ian1964 10,465 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Lawwell letter from 2012 outlines stance Celtic have not given up hope of the Scottish Football Association agreeing to a judicial inquiry which would examine fully the roles played by the game’s ruling bodies before, during and after the financial implosion of Rangers in 2012. It is understood that, while the SFA have yet to respond to a call from the Ladbrokes Premiership champions for such a forensic investigation some two months ago, Celtic believe that more stringent rules, checks and balances ought to be in place in order to restore confidence in the SFA while simultaneously ensuring that Rangers or any other club are not allowed to run up such unsustainable debts in future. The Times can also reveal that, in an letter sent by Peter Lawwell to Stewart Regan,… https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/celtic-still-pressing-sfa-for-inquiry-8p25q8wbb 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davie P 4 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Not sure I understand why a letter written by Lawwell in 2012 would re-surface now, especially when the SFA have already had their independent investigation? Why is this forming the basis of a newspaper article, what is their agenda? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,465 Posted September 7, 2017 Author Share Posted September 7, 2017 Celtic chief Peter Lawwell’s secret letter to SFA’s Stewart Regan hinted that title-stripping be an option in Rangers’ EBT probe The Parkhead supremo also said the saga was causing 'lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of Scottish football' PETER LAWWELL wrote to SFA boss Stewart Regan calling for a judicial review into Rangers’ use of EBTs – and asked that ‘retrospective sanctions’ be considered if wrongdoing was established. Details of the letter sent in 2012 – shortly before the Ibrox club’s liquidation – surfaced today in The Times. Its emergence comes two months after Celtic publicly called on footie chiefs to reopen their probe into the saga that has rocked Scottish football. The Supreme Court’s ‘Big Tax Case’ ruling*in favour of HMRC sparked calls for Gers to be stripped of titles, while fan group Club 1872 and chairman Dave King hit out at their rivals’ reaction. Lawwell’s letter said: “If the allegations of ‘double contracts’ for players are true, and a breach of SPL and/or SFA rules is established, the eligibility of those players to have competed in domestic league and cup competitions will be called into question. “In turn, the integrity of the football results achieved by using those players would by necessity also fall into question.“Any wrongdoing then established would have to be subject to fair and proportionate sanctions, including retrospectively, if appropriate.“However, at a higher level, in our opinion this whole affair is causing lasting damage to the reputation and integrity of Scottish football.” The Celtic chief’s correspondence went on: “The interests of fairness and Scottish football now demand that the SFA act decisively.“The initial inquiry should now be reconvened or a new independent panel led by a judge or senior lawyer should be formed to investigate and report upon the Rangers EBT issues and consider whether there has been any further breach of the Association’s rules, including those on disrepute. “The roles of individuals (past and present) subject to the jurisdiction of the Association should also be examined.“This should take place as quickly as possible, irrespective of the SPL’s own investigations.” SunSport Online has asked Celtic for comment on the letter. Rangers won 13 trophies during the ‘EBT era’ but in 2013 an independent commission led by Lord Nimmo Smith ruled ‘oldco’ Gers did not gain any “unfair competitive advantage”. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/1527372/peter-lawwell-stewart-regan-celtic-sfa-rangers-ebt-probe-sanctions/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,302 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Scum from top to bottom. But Scum with influence. While they can't do much about LNS et al, they look to change the rules and charge us retrospectively, it seems. Worked for HMRC. That said, why is he not taking his own club to the cleaners over soft-loans with the Co-op Bank, which gave him an unfair financial advantage ever since ... 1994 or the like? Or that his club was able to get Lennoxtown (et al) for peanuts due to some dubious relations with the Glasgow City Council? Hm ... would require investigative journalists, wouldn't it? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,187 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Must be near Celtic's AGM.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo79 13,820 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Lawwell's appointment with UEFA (announced yesterday) should be a worry to all Rangers fans. I genuinely expect us to hear more about this in the coming months and years (a nightmare we thought we had put behind us). Hopefully the players and PC read about this nonsense and it transmits to our performances against the vermin this season. Even if we can't get a win, stick the boot in....HARD. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooponthewing 1,139 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Scum from top to bottom. But Scum with influence. While they can't do much about LNS et al, they look to change the rules and charge us retrospectively, it seems. Worked for HMRC. That said, why is he not taking his own club to the cleaners over soft-loans with the Co-op Bank, which gave him an unfair financial advantage ever since ... 1994 or the like? Or that his club was able to get Lennoxtown (et al) for peanuts due to some dubious relations with the Glasgow City Council? Hm ... would require investigative journalists, wouldn't it? I'm not proficient any any kind of legal matters? Can someone enlighten me as to why it's possible to change rules and then punish retrospectively? In theory anything or anyone while acting in good faith could then be punished when someone or something takes a disliking in future dealings? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
onevision 1,461 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 To me the timetable for the "leakage" of this letter has been perfectly orchestrated and we all know who the conductor is.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,302 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 I'm not proficient any any kind of legal matters? Can someone enlighten me as to why it's possible to change rules and then punish retrospectively? In theory anything or anyone while acting in good faith could then be punished when someone or something takes a disliking in future dealings? Isn't it exactly what HMRC essentially did ... although we shot ourselves in the foot with the sideletters (and I still wonder how they surfaced in the first place)? HMRC declared the EBTs taxable in 2010 (or the like) and now want tax money back till 2001, plus nigh 100% penalties and interest, going by the numbers. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott7 5,275 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 Taxation legislation always used to be construed strictly against the revenue and in favour of the taxpayer. Imposition of retrospective liability was impossible. Then George Osborne changed everythng. Not even Sir Stafford Cripps did that. SPL/SPFL membership is a private contractual matter which the celtic hyenas and their jackal cronies cannot adjust retrospectively. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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