Many years ago I stopped being surprised by anything that the SFA does.
I thought that I had seen it all in respect of incompetence, utter stupidity and unashamed bias in favour of one member club and then on The Celtic Star I read “Disrepute charges! The Scottish FA, Bending over Backwards for Rangers”. The reference to the body that controls Scottish Football approaching The IFAB (The International Football Association Board) for advice on the interpretation of recent changes in the Laws of the Game stopped me dead in my tracks. I have no reason to doubt that claim and yet it simply cannot be true. I am left asking myself, how can this happen?
For those who are unaware of The IFAB let me provide a short explanation. (For those who wish to find out more the link is https://theifab.com/home)
MEMBERS OF THE IFAB
The IFAB comprises of the four British football associations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with one vote each, and FIFA, covering the remaining 207 national associations, with four votes. Passing a motion requires a three-quarters majority.
IFAB is the guardian of the Laws of the Game and although FIFA is a member the IFAB itself is an independent body. Wikipedia is also very informative and in my view easier to read and digest.
The link is HERE
Among other things it tells us:
The body was founded on 2 June 1886.
The founder members were The FA, the SFA, the FAW and the FAI.
FIFA was admitted in 1913.
As of 2016, all members must be present for a binding vote to proceed.
Of the four items above, to my mind the last is by far and away the most important. It tells me that when those changes referred to in The Celtic Star article were made/agreed then for them to be binding the SFA must have been present.
Perhaps the Scottish delegate was asleep and woke up in time to nod his head at the right moment? Otherwise how can the Scottish Football Association require clarification of decisions that it has agreed to only a few weeks ago?
Equally, as Chris Sutton effectively asks, why does it require clarification of ordinary English words such as “brutality”? Surely this is a simple admission by the SFA that it is useless. An acceptance that it is incompetent and unfit for purpose!
I wonder if Craig Gordon’s speaking out about the unexplainable decisions of “The Three Stooges”, as Chris Sutton has named them, is the first public show by Celtic that our club believes that the position of the SFA has become untenable? I certainly hope so.
What would the late Paul McBride QC have made of this piece of self-inflicted nonsense? Remember that this was the man who stated publicly that, “The SFA are tonight officially the laughing stock of world football and they have been shown to be not merely dysfunctional and not merely dishonest but biased…” following Celtic’s 1-0 Scottish Cup victory over Rangers on 2 March 2012 and the subsequent SFA enquiry into post match events.
Surely this latest outrage goes even further down the road to nowhere. How I would have loved to have been able to say “oblivion” but that will require a huge effort from many more clubs than Celtic. That will not happen anytime soon. There are not enough clubs with the required guts. Shame on you Scottish football, but more specifically, SHAME ON YOU SFA. You disgrace yourself and football worldwide. You are indeed incompetent and unfit for purpose.
DidsburyCelt
PS – DidsburyCelt is a retired referee!
