Latest news with #SFA
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Celtic fans give Rangers a new Hotline nickname as SFA find allies against John Brown free speech fighters
Craig Swan manned the phones as the fallout from the sanction dished out to the Light Blues escalated Rangers issued a strong statement in the wake of the SFA fine dished out for ex-star John Brown 's comments on their club TV channel. It was pretty obvious that there was going to be feisty chat to both charge and response once delivered. Safe to say agreement is not on the agenda. First one side. Peter McBryan said: ' I see that Statement FC are at it again. Just pay the fine and move on. "If anything is corrupt at Ibrox, it's the lack of movement into finding and dealing with the missile throwers at the recent Glasgow Derbies at that stadium.' Mark McManus, Purley, said: 'It's funny how when Rangers have a decision that goes against them, they continue to argue they've done nothing wrong. "Yet when other clubs have a decision go against them, the club and fans tell them to suck it up. Rangers called for VAR and look where it's got them. Stop whining and suck it up.' Liam Birney, Paisley, said: 'What part of John Brown is a Rangers employee, therefore Rangers are accountable. If they had sanctioned or disciplined him themselves for his outrageous remark, then the SFA may have seen this differently. "As for those who play the free speech card. That is fine unless it breaks a law. Defamation is the law he clearly broke, so free speech does not apply in this instance.' Now the other as Stuart McLeod said: 'Another fine for Rangers proving correct why John Brown used the words corrupt on air. "We have heard many others previously use words similar from different clubs and we even had Irvine Welsh live on air telling us Alfredo Morelos should be chopped into pieces with a machete. Strange how there was nothing to see in any of those cases.' Chris Lowe, Yoker, said: 'For years the SFA have ignored digs about referees and other derogatory comments at Celtic's annual AGM. John Brown is 100 percent correct. Tell them to shove the fine and call it out, Rangers.' It's transfer season and that is always another great source of Hotline dispute. Gary Stevenson, Newtonhill, said: 'So it appears that Dermot Desmond is going to open the biscuit tin and spend £50 million. Just think that could buy them another five Adam Idah's.' Kevin O'Reily, Queens Park, said: 'Was in knots of laughter with Alan Fleet saying Celtic biscuit tin was alive and well. Ours is full of chunky kit kats, if Rangers even have one it will be half a Rich tea.' Robert McEwan, Mount Vernon, said: 'All the money we are raking means zilch to us Celtic fans. We want the club to spend on quality players. Developing guys is okay for the future, but after end-of-season antics, we need a couple of marquee signings.' William Hutchison, Aberdeen, said: 'I'm confused by the Rangers fan on Hotline. How is Leipzig offering £15 million for Nicolas Kuhn meaning the biscuit tin at Celtic is truly open? "Celtic paid £3 million for him, but getting five times that fee back doesn't say anything about the biscuit tin.' Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: 'I was astonished to read that Kyogo is considering a move to second tier giants Birmingham to kickstart his career. I recall him saying he needed a fresh challenge when moving to France. "Well he's not setting the bar very high if this is indeed the case. And it seems to me Brendan Rodgers didn't attempt to bring him back because of his persistent shoulder injury.' Meanwhile, Donald Dundas, Uddingston, said: 'I would like to thank the chuckle brothers McGarvey and Mitchell for the belly laugh as they took the bait over Rangers being a failing minor team. 'You couldn't count on both hands of fingers and toes the amount of years it has taken for their beloved Celtic to catch up. And now the embarrassment of singing Simply the Best. As the Kylie song goes bhoys, you just can't get us outa your heads.'
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rutherglen Glencairn boss target Lowland League spot with revamp on way
The Glens are a SFA licensed club and could be fast tracked to the fifth tier next term amid a shake up to the pyramid Rutherglen Glencairn co-boss Joe Pryce has targeted one of the Lowland League West promotion spots from this season's West of Scotland Premier Division. Pryce is building a squad able to compete in the top flight, with nine places up for grabs in the revamped West Division of the Lowland League in season 2026/27. The Lowland League will be split into East and West Divisions, with 16 teams in each, running alongside the Highland League. As an SFA Licenced club, Glencairn are virtually guaranteed a place in the new set-up, but Pryce wants to make sure. He said: 'It looks like there will be at least eight teams from the division moving into a new league, eight licenced clubs, and we're obviously one of them. 'There will be other clubs who are shooting for their licence this year. If you want to move into this next division, your goal is to finish in the top eight. 'I know there are some clubs who don't have a licence and might struggle to get one, because we know a prohibiting factor is finance, you need floodlights and things like that. 'But from our point of view, we've just got to aim to finish as high up in that division as we can, and we're certainly going to give it a right good go.' Pryce says his side will stick to what made they successful in their promotion-winning campaign last season and expects his side to be a force in the Premier Division. He added: 'Teams who are up against us will know they've been in a game, and you're going to have to play well if you want to beat us, that's for sure. We want to go up and play, we're not just going up there to make up the numbers. 'We can't just sit 10 men behind the ball and kick the way we're facing, we'll play the way we want them to play, and that footballers want to play.' Lowland clubs voted for reconstruction earlier this month, determining that relegation from the Lowland League won't take place this coming season. However, promotion will be opened up, with champions from each of the four tier-six leagues – West of Scotland Premier Division, South of Scotland, East of Scotland Premier, East Region Midlands League – promoted into their respective division, if they meet Lowland League entry criteria. This is Scottish FA Licence at bronze level, and meeting Financial Fair Play rules. At the moment, the West Division would be made up of Albion Rovers, Caledonian Braves, Clydebank, Cumbernauld Colts, Gretna 2008, two clubs from the South of Scotland League and nine from West of Scotland, plus Celtic 'B' as a 17th guest club. The West of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues would be feeders for the Lowland West Division, while the East of Scotland Premier and Midlands Leagues would feed the East Division.
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
WE'RE WATCHING YOU: Rangers warn SFA they will monitor rival clubs' TV broadcasts after accusing them of making stronger comments than John Brown's 'corrupt' jibe
Rangers have warned the SFA they will be monitoring the club TV broadcasts of rival teams after they were fined £3,000 for a remark made by former Ibrox player John Brown. A co-commentator at Easter Road on May 17, Brown was incensed when Rangers were denied a seemingly legitimate goal after Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri scrambled to clear Nico Raskin's net-bound effort. With Rangers' interim boss Barry Ferguson adamant the ball had crossed the line, Hibs went up the park and equalised in a match which ended 2-2. Neither referee Nick Walsh, his assistants or VAR Andrew Dallas were able to conclude if the Belgian's effort should have stood, and Brown said on air: 'I would say it is corrupt.' Commentator Tom Miller said: 'Well, I'm not sure we can actually say that.' But Brown replied: 'Well, I am saying it'. Rangers were yesterday hit with a financial penalty for Brown's words, but claimed other clubs had made 'stronger comments on offical platforms without consequence' and accused the SFA of being selective with their punishments. Found to be in breach of Disciplinary Rule 38 by a judicial panel, the Ibrox club have vowed to monitor all such broadcasts going forward. A strongly worded statement read: 'We feel it is necessary to highlight the broader concerns this outcome raises and the wider implications this has for clarity and confidence in their (the SFA's) regulatory processes. 'John Brown spoke emotionally and spontaneously as someone who cares deeply about the club. 'His words were not scripted and they were not an official club comment. 'The ruling, however, sets a precedent where even spontaneous, corrected remarks made during live coverage of a clear refereeing error are enough to trigger a formal sanction. 'That is neither proportionate nor consistent, especially when other clubs have made stronger comments on official platforms without consequence. 'As part of our defence today, we flagged numerous examples of similar incidents on club channels. 'These incidents raise legitimate questions about Scottish FA rules and how consistently they are enforced. To our knowledge, none of these cases appear to have resulted in charges against the respective clubs. 'The lack of consistency with the Scottish FA's policing of similar incidents leaves more questions than answers. 'That is why we will be contacting the Scottish FA chief executive and president to seek clarity on what policies and processes the compliance officer has in place, if any, to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to enforcement and the equal treatment of member clubs. 'We shall also be asking the Scottish FA whether they accept that a rule that cannot be applied consistently across all clubs and all platforms risks losing credibility as a fair and enforceable regulation. 'Our aim here is to understand the rationale behind the differing outcomes. A lack of consistency, or the perception of it, undermines confidence in the disciplinary process and exposes all member clubs to uncertainty about what is and is not allowed. 'There remains no clear guidance on how clubs are expected to manage live broadcast content, though we note the panel acknowledged that the club's internal editorial guidelines may serve as a constructive step for others going forward. 'To be clear, we referenced these other examples not to suggest they should have resulted in sanctions, but to highlight the clear inconsistency in how similar incidents have been handled. 'Club media channels are, by nature, passionate and partisan. Informal, tongue-in-cheek and emotional commentary comes with the territory, especially in live settings. 'But, in choosing to pursue this case, the Scottish FA has opened the door to closer scrutiny of how similar situations are handled going forward. If this is now the standard, they will be watched closely to ensure it is applied across the board, consistently, without exception and without favour.' Rangers had denied any breach of the SFA's rules and had claimed the verdict of the Key Match Incident Panel highlighted the injustice of no goal being awarded. By way of defence, Collum pointed to a disallowed goal for Celtic against Hibs which had also led to criticism of officials Four out of five KMI panel members - individuals with experience from across the game - retrospectively felt a goal should have been awarded to the visitors. Despite that, Hampden head of referees Willie Collum backed the match officials. Speaking on his VAR Review Show, he pointed to criticism of officials after they ruled out a Daizen Maeda against Hibs earlier in the season, when the ball was judged to have gone out of play before Alistair Johnston crossed to set up Maeda's 'goal'. 'Let's go back to two incidents this season first - Hibs vs Celtic, possible ball over the line, and Dundee United vs Hibs, possible handball before it goes into the goal,' said Collum. 'We were criticised for both of those decisions, and rightly so, because ultimately there was no conclusive evidence. 'I know people who would look at this decision and say: 'That camera angle, for me, is conclusive'. But the reality is, that camera angle is at an angle looking in the way, there's nothing directly in line there. 'I've quoted before, in a World Cup match, there was a similar angle shown in a Japan game (against Spain in 2022) where, if you'd used that angle, you would say the ball was over the line. 'Then when you line it up directly in line, it only needs a slight part of the ball to be touching that line. 'Can the VAR and the AVAR there categorically, 100 per cent, say the ball was over the line? Not for us. 'Do I think it crossed the line? I think there's a good chance it did. 'But can I be absolutely certain of that? No. 'We've been criticised previously, we've now moved to say we'll only give a decision like that if we've got 100 per cent conclusive evidence, so the VAR and AVAR are correct to say there that they don't have that evidence.'
Daily Record
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Rangers eviscerate SFA over 'lack of consistency' as John Brown commentary claim lands financial penalty
The comments from the Ibrox icon were made on air during the end of season draw with Hibs Raging Rangers chiefs have warned the SFA the decision to fine the club over John Brown 's Easter Road outburst threatens the credibility of the Hampden rulebook. The Ibrox outfit have been fined £3000 for comments made by the Gers legend as he co-commented for the club's official TV channel during last month's Premiership draw with Hibs. The retired defender lashed out at the decision by referee Nick Walsh and his VAR assistants not to award Nico Raskin 's Leith 'ghost goal', branding the incident 'corrupt'. That was enough for the SFA to charge Rangers with a breach of Disciplinary Rule 38, which prohibits clubs publishing material that 'indicates bias or incompetence on the part of such match official'. But furious Ibrox bosses have been left stunned after the charge was upheld by an SFA judicial panel. And they are now demanding an explanation of why other clubs have not been punished for a string of similar incidents. As part of their defence, the Light Blues lawyers provided numerous examples of rival commentary teams stepping out of line while broadcasting on live games. But that wasn't enough to get Gers off the hook. Now the Ibrox outfit have released a stinging statement which says: 'Rangers FC today has been found by a Scottish FA judicial panel to have been in breach of Disciplinary Rule 38, following a remark made during commentary of the Hibernian v Rangers game in May. The club has been fined £3,000. 'We feel it is necessary to highlight the broader concerns this outcome raises and the wider implications this has for clarity and confidence in their regulatory processes. 'John Brown spoke emotionally and spontaneously as someone who cares deeply about the club. His words were not scripted, and they were not an official club comment. 'The ruling however sets a precedent where even spontaneous, corrected remarks made during live coverage of a clear refereeing error are enough to trigger a formal sanction. "That is neither proportionate nor consistent, especially when other clubs have made stronger comments on official platforms without consequence. 'As part of our defence today, we flagged numerous examples of similar incidents on club channels. "These incidents raise legitimate questions about Scottish FA rules and how consistently they are enforced. To our knowledge, none of these cases appear to have resulted in charges against the respective clubs. 'The lack of consistency with the Scottish FA's policing of similar incidents leaves more questions than answers. 'That is why we will be contacting the Scottish FA chief executive and president to seek clarity on what policies and processes the Compliance Officer has in place, if any, to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to enforcement and the equal treatment of member clubs. 'We shall also be asking the Scottish FA whether they accept that a rule that cannot be applied consistently across all clubs and all platforms risks losing credibility as a fair and enforceable regulation. 'Our aim here is to understand the rationale behind the differing outcomes. A lack of consistency, or the perception of it, undermines confidence in the disciplinary process and exposes all member clubs to uncertainty about what is and is not allowed. 'There remains no clear guidance on how clubs are expected to manage live broadcast content, though we note the panel acknowledged that the club's internal editorial guidelines may serve as a constructive step for others going forward. 'To be clear, we referenced these other examples not to suggest they should have resulted in sanctions, but to highlight the clear inconsistency in how similar incidents have been handled. 'Club media channels are, by nature, passionate and partisan. Informal, tongue-in-cheek and emotional commentary comes with the territory, especially in live settings. 'But, in choosing to pursue this case, the Scottish FA has opened the door to closer scrutiny of how similar situations are handled going forward. If this is now the standard, they will be watched closely to ensure it is applied across the board, consistently, without exception and without favour.' Gers were served a notice of complaint from the Hampden hierarchy after Brown's lashed out with his on-air tirade. Raskin's effort in the 2-2 last day n draw clearly looked over the line but referee Walsh waved play on. Hibs went up the pitch and scored, prompting Rangers TV co-commentator Brown to question the integrity of the decision. When offered the chance to clarify the comments, Brown stood by them. The SFA's own KMI panel has since agreed that Raskin's goal should have stood in Edinburgh, despite referee chief Willie Collum backing Walsh's call not to award it.
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Rangers 'watch' SFA after fine over Brown remark on club media channel
Rangers say the Scottish FA "will be watched closely" after a fine of £3,000 was imposed following a remark made by former player John Brown on club Ibrox club said they would "firmly deny any breach of Scottish FA rules" after former Ibrox defender Brown called a refereeing decision "corrupt" on Rangers the final match of Rangers' league season, Nicolas Raskin appeared to bundle the ball over the line, with the SFA's key match incident panel later ruling the goal should have being found in breach of SFA disciplinary rule 38, Rangers said: "it is necessary to highlight the broader concerns this outcome raises and the wider implications this has for clarity and confidence in their regulatory processes". The club explained they had "flagged numerous examples of similar incidents on club channels" as part of their defence."These incidents raise legitimate questions about Scottish FA rules and how consistently they are enforced," Rangers said in a statement."To our knowledge, none of these cases appear to have resulted in charges against the respective clubs."The lack of consistency with the Scottish FA's policing of similar incidents leaves more questions than answers. That is why we will be contacting the Scottish FA chief executive and president to seek clarity on what policies and processes the compliance officer has in place, if any, to ensure a consistent and proportionate approach to enforcement and the equal treatment of member clubs."We shall also be asking the Scottish FA whether they accept that a rule that cannot be applied consistently across all clubs and all platforms risks losing credibility as a fair and enforceable regulation." 'Clear inconsistency' Referee Nick Walsh and his on-field officials thought the ball had been kept out by Hibernian defender Rocky Bushiri, and VAR Andrew Dallas ruled that there was no camera angle that proved Raskin's effort had gone equalised through Kieron Bowie moments later, with the match finishing said on the club's in-house TV channel: "I would say it is corrupt."Commentator Tom Miller replied: "Well, I'm not sure we can actually say that." However, Brown added: "Well, I am saying it."Rangers subsequently demanded the introduction of goal-line technology."John Brown spoke emotionally and spontaneously as someone who cares deeply about the club. His words were not scripted, and they were not an official club comment," Rangers said."The ruling however sets a precedent where even spontaneous, corrected remarks made during live coverage of a clear refereeing error are enough to trigger a formal sanction. That is neither proportionate nor consistent, especially when other clubs have made stronger comments on official platforms without consequence."To be clear, we referenced these other examples not to suggest they should have resulted in sanctions, but to highlight the clear inconsistency in how similar incidents have been handled. Club media channels are, by nature, passionate and partisan. Informal, tongue-in-cheek and emotional commentary comes with the territory, especially in live settings."But, in choosing to pursue this case, the Scottish FA has opened the door to closer scrutiny of how similar situations are handled going forward. If this is now the standard, they will be watched closely to ensure it is applied across the board, consistently, without exception and without favour."
