
Dundee's Premier Sports Cup hopes dashed by Alloa
Dundee were on the end of another 1-0 defeat at the Indodrill Stadium after losing their opening game against Airdrie.
The decisive moment came midway through the second half when Luke Graham could only turn Steven Buchanan's shot into his own net as he tried to clear in the goalmouth.
The result moved Alloa on to nine points at the top of Group C, three ahead of Airdrie with a game more played. SNS Group
Mikael Mandron hit a hat-trick as St Mirren started and finished strongly in an 8-2 home win over Annan.
Mandron put Saints three up inside nine minutes following Killian Phillips' double but trialist Myles Gaffney pulled two goals back for the visitors before Richard King converted a penalty on the hour mark.
Stephen Robinson's side went goal crazy in the final ten minutes with Mandron completing his treble and Jayden Richardson and Roland Idowu also on target. SNS Group
Ayr are a point behind Saints with a game in hand in Group D after Curtis Main hit a double in a 4-0 home win over Arbroath.
Falkirk could not follow up their seven-goal thrashing of Brechin as they were held to a goalless draw by Cove in another trip to the North East. The Bairns gained a penalty shoot-out bonus point but Spartans moved top of Group A with a 2-0 win at Glebe Park.
Stephen O'Donnell hit the only goal as Motherwell moved top of Group G with victory over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview.
O'Donnell had earlier had a goal disallowed and Callum Slattery hit the bar from a free-kick before the defender converted from a back-post corner four minutes before the break.
Livingston bounced back from defeat by Kilmarnock with a 2-0 home win over Brora Rangers. Danny Wilson opened the scoring with an overhead kick just after the half-hour mark and Zak Rudden headed the second with six minutes left. SNS Group
Ross County cut the gap on Group B leaders Partick Thistle to two points after Jay Henderson's second-half winner in a 1-0 victory over Queen of the South at Palmerston.
East Kilbride moved top of Group F as they followed up their shock triumph over Raith Rovers with a 4-1 win at Elgin with the help of Jack Leitch's first-half double.
St Johnstone joined the SPFL newcomers on six points after Uche Ikpeazu's 90th-minute goal – his first for the club – earned a 1-0 win at Inverness.
Josh Cooper hit a double as Dunfermline got off the mark with a 4-0 win at Dumbarton.
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Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Taxpayer appears to fund footballers' salaries for ‘R&D'
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This meant, the report claimed, this portion of their salaries could be partially recouped from the taxpayer as a research and development (R&D) tax credit under the scheme. The report also stated that 80 per cent of the club chef's time was spent on nutrition science research, which could also be used to make a tax credit claim. Eligible research under the scheme must deal with an issue of genuine scientific uncertainty, which an expert in the field would not easily be able to resolve. • HMRC overhaul: £8bn tax credit scheme faces reform For one of Dundee's projects, the document claimed that the eligible uncertainty was that 'league involvement, challenge in European competition, playing style and management are all likely to change'. Simon Brundish, a conditioning coach at Strength:Lab who has worked with Premier League football clubs as well as with the English and Belgian national teams, reviewed the details of the research projects set out in the document. 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When asked if he disputed that the Dundee claim included a claim for player salaries, he declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. • Specialist agents under scrutiny in crackdown on tax credit fraud There has been controversy around whether it is within the spirit of the scheme for football clubs to make large claims. In February The Times revealed that Premiership teams including Chelsea, Fulham and Nottingham Forest had made claims. After the story, disclosures under freedom of information by HMRC revealed that at least 33 professional football clubs were under investigation into whether £17 million had been wrongly claimed. Chelsea was paid more than £3 million in R&D tax relief and payments by HMRC between 2020 and last year, according to its accounts. Nottingham Forest claimed a tax credit of £607,000 in the 2021-22 financial year, while Fulham claimed £758,000 in credits between 2019 and 2024. After the reporting, it emerged that Brentford had also made a claim, worth more than £3 million. Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Brentford were asked if player salaries had been included in any way in their claims under the scheme. Brentford declined to comment. The other clubs were approached for comment. HMRC has not disclosed the identity of which 33 clubs were under investigation. Dundee separately declared HMRC's repayment demand in its most recent accounts. Concerns have also been raised about the role of tax advisers encouraging companies to make claims that skirt the border of eligibility, with at least one adviser promoting the scheme as 'free money from HMRC'. ZLX described itself on its website as having the 'know-how' to navigate R&D tax credits. It previously stated on its website that it could assist clubs in making claims under the scheme for research into 'stadiums-spectator interaction', 'media and multimedia' and 'Covid compliance measures'. The page including this information has been taken down from its website. The company was criticised in a recent Scottish court case for what the sheriff found was a proposal to make an R&D claim on behalf of a fruit and vegetable company for installing a fridge. HMRC has faced repeated criticisms for its handling of the R&D scheme as its cost ballooned from £1.1 billion in 2010 to £7.5 billion in 2023. Officials have been accused of failing properly to check claims being made, leading to a high rate of fraud and error, with resulting losses totalling £4.1 billion since 2020. Freedom of information litigation last year forced HMRC to reveal it had failed to take sustained action to crack down on misuse of the scheme for five years, despite being warned by officials as early as 2017 that the scheme was being extensively defrauded. McCallion has previously said that the sheriff repeated comments made by the defendant — which had not been taken seriously by the ZLX legal team — that it was 'not impossible for a football club to claim R&D tax credits'. He also said that 'those who have started this witch hunt on football clubs have little or no technical experience but instead are using this platform to further their own endeavours'. Dundee United was approached for comment. The club's accounts state that it is appealing against HMRC's repayment demand.


Scotsman
4 hours ago
- Scotsman
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Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘My phone exploded' – Alloa boss reacts to dream Rangers Premier Sports Cup draw as he eyes stunning Ibrox upset
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