Is The Nimmo Smith Commission Decision Binding? Could Rangers Appeal the Verdict or the SPL the Sentence?

After the fun and excitement prompted by the release of the Nimmo Smith Report on Thursday, which found oldco Rangers guilty of “deliberate non-disclosure” and which seems to have been taken by many as an acquittal, various questions arise about where things now go.

Some were prompted by the statement issued by the SPL. It can be read here.

It says, with my comments in bold below the relevant sections:-

Charles Green’s Latest Rangers Statement – 18 Paragraphs – Wrong in 17!

Charles Green’s battle with the SPL and SFA continues. He has released a statement today which manages (almost) to contain at least one error in every single one of its eighteen paragraphs.

Either he is stupid, which he is not, or he has decided to continue to appeal to his core support, trotting out the lines he has repeated a number of times already, and ignoring almost everything said by the Commission, except for one point he grossly misinterprets!

I suspect that the reaction of Rangers fans to this statement would be almost 100% positive.

I wonder if, next time Mr Green appears to answer questions, someone of the press corps will ask him to explain or justify anything in this statement?

Maybe someone will ask him about his statement about the SPL ignoring his lawyers, which was contradicted by the Commission?

Maybe someone will ask why the lawyer for oldco and newco had said he was turning up, and pulled out at the last day?

Probably not…

Whatever Happened to the Nimmo Smith Report? – Crosspost from the Scottish Football Monitor

I am privileged to have had the chance to post a “guest” article on TSFM.

In this piece I look at what happened to the SFA commissioned “Nimmo Smith Report”.

The comments on the piece over at TSFM are well worth a look too.

Whatever Happened to the Nimmo Smith Report?

On 21^st February 2012 the SFA announced that it had appointed retired judge Lord Nimmo Smith to chair an independent inquiry into Rangers FC. His panel comprised Professor Niall Lothian, Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland; Bob Downes, former Director of BT and now Deputy Chairman of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, and Stewart Regan, CEO of the SFA.

One Day Closer…Rangers FC’s Race for A Licence + RFC’s new Slogan – “Bring a cheque and join the team!”

A quick roundup of news from Ibrox as Rangers FC approaches at top speed the deadline for a licence being granted.

The phrase “subject to SFA membership” has started to appear on Rangers.co.uk. Reality hitting home?

Where are they with membership? Mr Green and the BBC disagree.

What about Mr Kennedy’s offer from three weeks ago?

How did Rangers sign new contracts with players a few weeks ago, if they can’t do so now?

What does Mr McCoist want to sign SPL players, and, if membership is issued, will Mr Green allow him?

What is the Sevco/Rangers new battle cry?

And some good news, as the head of youth development at Ibrox talks in glowing terms of his leading lights and their ability to cope in SFL3.

Mr Regan’s Email of 23/6 – Smoking Gun? Should He Step Down? Will He Try the Sevco Rescue Again?

In which I have a look at the masterplan disclosed in Mr Regan’s email on 23^rd June, and wonder if the SPL teams were happy to refuse to vote Rangers FC into the SPL, because they were fully aware of the plan and had been assured by Messrs Regan, Doncaster and Longmuir that an SFL1 solution was in the bag.

Maybe a reporter could ask the SPL chairmen arriving at Hampden today for the AGM what they knew, and when, about the Regan plan?

Rod Petrie of Hibs definitely knew, as he was part of it. Did his Board know and when?

What about Mr Gilmour of St Mirren? Had he received the nod that SFL1 was all but delivered, thus explaining his anxiety, and similarly that of Inverness CT, when the SFL vote went in favour of SFL3?

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Alex Thomson of Channel 4 has been the main UK journalist to have taken an interest in, and reported on, the farrago at Ibrox. As the weeks and months have passed, the story has grown from involving merely Rangers to include concerns about the governance of Scottish football in general. As a result there has been considerable focus on the actions of Neil Doncaster of the SPL and Stewart Regan of the SFA.

Mr Thomson and Channel 4 have obtained an e-mails sent by Mr Regan on 23^rd June. I have copied it below with my comments in bold. I would recommend following this link to read Mr Thomson’s piece in full too, as well as reading my thoughts below, of course!