To this day you still hear comments from certain Rangers fans in total denial of Dave King's law-breaking in South Africa.

Such as, there is no court conviction hanging over him.

Or, there was no concession of guilt on Dave King's part.

Or, he has not been convicted on tax crimes, because the State dropped the charges.

I've read it all in recent days.

I've even heard it being said that SARS, far from bringing King to court, instead agreed that they had called his tax affairs wrong in South Africa, and had actually apologised to him.

Before we get to the Scottish FA and decisions they look like having to make about King and Rangers, let's just be clear on his history of financial crimes in his adopted homeland.

In August 2013 King was convicted on 41 counts of breaking the South African tax laws. Each count, the court recorded, incurred either a two-year prison sentence or a financial penalty.

King, as part of a plea-and-sentence agreement, not unreasonably decided to stump up rather than do time. As part of his guilty plea he paid back circa 700m South African rand - at the time equivalent to roughly £50m - in illegally avoided taxes.

His High Court conviction that day in Johannesburg stood, and it still stands. King had broken the law on multiple counts. It needn't actually stalk him for the rest of his life. The point is, it just happened.

King made a pretty remarkable comment this week. He stated that he had achieved a "favourable settlement" with the tax authorities in South Africa in regard to his crimes.

He certainly called that one right. At first SARS were reported to be chasing him for around 3.3 billion SA rand (at the time somewhere above £200m). In the end he had to pay back around 700 million rand. It was actually a fantastic result for King.

And so to the imminent SFA business. Stewart Regan and his organisation face a very awkward - and potentially embarrassing - situation with King, who looks almost certain to win his long quest for power at Rangers

Over the next few weeks there is going to be much ducking and diving in terms of a hoovering-up of Rangers shares. All of that done, though, it is hard to see King being thwarted in his designs on Rangers ownership and power.

So what do the SFA do? In essence, they have to apply their infamous "fit and proper" criteria to King, should he wish to become a club director.

These regulations are in place, frankly, to stop Scottish football being invaded by dodgy geezers - and there are plenty of them afoot just now. Ironically, doesn't Rangers FC know this better than anyone?

"Fit and proper" at the SFA is not an exact test, and nor is it inflexible. Crucially - and it is hard to overstate this bit - there is wiggle room. The dreaded phrase "at the SFA's discretion" comes in to play.

In other words, with King, anything could happen.

Article 10 of the SFA's own guidelines, on the surface, makes it pretty plain. Scottish football clubs have to offer full disclosure on its directors, and these include things the SFA or any other reasonable society would find undesirable.

Helpfully, the SFA sets out its 'dislikes' in the context of its approval of any person, such as King, who seeks to become a club director. Such as:

- Bankruptcy

- Previously being disqualified as a director

- Any illegal acts or convictions

- Being previously a director of a club which suffered insolvency

There are plenty more of these - the SFA itself says the list is "not exhaustive". The criteria are merely set out in order to keep football clean.

It must be perfectly obvious to anyone that, on at least two of these counts, King fails badly. His tax conviction in South Africa is bad enough, let alone that he was a director of Rangers FC in the years immediately leading to the club's liquidation in 2012.

Here is the thing for the SFA: if King's crime-sheet does not fail to meet fit and proper, then what sort does?

Indeed, what is the point of listing these criteria if, in effect, they are not applied?

This is going to be a very ugly scene. You can almost feel the heat, the fear, of the SFA from here. Rangers fans want King in. Others around the country are awaiting - maybe expecting - an SFA laughing stock.

Scottish football's governing body faces a big test of its credibility over King, and I'm not convinced it is going to meet it.