SFA rejects King’s call for review into Hughes
● Maxwell dismisses request from Rangers
Ian Maxwell, the Scottish FA chief executive, has rejected Rangers’ demand for a review into the appointment and role of Gary Hughes, who formally stepped down as a director of the governing body at its annual general meeting yesterday.
Hughes did not seek re-election to the Scottish FA board in the aftermath of calls for his suspension from Rangers chairman Dave King following the re-emergence last month of a 12-year-old magazine article in which the Celtic supporting businessman had referred to followers of the Ibrox side as “the great unwashed”.
Rangers this week welcomed his departure but raised fresh questions over the process used by the Scottish FA to appoint independent directors and also any part Hughes played in the investigation which led to a notice complaint being issued against the Ibrox club in relation to the Uefa licence they were granted the year before their financial collapse in 2012.
But Maxwell, who started work in the Scottish FA hot seat just two weeks ago, insists any review would be wholly unnecessary.
“No, there is no need,” was his response when asked if any request for an investigation from Rangers would be granted.
“The way the notice of comtime plaint works is that the (SFA) board instruct the compliance officer to review an incident, any incident, and the compliance officer is then completely independent from that point and decides whether there is a case to answer or there’s not.
“Obviously in this case he decided, yes, there was a case to answer and that is now going through the process. I saw nothing other than total independence from the independent directors on the board during my previous on the board.
“I’ve not seen anything from Rangers yet. If it comes through, then we’ll deal with it.”
The Scottish FA will now seek a replacement for hughes and Maxwell was keen to stress that personal affiliation to an individual club should not count against any outstanding candidate from the world of business.
“The constitution of the board is that we have two independent non-execs, so the process will be started with a view to replacing Gary,” added Maxwell.
“I hadn’t known him for long. I had been on the board for a
few months with him and got as close as you can in that environment.
“Listen, he was a really good director with a lot of really good business experience. He had a lot of credentials, had worked at a high level and his input was good.
“If we’re going down an independent director road, and we’re trying to get a person that has never been to a football match, that severely limits the options open to us.
“Those who are not interested in Scottish football aren’t going to help drive the game forward. Gary made no secret of the fact he has been a Celtic supporter for a long, long time. He was given the position.
“Now, though, he doesn’t want to stand for re-election, so that’s down to him. You just need to take each individual on their merits.”
Maxwell hopes to establish a more constructive dialogue with King over the coming weeks and months.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Stewart Robertson and Andrew Dickson at Rangers already,” he said. “As chief executive of the Scottish FA, a fundamental part of my job is to have a relationship with all the chairmen.
“Rangers can deal with it the way they think is right. I’ve not had a chance to go and meet anybody yet. That is going to be a big part of the job, getting out and about and building relationships, whether that is Rangers or Celtic or Aberdeen or Annan or Kelty Hearts or whoever. They all need to know they can pick up the phone.”