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Resolution 12 Is Not Going Away

A few weeks ago I published an article questioning the source of the letter Grant Russell, of STV,  released which had ever so slightly different wording to the one received by the Resolution 12 guys, in response to their enquiry.

This letter, apparently, had come from UEFA direct to him.

The Resolution 12 guys had submitted, via their lawyers, a variety of  detailed and direct questions to UEFA regarding the allegations of misgovernance at the SFA at the time, and they received an answer which , when summarised, included the “new club/company ” to explain the official UEFA stance on whatever entity is operating out of Ibrox.

The reply Grant Russell received, he claimed, was also in response to “lengthy and detailed ” questions. His reply was the same as the one given to the Resolution 12 guys, apart from the bit about the entity being a new club, which he then claimed had put the matter to rest.

Resolution 12, apparently, was dead in the water.

Yet Resolution 12 was never about the new club/old club debate…

 

A few weeks ago, on social media platform Twitter, I asked Grant what questions he had asked UEFA that had prompted their reply. I have the questions that the Resolution 12 guys asked, and they are detailed and complex.

I’ve yet to see Grant’s questions, and fair enough, if he doesn’t want to show them to me, or anyone else, thats up to him.

But it does seem a remarkable co-incidence that one lengthy set of detailed questions, compiled by lawyers, can elicit almost exactly the same reply to a set of detailed questions, sent over a period of time to a journalist.

Almost word for word, in fact.

That makes me suspicious.

Grant can still offer those questions if he wants, but I’ve a feeling that if he was going to do so, he’d have done it by now. Instead of hurling accusations about me accusing him of doctoring the reply.

 

The thing is, Resolution 12 , despite all claims to the contrary, is about the SFA.

Not Rangers, not Celtic, but the SFA.

There are suspicions of misgovernance, of collusion with the directors of one club in particular, which is now in liquidation, and even allegations of corruption.

Surely it suits all supporters of all clubs to get to the truth on this matter ?

If guys like  Grant and I are arguing with each other, and others are taking sides, then it deflects from the real issue in play, that of the transparency and honesty of the people who run the game in Scotland, , and their somewhat unique way of doing so.

Which is just what the SFA want us to do. By asking questions of each other, it means we are not asking questions of them.

 

If two replies to two sets of questions are the same, then one must conclude that the questions were exactly the same, which i doubt very much indeed.

Grant Russel is one of the better journalists in Scotland, by a considerable distance, and he has the trust of many who are interested in the game. Thats why anything he releases, and claims to be from UEFA, will be taken seriously.

And rightly so.

But I’m not convinced, and at the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist-although events in Scottish football over the last few years have proved that we maybe weren’t paranoid enough-I’ve feeling that something isn’t quite right here.

I cannot believe that two sets of questions drawn up independently can be so similar as to elicit the same reply-bar one word-and so therefore, the reply issued by Grant Russell, in my opinion, did not come to him directly from UEFA.

I’d be more than delighted to be proved wrong, because it would show that we’ve all got nothing to worry about and the game is safe in the hands of those working diligently and honestly at their desks at Hampden.

The reply given to the Resolution 12 guys was also given to Celtic FC, and the SFA.

Celtic FC would not have released a slightly amended version of it to the press. It does not suit them in the slightest to do so.

The SFA, however, now what could they possibly gain by issuing a trusted journalist an official piece which not only backs up their own view that the current Ibrox entity is in fact the same as the one in liquidation?

Which presumably means they are in liquidation as well.

And what could the SFA gain from seeing the Resolution 12 matter dead in the water, or at least discredited in the eyes of the public ?

Resolution 12 is all about them, remember, every other club or company mentioned are merely those who have suffered as a result of their   alleged misgovernance.

It means simply in my opinion that by releasing the statement via Grant Russell, the SFA have tried to put the matter to bed, and therefore Resolution 12 will go away.

It isn’t going to go away.

In fact, its going to be stepped up over the next few weeks.

Wait and see.

 

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7 years ago

I’m glad to hear Res 12 is not going away.

The donation of the £7k surplus from the CQN fighting fund to Mary’s Meals had a sort of valedictory air about it.

People like me who had contributed could be forgiven for thinking it was the end of the line.

Good news.

Bawsman
7 years ago

More power to you mate. I’m one who ‘donated’ my shares to the Res 12 team. One of my best ever decisions.

Paul Miller
7 years ago

Glad to hear that this isn’t finished and I’m waiting patiently for more news on it. Keep up the good work.

jimmybee
7 years ago

More power to you the truth is there.
Seek and thee shall find.
It should have been Celtic leading the charge on this,with the support of all clubs.
Alas it has been misrepresented as us v them nonsense. Which suits the sfa no doubt about it.
HH

Devoy45
7 years ago

Good stuff. Many thanks!

SFTB
7 years ago

A very succinct summary and a sensible attitude to take.

Grant is one of the braver guys (not a lot of competition) in the field of Scottish sports journalism.

But, if he’s a proper journalist, and he sees that the Res. 12 guys’ detailed and published questions elicited one reply and his (unpublished) questions obtained a slightly different response, his curiosity, to resolve the outstanding issues, should have been piqued. He should be doing follow up rather than ignoring it or being inactive. I mean, they do have a lot of time in between Joey Barton statements, to investigate stories.

Over to you Grant.

BrianM
7 years ago

It’s hard to see Grant Russell owning up now to deliberately leaving out the “new club/ company” reference. He has had plenty of time to correct his own omission or make enquiries with his source. So let’s assume he is no longer ‘one of the better journalists in Scotland by a considerable distance’.

Grant Russell, like the others is simply toeing the party line and in my eyes has no standing whatsoever. These people simply churn out mistruths and deceit on an everyday basis. I am convinced they often believe their own lies.

Monti
7 years ago

Morning Ralph,
Resolution 12 must be fought tooth and nail until Justice is served!
This is our time, take the fucking fight to them and don’t let it go!

Huns? ” Tooth ” is the solitary, loose, nicotined stained thing hanging from your grotesque pus!

Until the last Rebel!

7 years ago

Resolution 12 isn’t over yet and please don’t confuse the decision to make public the donation to Mary’s Meals earlier in the week with any closure on the campaign.

We collected money for specific newspaper ads, the one in Switzerland went ahead while the Guardian pulled out ‘mysteriously’ after taking the cash. The Herald/ Sunday Herald pitched for the business only to withdraw before we made a booking and before they saw any copy. They also leaked personal details re the New Club ad we booked prior the League Cup semi early 2015.

We had enough funds to pay for both these papers, but as it turned out we got ten times the publicity without spending the money. It took a not inconsiderable effort to get the funds returned from The Guardian (whose senior management were a disgrace) and we had to decide what the right course of action was.

We audited the account then followed up on our promise to donate any remaining funds to Mary’s Meals. The fact that it was so high was partly due to the unintended consequences of the actions taken by those tasked to derail Res 12.

Separately we have also crowd funded the legal bills incurred by Res 12 guys and this is ongoing, thus the lack of communication from us.

Many attempts were made to derail and discredit our work on behalf of Res 12, including the nonsense about the English copy in a French speaking newspaper etc. All made up rubbish.

Then a claim was made that a Res 12 chap had gone to the Police because Paul couldn’t account for this returned Guardian money. This was made by the same guy who tweeted over 150 against Res 12 on the day the Guardian story blew up.

The thing about this guy is we are pretty close to exposing who he is, a paid dark arts PR person tasked with stopping Res 12 at all costs. Who is paying him and why?

Res 12 is far from over. KTF.

jpm 88
7 years ago

Winning Captains ,

JohnJames recently wrote an article “A Mortal Comedy” which you may have already read .
He also highlights an article by Alex Thomson of CH 4 from 12 Oct 2012
talking of around 25 journalists plus Stewart Regan being seriously threatened for saying anything “anti-rangers”.
This may go a long way to explaining SMSM stance and also the Guardian “mysteriously” pulling out of their agreement re – res 12 .
If they’re all acting as they are , not out of ” pro -rangers ” leanings , but instead out of pure fear and intimidation , then this takes on a more serious and sinister shape.

7 years ago
Reply to  jpm 88

Yes I believe that is a significant factor. Tom English was offered exclusive access to the UEFA letter twice and failed to reply.

jpm 88
7 years ago

Beggars belief that Sturgeon et al allow this to go on ;
yet it reminds me of a dialog in the film “The Devils Own”, where Harrison Ford says to Brad Pitt ( in relation to his father having been shot in NI)- ” I hope they got the bastards” ; to which Pitt replies – ” They ARE the bastards”.

mike
7 years ago
Reply to  jpm 88

Mibbee they are now (The SFA)regretting facilitating the re-emergence of the new club,if so, hell mend them.
As for the Cellic Board,well,the proposed increase in revenue projected for next years accounts,speak for themselves.

Level 5 plant
7 years ago

So disappointed with the Celtic board over all this. No matter what they do, I will never support them anymore cuz they have seriously let us down. HH

Andy Borland
7 years ago

I have to say I largely concur with your logic & train of thought re this issue Ralph.
However, Grant maintains his rely came from UEFA.
By asserting it came from the SFA, you’re accusing him of being a liar.
On Grant’s part, if he is lying about the source of his reply, then it probably won’t stand the test of time for too long.
However, Grant, as you say, is undoubtedly one of our best sports journalists and not liable to perpetrate an act which, ultimately, destroys that reputation.
Aye, it’s a conundrum alright 🙂

jimmybee
7 years ago

All our anger should be aimed at the sfa.
Yes the board should have taken up the fight.
They didn’t or at least not as forceful as they should have been.
But do not forget who the real criminals are.
HH

mike
7 years ago

Congratulations to you Ralphy for keeping the Res 12 issue alive, my son and i contributed to those brilliant bhoys cause and we salute their sheer persistence,which of course beats any resistance.
Some day, hopefully soon the full truth will emerge and justice will prevail.
The Celtic Board have once again let the support down,they should be ashamed of themselves.
Likewise the SFA a corrupt cabal.

7 years ago

Ralph – I know you said in this piece that you wanted not to be a conspiracy theorist – however, I may well have one of my own.

Giving Grant Russell the benefit of the doubt, he has been duped, and I believe either by the SFA, a PR company (Level 5, perhaps?), or both.

In my previous job, in order to speed up the export process on behalf of our clients, I would “doctor” proforma invoices, which would be required at the import entry point. This “doctoring” would include copying the relevant shippers’ company logo from the Internet, then creating an official-looking letterheaded document. They were certainly good enough at fooling the relevant Customs authorities that these were genuine, bona-fide documents, as the goods were cleared using these submissions.

Basically, somebody somewhere has taken the official UEFA logo from the Internet, created a sheet of headed paper with that logo, typed the (almost) verbatim reply to the Res 12 guys, then the “reply” to Grant was placed in a sealed, addressed envelope, then hand-carried by someone who then embarked to Switzerland on other business, posting the letter in Zurich so that it bore the postal frank for there, thus making Grant’s “reply” appear as a totally genuine document.

Sound a bit far fetched?… Knowing how the dark arts are performed here in Scotland, I may be closer to the truth than even I realise in regards to this underhanded collusion – if that were proved to be the case!

BJF
7 years ago

Ralph
You are right to keep emphasising Resolution 12 is about the SFA and not about current or liquIdated affiliate clubs. Good work. By and large sooner or later truth will out.

7 years ago

Wasnt Dave King Murray etc also involved in Oldco.It seems the bad wood is still in position at ibrokes aswell as Ogilvie at the SFA!!They are a disgraceful bunch of Cretinous Bile.Sooner they are all brought to task,The better.And then we still endure honest mistakes by our so called fair and decent Refs.Good on the Res 12 for keeping at it.SFA are like a dirty scab.Keep picking away,Until alls revealed,Hopefully?

cartvale88
7 years ago

Their is a fear About a certain group of fans that support ‘The Big Hoose’ and their reactions amongst some people, they are trying everything to avoid this issue in the hope it goes away, or is swept under the carpet.
it is important and to the benefit of Scottish Football not just Celtic or their fans that the Rs 12 issue is brought to book.
For years we had .for every £5.00 they spend we will spend £10., they were allowed to trade on an insolvent by the Scottish Establishment, the roof fell in when an English Bank appeared on the scene.
The vast majority are still in denial and await the day that he triiute act signs Messi/ronaldo whilst .The Big hoose. continues tocollapses around them for the final time

Monti
7 years ago

It is a great pity we lost Paul McConville ( Random thoughts blog) and Q.C. Paul McBride, their thoughts on this whole circus would have been an education.

R.I.P.

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