Dermot Desmond and Resolution 12

Two weeks ago an extensive dossier on the Resolution 12 was handed over to a close associate of Mr. Dermot Desmond.

It was in hard copy and not something that could be slipped through even the most generously proportioned letterbox.

The special delivery to this man was carried out so that he could convey it to Mr. Desmond in person.

It was.

The hand over to this confidante of Mr. Desmond took part outside of the United Kingdom.

I know the exact whereabouts and the timing of the handover to Desmond’s man.

Dermot Desmond is known to remunerate handsomely all of the CEOs in his companies where he has a controlling interest.

He does this so that he doesn’t have to micromanage.

Consequently, it is entirely possible that Dermot Desmond wasn’t across the minutiae of the Resolution 12 issue.

In the last two weeks, there have been some questions flowing back from this close confidante of Desmond to the ‘postman’ involved.

I think it would be reasonable to deduce, from the nature of the interrogatives, that at least some of the issues within Resolution12 were news to the Irish billionaire.

One thing that Mr. Desmond does not approve of is anything that subverts the revenue streams of his companies.

The Resolution 12 issues have been bubbling away within the Celtic support for some time.

Although the original requisitioners took it on themselves to burrow into the detail, it is only perhaps now that the basic facts are becoming accessible to the wider fan base.

Perhaps because of the Resolution 12 issue being such a minority sport then the people running the Parkhead club might have discounted the possibility that it could become commercially important.

Indeed, a well-placed source inside Desmond’s inner circle related to me that the club’s CEO had expressed a view that the issues around the resolution would die away “…once the first Old Firm game takes place…”

If my source is relating that accurately, and I believe he is, then this is the sort of disconnect that can happen when the leaders of a business are on a different emotional page from their customers.

For the avoidance of doubt, I believe in the essential veracity of the Resolution 12 proposition.

I do not believe that Rangers (1872-2012) should have retained their licence to play in UEFA competitions in season 2011-2012.

I have a copy of the dossier that was handed to Mr. Desmond’s close associate.

It is detailed and compelling.

Indeed, I cannot see where the Scottish Football Association (SFA) can entirely absolve themselves of the blame on this issue.

At the heart of the Rangers, saga was, I believe, a failure of corporate governance both internally and externally.

I believe those are connected failures as Rangers were allowed to very publicly self-destruct over a prolonged period of financial doping.

There was, of course, also the trifling matter of “imperfectly registered” players for over a decade.

Resolution 12 points to the strong possibility that the SFA did not discharge their duties appropriately between March and June 2011.

In doing so Celtic FC and other clubs in the SPL were denied European income that season.

I fear that if people at Parkhead do not up their game on Resolution 12, then they could lose even more income.

This time from Celtic season ticket holders deciding that the people in the board room take them for mugs.

At least now it is not now in doubt that the man who really calls the shots at Celtic knows the issues around Resolution 12.

Developing story.

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