Meanwhile, the Telegraph understands that criminal trials arising out of the liquidation of the oldco are now very unlikely to be heard until the spring of 2017 at the earliest. This week the Crown Office announced that it is contemplating fresh charges against Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, who acted as administrators of the oldco, and Charles Green, who formed a consortium to purchase the available assets after the business was liquidated in the summer of 2012.
Prior charges against the three have been deserted or dismissed recently, but the Crown Office issued a statement which said: “The Crown will give consideration to raising a fresh indictment against Paul Clark, David Whitehouse and Charles Green within the statutory time limits.”
Elsewhere, the Scottish Professional Football League will continue to pursue the possibility of introducing facial recognition technology to identify troublemakers at grounds despite a refusal by the Scottish Government to fund the project.
The SPFL had asked for £4 million to implement the scheme – the first of its kind in British football – which is designed to identify those who engage in sectarian singing and the use of flares, amongst other activities. However, after vociferous protests from fans groups, the Scottish Government has declared that the project raises “a number of concerns” and has stated that it is for Scottish football’s governing bodies to fund it themselves.
In response, an SPFL spokesman said: “With our colleagues at the Scottish FA we had a positive meeting with the Scottish Government this week to discuss potential measures to help combat unacceptable conduct at Scottish football grounds, ensuring they remain safe places for people to enjoy our sport.
“The SPFL’s submission of tentative funding costs – specifically for technology to assist with identification of individuals engaged in unacceptable conduct – followed previous discussions with the Scottish Government where we built on quotes based on the top two divisions only.
“We remain committed to tackling unacceptable conduct where it occurs in SPFL grounds – indeed an Independent Commission recently found Motherwell FC guilty of breaches of SPFL Rules in this area.
“The overwhelming majority of Scottish football supporters behave impeccably, are the best possible ambassadors for our national sport and are a force for positive change. We remain keen to work in partnership and on an ongoing basis with the Scottish Government and others to tackle unacceptable conduct and to use the unique power of football and of football clubs in their local communities to assist with tackling other positive changes in society, including in health, lifestyle and wellbeing.”
- Telegraph