SFA could change rules to silence Romanov

THE SFA is considering a change of rules in order to bring Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov to book for any future criticism of match officials.

Romanov is currently outwith the disciplinary reach of the SFA as, despite being the majority shareholder in Hearts, he is not a registered official of the club.

David Taylor, the chief executive of the SFA, has revealed that an amendment to its articles of association will be discussed within the next few weeks as it looks at the possibility of closing a loophole in its procedures which spares Romanov from any action at the moment.

In recent weeks, the Lithuanian has been quoted as claiming Hearts players were "mutilated" and offered no protection from the referee during their 1-0 defeat by Rangers in December. Romanov was also highly critical of the performance of the match officials after Hearts lost 3-2 to Celtic on New Year's Day.

Such comments would normally see the individual concerned asked to explain them to the SFA's general purposes committee under article 127 of the articles of association. However, that only applies to "a recognised football body, club, official, player or other person under the jurisdiction of the association".

Romanov has yet to take up any formal position with Hearts, although his son Roman is chairman. Taylor, who earlier this month dismissed Romanov's call for a replay of the Celtic fixture after the SFA's review panel upheld Hearts' claim for wrongful dismissal of defender Takis Fyssas, admitted the anomaly in the rules is being addressed.

"We will look at it but we are guided by legal advice as well as by policy considerations," said Taylor. "It gets complicated when you try to think what is the definition of an owner and in what circumstances would they be called to account.

"It is very easy if you are an owner, for example, to put shares in trust or in the hands of your family to circumvent the rules if you really want to do so. It is difficult to have a watertight system.

"We have an annual review of the articles of association, which are the official rules of the SFA, and there are then proposals put to our agm at the end of May. We are just about to embark on the process of rules revision to have a look at some of these issues, not just in this area but in other areas too to make sure we are as tight as possible on these matters.

"The principle for the SFA is to deal with the club because it is the club which is the member of the association. It is a question of the link between the club and its owner which takes us into interesting legal territory. It depends on whose behalf the person is speaking and it depends on the club's official response to us in terms of any comments which are made.

"That's why we have to pause, reflect and consider, with the benefit of legal advice, how watertight our rules can be in terms of comments that are made.

"Having said that, controversy is the lifeblood of football. How do you regulate the game while at the same time allowing fair comment and allowing individuals their rights in terms of natural justice?

"On the other hand, we do need to uphold standards in the game. If we have this approach, we have to try to make sure people within football comply with the rules football sets for itself.

"Yes, we want to close any loopholes, but we want to have a set of laws which are enforceable both within the SFA and in courts of law. We don't want to open ourselves to legal challenge. It is going to be looked at, but we are not saying yet that we are going to put forward a proposal. The clubs also have to approve any change in the rules and consider how it might affect them in the future."

Charlie Mann, Romanov's spokesman, insisted last night that the Hearts owner was more than happy to be accountable for both his words and actions.

"Mr Romanov takes his role very seriously," said Mann, "and he is not trying to avoid anything in terms of the rules of the game here. He does not have a problem with referees and nor does the club."

Taken from the Scotsman