Sandy Jardine: Rangers supporters will take sanctions against other clubs

[ian1964 10,468]

Sandy Jardine has said that Rangers have been unfairly punished for the actions of Craig Whyte and are being â??kickedâ? by outsiders while in a weak state.

 

Jardine was speaking at an event promoting the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund and stated that employees at Rangers were being punished for Whyteâ??s actions though they were oblivious to them at the time.

 

The club ambassador said that harsh penalties for Rangers would hurt other clubs but also said that he would be meeting with supporters associations ahead of action against clubs they felt had been unhelpful

 

â??It wasnâ??t Rangers Football Club, it was Craig Whyte who put us in this situation,â? Jardine said.

 

â??Iâ??m still at the club, I worked under Craig Whyte and I have to say that nobody knew that he wasnâ??t paying bills. It was as big a shock to us as to everybody in Scottish football.

 

â??The players did nothing wrong, the management of the club did nothing wrong, the supporters did nothing wrong and the staff did nothing wrong.

 

â??The person that did something wrong was Craig Whyte and unfortunately heâ??s getting a penalty which heâ??s laughed off. Theyâ??ll never get the money but the people still at this club are going to have to pay a penalty because of that.

 

The SFA have imposed a signing embargo on the club for bringing the game into disrepute and the SPL are to consider new rules that could effect Rangers should a â??newcoâ? plan be implemented.

 

Jardine said that the club should be treated differently because of the clubâ??s stature and said that the outcome had implications for other clubs, including direct action taken by Rangers supporters groups.

 

â??I know from talking to the supporters, and the feeling within the club is, that we canâ??t do any more than put our case forward,â? he said. â??If they [the SPL and SFA] are starting to ignore us and not take it into consideration then ok, weâ??ll go down a division.

 

â??Rangers are a special case mainly because of the size of the club within Scottish football and what it delivers.

 

â??Weâ??ll get a bit of pain, but everybody else is going to get a bit of pain too.â?

 

He added that details of supporterâ??s sanctions against the unnamed clubs would be announced this weekend.

 

He explained: â??Having gone round and met a lot of the supporters and people within the club, I think people are absolutely sick and tired of everybody having a kick at us when weâ??re down.

 

"We are going to have a meeting with all the delegates from the whole of Britain, and some of them will be flying in from abroad, on Saturday.

 

â??Out of that, the supporters will take sanctions against clubs which we deem have been unfair to ourselves.

 

"I'm not going to go into the actual details but we will probably announce that after the meeting with the supporters clubs.�

 

"Also the Fighting Fund last night sanctioned money to fund a QC to fight the case against the SFA.

 

"Everybody is sick and tired of just accepting everything that everybody is throwing at us and it's about starting to fight back.

 

"The size of our club and the size of our supporter base, it can be a powerful weapon."

[Zappa 0]

Also the Fighting Fund last night sanctioned money to fund a QC to fight the case against the SFA.

 

Tell the QC to send his bill to the SFA!!! :fuming:

[bossy 0]

Perhaps the QC can sue the SFA for damages as a result of their negligence in the execution of their regulatory role.

[Guest Nacho's his name]

"Also the Fighting Fund last night sanctioned money to fund a QC to fight the case against the SFA.

 

Tell the QC to send his bill to the SFA!!! :fuming:

 

I like that, about time and if we go down we take them down with us

[aweebluesoandso 290]

Superb statement from Sandy Jardine. About time the club took the fight to other clubs. and the SFA/SPL. I have contributed twice to the RFFF and will contribute again to it, to help with the QC's bill.

 

"Hard pounding this gentlemen, but we shall see who can pound the longest" (Duke of wellington)

[ian1964 10,468]

Named and shamed by Hateley

 

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ERIC DRYSDALE, Gary Allan and Alistair Murning. Or as I prefer to call them - Moe, Larry and Curly.

 

 

The SFA's "Three Stooges" who decided this week, in their wisdom, to hammer Rangers and threaten their existence by imposing a transfer ban on them.

 

A ruling that endangers the bidding process for one of Scotland's biggest clubs, which finds itself engulfed in a financial crisis. So much for the SFA servicing the Scottish game, eh?

 

What I want to know is, what qualifications do Drysdale, Allan and Murning have to sit on a judicial panel and dish out sanctions?

 

Do they have any sort of background at the top level of football?

 

These men have just had a major say on the future of the Scottish game. They've been asked to rule on one of the biggest decisions in the last 50 years.

 

Who do they think they are - and how did they get into this position of power?

 

Ally McCoist came out and said this SFA ban could kill Rangers. How can a judgment like that be put in the hands of three individuals who don't even work for the SFA?

 

Any decision should surely come from the governing body. It should be people within the game, who understand the ramifications of the punishments they're handing out.

 

Clearly, none of them have given a thought to the effect it would have on the game's future in Scotland.

 

I'm astonished the SFA get other people in to make their decisions.

 

I'm absolutely stunned by that.

 

If you want to run a successful business or organisation, I accept you will have independent consultants who advise you on some matters. But when you have monumental decisions to make, which could be detrimental to the game you're trying to improve, surely it has to come from within Hampden?

 

You'd think the SFA would have at least three men working for them with the knowledge and qualifications to make judgments like that.

 

People aware of the structure of Scottish football wouldn't have imposed these sanctions on Rangers.

 

And it disturbs me when I hear that it's lawyers, QCs and journalists who are part of these judicial panels. That's incredible. We're talking about football business here, which is run completely differently to any other. These people don't know the game.

 

I just can't understand it. Since Stewart Regan was appointed chief executive at Hampden, he's been banging on about getting their house in order. But this typifies what everyone is battling against. This ruling has taken the SFA back two decades.

 

They've made a balls-up of a relatively simple decision. Of course, Rangers and Craig Whyte deserved to be punished. But the timing of it - and the failure to recognise the repercussions which would follow - is staggering.

 

They've opened up a huge can of worms and I'm not sure they're aware of the backlash that could follow.

 

I've heard Murning's last involvement on an SFA panel was ruling on a red-card appeal by an Albion Rovers player.

 

He managed to rescind the sending off from a game against Brechin. Now, I'm sorry, but how can he go from making decisions on a Second Division game to ruling on the potential future of Rangers FC? It's unbelievable.

 

That's what the Three Stooges did.

 

After all, it was announced on the day the club's administrators wanted to name a preferred bidder and that process has now stalled as a result.

 

But nothing surprises me about the SFA any more. They talk of taking the game forward. Well, God help us.

 

Everything Regan has said since he took the job has been about improving the game. But this decision, if it means killing off Rangers, will completely knock the stuffing out of Scottish football.

 

After everything they've been working on in the last few years, they've managed to score another own goal. They take two steps forward then 10 back with some of their decisions.

 

Ally was right in demanding to know who was on the panel. Drysdale, Allan and Murning must be accountable, surely?

 

They're supposed to be anonymous - but that's why the SFA should have made the decision themselves, instead of getting others to do it for them.

 

This type of thing just wouldn't happen in England. You have to ask, what are we getting from the SFA, what are clubs paying for?

 

If they can't make a ruling on the biggest story to hit Scottish football what chance do we have? They are the game's governing body.

 

I would like to think Regan and Co will back down after an appeal. They should be big enough to hold their hands up and admit their mistake.

 

Because if they think they can attract sponsors for their tournaments, when they're making decisions which could liquidate one of their top clubs, they're having a laugh.

 

Already, Rangers fans are planning to boycott some of the SFA's big commercial partners. These deals are huge earners for them.

 

And if they under-estimate fan power, they'll be in an even bigger mess than they currently find themselves in.