The Scottish Football Association (SFA) have fined Rangers £160,000 and imposed a transfer embargo on them for the next twelve months which means they can only sign players under the age of 18. This comes at a time when the administrators have still not been able to name a preferred bidder and American truck tycoon Bill Miller has made it clear that his offer is reliant on no nasty surprises.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) have fined Rangers £160,000 and imposed a transfer embargo on them for the next twelve months which means they can only sign players under the age of 18. This comes at a time when the administrators have still not been able to name a preferred bidder and American truck tycoon Bill Miller has made it clear that his offer is reliant on no nasty surprises.
Rangers received an embargo and a £100,000 fine for bringing the game into disrepute. A £50,000 fine was handed out for going into administration and £10,000 for failing to ensure that Craig Whyte acted within rules concerning fit and proper officials.
The transfer embargo is a particularly serious blow given that Rangers players, who have accepted a substantial cut in their wages, have a ‘get out’ clause in their contracts which allows them to leave at the end of the season. Rangers could be left with a seriously weakened side.
If one was designing a football competition from scratch, one wouldn’t set it up so that it was dominated by two sides. But that is the reality of Scottish football which would become even more lopsided if there was just one team in serious competition. However, no doubt the SFA take the view that enforcing their rules is more important than the viability of the game.
Craig Whyte has been banned for life from any involvement in Scottish football and faces fines of £200,000. However, he has made it clear that there is little prospect of them being paid and it is difficult to see how the SFA could enforce them.
In a statement joint administrator Paul Clark from Duff & Phelps said: ‘All of us working on behalf of the club are utterly shocked and dismayed by the draconian sanctions imposed on Rangers. It is difficult to comprehend that the disciplinary panel has seen effectively to punish the club even more heavily than Mr Whyte.’