ALLAN McGREGOR AND THE SFA

WINSTON CHURCHILL once turned his magnificent oratory on Russia, describing it as an enigma, wrapped in a riddle and shrouded in a mystery.

If the Greatest Ever Briton was alive today, and if he turned his attention to more mundane matters, then he may well have used the same words to decribe the Scottish Football Association.

Now, not for a moment do I believe George Peat and Stewart Regan favour the the killing grounds of Stalin's Gulags, but they do seem to have a similar liking for secrecy.

WHY?

For surely if you have nothing to hide, why hide it?

It would appear though, within the sixth floor at Hampden there exists an increasingly small cabal of men who hold power, and who do not favour justice being seen to be done.

Many may believe that Hibernian 's Rod Petrie, who is chairman of the General Purposes Committee, is seeking to run it behind the same Iron Curtain of secrecy with which he runs Hibs.

Why this should be so is indeed an enigma. And a riddle. A mystery too.

Take the case of the  one match ban given to Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor. What he did in the match against Aberdeen when he aimed a kick - which missed - at Chris Maguire, was not merely stupid. And not only unnecessary.

IT WAS AN ACT OF LUNACY!

McGregor deserved to be punished, if only for being so stupid, especially after his disgraceful antics in the match against Hibs a few weeks ago.

If his action had been spotted at the time he would surely have been sent off, and Rangers chances of staging their remarkable fightback to win would have followed him down the tunnel.

There should be no blame attached to Willie Collum, who refereed a difficult encounter better than I've seen any other official perform this season. Nor should either linesman or the fourth official carry the can. They can't have eyes in the back of their heads.

Nor should there be any sidetracking by referring to the incident involving Derek Young's stamp on Lee McCulloch.

In effect, and despite what many Rangers supporters may think, McGregor got what he deserved. You have to feel sorry for Walter Smith, who once remarked that one Andy Goram in any manager's career is more than enough.

Goram though, for all his off the field high jinks, did not behave on it as McGregor has on too many occasions.

In my view, and I say it again to underline the opinion, McGregor got exactly what he deserved. It may help him to learn his lesson. But don't bet on it.

So there it is, my view, clearly stated and with not only my name, but my picture too, at the top to make it clear who I am. There's nothing anonymous or anything secret about it.

Unlike the SFA's Video Review Panel which acts in the shadows like some sort of furtive spy operating behind enemy lines.

Let's start at the beginning. The McGregor incident occurs, the match officials all miss it, but it is highlighted on Sky by Andy Walker and forms a great deal of the Monday morning newspaper coverage of the match.

What follows is a prolonged period of silence, with the news that McGregor had been reported to the SFA not emerging until Thursday of last week.

We are not told who made the report. The SFA referees' supervisor? The SPL delegate? A paperclip counter at the SFA? Wee Shuggie frae Shettleston?

And so the enigma becomes a riddle, which is a mystery to all but that small cabal.

Then there is the ten day delay. One report claimed  the reason was George Peat was on holiday and that Stewart Regan had not taken up his post as chief executive, therefore there was  no executive present within the SFA to instigate proceedings.

Although that report carried no direct quote from anyone at the SFA. Secrecy again!

What we were told is that a three man Video Review Panel,  of an ex referee, an ex player and an ex manager , and chaired by Sandy Stables of the Aberdeenshire and District FA, would sit in judgement.

We were not told who the former player, referee and manager were. Why? It is inconcievable that any of the three had a Rangers connection. Or a Motherwell connection, as that is the team McGregor will be absent against.

Or, despite the fact the chairman was Sandy Stables from the Aberdeenshire and District FA, any of the three would have an Aberdeen connection, given the fact the incident happened against the Dons.

Surely too, the SFA would know the problems they would be piling up for themselves if either an ex Celtic player or manager judged a Rangers player.

So that's Rangers, Motherwell, Aberdeen and Celtic removed from the equation. So just who did sit on the Video Review Panel?

Justice, should not merely be done....it should be SEEN to be done.

Anything else merely opens the door for all the crackpots and conspiracy theorists out there who think everyone is against their club.

When Churchill was talking about Russia, he was using the contemporary term for the Soviet Union, where the dictators used secrecy to stay in power. The SFA would do well to remember what happened to it in the end.