Romanov appeal finally arrives at SFA offices after three-day delay

THE Scottish Football Association has agreed to hear an appeal from Vladimir Romanov against a £10,000 fine imposed for an attack on referees published on the Hearts website. The SFA only received the letter of appeal yesterday, but as it was postmarked Monday it came within the seven-day deadline.

"The letter arrived in the post this morning," a spokesman for the SFA said. "Everything is within the rules, so we will make arrangements for an appeal to be held in due course."
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Monday was the last day for Romanov to post notification to the governing body of his intention to appeal. The letter was sent recorded delivery - another SFA stipulation - and apparently delayed because of the volume of Christmas mail.

Hearts have also been fined £10,000 for publishing the remarks, which accused officials of trying to prevent the Tynecastle club from winning the Scottish Cup. The club has also appealed, and that hearing is expected next month, with Romanov's probably following a month or two later.

Romanov's appeal will be based on two grounds. First, he will argue that the SFA's general purposes committee acted unconstitutionally in fining him, as he is not a Hearts official. The SFA issued the fine after expanding its definition of what constitutes a club official, and Romanov's will probably be the first case in which the legality or justice of that definition is put to the test.

Second, Romanov will argue that natural justice should allow him the right to speak out. If it is accepted that he is not a club official, his lawyers will have no need to pursue this line of reasoning, as the SFA will have accepted his freedom of speech. If his first argument fails, by contrast, he will be able to use it as a fallback position.

Meanwhile, Hearts said last night that they had settled a dispute over unpaid rent on a shop which had seen sheriff officers visit the club. They also said they had paid half of a sum due to Lothian and Borders Police for matchday policing, and had come to accepted arrangements with the police for payment of the remainder.

Hearts owed an estimated £8,000 in rent on their recently-opened shop in the St James Centre in the middle of Edinburgh. The papers served by the sheriff officers on Monday gave notice that solicitors would demand Hearts be wound up if payment was not forthcoming within 21 days.

The club would not comment publicly on the matter, but are understood to have paid the money electronically to Donaldsons, the property services group which administers the St James Centre shop.

They claimed to have sent a cheque for the sum or part of it on 3 November, and assumed it had arrived at the Donaldsons office. After the sheriff officers turned up, the bank account on which the cheque was drawn was examined, and it was found that the money had not been withdrawn.

Lothian and Borders Police were owed more than £17,000. The payment of half, and agreement to pay the balance, comes - like the payment of the shop rental - after the issue was highlighted in the press.

"We have an excellent relationship with Lothian and Borders Police and half the outstanding amount has already been cleared," a Hearts spokesman said yesterday. "We will also be paying the remainder within the agreed terms outlined between ourselves and the police."

A spokesman for the police added: "We are in discussions with the club over the outstanding payments".

The revelations about unpaid bills come at an embarrassing time for Romanov, as the bank in which he holds a major stake, Ukio Bankas, is set to open a branch in Edinburgh. The sums the club owed may be small, but the impression given of slow payment cannot be helpful.

The current form of the team is also causing problems, with supporters becoming disillusioned with the influence political considerations have over selection. The Hearts of Midlothian Supporters Trust sent an open letter to Romanov on Wednesday saying "it now seems that you and the board don't care about results on the pitch".

A spokesman for Romanov said no decision had yet been taken on how to respond to the letter, if at all. An offer to meet with some or all of the Trust's board appears more likely than a reply in writing.

Meanwhile, Roman Bednar will come into contention for a place in the Hearts squad for the first time since he sustained an Achilles injury in October. The Czech striker had hoped to play in the reserve match against Dunfermline in midweek, but it was called off because of the adverse weather conditions.

Taken from the Scotsman