Fans group to challenge SFA on their EBT stance
THE SFA face the threat of a crowd-funded Judicial Review to their stance on the Rangers tax case, backed by supporters of Celtic and rival clubs. As Sportsmail first reported, the SPFL have dropped their request for an independent review into the handling of the Rangers EBT saga after the governing body refused to co-operate. A meeting of the league board at Hampden yesterday concluded the exercise would be pointless without access to SFA correspondence and files. However, SFA hopes of closing the issue down after five years of bitter division may yet prove optimistic, with supporters group ‘Fans for Judicial Review’ preparing to launch a website to elicit backing for a legal challenge to the findings of Lord Nimmo Smith’s SFA-backed independent commission in 2013. Queen’s Counsels have encouraged the group’s belief they have the standing and grounds to challenge Lord Nimmo Smith’s claim that Rangers gained no competitive advantage from the use of Employee Benefit Trusts between 2000 and 2011. The SPFL said last month they had no legal means to revisit the EBTs issue, following a Supreme Court finding in favour of HMRC, but did issue a public call for the SFA to join them in staging an independent review of how Scottish football handled the Rangers meltdown. Celtic also called for an open review. With Rangers, Aberdeen, HIbernian and Kilmarnock expressing a public wish to move on, the SFA wrote to clubs saying that ‘raking over the coals’ of the past would be ‘damaging’ to the game. Declaring themselves ‘disappointed’ by that stance the SPFL board issued a statement after yesterday’s meeting saying: ‘The SPFL board still believes an independent review, promoted jointly by the Scottish FA and SPFL, would have resulted in a better understanding of the procedures and processes adopted by football’s governing bodies.’