What are your thoughts on sanctions?

[Mountain Bear 0]

The sanctions listed aren't that severe IMO. A newco would normally have to start from Div 3 anyway, so relegation from the SPL is meaningless. As a newco we don't meet the rules for Europe, so that's not a punishment as such (damaging though it is). That leaves a fine and a 12 months ban on signing new players. My view is that our fans want us to go to Div3, so if SPL / SFA want us in Div 1 that badly, then they need to relax the ban so we can at least sign free agents this year (apart from anything else there's no guarantee that we'd be promoted otherwise).

 

My real worry is what they decide to do if we're found to have entered into double contracts. They can't afford to terminate our membership, so it's down to a Scottish Cup ban, or stripping us of titles - and they rejected the cup ban as too lenient before.......

[UCF2008 0]

Personally I feel that we should have been able to successfully dispute the SFA charge of bringing the game into disrepute. The SFA argued that the club and the individual are one and the same. How can this be the case when they separated the same individual from the club for punishment?

 

Instead we disputed the punishment. This was successful albeit achieved by means which could yet have dire consequences when the Appellate Tribunal finally get round reconvening.

[foggy dewhurst 0]

if there are any double contracts that was the old clubs problem let them chase uo david murray and his directors why should any new co have to be punnished what have the newco done wrong tell the sfa and spl to look up the obituary of the rangers on wikipedia .

[metlika 0]

If the SFA stick by the transfer ban then we will be furious even though it has been found illegal.

 

Even if we goto Division 3 they may still apply sanctions and pretty much screw the club over.

[UCF2008 0]

The sanctions listed aren't that severe IMO. A newco would normally have to start from Div 3 anyway, so relegation from the SPL is meaningless.

 

That's if you're a new club. There is also no precedent to our case.

 

Club's have been liquidated while in Div1 resulting in the reformed club having to reapply to Div3. This hasn't happened to an SPL club before now and it still hasn't as we're not a reformed club. The newco is the company.

 

Have you read the terms of our SFA application for transfer of membership? Having to pay all football debts and accept punishment for all article breaches of the Oldco. Does that in any way suggest to you that the SFA are treating us as a new club? Of course not. Why should they when we're not?

[Mountain Bear 0]

Have you read the terms of our SFA application for transfer of membership? Having to pay all football debts and accept punishment for all article breaches of the Oldco. Does that in any way suggest to you that the SFA are treating us as a new club? Of course not. Why should they when we're not?

 

Fair point UCF. Equally, as we're not a completely new club, we can't use newco status as a reason to reject sanctions relating to previous wrongdoing.

[UCF2008 0]

Fair point UCF. Equally, as we're not a completely new club, we can't use newco status as a reason to reject sanctions relating to previous wrongdoing.

 

Absolutely. We shouldn't have to be relegated to or re-apply for Div3 though. Personal opinions on what division we should start from aside, do you think that to be relegated to the bottom tier or being kicked out altogether and having to re-apply are justifiable sanctions?

[no12 0]

Absolutely. We shouldn't have to be relegated to or re-apply for Div3 though. Personal opinions on what division we should start from aside, do you think that to be relegated to the bottom tier or being kicked out altogether and having to re-apply are justifiable sanctions?

 

No, I believe they are not. I think we have suffered for the almost universal discontent with the status quo. The SPL was a major mistake for Scottish football and introduced a class system of disrespect for the smaller clubs and a devotion to the great Sky dollar. We have borne the brunt of the resulting ire.

[UCF2008 0]

In the case of the SPL it was the company that held membership. It was the club however that was a founding member of the SFL.

 

Rejection of the SPL membership transfer has left a gap open in the SFL with Dundee (another club with no shortage of recent insolvent history) being proposed as the club that should take our place. If we move to the 3rd division, this means that 2nd placed teams in the 2nd and 3rd divisions would gain promotion as well. Is that fair? What do the teams that finished 3rd and 4th think about this? ...or for that matter the teams who were relegated from the 1st and 2nd divisions?

Edited July 5, 2012 by UCF2008

[UCF2008 0]

The other question here is, on what grounds can the SFL impose sanctions on us? Have we breached any of their rules?

 

The SFA want the illegal transfer embargo to stand. They don't think the £160,000 fine is sufficient and they've also stated and had it upheld by the appellate tribunal that suspension or expulsion of SFA membership would be excessive. One legal option open to them is a Scottish Cup ban. However that could cost them a lot more than £160k in TV and sponsorship income. Nonetheless, if they insist that the fine is insufficient then it's the only fair punishment they can hit us with.

 

So that leaves us in my opinion with Div1 and Scottish Cup ban as being the fair and reasonable solution to this mess.

 

Like I said previously we could face a suspended sentence from the SPL dual contracts investigation. Titles being stripped for the years where wrongdoing on that front can be proven is an alternative. Hopefully it won't come to that though.