Rix in limbo as SFA do not ratify appointment

THE troubled reign of Graham Rix as head coach of Hearts suffered a fresh blow yesterday when a committee of the Scottish Football Association declined the opportunity to ratify his appointment.

Rix appeared in person before the general purposes committee at Hampden Park yesterday, but proceedings were adjourned for a second time as officials sought further information from Hearts about the club's appointment of a convicted sex offender.

The coach was accompanied to the national stadium by Campbell Ogilvie, Hearts' general secretary, and a legal representative. Another failure to reach a conclusion has trained the spotlight back on a matter that the Tynecastle club had hoped would be resolved by now.

On 8 December the general purposes committee discussed Rix, and wrote to Hearts to request further information regarding the circumstances of his appointment. The club said then that they were happy to oblige and fully expected the matter to be brought to a conclusion yesterday.

However, the committee members have decided that yet more details are required from the club, and have made a further request to Hearts.

The next meeting of the committee will not be until late January or early February, meaning a question mark will have hung over Rix's suitability for at least two months before a verdict is reached.

Neither the SFA nor Hearts were prepared to divulge the reasons for this new delay in ratifying the appointment of Rix, who was jailed in 1999 for having unlawful sex with a 15-year-old girl and served half of a 12-month sentence.

However, it was reported last night that Hearts have been asked to provide a report on Rix's suitability for his position from an independent child protection officer, which is to be considered by the general purposes committee.

"The matter was discussed at the meeting," confirmed an SFA spokesman yesterday. "The meeting was then adjourned pending the submission of further information by the club."

The Tynecastle club responded by stating they would again comply with the request from the SFA.

"We have been asked to provide further information to the SFA and we will be happy to do so," said a spokesman.

The matter was first raised on 24 November, when East Fife chairman Derrick Brown drew the attention of the SFA council to the appointment of Rix under the 'fit and proper' person section of article 10 of the SFA's articles of association.

Brown has refused to say why he raised the issue, and attempted to deny his involvement when he spoke to the East Fife Mail last month. "It's completely false," he said. "I have not written a letter to the SFA."

His assertion was correct, because there was no letter. But Brown had queried Rix's appointment under 'any other business' at the SFA council, of which he is a member. The matter was then referred to the general purposes committee - of which Brown is also a member.

When he was then asked what was his motivation for raising the issue of Rix, Brown refused to comment, citing confidentiality. It is understood that Brown's intervention is a desire to see Hearts face the same level of scrutiny East Fife experienced in 2001 when former Bayview chairman Julian Danskin was jailed for 18 months for sexually abusing young boys. East Fife came under heavy pressure to remove the influence of Danskin, then the Methil club's major shareholder, and Brown played a central role in the sale of Danskin's shares.

Brown let his guard slip at a fans' forum at Bayview Stadium last week. When he was asked about the Rix affair, Brown once again cited confidentiality, but later he told the audience of supporters that he had received telephone calls from "one hundred women" to thank him for his stance over Rix.

Brown also said that he had spoken to Campbell Ogilvie after he set the wheels in motion for the examination of Rix's appointment, and claimed that the Hearts director had no problem with his actions. But it almost goes without saying that, in fact, this matter is a headache Hearts could do without. Rix's appointment at Tynecastle sparked a backlash from unhappy Hearts supporters, and although both the individual and his employers rode out that storm, his character remains in question elsewhere.

Club officials remain confident that the necessary information will be provided to ratify the appointment, but with speculation regarding Rix's future already intensifying after a disappointing start to his reign, it is possible that Hearts major shareholder Vladimir Romanov might render further debate on the matter redundant by the opening weeks of next year.

Hearts have lost more points in five games under Rix than they did in the previous 14 Premierleague matches this season.

Romanov has already dispensed with one manager this season, with George Burley leaving Hearts with the team top of the SPL. The subsequent loss of form has led to disquiet among fans, and this latest setback has done little to quell the unease.

Taken from the Scotsman