SFA rocked as Compliance Officer resigns

THE SCOTTISH FA has been rocked by the resignation of its Compliance Officer Tony McGlennan.

And inevitably questions will be asked about the reasons for McGlennan deciding to hand in his notice after holding the position at the SFA since 2014.

McGlennan is planning to return to private practice as a solicitor and will leave his current role at Hampden when he has served his notice, later in the summer.
He will apparently be involved in the recruitment process for his replacement.

The role of SFA Compliance Officer was created in 2011 byformer chief executive Stewart Regan, and the job involves reviewing reported incidents from across Scottish football with a view to applying retrospective disciplinary action. The compliance officer initiates charges which are then decided upon by an independent judicial panel.

It can attract criticism from those on the receiving end of any Notices issued.

The first compliance officer was another lawyer, Vincent Lunny, who served the SFA from 2011 until 2014. Lunny appeared as a witness before Lord Nimmo Smith to explain that the Rangers players were merely ‘imperfectly registered’ as a result of the concealed side letters that came to light after the Ibrox club plunged into crisis and eventually liquidation.

Lunny was discredited and his successor seems to be finishing his stint in the job also dealing with the actions of the Ibrox club, again dating back to this period in 2011.

McGlennan recently issued two charges against Rangers for alleging breaches of SFA regulations relating to how the club obtained a Uefa licence to play European football in 2011.

He had conducted an eight-month investigation into the episode before he issued the charges. The principal hearing into the case is be held on 26 June.

Rangers have been throwing their toys out of the pram since the charges were made and have stated that they will “fiercely resist” what it called “ridiculous” charges.

McGlennan’s decision to resign could be coincidental or it could be related to this high profile case. If he has wind that there is another Lunny style fudge underway he could have decided to get out for to protect his own professional reputation.

Meanwhile the latest podcast from the Football Blogging Awards Podcast of the Year for 2018 – The Celtic Star Podcast is out now. Paul John Dykes is joined by Jackie’s best mate, a player who won every domestic honour for Celtic in the 1990s – Simon Donnelly.

Simon discusses the season when Wim Jansen’s side stopped the ten; his friendship with Jackie McNamara; the brilliance of Paolo, Pierre and Henrik; his regret at not winning the league for Tommy Burns; and the meteoric rise of Andrew Robertson.

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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