Judgment Day Is Coming…
Posted on
July 19, 2012 by
billmcmurdo
Fit and proper person.
What does that mean?
You would be forgiven for thinking that the standards applied to the test for a fit and proper person by both the SFA and the media varied wildly depending upon which club the person is involved with. Much has been made about Craig Whyte failing this test spectacularly. Of course, he didn’t fail the test when he acquired Rangers, only when he plunged them into administration.
The question must be asked: Did he ever pass the test in the first place or did the SFA not even bother to check his credentials? If the game’s governing body did not conduct a fit and proper person test on Craig Whyte until he dragged Rangers into administration, then it is another simple question football fans should be asking:-
Whose head at the SFA should roll for this?
But I don’t really want to talk about Craig Whyte. I want to focus on another majority shareholder at another club and ask: Is this man a fit and proper person to be involved in a football club?
This man bribed the Prime Minister of his country. His involvement in shady deals is all over the internet. Even fans of the club he owns shares in call him a crook – it’s all over the messageboards and forums.
The man I am referring to owns companies presently under investigation for shocking practices. This is the notorious Castlebeck saga, where patients in nursing homes owned by this man have been brutally and appallingly treated, resulting in criminal prosecutions of some staff members and the closure of several homes. One man died after being put in restraints.
The man I am speaking about is Dermot Desmond, the major shareholder in Celtic FC plc.
I am unsure if this man has ever historically been subjected to a fit and proper person test by the Scottish footballing authorities. I do know that, given his extremely shady past, he may very well fail one now. Unless, of course, the fit and proper person test depends on which club you are involved with!
Desmond is presently listed as a director of Celtic. That should give him immunity from the Celtic-leaning SFA and the corrupt-to-the-core SPL. I am sure that no official of either of these two bodies will fancy their chances in a game of poker with Mr Desmond. I am equally sure they will not be rushing to put any of their relatives who need care in a Castlebeck home.
Football is a murky business. It attracts shady people. Under-the-table deals are commonplace. This renders the fit and proper person criteria either meaningless or extremely difficult if it is to be applied stringently.
In Rangers’ case, it is being applied even more zealously than that. But judgment day is coming to all the other clubs.
For more info simply Google: Dermot Desmond-Castlebeck, Derek Lovegrove, Moriarty Tribunal, Glackin Report
