Today, a major piece of history will happen in Scotland.
The fate of Rangers Football Club, established away back in 1872, and one of the most successful sporting institutions on Planet Earth has been in the balance since mid-February when they were out into administration with an estimated debt of £55 million of which a company called Ticketus is owed £26.7million while Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HRMC) is owed £21.1 million. On top of this there has been a separate long-running case with HMRC which could see as at least another £35 million demanded in unpaid tax and interest arising from Rangers past use of Employee Benefits Trusts.
No matter how you look it, its one enormous and complicated mess.
Today those who are owed money are due to vote on a Creditors Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) under which they will receive a small % return on the debt owed to them.
The result of that vote will be one which determines the future. The thing is, we already know the result as two days ago, HMRC revealed that they will vote against the CVA. What this means is Rangers FC will be put into liquidation and their assets sold off to go towards paying off the debts.
In other words.....they've gone forever. And that history goes with it.
It is a near certainty that at some point jn the future a new company will emerge and take over things at their Ibrox home in the south-west of Glasgow. But that process isn't going to be simple and besides, the club and its successor face sanctions from the governing bodies for bringing football into disrepute over this whole tawdry affair. It will be a long while before things get back to anything approaching normal.
Most football fans in this country, Rangers fans excepted, are delighted with the turn of events as the club have been shown to have basically cheated their way to much of their success over the past 15 years with a crazy unsustainable spending regime which has quite frankly done untold damage to all the other clubs who had to spend beyond their means to try and remain as competitive as possible. And to have do so by tax-dodging on a grand scale is despicable.
I suppose in the grand scheme of things in the world it's not that big a deal...it's only a football club from a relatively small city in a small country. But growing up in Scotland in the late 60s and 70s, I never imagined a world in which Rangers FC wouldn't exist. But then again, nor did I think I'd see the Berlin Wall come down and the Apartheid regime come to an end in my lifetime.
Some unjust things you can but hope for and dream about......
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mp3 : Moby - The Whispering Wind
mp3 : Moby - Sick In The System
mp3 : Moby - Natural Blues (Perfecto Remix)
mp3 : Moby - Natural Blues (Mike D Edit)
mp3 : Moby - Natural Blues (Peace Division Edit)
A #11 hit back in March 2000, these are the six tracks you'll find on the 2 x CD singles.
The first of the remixes features the talents of Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne while the second is that of a Beastie Boy.........
Happy Listening
14 comments:
Great post,
SC
I think you'll find that they have not been found guilty of the tax case, but don't let that stop you making up accusations of cheating.
Nobody gave a fuck when Murray put my team out the game. So no tears will be shed from this direction.
We had a proud history as well but without the sectarian shit, no matter what some say.
btw I have dreamed of Scottish football without either of the bigotted clubs from Glasgow and you know what it was a hell of a nicer place
to anon who posted at 2:29, no cheating? you are deluded. Buying and keeping players you can't afford and the majority are still there,is cheating the other teams who have lived with in their means.
One of Scotlands more successful periods was the early mid eighties with Aberdeen, Dundee Utd reaching Euro finals with Scotlands shame regularly 4th or 5th. This season the Scottish Cup and League Cup were very successful with Rangers only winning one game. Its a myth that Scottish Football will die without them, I would like to give it a chance.
Gordon, at what stage could Rangers not afford the players that they had? Which particular seasons are you talking about?
Yes, Rangers went into administration last season due to Whyte, but that was only because he lied to everyone. Other than that they were OK. Yes, the bank put pressure on them but that's hardly cheating.
The Men Who Sold The Jerseys documentary. Police investigations. Black and white deception. Rehabilitation starts with an acceptance and admission of guilt and a level of humility which as yet, hasn't shown its face at Ibrox nor indeed has been exhibited by many of its followers (Anonymous here a case in point). Any vestiges of sympathy I had for the Scottish institution that was Rangers have been blown away by the sad and pathetic revelations coming out of the club. I'd feel sorry for their fans if I could come across any that seemed to think they now deserved their punishment. Even now, their arrogance in the face of their club's systematic deception is breathtaking. You are the people? In whose name I wonder. They deserve to go quietly into the lower echelons of the Scottish game and learn some humility the hard way against teams who win, lose and draw fairly. It's time for Rangers to start doing the same come August. The only encouraging thing I observe is a genuine desire across the country for the game to be stronger as a result of this shameful unravelling of Rangers. It's good to see all of the football community showing their love of the game and a desire for the game in Scotland to start afresh, integrity intact, with the guilty rightly punished.
Stevie, sorry to burst your bubble but I don't think there's a Rangers fan out there who doesn't think we don't deserve the 10 points deduction. The actions of Whyte and his deception are despicible. As for anything before that, nothing has been proven. EBTs are legal. The club under Whyte did not meet its responsibilities for a 9 month period. Hardly meets the picture you'r attempting to poorly paint. ;-)
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Of course they're legal. But the way in which they were manipulated for an ulterior motive doesn't paint a pretty picture, does it?
Manipulated? Ulterior motive? Not sure what you're on about Steve. If they're legal, then what's the issue?
Please tell me RFC (sorry - the "newco") will start next season in division three. Please.
Whether EBTs, as used by the club formerly known as Rangers, are legal is exactly the point to be decided by HMRC.
There is a provision for EBTs to be legal. This is when a loan is paid & repaid by the recipient. However, when used as a contractual device in order to pay higher wages without tax liability, they become illegal. When used aggressively to avoid tax liability & attract players the club could not otherwise afford, they are very likely to be illegal.
None of the "loans" made to various RFC players & staff members have ever been recouped.
There is very little doubt that this form of tax avoidance has been used illegally, even if the original concept is not illegal.
The line between tax avoidance (legal but arguably immoral) and tax evasion (criminal) is a very shady one>
Oh- and the cheating arises from using illegal second contracts for the EBTs- this is against SPL/SFA rules.
Cheating by Juventus & other clubs led not only to being dropped to the lowest senior league but also to being stripped of titles.
Most decent Scottish football fans will not be happy until this happens to Sevco/Newco/TRFC or 'symbol'...
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