Steve1872

ScotlandTonight‏@ScotlandTonightWATCH a livestream of #scotnight here http://goo.gl/co6YJ from 10.30pm. Weâ??re discussing Rangers & the bicentenary of David Livingstone.

ScotlandTonight‏@ScotlandTonightRangers: @alextomo, @ChrisGraham76, @TomEnglishSport, and @GrahamSpiers discuss the fall-out from Lord Nimmo Smith's verdict. #scotnight

seen this on FF

Sir David Murray claims Rangers have been the victims of a "retrospective witch hunt" after a Scottish Premier League-appointed commission today found the oldco club guilty of making undisclosed payments to players. The former owner was responding after oldco Rangers were fined £250,000 for failure to disclose side-letter arrangements to the football authorities in relation to Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs). The probe centred on the period 2000-2011, during Murray`s stewardship of the club. The Ibrox side avoided the ultimate sanction of being stripped of titles after the commission found that Rangers did not gain any unfair competitive advantage and that players were not ineligible to play. Murray said in a statement: "The problems arising at Rangers brought no credit to Scottish football and have been a tragedy for the club and its fans. They cannot be condoned. "Similarly, however, and as stated previously, efforts to bayonet the wounded are equally unjustified and of no benefit to the club or Scottish football. "Despite knowledge of the existence of EBT arrangements for 10 years, the SPL has never explained why this was only raised as an issue last year. "The imposition of an irrecoverable fine on an entity which is now in liquidation is futile and only prejudices the ability of existing creditors to recover any money. "It is saddening that so much time, effort and money has been expended in pursuing a retrospective witch hunt against an entity in crisis, as opposed to seeking to promote and further Scottish football for the benefit of the game and country as a whole." â?? "Murray International Holdings Limited (MIH) has noted the decision of the commission chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith appointed by the Scottish Premier League (SPL) to investigate alleged undisclosed payments by Rangers Football Club (Rangers). "The decision not to strip Rangers of titles is satisfying and follows last year's ruling of the First Tier Tax Tribunal in the long running and much publicised dispute with HMRC. "The Commission recognised that the purpose of the relevant SPL rules was to promote sporting integrity and that Rangers gained no competitive advantage. "However, the Commission decided to ignore well established legal authority on the meaning of "payment" as set down by the House of Lords in Heaton vs. Bell (Ref: (1969) TC 211) in reaching its decision. The EBT Scheme did not provide for payments from the Club to the players. Instead, the players received loans from independent trustees and the decisions to make those loans were made by those trustees alone. The decision of the First Tier Tax Tribunal supported this. "It is entirely erroneous and without foundation to state that a contribution to a trust and subsequent loan from independent trustees of that trust to a player is the same as Rangers making a payment to a player. "The problems arising at Rangers brought no credit to Scottish football and have been a tragedy for the Club and its fans. They cannot be condoned. Similarly, however, and as stated previously, efforts to bayonet the wounded are equally unjustified and of no benefit to the Club or Scottish football. "Despite knowledge of the existence of EBT arrangements for 10 years, the SPL has never explained why this was only raised as an issue last year. The imposition of an irrecoverable fine on an entity which is now in liquidation is futile and only prejudices the ability of existing creditors to recover any money. "It is saddening that so much time, effort and money has been expended in pursuing a retrospective witch hunt against an entity in crisis, as opposed to seeking to promote and further Scottish football for the benefit of the game and country as a whole. "Sir David Murray Executive Chairman Murray International Holdings Limited."

RST statement on SPL EBT Commission on Thursday, 28 February 2013. Posted in News Archive The Rangers Supporters Trust is delighted that the SPL Commission has entirely vindicated the club’s position and that our titles are safe and that the sporting endeavour of Rangers players and management is beyond reproach.Sadly this fiasco has cost the SPL something in the region of £400,000 in legal costs which cannot be recouped and such a blatant waste of money can be laid fairly at the door of SPL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster, who should do the decent thing and resign.The SPL’s mishandling of the issues surrounding Rangers administration has been characterised by ineptitude at an organisational and individual level, rendering both the SPL and it’s Chief Executive unfit for purpose.A stronger Chief Executive would have quickly have taken the small cabal of anti-Rangers zealots in hand and refused to facilitate this episode. Instead the SPL’s member clubs have now seen vast sums frittered away on legal vanity projects but now have a legacy of divisive bitterness and commercial Armageddon to contend with.

SPL Statement - Independent Commission The SPL Board appointed the Independent Commission to consider all aspects of the above matter and at no point provided any direction to the Commission on any aspect of the case. The SPL Board notes that the Commission has upheld a number of complaints against Rangers OldCo and that Rangers OldCo has been found to have breached SPL and Scottish FA Rules over an 11-year period in relation to the non-disclosure of financial arrangements involving many of its Players. The SPL Board are assured by the integrity of the process followed and thank The Rt Hon Lord Nimmo Smith and his colleagues, Nicholas Stewart QC and Charles Flint QC, for their time and effort. The Board wishes to give the detail of the decision further consideration at its next meeting.

RANGERS Football Club today announced a new five-year kit deal with leading SportsLifestyle brand PUMA who will become the official supplier and licensee of replica merchandise for the club. The agreement which will commence at the start of Season 2013/14 will see Rangers wearing the PUMA brand on all of the club's team kit, replica kit, training wear and equipment. The partnership with PUMA complements the club's joint venture with retail giants Sports Direct. Rangers Chief Executive Charles Green commented: â??We are delighted to announce this partnership with PUMA, who are one of the worldâ??s iconic lifestyle brands. â??Rangers and PUMA are massive global brands and this relationship will undoubtedly improve the distribution of Club merchandise in the UK and overseas. â??PUMA are renowned for their technical innovation and expertise in product design and support systems and we look forward to enjoying a productive and successful partnership over the next five years.â? Tony Ward, Managing Director, PUMA UKIB, added: â??Rangers Football Club is an iconic club with a rich history. When the opportunity arose to develop a technical partnership with Rangers, we were delighted to reach agreement with the club. "We are extremely proud to be associated with the club, and look forward to providing technical and training wear for Rangers Football Club.â? Official Rangers Puma team merchandise will be available from the start of Season 2013/14 in the Rangers Megastore at Ibrox Stadium, PUMA outlets, Sports Direct stores throughout the UK, and online at www.rangers.co.uk, www.rangersmegastore.co.uk, www.puma.co.uk and www.sportsdirect.com.

alex thomson‏@alextomoInvited on STV's Scotland Tonight with Jim Traynor and Graham Spiers. Tonight.

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_OfficialSPL EBT Commission Statement: http://bit.ly/YIM9xH #RFC

The Pope does walking away. The Cardinal is caught playing away. The tims can`t win away. And no titles are taken away. seen on twitter

Grant Russell‏@STVGrantSimply put, the SPL have made an error in interpreting their own rules on player registrations. Players were eligible http://bit.ly/YBDYPC

54 weeks after administration. Quite funny how these things work out

BREAKING PICTURES FROM ERSKINE BRIDGE............

Peter A Smith‏@PeterAdamSmithRangers oldco fined around £250,000. SPL titles will not be stripped. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/215764-rangers-oldco-fined-250000-by-spl-commission-but-club-retains-titles/ …

alex thomson‏@alextomoRangers will not be stripped of titles - unclear what rules (if any) were broken This is not confirmed but full Commission Report on SPL website 12.00

The commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League to investigate alleged undisclosed payments by Rangers will not strip the club of any titles. More detail is expected when the written decision is published at noon. Lord Nimmo Smith has chaired the commission, which was appointed to decide if the company that formerly ran the club broke league rules. Should Rangers be found in breach, other sanctions may be applied but there will be no stripping of titles. The investigation relates to the period during which Rangers operated employee benefits trusts that were also the subject of a long-running tax tribunal. HM Revenue and Customs had claimed the scheme, which was used to make £47.65m in payments to players and staff in the form of tax-free loans, was illegal. Rangers disputed this and a First Tier Tax Tribunal ruled the scheme did not breach tax law. HMRC has subsequently appealed to an Upper Tier Tax Tribunal. Rangers won the SPL five times after initiating EBTs for players http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21604986

Chris McLaughlin‏@BBCchrismclaug#Rangers will not be stripped of league titles. More to follow...

Rangers fans in the Ibrox Main Stand in October 1953. The photographer seems to have caused quite a stir!

[h=3]A RANGERS goalkeeper will live or die by the ONE save he makes in a big game.[/h]It can be a brutal, unforgiving environment. Make it work, however, and youâ??ll spend the happiest days of your career being hero-worshipped by the Ibrox faithful. And thatâ??s the challenge facing Cammy Bell as he prepares to make his move from Kilmarnock. I think heâ??s a fantastic young keeper. Heâ??s brave, agile and undoubtedly one of the best shotstoppers in the SPL. He caught my eye a few seasons ago and Iâ??ve watched him develop into a top class keeper. But keeping goal for Killie and keeping them out for Rangers â?? even down in the Third Division â?? are two different things. At Rugby Park Bell could get away with the odd mistake. It would be covered up by the countless other stops heâ??d made in the match. But at Rangers, where perhaps youâ??re only called upon once or twice, cock-it-up and youâ??ll learn the hard way. Iâ??ve always said that moving to Rangers or Celtic is as much a test of your character than anything else. You can have all the ability in the world, but if you cannot cope with the mental strain playing at an institution where the demands are that you win every week you wonâ??t be there long. And, presuming Neil Alexander signs his new deal, Bell will also have to get used to playing second fiddle. There has been much debate among the fans as to who should get the nod next season assuming both are on the books. For me itâ??s a no-brainer. Alexander is the No1 choice and he should start next season. I firmly believe Bellâ??s signing will be a good thing for Alexander too. Heâ??s made one or two mistakes and for me it boils down to a lack of competition. Had Bell been breathing down his neck Iâ??m sure mistakes wouldnâ??t have happened. Listen, everyone needs competition. I had it myself when I was at Ibrox. Christ, when I left, you had Stefan Klos, Lionel Charbonnier, Antti Niemi and Allan McGregor all battling for the No1 jersey. I know Ally McCoist would love to have Alexander and Bell on board next season. The Rangers boss is attempting to rebuild after the hell of administration left him with just SIX players. He wants to take Gers back to the top and to do that he is going to need a squad of talented players. In time Iâ??m sure Bell will establish himself as No1 at Ibrox. But for now heâ??ll just need to settle for being Alexanderâ??s understudy. Whatâ??s more, Iâ??m sure Bell will be the first of many signings for McCoist as he continues to rebuild. Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4807009/Cammy-far-more-exposed-at-Ibrox.html#ixzz2LaCFMPFf

[h=3]MALCOLM MURRAY is to STAY as Rangers chairman after dramatic clear-the-air talks yesterday.[/h]Murray had been asked to consider his position by fellow directors a week ago. They wanted him to quit after a rift over his leadership. But Murray will stay at Ibrox after senior figures held 48 hours of crisis talks this week. The lifelong Gers fan assured the board of his wish to see the job through. Now he will remain in the chair for the long-awaited publication of Rangers’ accounts — expected in a fortnight. Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4807159/Murray-will-stay-at-Gers.html#ixzz2LaBgkoTZ

THE Football Association has closed the door on any attempt by Glasgow City to join the English Women's Super League. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/glasgow-city-surprised-after-fa-close-door-on-switch-to-england.20287957

http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2013/02/the-tomointerview.html?m=1 TheCoplandRoad.org‏@CoplandRoadorgMorning reminder that the full audio of Bill's interview with Alex Thomson is now available at CRO as promised -

I wish he had been Brazilian - @Pele on Jim Baxter