RALPH Topping, the outgoing SPFL chairman, last night called on the SFA to cooperate fully with an independent review into how Scottish football’s authorities dealt with the Rangers crisis.

The SPFL yesterday announced they had no legal power to punish the Ibrox club further for their use of Employee Benefit Trusts despite the Supreme Court ruling in favour of HMRC in the Big Tax Case earlier this month.

The governing body released a lengthy document outlining the advice they had received from Gerry Moynihan QC and called for a review into how Scottish football handled the issues arising out of the affair.

Topping believes the SFA must follow the SPFL’s lead and embrace a wide-reaching investigation into how they acted and the rules and regulations that are in place.

“If we are going to have a successful review we need our SFA colleagues to aid that process,” he said. “I would be very surprised if there was not a demand for that from the press, public and football clubs.

“If they don’t that’s their decision. I think they would find it hard to have Aunt Harriet approach and sweep it under the carpet or stonewall it. We don’t want Aunt Harriet to have her way.”

Topping added: “Who now sits on the review body? There is a lot of work to be done in that area. We need to work with the SFA on that. That is an absolute imperative.

“There are a lot of good people along at the SFA. There is not one single person in Scottish football who set out to bring about an outcome that suited them.

“We all need to go through that process of scrutiny. I am happy to go through it. The board of the SPFL are happy to go through it. I think everybody in Scottish football should have their opportunity to have their say and the review body report on it.

“I am satisfied that we have gone through the legal process and we have done the responsible thing in terms of getting wiser minds than I’ve got to look at it from a legal perspective. We have taken that advice and we have acted on it.

“People can be critical all they want, but we haven’t set out in anything other than in a sincere fashion to try and do the right thing. If I haven’t or the body hasn’t then it’s a fair criticism.”