DAVE King is likely to face a Scottish Football Association judicial panel over whether he breaches fit-and-proper person guidelines as he prepares to take his place on the Rangers board.

 

It is understood Scottish football's ruling body will have to hear from the would-be King of Ibrox over how he can hold a position of power at the club before sanctioning any move.

It comes as Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley was fined £7,500 by the SFA for breaching dual ownership rules with his involvement in Rangers. He owns 8.9 per cent of the Ibrox outfit but is prohibited from going over 10 per cent by an agreement struck with Hampden chiefs.

Mr King claimed yesterday that after consultation with chief executive Derek Llambias all his resolutions to remove the current board and bring in his own people have been passed and there is no need for Friday's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to take place.

The position was denied by the existing board of the club's holding company, Rangers International Football Club plc, made up of allies of Mr Ashley, Mr Llambias and finance officer Barry Leach.

They said they were staying put while confirming they are claiming a second £5million tranche from Sports Direct's £10m emergency loan to the club needed "in order to meet its cash requirements".

With Mr King apparently on the verge of ascending the Rangers throne, there are two hurdles within an 11-point 'fit and proper person' list of 'relevant facts' for officials, office-bearers and board directors that he must overcome.

The first in the "illustrative and not exhaustive" list concerns whether the person has been convicted in the last 10 years of an offence liable to imprisonment of two years or over. In 2013, Mr King agreed to pay £45m as a settlement after pleading guilty to breaching 41 criminal counts of South Africa's Income Tax Act surrounding non-payment.

The second concerns whether the person has been a director of a club in the five years preceding any insolvency event. Mr King and fellow would-be director Paul Murray were directors within the five years before the liquidation of RFC 2012 plc, the new name given to the original operating company Rangers Football Club plc.

The SFA Articles of Association state the board "reserves its discretion" as to whether a person is fit and proper after "due consideration of all relevant fact which the board has in its possession and knowledge".

Mr King has consistently insisted he will prove he would pass any fit and proper person's test to take a position of importance in the boardroom, saying he has a "unique status of credibility".

The tax authorities he was in dispute with have confirmed that he is cleared to act as a director in South Africa and Mr King believes this is crucial to his argument.

The Herald understands Mr King would have to put his case to an SFA judicial panel which would then make a final decision on his fit-and-proper person status.

Sources say that Scottish football's ruling body would have to hear of any "aggravating or mitigating circumstances" in relation to Mr King's tax convictions and his involvement on the board of the club company in liquidation.

The current Rangers board believe Mr King's history provides a major obstacle. And the board's nominated adviser WH Ireland has confirmed that it would resign if it is ratified that Mr King has taken the reins at Rangers. Shares would then be suspended from trading immediately.