ian1964 10,461 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 ...after Holyrood committee backs new proposals. MSPs step in after seeing unscrupulous owners leave supporters in the lurch by causing financial carnage at Rangers and Hearts. A HOLYROOD committee has backed proposals to give football fans the right to buy their clubs. Green MSP Alison Johnstone's amendments to the Community Empowerment Bill were unanimously supported by the Local Government Committee. The move comes in the wake of the financial ruin caused to clubs such as Rangers and Hearts by unscrupulous owners such as Craig Whyte and Vladimir Romanov. If the amendment becomes part of the new law then it will move Scotland a step closer to the German model where it is mandatory for fans' groups to own at least 51 per cent of their club. The Community Empowerment Bill sets out plans to expand community right-to-buy to public sector land and buildings, and will now be extended to include football clubs' membership shares. Johnstone's proposals mean fans' trusts will have first right of refusal if their club is being sold or has gone into administration, and the right to make a bid at any time if they have clear backing from supporters. The MSP said agreeing to the changes would turn the legislation into a landmark Bill. Johnstone said: "Football has been dragged from the back pages of Scotland's newspapers to the front by a series of catastrophic failures, from small clubs like Gretna to clubs at the very top like Hearts and Rangers. "The current model of ownership has failed, and we know from Scotland and elsewhere that fan ownership works. "Fans are obviously going to be the people with the long-term interests of their clubs closest to their hearts. "There are many well-run Scottish clubs in private hands, but those owners come and go and when they go, we want to see fans have the first right of refusal. "Where there's a committed and well-organised group of fans with strong support on the terraces for a takeover, we want them to have the power to do so." But Local Government Minister Marco Biagi said the Scottish Government wants to give fans the right to buy their clubs using regulations which would be put in place AFTER the Bill is passed. The SNP MSP said: "Affirmative procedure for the development of the details, with the aim put in the Bill, would allow consultation with the wider football community, it would allow consultation, as appropriate, with the Parliament, and it would ensure that we don't just endorse the principle but we ensure that any legislation we introduce we get right." But Johnstone said her plans had the backing of fans' groups, and her amendments were supported by the committee. The proposals will become law if the Bill is passed by the Parliament at its final stage later this year. A number of major clubs such as Hibs, Hearts and Motherwell are already moving towards community ownership while smaller clubs such as Stirling Albion have also embraced the model. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/football-fans-given-legal-right-5358665 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aweebluesoandso 290 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 We're ahead of the game here. We might not be outright owners, but someday we will be joint owners imo. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinstein 294 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 all for it 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
compo 6,231 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 What happens if the fans own a club and its in dire financial trouble who is going to save it fan participation yes ownership I don't think any of us has that know how 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 What happens if the fans own a club and its in dire financial trouble who is going to save it fan participation yes ownership I don't think any of us has that know how The principle behind all this is excellent but you highlight one of the key problem areas as Dundee know to their cost. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinstein 294 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 What happens if the fans own a club and its in dire financial trouble who is going to save it fan participation yes ownership I don't think any of us has that know how that's why you hire management to run it 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSolace 0 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 What happens if the fans own a club and its in dire financial trouble who is going to save it fan participation yes ownership I don't think any of us has that know how You have a club constitution that demands that the club lives within in its means.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 You have a club constitution that demands that the club lives within in its means.... A lot easier said than done e.g. Rangers at this time as DK has admitted will be unable to do so. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,461 Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 Scottish FA and SPFL "astonished" at fans bill Both the Scottish FA and SPFL said they are "astonished" that MSPs backed proposals to give fans the right to buy their clubs . Green MSP Alison Johnstone's amendments to the Community Empowerment Bill received unanimous support by the Local Government Committee. "We are astonished by the impractical and unworkable amendments put forward by the Scottish Green Party," a joint statement said. "We will consider our position." Johnstone told the committee that agreeing to the changes would turn the legislation into a landmark bill. If passed by the full parliament, supporters' trusts would get "first refusal" when a club comes up for sale. A supporters' trust with a registered interest in a football club would also have the right to buy shares in that club, including a controlling interest, at any point. However, the SFA and SPFL feel the proposals could undermine their own efforts to increase supporter involvement in clubs if the Bill is passed by the full Scottish Parliament at its final stage later this year. A joint statement from the two bodies read: "The Scottish football authorities, in conjunction with sportscotland and Supporters Direct Scotland, have been involved in the Working Group on Supporter Involvement in Football Clubs since April 2014. "This group was convened by Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, to provide meaningful, practical recommendations aimed at enhancing supporter involvement in their local clubs. "These discussions - involving senior managers of the Scottish FA and Scottish Professional Football League - culminated in a series of proposals published on January 30th, with the intention to facilitate and cultivate improved supporter involvement. This included a clear statement that 'a legislative approach was not considered desirable or necessary at this stage'. "We are astonished, therefore, by the impractical and unworkable amendments put forward by the Scottish Green Party - and approved by the Scottish Parliament earlier today - which effectively disregard almost a year of constructive partnership by all organisations represented on the working group. "We will consider our position along with our working group colleagues in early course." http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31951746 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSolace 0 Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The SFA and SPFL are astonished....and these same bodies are not astonished at the depths that the game has plummeted to .... On their watch .... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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