Hearts may face double inquiry as UEFA and SFA look at Romanov web comments

BOTH Vladimir Romanov as an individual and Hearts as a club could face disciplinary action because of a statement from the majority shareholder posted on the club's website on Wednesday. UEFA and the Scottish Football Association confirmed yesterday that they would look into remarks made by Romanov, in particular his allegations about the behaviour of referees in domestic and European competition.

The SFA's general purposes committee will assess the statement at its next meeting, on 24 October. "Mr Romanov's remarks on the Hearts website will be discussed," a spokesperson for the governing body of Scottish football said.

A spokesperson for UEFA, meanwhile, refused to speculate on what action might be taken, but did outline the array of sanctions available. "We've taken a note of Mr Romanov's comments and we will look at them," the spokesperson said. "We have had such cases before, but every case is different so you can't compare any two.

"There are a whole range of sanctions we can take, such as a warning, a censure, a fine or a suspension. However, as it stands, there is no case and it is not up to us to speculate. But we will be looking at his comments, although I cannot say when they will be addressed."

The two organisations are expected to examine different sections of the statement. The remarks about domestic referees, and their supposed "efforts and intrigues" to prevent Hearts winning the Scottish Cup, will be of greatest interest to the SFA, while a more specific comment about the behaviour of a Russian referee is likely to be dealt with by UEFA.

The referee in question, Yuri Baskakov, sent two Hearts players off in the return leg of the Edinburgh club's Champions League qualifier against AEK Athens. The Greek side won the leg 3-0, and progressed to the group stages by a 5-1 aggregate.

Any judicial action arising from that match, though, is unlikely to be one-sided, as Hearts say they have made an official complaint to UEFA about Baskakov. Their particular complaint centres on a conversation in Russian between the referee and Hearts officials before the game began.

Romanov has made a series of controversial pronouncements since taking over at Tynecastle in February of last year, and has made it plain since shortly after buying into Hearts that he believes much of the Scottish football establishment - referees included - have a bias in favour of Rangers and Celtic.

There are, however, two important differences between his latest offering and previous ones: first, the SFA is now confident he comes under its jurisdiction, and second, this statement, unlike previous ones, was posted on the Hearts website, heartsfc.co.uk.

Prior to the SFA's annual general meeting in June, Romanov escaped its jurisdiction as he was not a named official of the club. He is the major shareholder, or at least has a controlling interest through Ukio Bankas and associated contradict companies, but is neither an office-bearer nor an employee of Hearts.

Believing that situation was a loophole which gave Romanov and others too much latitude to criticise, the SFA ruled that senior figures such as him were de facto officials. That ruling could be subject to challenge in the courts, but for the moment neither Hearts nor any other member club has hinted at such a course of action.

Previous statements from Romanov have come via either the public-relations company he employs in Scotland or a Moscow-based journalist. Had Wednesday's statement been made public in the same way, any case taken by the SFA or UEFA would have more likely been against Romanov alone.

As it was published on Hearts' website, though, the club may also have a case to answer. Article 93 of the SFA's rule book holds clubs responsible for their own publications, which include websites as well as programmes and other printed matter.

As the umbrella body for football on the continent, UEFA's jurisdiction goes even further. "He is one of the public faces of the club and would be considered as an official of the club," its spokesperson added. In general, "action against an individual or a club - or even an association - would be applicable".

It is apparent, though, that in this case the SFA will be approaching the matter from the same side as UEFA rather than taking up the cudgels on behalf of Hearts.

Taken from the Scotsman