Rangers hearing a ‘joke’ says Whyte. Anyone for tennis?

Just off the phone after another natter with Craig Whyte, still the owner and major shareholder at Rangers – a football club he’s not sure he can visit because of concerns for his own safety. Craig’s in fine form today.

Craig is not at Hampden for the SFA’s disciplinary hearing. Craig, in fact is in the south of France: “Yes Alex – lovely sunny day down here as you might expect. Just taking in a little tennis here for a few days.”

Hampden not on the itinerary then?

“Well no. I’m away back to the Highlands for a few days over the weekend with the kids. But I’m back in London early next week.”

So with luck I should be sitting down with Craig a wee bit sooner than any body at the SFA. And why?

“Oh the SFA hearing’s a joke – farce. Why should I go anywhere near a body which announces its verdict at the beginning and then proceeds to its investigation. It’s utterly absurd.”

Read more: Alex Thomson on Rangers in crisis

Mr Whyte is angry because the SFA declared him “unfit” and “improper” to run a football club some weeks ago now. Curious therefore that its disciplinary hearing’s only under way now, he says.

Furthermore he says he has never been consulted at all over the investigation.

“Well it’s farcical. At no time has anybody from the Scottish Football Association ever come to see me, ever spoken to me at all about this. So it’s a funny kind of investigation isn’t it? They just want to act as judge, jury and executioner and they already have so there’s no way I’m going to be party to this.”

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