The jury's out until the verdict's in

Author: Hugh KeevinsPublished 4th May 2020

Tomorrow will bring the big reveal, apparently.

Rangers will remove the asbestos covering from the whistleblower-gifted dossier of alleged wrongdoing carried out by the SPFL's Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster, and the organisation's in-house lawyer, Rod McKenzie.

Let there be no misunderstanding.

If Doncaster and McKenzie have been guilty of wrongdoing on a grand scale then they must take whatever consequences come their way.

The forty-two clubs who have to assess the evidence placed in front of them and decide if an investigation is appropriate must not be bothered by the cost of undertaking that course of action.

It cost me a four figure sum in the earlier part of this year to have my last will and testament drawn up by a lawyer.

It was more than I had expected, or really wanted, to pay but it had to be done.

If anything seriously amiss took place surrounding the vote to implement the SPFL's proposal that the lower leagues be terminated for the season while the Premiership was put on notice of closure then a wrong should be put right irrespective of cost.

The whole episode was described at the weekend as "unedifying" by the SFA President, Rod Petrie.

He, like the SPFL chairman, Murdoch McLennan, is best known for two things.

One is a reluctance to pass comment in public. The other is causing regret that they have spoken once they do decide to go public on any topic.

Rod is, after all, the man who described thousands of Hibs fans invading the pitch and causing mayhem at Hampden after a Scottish Cup final win over Rangers as "over exuberance."

Ann Budge, Hearts' owner, has become another one whose public utterances have become a source of dismay.

She claims the SPFL loaned clubs money during her time on the board there.

The inference being they could have done the same this season and spared clubs the contentious vote which has now put Doncaster and McKenzie into the innocent until proved guilty category.

But the lady has form for getting things wrong and Doncaster gently put her in her place at the weekend by detailing how the monies in question were advanced fees, not loans, Partick Thistle and Motherwell would have been getting anyway.

The clubs had to submit invoices, which would have been un-necessary with a loan transaction, and had to pay V.A.T., which wouldn't have accompanied a loan.

Game, set and match SPFL.

This is the thing with people like Doncaster. They know their way around the rule book and the proper procedures contained therein.

Doncaster is the perennial whipping boy the critics go for when something happens which they don't like.

That's why he has lived apart from his wife and children, now back in England, for so long following a particularly disturbing incident with a fan in a supermarket car park.

That's not really something to be proud of, if you ask me.

So everyone needs to keep calm and assess Rangers' evidence without prejudice.

The dossier is damning or else it falls short of putting the Chief Executive's job at risk.

An investigation agreed to after a seventy-five per cent vote in favour of it taking place mobilises the legal profession, and that is for the best.

Not to have an investigation leaves a cloud of suspicion hanging over the SPFL and its work practices.

To hold an investigation leads to an unequivocal verdict which everyone must agree is legal and binding.

If Doncaster emerges from close scrutiny with no stain on his reputation then his detractors will have to be quiet.

Not once and for all kind of quiet because somewhere down the line Doncaster will once again become the bogey man.

But if no blame is attached to him over this particular affair then he is entitled to his status as an innocent man and may choose to switch the spotlight on to his accusers and ask them what they were thinking about.