FIFA Jim Boyce insists governing body will step in if Ibrox club don't get in line

[ian1964 10,416]

THE vice-president of FIFA last night urged Rangers to get in line or Scottish football is facing Armageddon.

 

Former Irish FA boss Jim Boyce has warned that the stricken club risks dragging SPL rivals and the national team down if they persist in fighting their transfer ban through the law courts.

 

As Record Sport revealed yesterday, Scotland could be banned from World Cup qualifiers and Celtic, Motherwell, St Johnstone, Hearts and Dundee United prevented from competing in Europe if the row escalates.

 

Boyce fears Rangers have set off on a dangerous path travelled last year by FC Sion, which almost saw Swiss rivals FC Basle expelled from the Champions League and the national side excluded from World Cup qualifiers.

 

However, Boyce also hinted there could be a glimmer of a compromise in the fact Rangers did not argue against the 12-month transfer embargo, only that the sanction was not available to the SFA judicial panel which imposed it.

 

Boyce said: â??Neither FIFA or UEFA like any clubs of their member associations becoming involved in legal action. If any club is not happy with its governing body they should seek to settle their dispute through the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

 

â??The matter has not yet been reported to FIFA by the SFA but I expect they will keep each other informed. If the SFA are not happy with the situation I expect them to write to UEFA and FIFA within the next three days.

 

â??This matter has to be resolved. It cannot go on. If FIFA donâ??t believe it is being handled properly itâ??s up to them to deal with it, as they did with FC Sion. Itâ??s a similar case. The threat of sanctions against clubs and the national team made the Swiss authorities act very quickly.â?

 

FC Sion signed six players last year, including ex-Hearts defender Jose Goncalves, despite being banned from the transfer market by FIFA after illegally poaching Egyptian keeper Essam El Hadary.

 

They eventually backed down, despite winning battles in the law courts, in the face of FIFA threats to rival clubs and the Swiss national team and were docked 36 points by Swiss league chiefs.

 

Rangers have not yet gone as far as FC Sion and the thrust of their successful case at the Court of Session was in arguing the SFA judicial panel acted outwith its powers by imposing a transfer ban.

 

Asked if that would be taken into account by FIFA, Boyce added: â??Iâ??m not a legal expert but it would have to be. I donâ??t know the legal powers the SFA had to do what they did.â?

 

Last night an SFA spokesman said: â??We are still in consultation with our legal advisors and with FIFA.â?

 

Meanwhile, Boyce also made it clear that if Rangers are expelled by the SFA they could not move to join another association.

 

He said: â??Iâ??ve read this rubbish for years that Rangers and Celtic could play in England. Under UEFA and FIFA rules this simply canâ??t happen.â?

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/05/31/rangers-in-crisis-fifa-chief-jim-boyce-insists-governing-body-will-step-in-if-ibrox-club-don-t-get-in-line-86908-23880097/

[caseyjones 0]

That last paragraph should be pinned on every Rangers site.

[foggy dewhurst 0]

as i have stated before fifa make rules not laws

[pete 2,499]

This story is just a lot of tosh and not worth reading to be honest.

[Crimson Dynamo 128]

So FIFA are above the law?

 

I think we should call in Michael Knight he deals with people who operate above the law.

 

The SFA opened the door for Rangers to go down the legal route when they drew comparisson to legal cases such as the Tesco issue. Had they wanted it to remain within football then they should have drawn a footballing comparisson. They also shouldn't have "made up" a punishment to suit themselves. They should have operated within the rules and punished us according to what the rules say.

 

They now have egg on there face because they already said it wasn't serious enough for an expulsion or suspension from the game. If I was FIFA I would be more concerned about a member association not following the rules. Instead of spouting hot air to divert attention away from it

[bluebear54 0]

Interesting quote:

 

Asked if that would be taken into account by FIFA, Boyce added: “I’m not a legal expert but it would have to be. I don’t know the legal powers the SFA had to do what they did.”

 

Why do the press insist on asking opinions from people who have no knowledge of what they're talking about. Does it make them feel comfortable in their own ignorance?

[pete 2,499]

Interesting quote:

 

Asked if that would be taken into account by FIFA, Boyce added: “I’m not a legal expert but it would have to be. I don’t know the legal powers the SFA had to do what they did.”

 

Why do the press insist on asking opinions from people who have no knowledge of what they're talking about. Does it make them feel comfortable in their own ignorance?

 

Hence my answer of:

This story is just a lot of tosh and not worth reading to be honest.

[calscot 0]

That last paragraph should be pinned on every Rangers site.

 

Why? It's clearly 100% wrong if not a downright lie. Many clubs are now playing in other countries and have switched with FIFA's blessing. If we went to England we'd actually be playing in our own country unless Scotland votes for independence.

 

I also really doubt UEFA would want the humiliation of another Bosman type ruling. Restricting Rangers from playing in any EC country would be on dangerous ground.

[calscot 0]

List of clubs playing in another country:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_football_clubs_playing_in_the_league_of_another_country

[Thinker 872]

List of clubs playing in another country:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_association_football_clubs_playing_in_the_league_of_another_country

It's poorly charted territory, but the UK is a special case for FIFA. We are one nation after all.

The League of Wales only started up in 1992, and there was a drawn-out argument with Welsh teams playing English non-league football. It was ultimately decided that the League of Wales couldn't stop them from playing English league matches in Wales : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Premier_League

And Gretna moved into an English FA non-league division without question in 1946. A lot may have changed within the FIFA / UEFA regulations since then though. I think it's possible to sneak in, provided we do it at a low enough level. The SFA would clearly do everything in their power to stop even that though....