The SFA rule Rangers allegedly breached after John Brown's ‘corrupt' comment revealed as hearing date set

Scottish Sun

18 hours ago

The club denies the rules were breached and now know the date for the hearing into the incident
RUN THE RULE The SFA rule Rangers allegedly breached after John Brown's 'corrupt' comment revealed as hearing date set
RANGERS have been issued a Notice of Complaint by the SFA over comments made by former player John Brown.
And the rule the club is allegedly in breach of has been revealed, as well as the date for the hearing into the incident.
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Rangers were issued with a Notice of Complaint over John Brown's comments covering a match on Rangers TV
Credit: PA:Press Association
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He blasted the decision not to award Nicolas Raskin a goal against Hibs last month as 'corrupt'
Credit: PA
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The rule that was allegedly breached and the date for the hearing into the incident have both been revealed
Credit: Willie Vass
The incident occurred during Rangers' final game of the season against Hibs, when Nicolas Raskin thought he had given Gers a 2-0 lead.
But referee Nick Walsh didn't award the goal, and 'Bomber' Brown went on an astonishing attack on Scottish football in his role as co-commentator on Rangers TV's coverage of the game.
Brown said of the decision: "I would say it's corrupt."
Lead commentator Tom Miller replied: "I'm not sure we can actually say that."
But Brown continued: "Well I am saying it.
"That's a disgrace and it's the worst decision I've seen in all the years I've been in football."
The Scottish FA launched an investigation into the commentary afterwards, with the club defending their ex-player, and challenged today's ruling too, insisting that no rules were broken.
But a post on the SFA's Disciplinary Updates page confirmed that Rangers were alleged to have breached Disciplinary Rule 38.
The rule states in full: "A club or recognised football body which publishes, distributes, issues, sells or authorises a third party to publish, distribute, issue or sell a match programme or any other publication or audio/visual material of any description in any media now existing or hereinafter invented, including but not limited to the Internet, social networking or micro-blogging sites, shall ensure that any such publications or audio/visual material does not contain any criticism of any match official calculated to indicate bias or incompetence on the part of such match official or to impinge upon his character.
"There shall be a presumption that any material issued, published, distributed and/or sold in such manner was issued, published, distributed and/ or sold in the name of and/or with the authority of the body bearing to have issued, published, distributed and/or sold the material."
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The maximum punishment which can be applied if Rule 38 is breached is a fine of £100,000.
The date for the hearing has been set for this Thursday, 19 June, with Gers already denying that a breach occurred in a statement blasting the SFA.
They said: "Rangers FC has submitted a full response to the Scottish FA's Notice of Complaint concerning a remark made during commentary of the Hibernian v Rangers match at the end of last season. The club firmly denies any breach of Scottish FA rules.
"We are surprised that a complaint has been raised at all, given the context of the comment and the Scottish FA's prior treatment of similar incidents.
"Our response highlights that the Scottish FA's own Key Match Incident Panel judged that the referee's decision on the day was incorrect, with four out of five panel members agreeing that a goal should have been awarded to Rangers.
"That finding helps explain the nature of a spontaneous emotional comment, delivered during a highly charged moment and immediately challenged live on air.
"Our response also sets out serious concerns about the Scottish FA's selective enforcement and inconsistency.
"We have highlighted multiple examples of similar or stronger remarks made elsewhere in Scottish football that have led to no charges or sanctions.
"While we remain committed to maintaining high standards, we will continue to challenge any action we consider to be unfair or disproportionate.
"For many supporters, this charge only adds to the wider frustration surrounding regulatory oversight in recent months when there are more serious issues in the game to tackle, including improving officiating standards for the benefit of Scottish football."
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