Stewart Regan backs ruling body for allowing Craig Whyte to take control at Rangers

STEWART Regan has defended the Scottish Football Association’s role in allowing Craig Whyte to take over Rangers and only declaring him unfit to be a club official after they had gone into administration.

Regan, in Istanbul for the Uefa Congress, insisted that the onus had been on the Ibrox club to truthfully declare that he satisfied all the criteria.

“We govern football, we don’t govern the business world, we are not the police, we don’t govern the law or look after the law of the land,” said Regan, hours before Lord Hodge declined to give a ruling at the Court of Session on whether Rangers could rip up the £24.4 million season ticket deal with Ticketus, sealed during Whyte’s nine months at the helm of the Ibrox club.

Regan added: “We have a series of criteria that directors or owners and their clubs are asked to review and there is a self-certification process that has to come forward. If somebody doesn’t pass that self-certification process they can’t be involved in the governance of football. What we can’t do is stop someone being part of a plc or part of a company, we would be sued up hill and down dale if we tried to stop someone putting money into a plc.

“So I think it’s a big issue for the game right across the world trying to make sure that the right people are involved in running the game and those who are not a fit and proper person to a position in Association Football equally are reviewed and barriers are put in place to stop them being involved in the corporate side of the game as well.

“It’s a challenge and we are looking at a number of options.”

Regan also insisted Scottish football is not in crisis despite the financial collapse of Rangers and a succession of delayed salary payments at Hearts – but is being affected by the money problems that are hitting other countries across the world. And he believes a new TV rights deal with Uefa has secured the SFA’s financial future until almost the end of the decade.

Regan said: “Is Scottish football in crisis? No, no more so than any other country around the world. I think football finance is an issue for many countries and I think a gap is emerging between those that have and those that don’t have, largely driven by television revenues, and the smaller countries and their leagues are trying to eke out money and bring more money into the game.

“Clubs in administration in Scotland are no different to clubs in administration elsewhere. I think Rangers is unique simply because it is such a big name and a big footballing brand. There will be a route through this, we will have to find out what the best route is and start to build a plan for the future.”