is the good of the game.

“To that end, we will be meeting with SFA President Campbell Ogilvie in the near future.

“We want to be a force for good in football and it is surely to the benefit of all that the way forward is not frustrated by continually trying to look back.”

http://rangers.co.uk

Good response from as well. NO surrender there!

[johanhentze 14,294]

Good statement!

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

:lol: Te SFA are a joke. There just trying to get Green to shut up and not defend Rangers.

[54andcounting 627]

This decision is significant! Just remember what he said:

Green said in a statement on Rangers' website on September 10: "The Rangers Football Club Limited will not attend tomorrow’s hearing of the SPL-appointed commission investigating the circumstances surrounding the use of employee benefit trusts by previous owners of the club.

"The club cannot continue to participate in an SPL process that we believe is fundamentally misconceived.

"Neither the SPL, nor its commission, has any legal power or authority over the club because it is not in the SPL. For that reason it has no legal basis on which to appoint its commission. The club ceased to be subject to the SPL’s rules when it was ejected from its league.

"Our lawyers have made that point repeatedly to the SPL in correspondence and yet our requests for an explanation from the SPL have been completely ignored. The SPL’s silence on these issues is deafening. The outcome of the SPL’s process will have no legal effect.

""At all times we were fully transparent in our dealings with the football authorities, be they the SFA, SPL or the SFL. There was no ambiguity whatsoever regarding the status of the company when it made an application to join the SPL. As we all know, 10 SPL clubs decided against the admission of the new company to the league and The Rangers Football Club Limited subsequently applied to the SFL for membership and we are grateful for their acceptance.

"In short, what was decided by the SPL membership is that Rangers was finished as a member of the SPL. Despite this, the SPL now see the new owners of the company, and the new company itself, which owns all the assets of Rangers FC - including SPL championship titles – as fair game for punishment for matters that have nothing to do with us at all. And let’s be very clear about what this commission is.

"Although the SPL goes to great lengths to emphasise the independence of its commission, the commission is not independent of the SPL. It has been appointed by the SPL. It follows SPL rules and its process is managed by SPL staff. I don’t question the impartiality of the individual panel members but whatever decision they reach is a decision of the SPL.

"To make it crystal clear, the new owners purchased all the business and assets of Rangers, including titles and trophies. Any attempt to undermine or diminish the value of those assets will be met with the stiffest resistance, including legal recourse.

"Furthermore, we ask the question genuinely. Why did the football authorities do nothing to address an issue that was public knowledge for at least two years, and was reported in the club’s accounts for several years, before the club went into administration and was subsequently taken over by new owners?

"HMRC contacted the SPL regarding EBT matters in October 2010, they met to discuss what documentation the Club had lodged with the SPL. Did the SPL launch an investigation? Did they appoint a commission? Did they ask to see EBT correspondence? Did they ask any questions at all? No. They did absolutely nothing.

"What compounds the breathtaking hypocrisy of the SPL in this whole saga, is that the SFA, the SPL and us - as the new owners - took part in numerous discussions regarding the new company’s league status during which it was made clear that a deal was there to be done where ‘the EBT issue’ would be dealt with as part of a package of sanctions which would be implemented in return for membership of the SFA and a place in either the SPL or Division One.

"We do not accept that people who are willing to come to an agreement on such matters then have a right to instigate a full blown inquisition when matters do not unfold as they thought they would.

"In our view, it beggars belief that an authority which can be heavily involved in these discussions to the point that the Chief Executive Neil Doncaster repeatedly stated he was not interested in stripping titles from Rangers can lurch from that position to setting up its own commission under the chairmanship of Lord Nimmo Smith. I must make it clear that we are not questioning for a moment the integrity of Lord Nimmo Smith and his colleagues but we believe the SPL have been hypocritical in their approach to this matter.

"Quite apart from their negotiations with our consortium, I know the SPL were well advanced in their discussions with another bidder and his representatives where EBT issues were raised and there was again an understanding that the EBT issue could be dealt with by agreement if new owners were to take over at Ibrox.

"Why is the SPL rushing to judgement now when it has been sitting on the matter for two years? Their haste is particularly difficult to understand when the tax tribunal judgement is imminent. The factual issues in both cases are identical. We have to ask why is the SPL so anxious to issue a judgement in this matter before the tax tribunal’s findings are made public.

"The position is even harder to understand when one of the reasons the SFA did not pursue any form of disciplinary charge on EBT matters following Lord Nimmo Smith’s April report was because it was felt unwise for the SFA to pursue the matter when the tax tribunal judgement had not been made public. Nothing has changed as the judgement still has not been made public. Why is the SPL rushing ahead when in April the SFA felt it unwise to do so?

"Rangers was not the only club in Scotland to use EBTs yet nothing was done and little has been heard about it. Also, Rangers stands accused of achieving sporting advantage unfairly – yet there is little debate over the fact in all the years EBTs were in existence at Ibrox, the club often failed to win either the league title, or the main cup competitions. Furthermore, the period concerned saw a significant downsizing of the playing squad both in money spent on transfers and players wages.

"The decision we have taken has not been taken lightly. There are powerful representatives from clubs within the SPL – not all of them by any means – who appear hell bent on inflicting as much damage on Rangers as possible. It is lamentable that the Board and executive of the organisation have not been able to deal with this appropriately. We do not hold every SPL club in the same regard.

"Several clubs were placed in an invidious position and we believe their interests were not best served by those in more powerful positions. Furthermore, as a club we are not satisfied that the issue of conflict of interest relating to advisers to the SPL has been satisfactorily dealt with."

[achaleven 38]

What a crock! Not proven?? I'll bet they just couldn't bring themselves to say 'not guilty'... Another crackin response from Charles though, he really is ripping them to shreds. Charles Green, as in the old Jim Diamond track, 'Hi Ho Silver, Here comes the Lone Ranger' etc etc

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

What did he even say to get this "charge"? Do the SFA think there running nazi Germany here?

There a fucking joke.

[True Azure 1,414]

I was unaware that an SFA Disciplinary Tribuneral had the option of the third verdict,ie NOT PROVEN? Anyone know of any other cases where this verdict has been passed??????

[rubyred90 118]

Good response from as well. NO surrender there!

I don't know if Mr Green writes these himself or someone else does it but I'd damn like to shake someone's hand, every word he comes out with is so well thought out.

[The Educator 1,572]

This is excellent news. When these charges were made I thought they had made a mistake. CG has been very careful in what has said. I'm pretty sure he knew that these people were so eager to have a go that they wouldn't read what he said properly and walk straight in to the trap. Every time he does this he chips away at their supposed credibility. We may well be a long way from a final victory, but every couple of days something else seems to go our way. In a couple of weeks time it looks like the BTC will come to a head, much has been written on the forum regarding the rumour that it has gone our way, until the verdict is official I won’t be taking anything for granted.

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

These SFA cunts must be in the wrong job surely? I think all these idiots really wanted to be judges when they grew up.

Jokers.

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

I don't know if Mr Green writes these himself or someone else does it but I'd damn like to shake someone's hand, every word he comes out with is so well thought out.

He says it, someone writes it.

[Dutchy 1,200]

They've just reported the result on Irish Radio, Scottish branch and they managed to say,

"Er, uhm, there seems to be a truce, hmm, although an uneasy one, er as Charles Green relaesed a, ehmm, statement, eh, having a pop at the SPL, uhmm, commision".

Most of the Beeb's statements are expressed in this er, uhmm, hmmm, mmmm type of style.

Are they trying to infer something else, or are they thinking another thing from what they're reporting? Or both?

Poor quality fanzine writers passing themselves off as journalists.

[JAMC 12]

Another good statement from Charlie

[nimrod 62]

Wrong decision as usual.

But the words 'Not Guilty' would have choked them (even if that would have been no bad thing).

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

So does this not proven shite mean he's got to go back up? Or is that it?

Until the next time they charge him for defending Rangers which he is supposed to do. But these cunts in this country are not used to Rangers opening there mouths and defending themselves. That's what's up with these cunts!

[54andcounting 627]

So does this not proven shite mean he's got to go back up? Or is that it?

Until the next time they charge him for defending Rangers which he is supposed to do. But these cunts in this country are not used to Rangers opening there mouths and defending themselves. That's what's up with these cunts!

Has the same effect as not guilty in law!

[ianb1547 3,767]

Booler is goin to go ape when he reads all these there/theres/theyrs

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

Has the same effect as not guilty in law!

I knew that but, these are a shower of fucking idiots we're dealing with here.

[R.J. MacReady 226]

First picture of Charles Green leaving after the hearing

[Dutchy 1,200]

Has the same effect as not guilty in law!

Well, you can't be convicted, but they can bring it back anytime they please, or if new evidence comes up.

I just didn't know that the SFA/SPL were now running the country's legal decisions, this is football after all.

Then again, they went ape shit when we went to court to point out their illegal transfer ban.

Oh what a tangled web they weave..........