- SFA and Rangers at loggerheads over Ibrox legend John Brown claiming officials were ‘corrupt’ on club TV following the failure to award a goal
- Jim Goldie ends Scots’ 17-year wait for a Royal Ascot winner after Robert MacIntyre had earned a second-placed finish at the US Open
After last weekend’s US Open came to an end, with Scotland’s own Robert MacIntyre lifting golfing spirits having finished in a solo second place at Oakmont, things returned to normal in the wacky world of Scottish sport.
The week began with Rangers leaping to the defence of club legend John Brown after he was charged by the SFA following his claim on club commentary for a match at the end of the season against Hibernian, whereby he claimed that the officials on duty were ‘corrupt’.
The back and forth between club and governing body continued, when on Friday, the SFA accused Rangers of ‘misleading comments’. The Ibrox side had previously claimed that they ‘had flagged numerous examples of similar incidents on other club channels’ but the association hit back, suggesting that potential breaches weren’t considered serious enough to merit more than warnings.
To matters on the pitch, Rangers unveiled Lyall Cameron with the former Dundee star announcing that he wants to get the club ‘back where it belongs’ and new manager Russell Martin told fans of the Ibrox side that the team will be strengthened ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Panathiniakos next month.
Russell Martin is confident that he will be able to bring in targets ahead of the Champions League qualifiers
Lyall Cameron has already been unveiled as a Rangers player following his pre-contract agreement
Robert MacIntyre had success at the US Open, and now the Oban left-hander is targeting a major
Though there has been plenty of build-up towards the British and Irish Lions tour kicking off, in the end with a 28-24 loss to Argentina in Dublin in the first warm-up match, there has been lots happening on the Scottish rugby front too.
Scottish Rugby chief Alex Williamson admitted that the SRU are keen for head coach Gregor Townsend to remain in charge of the team, despite a disappointing Six Nations. The former Scotland star has been at the helm since 2017 and has overseen one of the most talented squads in a generation but many feel that the squad have fallen short in major tournaments.
Williamson also spoke about the state of Scottish Rugby’s finances, revealing the organisation are on track to cut losses with the addition of more concerts at Murrayfield, while revealing they are upgrading the toilet system and would be open to holding other sporting events at the national stadium – though football isn’t one of them.
Gregor Townsend received backing from SRU chief Alex Williamson
Towards the end of the week, news broke that Rufus McLean had been called up by the USA and could face Scotland in the Autumn Tests. The former Glasgow Warrior was sacked by the SRU after receiving a 120-hour community payback order by Sheriff Matthew Auchinloss following charges relating to a two-year campaign of abuse against his former partner.
There was joy for Scotland at Royal Ascot, though, when Jim Goldie ended a 17-year wait for a winner trained north of the border when American Affair stormed to success in the King Charles III Stakes.
On another positive note, following that second-placed finish at Oakmont, there is now a real feeling that Robert MacIntyre will end Scotland’s wait for the country’s first major winner since Paul Lawrie triumphed in The Open at Carnoustie in 1999, and the Oban left-hander insists he is capable of doing just that.
