Saturday 13 April 2013

Rangers board make-up

"The board accepted the explanation that there had been no intention to cause offence and accepted the chief executive's apology. "The board is satisfied that the chief executive did not act in a racist manner but reminded him of the importance of all office bearers at Rangers upholding the standards expected by the club. "Mr Green will deal with the pending SFA charge on this matter on a personal basis. "The board wishes to re-iterate Rangers is a club which is opposed to all forms of prejudice and has a long-established policy of working extensively in the community through a variety of programmes and initiatives to tackle issues such as racism and sectarianism." Whyte has claimed that he still owns Rangers' assets and that Green had agreed to be his front man before the consortium involving the Englishman and Ahmad bought Rangers' assets last year. The claims have led to the Scottish businessman and Green threatening one another with legal action.

Board orders investigation into Charles Green

Rangers are to commission an independent probe into the behaviour of chief executive Charles Green and commercial director Imran Ahmad. It follows allegations about the pair's links with former owner Craig Whyte and Green's recent public statements. Rangers' board held a special meeting ahead of the home game against Clyde to consider the matter. A statement that followed said Green had apologised for an offensive remark made about Ahmad in a press interview. It had already led the Scottish FA to charge the chief executive for bringing the game into disrepute by making a comment considered to be "of an offensive and racist nature".

Scots MP

Angus MacNeill, SNP MP for the Western Isles, has tabled an early day motion in parliament urging Fifa to reconsider using television evidence in matches. The politician said England "were cheated". In 2006, Mr MacNeill flew the St George's Cross from his Stornoway office to say thanks to English constituents who had voted SNP. England's Frank Lampard was denied a goal against Germany, despite his effort having crossed the line. Later on Sunday, Carlos Tevez's first goal for Argentina against Mexico was allowed to stand despite him being offside. Football referees are not allowed to use television replay evidence. Mr MacNeil said: "England were cheated and, while there is no evidence that allowing Frank Lampard's goal would have changed the final outcome, it would certainly have changed the atmosphere of the match and given the team something to play for. "Almost all major sports now use replay evidence, and Fifa should embrace goal-line technology in the interests of fair play for fans, players and referees."