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Craig Whyte Gets Lifetime Ban

Craig Whyte

Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been banned for life from any involvement in Scottish football.

The Scottish Football Association also imposed a 12-month transfer embargo on the Glasgow giants, who were put into administration in February.

Ally McCoist’s men were also docked 10 points in the Scottish Premier League.

Rangers have been fined £160,000 while Whyte – who was charged with not being a fit and proper person to be a director – faces fines of £200,000.

Whyte was charged with three different rule breaches, and found guilty of two, with the other “not proven”.

Rangers were charged with six breaches, with five guilty verdicts and one “not proven”.

An SFA panel met on Friday, with Whyte refusing to appear, but they delayed an announcement until this week.

The SFA adjourned the original hearing on 29 March after Whyte’s lawyers asked for more time to prepare a case but the owner failed to attend a procedural hearing on 6 April which was set for him to “lodge a substantive response and for representations to be made as to state of preparation”.

Administrators Duff & Phelps have been running the Scottish Premier League club since 14 February.

The SFA said their judicial panel would issue reasons for their findings in “early course” while both parties have three days to appeal following receipt of those reasons.

Speaking about the punishment, Whyte said: “Tell me how it is going to affect me? I couldn’t care less. It makes no difference to my life whatsoever – and good luck collecting the money.

“It’s a joke. It is very harsh on Rangers. I am surprised at how harsh the SFA have been on a club which is going through tough times at the moment.

“Stewart Regan (chief executive) and Campbell Ogilvie (president) should resign and get out of Scottish football.

“The SFA want to kick Rangers when they are down and I hope people remember that. They are playing to the media.”

A statement from Rangers’ joint administrator Paul Clark, of Duff & Phelps, read: “All of us working on behalf of the club are utterly shocked and dismayed by the draconian sanctions imposed on Rangers in respect of these charges.

“It appears that on one hand the disciplinary panel accepted our central argument that responsibility for bringing the club into disrepute lay with the actions of one individual – Craig Whyte – as is evident from the unprecedented punishment meted out to him”"During this hearing the club produced compelling evidence from a number of sources that following his takeover, Craig Whyte ran the club in a thoroughly unaccountable manner, rather than adhering to a long-established and proper form of corporate governance.

“The thrust of the charges against the club focused on non-payment of payroll taxes and evidence was produced that all such decisions in this area were taken by Craig Whyte during his tenure.

“Given this evidence, it is difficult to comprehend that the disciplinary panel has seen fit to effectively punish the club even more heavily than Mr Whyte. As everyone knows, it has already been decided he is not a fit and proper person to run a football club and any further punishment on him will have little or no impact.

“However, for Rangers, a ban on signing players will seriously undermine the club’s efforts to rebuild after being rendered insolvent.

“Furthermore, we do not know how bidders for the club will react to these sanctions and what affect they will have on their proposals.

“The club has asked for full written reasons for these decisions and intend to appeal against the findings.”

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