Football and Rugby

A FORMER football club chairman has been told that his attempts to defraud the club he had been involved with for 40 years deserved a prison sentence.

Bark, a first offender, was ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work for the community when he appeared for sentence at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court.

He admitted forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain £1000 from the club's weekly lottery draw.

Bark was told by Sheriff Kenneth Hogg that after his long service to the club this conduct had seen a spectacular fall from grace for him.

The Sheriff said it was an offence against the community as well as the club and merited a jail sentence.

"It is always distressing to see examples of trust so painstakingly built up being lost," he said and added that Stranraer FC was a community club built on the efforts of the community which relied heavily on the integrity of the people involved.

The Court was told that Bark, a player, committee man and chairman of the club through his long service devised a scheme to enter a ticket in the weekly jackpot after the winning numbers were drawn.

Bark, aged 59 of Greenfield Row, Stranraer, pleaded guilty to a forming a fraudulent scheme when he appeared on indictment at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court last month.

He admitted forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain money by claiming to have won the Stranraer FC anniversary draw and that between April 30 and June 30, 2006, he pretended to the club that a person called Hugh Brown from Paisley had won the draw.

Bark admitted entering the ticking after the draw had been made and the winning numbers known in an attempt to induce representatives of the club to pay him £1000.

At the previous sitting not guilty pleas to five other charges of embezzlement were accepted by the Crown. A second accused, David McCurdy, 52, Bonhill Road, Dumbarton, had a not guilty plea to a charge of pretending to be Hugh Brown and claiming he had been paid £1000 by Bark, accepted by the Crown.

The Court was told that the weekly jackpot had a prize of £1000 and was run by the club and was also open to the public to purchase tickets for £1 each.

On April 30 2006 the club was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the jackpot and the prize was increased to £1,000. When the draw was made there was only one winning ticket and all the tickets were sorted into bundles as was the normal practice and take to Stair Park to be stored in case of other claims.

Bark, a postman who is suspended on full pay until after the case is settled, took the tickets back to the ground and two days later a member of the committee received a call on behalf of someone claiming to be ‘Hugh B from Paisley, saying he had a winning ticket which had been brought at Sandhead Caravan Site.

Checks were carried out and it was discovered that the ticket was not in the Sandhead bundle but one which had been given to Bark.

Agent Arnold Brazenall said the accused genuinely regretted the trouble and affects which had been occasioned against the club with which he had a distinguished and long association. Although he realised the effects of the offence the accused did still have friends who had stood by him and several testimonials had been received.

He said Bark and his wife realised the seriousness of the case and although no money had been obtained as a result it was a very serious breach of trust and consequently the proceedings had been on indictment.

QUEENS STALWART DIES

ONE of Queen of the South's staunchest fans will miss the Palmerston side's first ever Scottish Cup final.
Andy Frazer from Dalbeattie had been looking forward to travelling to Hampden to cheer Queens on against Rangers.
But the 91-year-old has died of a heart attack less than a month before the big game.
Andy, who celebrated his 91st birthday only three days before travelling to Hampden for the victory over Aberdeen, was a Queens supported for 74 years.
The former footballer. who played alongside ex-Queens and Scotland hero Billy Houliston, their younger days, was at Queens first semi-final 58 years ago and was determined to make the second which he did.
As he prepared for the semi-final Andy said: "I have been going to Palmerston since 1924 and I still never miss a home game.
"I don't get to as many away games now but this is one I definitely don't want to miss. I got my tickets and my daughter and some of the family are going up."
Andy, who was born only a stone's throw from Palmerston had his own seat in the main stand at the ground.
His daughter Anne said: "He passed away at Dumfries Infirmary and all the family were there. He was looking forward to the final after going to Hampden for the semi-final.
"It's so sad that he will miss the final but in one way he won't know the result. He would have been so disappointed if Queens had got beaten."
A Queen of the South spokesman said: "It is tragic that he will miss the final, a match he had been so looking forward to."
A funeral service for Mr Frazer will take place at Dalbeattie Parish Church on Friday. He has two daughters, Dorothy, Anne and a son Murray.

HAMPDEN HERE WE COME

ABERDEEN 3 QUEEN of the SOUTH 4

HAMPDEN here we come - that was the roar from thousands of Queens fans at the end of one of the most exciting ever Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Spectators were speechless for a a moment after the final whistle and the the truth dawned - Queens were through to their first ever Scottish Cup final.

Now the fans want them to go one better than their troubled neighbours Gretna who also reached the final but went down at the last hurdle.

Stevie Tosh opened the scoring for Queens in the 22nd minute as the underdogs piled on the pressure which saw their Premier League counterparts wilt.

The Palmerston side will meet either the winner of next weekend's semi-final, with St Johnstone waiting to play the winner of the Partick Thistle v Rangers replay.

Then there could be an added bonus for Queens for if Rangers were to progress, the Dumfries team would be assured of a place in next season's Uefa Cup.

But for the present the only word in the South West is Gordon Chisholm and his merry men who mesmerised the 24,000 fans who turned out for the final at Hampden.

Queen of the South look good in the opening spell and it was no surprise when the Doonhamers claimed took the lead after 22 minutes.

Soutar failed to punch clear Ryan McCann's deep free-kick into the and the ball broke to Andy Aitken, who slipped it back to Tosh. The former Aberdeen midfielder side-footed his shot from 16 yards high into the roof of the net.

Queens had the ball in the net again shortly after but the ref ruled it was offside

Palmerston goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald was called on for the first time as he gathered a header from Lee Miller but there was nothing he could in the 36th minute when Considine levelled the scores in the 36th minute.

The Dons defender rose above Jim Thomson to guide a header inside the post after Scott Severin had nodded Nicholson's free-kick back into the six yard box.

Chisholm's team were dealt a major blow three minutes from the interval when top-scorer Stephen Dobbie limped off and ex-Aberdeen player, Stewart came on.

Stewart played a key role in Queens' second goal barely four minutes into the second half. Burns gathered a pass from Stewart at the back post and, with the goal at his mercy, sent an awkward shot against Severin, but the midfielder got another opportunity and managed to slam the loose ball home.

MacDonald made a fingertip save to deny Chris Maguire and Burns squandered a golden chance when he sent a shot over the top from eight yards as the game raged from end to end.

Aberdeen were not to be out-done and Dumfries - born Nicholson was on hand to finish after MacDonald had done well to keep out Miller's header from a Maguire cross.

Fans of the Dons barely had time to celebrate before they were behind again. Considine mis-judged a long upfield punt and O'Connor did well to slip the ball past Diamond before slotting a neat shot beyond Soutar from 18 yards.

This time the supporters from Dumfries had their joy cut short with Considine making up for his blunder with a second goal. Nicholson's cross from the right was helped on by Miller and the young defender found himself alone at the back post with the easiest of tasks to head home.

The fans were treated to five goals in a tremendous heart-stopping 11 minutes. It was complete when Queens scored an almost identical goal to the one they had just lost, Stewart picking up a header from Thomson and powering a shot past Soutar.

The Dons pressed Queens for most of the remainder of the match and Zander Diamond was unlucky not to score when  his header hit the bar.

Teams:
Queens: MacDonald, McCann (Paton 90), Thomson, Aitken, Harris, Burns, Tosh, MacFarlane, McQuilken, O'Connor, Dobbie (Stewart 42). Subs Not Used: Grindlay, O'Neill, Gilmour.

Booked: McCann.

Goals: Tosh 22, Burns 49, O'Connor 56, Stewart 60.

Aberdeen: Soutar, Maybury (Young 80), Diamond, Considine, McNamara (Mackie 62), Nicholson, Severin, Foster, Aluko, Maguire, Miller. Subs Not Used: Langfield, Duff, Touzani.

Goals: Considine 36, Nicholson 53, Considine 59.

Att: 24,008

Ref: Mr K Clark

GRETNA LIVE TO FIGHT AGAIN

STRUGGLING Gretna look like fighting it out until the end of the season.
Director of football, Mick Wadsworth has 18 players who have volunteered to play against Aberdeen today (SAT) without any certainty of being paid.
The go ahead for the game was given by the administrator David Elliot and he has also approved next week's Celtic match.
The squad will for Aberdeen will include several of the club's under 19 squad but many of the originals will play and wait and see if there is any money in the pot.
Instead of an overnight hotel stop-off on the way to Pittodrie the squad leave at 8am this morning for Aberdeen.
The club reached crisis point this week as it became clear that millionaire owner Brooks Mileson had withdrawn his backing for the club and it went into administration on Wednesday.
The SPL secretary Iain Blair was in talks all morning with administrator David Elliot and said he was now convinced that the club would see the season through.
It is believed that the SPL has stepped in and offered around £25,000 out of the £100,000 due to Gretna at the end of the season.
Blair said: "We're very pleased the game at Pittodrie is going ahead and the next game against Celtic is at Fir Park and should hopefully provide some revenue for the club. I think in the short term we can see that things are not just as bad as we thought previously.
"But the patient is very much in intensive care and I'll be having discussions with David over the coming days and weeks to try and do everything we can to help Gretna survive."
Blair added: "The matter of payment is for the administrator but I do know that  he is very keen to address the issues, not only of the players, but of all the staff here at Gretna. That is his personal responsibility."
Blair refused to confirm that the SPL had given Gretna money but he said: "It is well-known that on various occasions over the years we have effectively loaned money to clubs. In reality it is just an advance of fees that would be paid at a later date.
"Some clubs have taken advantage of that facility but I'm not getting into the specifics of Gretna or any other club for that matter."
He added: "The important thing is that we've got the Aberdeen game organised and the Celtic game at Fir Park next week. We are working towards Gretna seeing out the rest of the season and If we didn't think it was a real possibility then we wouldn't be standing here talking about the fixture tomorrow and the fixture next week.
"I think we have a responsibility to help when situations like this arise. We are working closely with the administrator and we hope it will bear fruit and Gretna will continue to the end of the season."
Wadsworth, who has been running the playing side since Davie Irons left a month ago, said: "We've had a full training session and we're assessing the players who are available for the Aberdeen game. I think we've enough to see through the fixture and that's important. The bus is booked and all  being well everything will go ahead.
"We've got enough to fulfil the fixture. We've got 11starters and seven substitutes. The think I have to stress is that the players' decision to play is no more important and viable and right than a a players decision not to play.
"They've all got reasons either way and I respect both ways. There is certainly no negative or bad feeling against the guys who can't or won't play. For an injury tomorrow could jeopardise them getting another club in the next couple of weeks. There is no stigma attached either way."  
Wadsworth added: "We are just trying to do our best. Everything is up to date, the bus is booked and the insurance is paid. We are having to go up on Saturday morning although ideally we would go up and stay overnight.
"We've had to leave it late because of meetings being held today."
Fraser Wishart from the Scottish Professional Players Union, said the players were to be congratulated for their professionalism.
"The players have been asked to play for nothing. Many of them have opportunities to sign for other clubs and are waiting on FIFA. I think it would be wrong to chastise anybody for not playing. I think the players have had to make a tough decision on their own.
"The administrator has bent over backwards to try and save the club. He has tried to flush out anyone who is interested in the club. If anyone is interested he has to check them out but they will have to be quick because Gretna FC is working on cash flows and predictions and getting money from here, there and everywhere."
He added: "There are no guarantees to the players. They have not received any guarantees from the administrator other than playing this weekend and there might be some money for them next week. Hopefully the future is bright for the club. The fact that it is still alive is something for yesterday was the lowest point the administrator had been at."