Ian Black notice of complaint

[BrahimHemdani 1]

depends. what if he isn't playing or its a 5 quid bet. or even a 1 quid accumulator perhaps.

 

I understand that point of view; but I don't think there can be degrees of guilt here, since the rule is absolute.

 

If he did it, he's guilty, the only issue will be the punishment: £500 fine to banned sine die; that's where the amount involved may come into play.

 

JMHO.

[ian1964 10,409]

I wonder what kind of reception he will receive from the Rangers fans if he plays tomorrow?

[54andcounting 0]

If this betting culture is rife in Scotland and has been since time began why pick on a Rangers player?

 

Oh yes, I see...We are still the biggest club in the land and where better to stamp it out.

 

Poor Ian knows now what it means to play for The Rangers.

[pete 2,499]

If this betting culture is rife in Scotland and has been since time began why pick on a Rangers player?

 

Oh yes, I see...We are still the biggest club in the land and where better to stamp it out.

 

Poor Ian knows now what it means to play for The Rangers.

 

Totally disagree with you, anyone caught gambling should be penalised no matter what club they played for.

[54andcounting 0]

Totally disagree with you, anyone caught gambling should be penalised no matter what club they played for.

 

It's been going on for years, surprised you disagree with my point.

[barca72 440]

Totally disagree with you, anyone caught gambling should be penalised no matter what club they played for.

 

But will they is his point?

[UCF2008 0]

It's been going on for years, surprised you disagree with my point.

 

He might be the first and may well be the last for some time to be charged with these offenses, but no amount of whataboutery is going to change the fact it's against the rules for a sportsperson to bet on their own games.

 

If he's found guilty you could maybe give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't aware of the letter of the law, but it's common sense and common knowledge that you can't bet on (or against) yourself in any sport.

 

...And no. Poker doesn't count.

[bossy 0]

Totally disagree with you, anyone caught gambling should be penalised no matter what club they played for.

 

If that is what the rule says then you are right.

 

But the SFA may well have dug themselves into a hole on this one given how widespread gambling seems to be. Either you enforce the rule or you do not. Sauce for the goose and all that.

 

Perhaps a more sensible approach would have been to specifically remind clubs and players of the rule and let them know that it was going to be enforced. Singling one player out for punishment - who just happens to be a Rangers player - just reinforces the notion that the SFA have an anti-Rangers agenda.

[Darthter 542]

Perhaps a more sensible approach would have been to specifically remind clubs and players of the rule and let them know that it was going to be enforced.

 

That very point was raised on SSB last night.....

 

IF the SFA want to be consistent in their application of the rules, I would expect many more players to be carpeted in the coming weeks. I believe McCoist said in the press conference yesterday that a quick, informal discussion with his players about gambling turned up a list of over 100 names of folk who regularly bet on football.

 

If Black is going to get done, it should only be for betting on matches involving his registered team at that time. Should he REALLY be charged for putting a fiver on the CL final (for example...)

[der Berliner 3,239]

But, but, its irrelevant now, sure it is ...

 

Andy Goram - SFA staff put bets on for me

 

Andy Goram has revealed how SFA staff used to act as bookies runners for Scotland stars.

Rangers legend Goram dropped the bombshell just days after Hampden beaks confirmed they are probing claims Rangers ace Ian Black bet on 160 games.

 

Goram, who won 43 caps for Scotland, said: “When I played for Scotland an SFA staff member and one of the coaching staff used to place bets for the players on their own accounts. We would obviously be training or preparing for an important match so it was not easy to just nip out to the bookies.

 

“Sometimes Davie Cooper and I would jump into a taxi and head into Girvan as we were usually based on the Ayrshire coast, but more often than not we could not get out.

 

“So these two members of the SFA’s own staff used to place the bets for us.

 

“Most people did not even have an account with the bookies so these two lads were invaluable to the players.”

 

Wagers Goram has questioned the timing and motive behind SFA compliance officer Vincent Lunny’s complaint against Black.

 

He added: “The SFA did not seem to have an issue with it then. Why now?

 

The SFA revealed on Monday they are investigating claims Black illicitly bet on 160 games. The 28-year-old midfielder is accused of placing wagers against his ‘then registered club’ in three matches. The complaint also alleges he made ten other bets involving teams he played for.

 

Gers have launched their own internal inquiry into the matter, but McCoist never contemplated axing him for tonight’s clash and has come out in support of the midfielder.

 

McCoist said: “Absolutely, Ian Black is in my plans for Airdrie.

 

“He is fine, he has trained the last few days and I’ve been delighted with his form since the start of the season.

 

“I’m very hopeful he will continue his really good form against Airdrie because he has been very good for us recently.

 

“Make no mistake, a lot of people have been scrutinising Ian after last season, but I felt there were one or two reasons for that.

 

“He came here with a double hernia and did not get a proper pre-season.

 

“I think he’s now fit, he’s got pre-season training under his belt. A few of the better players we’ve brought in have helped him.”

 

 

Let me start this week with a confession.

 

Pretty much straight from my Rangers debut, until the emotional day I walked out of Ibrox for the last time, I used to bet on my own team.

 

Each week I would back Ally McCoist for first scorer.

 

Nine times out of 10 he’d deliver too. It was like printing money.

 

And do you know what? I don’t see the problem with that at all.

 

Controversy only arises if you’re caught betting AGAINST your own team. I never did that.

 

I never backed us to win a game 3-2 for example. I never wanted to lose one goal let alone two.

 

But if you’re backing a player in your team, who you know can finish, to be first scorer and for your team to win, then I really can’t see the issue.

 

What I can see, though, is the SFA have opened a can of worms with their decision to expose Ian Black.

 

Let me tell you something about the SFA.

 

When I played for Scotland an SFA staff member and a member of the coaching staff, used to place bets for the players on their personal accounts.

 

We’d be training or preparing for an important match, so it wasn’t easy to just nip out to the bookies.

 

Sometimes the late Davie Cooper and I would jump into a taxi and head into Girvan because we were usually based on the Ayrshire coast, but more often than not we couldn’t get out.

 

So these two SFA staff members used to place the bets for us.

 

Remember, these were the days before mobile phones and on-line betting. Most people didn’t even have an account with the bookies, so these two lads were invaluable to the players. We all liked a bet, in fact 99 per cent of us used to punt on the midweek internationals.

 

But the SFA didn’t seem to have an issue with it then. Why now?

 

Black has been hung out to dry.

 

Of course, if it is proved he was betting against his own teams that is a different matter.

 

I saw he had won £400. If it had been £400,000 I could understand the bookie squealing to the press.

 

I’d say 99.9 per cent of footballers up and down this country bet. That’s a fact.

 

The majority of them will stick a coupon on at the weekend and in midweek too.

 

If you pardon the pun, I’ll bet 99.9 per cent of ex-players do it too.

 

I see guys I played with or against in the bookies all the time. Is this going to be an issue for the SFA?

 

Because you could easily accuse these guys of having insider knowledge.

 

We still know people in the game and everybody is linked to someone or some club.

 

Each week you will take a call asking ‘What’s that team been like?’.

 

Guys who have played the game and who have been involved in football in this country are still very clued up.

 

We have ways and means of finding out which team, if any, is worth a wager.

 

Are the SFA going to fit us up on some Mickey Mouse ‘insider dealing’ charge? I don’t think so.

 

Anyway, if all this knowledge had given us the edge over the bookies we’d all be millionaires by now. That’s certainly not the case.

 

Players up and down this country will continue to place bets. Most will have coupons on this weekend. So I think McCoist is quite right to call for a meeting with the SFA.

 

The rules need to be there in black and white. There also needs to be much more clarity than there is now.

 

What kind of message are the SFA trying to send out anyway?

 

After all, William Hill pour thousands into the game as the official sponsors of the Scottish Cup.

 

I’m afraid the SFA can’t have their cake and eat it. They can’t flog players one minute, and then clamber for the moral high ground the next.

 

Black has been made a scapegoat for us all.

 

Although if it is proved he has bet against his own teams then the matter will need to be dealt with.

 

But he’s not the first player to place a bet in the bookies and he won’t be the last.

 

This is the last thing Black, McCoist and Rangers needed right now.

 

Away from the off-field problems at Ibrox, things have begun to settle down on the park.

 

Gers have been fantastic in their opening two league matches scoring seven goals in the process.

 

In these games, Black has played his best football since arriving at Ibrox.

 

For him and Rangers this is a real setback.

 

All Coisty wants to do is focus on the football, but that’s something he hasn’t been able to do since stepping out of Walter Smith’s shadow.

 

Pre-season had gone well, but no sooner had the new campaign got underway than Charles Green re-appeared.

 

Ally dealt with that magnificently and since then Gers have been impressive in the league.

 

That is why the timing of this SFA probe stinks.

 

Why was Black not investigated way back in 2006 when all of this is alleged to have begun?

 

Why wait until now? Why wait until the new season is up and running?

 

The SFA need to investigate this matter quickly because it cannot be allowed to rumble on. That would not be fair on anyone.

 

I just hope the powers that be know what they are doing because I believe they have opened a real can of worms with this.

 

Black has been charged, but many more could follow if this is the stance the SFA are taking.

 

In fact, there won’t be a dressing room in the country safe.

 

And that’s something I’m definitely willing to put a wager on.

 

+ + +

 

Source to come.