Donâ??t be clowns.. let Gers keep the crowns

[Steve1872 4]

Donâ??t be clowns.. let Gers keep the crowns

 

 

By JOHN HARTSON

 

Published: 1 hr ago

 

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RANGERS arenâ??t my favourite football club.

 

Never have been, never will be.

But throughout all the allegations of financial wrongdoing Iâ??ve not once said they should be stripped of any SPL titles.

To my mind their players won their medals fair and square.

Even if HMRC found them guilty in the EBT case I wouldnâ??t have changed my mind on that.

Whatever the outcome, the lads who wore the light blue shirts did nothing wrong.

They were told the arrangement was kosher.

Punishing them by taking away their achievements would have been totally wrong.

Thatâ??s how I would have felt had it been Celtic in the dock from my time there.

I worked hard for the silverware I won.

I scored big goals in big games and deserved my success.

If it emerged tomorrow that Celtic as a club had done something wrong behind the scenes then that wouldnâ??t have anything to do with me.

I wouldnâ??t be happy if someone even suggested our team could be stripped of titles.

Thatâ??s why I always looked at it from the point of view of the Rangers players.

Some didnâ??t go along with that. And the SPL commissioned an independent enquiry into how Rangers paid their players.

That investigation is still ongoing. But having been cleared of tax-dodging by three High Court judges this week thatâ??s what I donâ??t understand.

Rangers have no case to answer now.

Certainly not in terms of any crime which should see past championships declared null and void.

I know the SPL tribunal isnâ??t looking specifically at EBTs.

From what I know, theyâ??re trying to determine whether or not the club paid dual contracts which were against SFA rules.

Ultimately they could be found guilty of that even though they won their Big Tax case against HMRC.

But I just donâ??t buy it.

The two things are strongly linked and if judges have decided theyâ??re innocent of tax offences, then the other accusation seems nothing more than a paperwork issue.

Maybe itâ??ll turn out they did pay their players with contracts which are against SFA policy.

But is that a huge crime? is that something worth taking titles for? Thatâ??s just not right.

Bottom line for me is that the tax case Rangers won earlier this week left a lot of people with egg on their face.

Iâ??m talking about people who pointed the finger of accusation without knowing all the facts.

Iâ??ve been critical of them myself. Iâ??ll admit that. I maybe jumped the gun like others.

And right now I understand the anger which must be felt by a lot of Rangers supporters.

The EBT case wasnâ??t the reason their club was kicked out of the SPL and forced into the fourth tier of Scottish football.

But it didnâ??t help, did it?

David Murray was skint and with pressure coming from the bank he desperately needed someone to buy him out.

Because of the looming tax case â?? which carried the threat of a £75million bill â?? few people came forward.

And the club ended up in the hands of Craig Whyte. It was his decision to withhold PAYE and National Insurance which sealed Rangersâ?? fate. That was unforgivable. But I can understand the argument that it all stems back to the initial HMRC investigation.

SPL chairmen clearly had that at the back of their minds when they considered how to deal with Rangers after theyâ??d plunged into liquidation.

They watched their most valuable players walk out the door for nothing in the summer and are now facing a long road back to recovery.

There has even been talk of Rangers now suing HMRC for lost millions â?? and you have to say they have a very good case.

The club maybe even has a claim that they should be reinstated back into the SPL.

But thatâ??s not going to happen.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/feeds/smartphone/scotland/4662270/Dont-be-clowns-let-Gers-keep-the-crowns.html#ixzz2D676gzv1

[Ergatrude 0]

It is strange that Celtic-minded people always say we shouldn't be stripped of titles now that they were told Celtic wouldn't get them. I'm sure at first Lennon said that if we cheated we don't deserve the titles.. then it was confirmed Celtic wouldn't get them & Lennon said we shouldn't be stripped of them

 

Now we have Hartson saying this, I'll bet if we lost a titles he would be pissing himself laughing.

[Cotter 0]

Aw fuck off Hartson ya fat cunt, nobody cares what you think anyway.

[pete 2,499]

RANGERS arenâ??t my favourite football club.

 

Never have been, never will be.

 

I seem to remember him being pretty disappointed we didn't sign him. Was it just the money maybe?

[calscot 0]

I think he was bitter we didn't sign him due to failing a medical - and was out to prove a pointwith Celtic. He was then opento all the indoctrination there. However, maybe we should give credit where it's due...

[ian1964 10,514]

SPL to push on with probe into Rangers' use of dual contracts

 

24 Nov 2012 07:39

IN a double whammy for the Ibrox men the SFA also say Gers' transfer embargo will remain in place.

 

THE SPL last night refused to relent on their probe into Rangers’ alleged use of dual contracts as a new hearing date was set for the turn of the year.

 

And in a double whammy the SFA have rubbished calls to lift the club’s transfer embargo.

 

But it is the SPL’s decision to continue with their EBT investigation that will anger their fans most.

 

Lord Nimmo Smith’s independent commission will have a hearing on Tuesday, January 29 that could see the club stripped of the five league titles they won between 2001 and 2010.

 

The hearing was scheduled to start earlier this month but was postponed when Rod McKenzie – the partner in law firm Harper MacLeod who was to present the SPL case against Rangers – was involved in a car crash.

 

Ibrox boss Ally McCoist yesterday again slammed the decision to potentially take titles off his club.

 

Speaking before the hearing date was announced he said: “I would hope the tax case outcome will influence the SPL inquiry but I wouldn’t put my last pound on it.

 

“I just want this whole chapter shut. No matter what happens I won’t accept it anyway. I don’t care what they attempt to take from us.

 

“I won’t accept it and our support won’t either.

 

“It would be great if we could move on but, having been privy to a few

meetings and situations with SPL chairmen, I won’t be holding my breath.

 

“Some of the experiences I had in the meetings were eye-openers. One of the disappointing things was the pre-judgment by a lot of people.

 

“I remember when they were coming up with the five-point agreement. I couldn’t take my eyes off the stripping of titles – that was the one thing.

 

“There was no way I was going to accept anything that would allow them to go down that road. I was of the opinion that the commission should not even be formed.”

 

McCoist refused to respond to Neil Lennon’s claims back in the summer that titles should be taken off the Govan outfit if found guilty.

 

The Celtic boss had said: “I will see what the commission finds and, if they are found to have broken rules, they should be stripped of titles.”

 

Asked if he had an opinion on Lennon’s stance, McCoist said: “I do. I have a big opinion which I’ll keep to myself, sadly for you guys!”

 

The SFA are also sticking to their transfer embargo.

 

In his Record Sport column yesterday, Ibrox legend Mark Hateley demanded the beaks cut Gers some slack after they won the Big Tax Case.

 

But an SFA spokesman said: “The embargo on buying players has nothing to do with EBTs so I don’t know where this is coming from. It was about the club not paying taxes under the Craig Whyte era.”

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spl-to-push-on-with-probe-into-rangers-use-1453867

[Davie P 4]

But an SFA spokesman said: â??The embargo on buying players has nothing to do with EBTs so I donâ??t know where this is coming from. It was about the club not paying taxes under the Craig Whyte era.â?

 

We also know that Hearts, (and Falkirk and Motherwell if memory serves) were issued with winding up orders by HMRC for non payment of tax. Hearts were ''penalised" by the SFA by having a transfer embargo imposed when the window was shut.

 

This is just so wrong and clearly corrupt. Surely the RFFF could be utilised to take this to court?

[Darthter 542]

I seem to remember him being pretty disappointed we didn't sign him. Was it just the money maybe?

 

He wanted an EBT...

[Zappa 0]

Aw fuck off Hartson ya fat cunt, nobody cares what you think anyway.

 

I like his article title though: "Don’t be clowns.. let Gers keep the crowns". That's bloody brilliant. Totally genius. He doesn't look it, but he really is clever.