Why is Ranger’s fight for justice viewed in a different light to Celtic’s?

Miscarriage of Justice.

“When you are talking about someone’s career or livelihood and you look at what’s at stake, you cannot just accept injustice. You have to make sure things are done fair”.

Fine words indeed and I am sure that all right minded people would agree. But whose fine words are these?  Well I will not keep you in suspense any longer. These noble words are from the mouth of Peter Lawwell, the Chief Executive of Celtic Football Club. This was the Celtic supremo’s moral statement as Celtic began their battle with the Hampden beaks over disciplinary action dished out to boss Neil Lennon. In fact, the Celtic supremo felt so strongly about this injustice that he hired the QC Paul McBride to make a legal challenge. McBride successfully argued Lennon’s two separate bans should run concurrently and not consecutively, as the SFA rule book did not allow such a punishment.

The success of Rangers at the Court of Session in overturning the transfer embargo has ignited another fire storm that has engulfed Scottish football and sent the media, football authorities and the haters of the club into a predictable hysteria. Yet it is ignored that this is not the first legal challenge to the SFA rule book.

On the fight to reduce Lennon’s dugout ban, Lawwell continued: “We would have preferred not involving a lawyer but when we felt that our interpretation was not being understood or accepted then clearly you have to take it that next step”.

The outcome  of this legal spat was that in July 2011, Lawwell was named as part of the new SFA professional game board set up to rule over professional football in Scotland. You would think that after this very public put down and legal defeat, the last thing the SFA would want to do was make the same mistake again.

Isn’t it strange, how the more things change the more they remain the same?

Celtic and Peter Lawwell it seems have a right to fight what they perceive as unjust and corrupt officialdom for the sake of fairness, yet when others, namely Rangers, decide to take up the same sword of justice the reaction is one of how dare you! Thankfully the Court of Session and Lord Glennie looked at the facts and were not influenced by the recent troubles at Rangers.

This decision clearly found that the SFA were in the wrong. The transfer embargo was never in the rule book and therefore should never have been applied. The whole Appellate tribunal and the SFA need to be investigated. When it was known that Rangers were taking the SFA to court why did Peter Lawwell not warn his friend and fellow SFA partner Stewart Regan how easy it is to take down the SFA? A legal feather duster is all that is needed.

If we are looking to lay blame for clubs going outside football and taking the legal route then surely Peter Lawwell, the Celtic Chief Executive and SFA board member, must take his fair share and not leave the entire burden on the shoulders of Rangers Football Club.

Like everyone else, Rangers have a right to defend themselves. Anyone accused of wrong doing deserves their day in court and to be judged in a fair and just manner. And in these dark days Rangers may indeed take a strange comfort from those words uttered at the beginning of this story.

http://rangersthefallandrise.wordpress.com/

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