SFA agm: Stewart Regan aims to get tough on club owners

A YEAR on from what was described as one of Scottish football’s most historic days, the Scottish Football Association’s annual general meeting will today aim to pass legislation that aims to keep unscrupulous characters out of the Scottish game.

Last year’s agm saw nothing less than a wholesale restructuring of the SFA, and included the introduction of a new stream-lined judicial panel to deal with all disciplinary matters. This new body’s first 12 months have not gone as smoothly as was hoped, and the SFA is still pursuing Craig Whyte, the Rangers owner who took his club into administration, over an unpaid fine of £200,000 for bringing the game into disrepute after a series of financial irregularities were found to have occurred at the Ibrox club.

Now SFA chief executive Stewart Regan will today aim to push through tougher new controls on clubs and new owners. A greater onus will be placed on clubs to carry out more detailed due diligence on prospective new owners. Former Rangers owner Sir David Murray claimed he had been “duped” by Whyte, who bought the Ibrox club from the Edinburgh-based businessman for £1 in May 2011. Nine months later the club were in administration after being pursued by HMRC over unpaid tax bills.

The SFA will invite all 93 members to vote in a resolution which will place the onus on clubs to ensure that prospective new owners have been properly vetted. “It will be a requirement for all clubs to produce a signed certificate from the out-going board to prove they have conducted an investigation into the provenance of those taking over – i.e. that they are a fit and proper person,” said an SFA spokesperson yesterday.

Rangers are also expected to feature high on the agenda at an SFA board meeting scheduled to take place prior to the agm. Regan tweeted: “Scottish FA Board Meeting in the morning followed by agm. Plenty to discuss, that’s for sure!”