Resolution 12: An Unfolding Question for the Scottish FA

The £2.8m Question

On the agenda of Celtic Plc’s Annual General Meeting on the 15th of November 2013, the twelfth item was a resolution. It instructed the club’s board to request that UEFA “review and investigate” the process by which the Scottish Football Association (SFA) issues licences for its clubs to enter European competitions. This was no abstract matter of governance. The motion stemmed from very specific concerns over Rangers receiving a licence to compete in the 2011/12 Champions League.

At the heart of the issue was a £2.8m “overdue payable” tax bill. Under the rules, such a debt should have disqualified Rangers from being granted the necessary UEFA licence. Yet the licence was granted, and the questions from that moment have refused to fade, no matter how much the Scottish football authorities might wish they would.

This is the simple version.

A Wall of Silence

For those seeking clarity, the path has been anything but simple. The consistent misrepresentation of the core issues by both the authorities and large sections of the Scottish media has only served to muddy the waters. Understanding the details has been hampered by what appears to be a wilful effort to prevent it. A new online archive, however, now compiles the work undertaken by the ‘requisitioners’ of Resolution 12, laying bare the immense effort involved in their enquiry.

The archive documents the obstacles placed in their path by a governing body whose determination not to cooperate does not speak of an organisation confident in its past actions. It is a catalogue of letters, emails, and legal correspondence that exposes a tale of institutional resistance. The name of the resolution might lack imagination, but the persistence of those behind it does not.

Beyond One Club

The issues are complex. This matter has only dragged on because the relevant organisations have allowed it to. If the SFA had acted properly in the first place, or been able to demonstrate that it had, the affair could have been settled long ago without breaching any confidences or protocols. Their failure to do so is telling. Some old hands might be reminded of the Generation Game, with its conveyor belt of random prizes.

While this particular resolution focuses on a specific Scottish issue, its implications are much wider. This is a story about football governance and the accountability of the authorities who are supposed to uphold the rules. It asks whether governing bodies can be trusted to police themselves and what happens when they appear to fail. Was Resolution 12 justified? Is it still worth pursuing? After seeing the evidence for themselves, anyone with an interest in how the game is run can decide for themselves.