THE Scottish Football League has no plans to consider stripping Rangers of the six League Cups won between 2001 and 2010, even if the club is found guilty of making undisclosed payments to players via Employee Benefit Trusts during those years.
The two other governing bodies, the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Premier League, have worked on a draft document which proposes stripping Rangers of five league titles and four Scottish Cups if an ongoing investigation finds the club guilty of breaking rules by not disclosing payments made via EBTs.
But the League Cup is run by the Scottish Football League and Rangers won that trophy in 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2010-11, all of which were within the 2001-2010 period in which EBTs were used.
David Longmuir, the SFL chief executive, attended the Scottish Communities League Cup first round draw with First Minister Alex Salmond yesterday – they announced the Scottish Government will sponsor the cup for £1.7m this season – as Rangers were drawn against East Fife.
Longmuir played down the likelihood of his organisation taking back trophies won by Rangers. "Not at this stage," he said. "We are 'business as usual' at this moment.
"From the day we announced that Rangers would be in the third division my only thought was how to rebuild the game, get investment back in and take the game forward. I'm not looking back any more. I'm getting to the point now where I can see light at the end of the tunnel and I can see the game beginning to get back on its feet."
The SFL is still awaiting feedback from its media partner, IMG Media, having commissioned the agency to test the market for a package of 25 Scottish League games including newco Rangers this season. An SPL bid of £1m was rejected, which suggested the SFL believes much more could be raised.
"We have a broadcasting deal in place for the League Cup with the BBC and we still have another year to run. As far as the league is concerned we're currently at very early days in terms of having a look at what interest there is in SFL games. I know there is a huge interest in our new club [newco Rangers] and that will drive a lot of media attention. I'm sure there will be value in that, but in context."
Salmond said he would not attempt to persuade BSkyB to maintain its deal with the SPL. Salmond's friendship with Rupert Murdoch has led to calls for him to intervene.
"That is a matter for the football authorities and the broadcasters," said the First Minister. "I have made it clear that any help I can give, we will give. So let's leave it at that and see what announcements are made.
"Looking around to what distinct initiative the government could make, without interfering in the football authorities' rights to their own affairs, I thought enhancing our sponsorship of the Scottish Communities League Cup would be a step forward."
Of the £1.7m sponsorship, £500,000 is from the Cashback for Communities programme, in which money seized from criminals is redirected to youth initiatives.
Rangers, who were unseeded in the draw held at Stenhousemuir's Ochilview, were represented by the head of their youth department, Jimmy Sinclair. He saw them paired with East Fife in what will be the newco club's first competitive home fixture. Ties will be held on Saturday August 4 although Rangers' could be moved because Celtic are at home to Aberdeen in the SPL that day.
Sinclair was optimistic that manager Ally McCoist's impoverished squad, now reliant on several youth players, could handle the third division. "I think a Rangers jersey is a heavy jersey no matter which forum you're playing in," he said. "But the boys who have come into the team in the past have handled themselves well and I've no reason to suspect anything other than the ones who are with us now, albeit they are a bit younger, will handle it as well. It is now a bit of a grey area, what constitutes a first team player and what constitutes a youth player!"
Rangers' home attendances are difficult to predict, but the novelty of the club's first match at Ibrox is sure to draw a large crowd. That will benefit East Fife, who will receive 50% of the gate receipts after 15% is removed for expenses. "We will be the first visitors at Ibrox and I would think we would get a big turnout," said Sid Columbine, chairman of the second division club. "The Rangers supporters have had a bad time and it's hard lines on them because they are the innocent victims in all of this. I hope they turn up and help us out."
Meanwhile a source close to the owner of Napoli, Aurelio de Laurentiis, denied reports that the Italian businessman was interested in making a takeover bid for the newco Rangers. "De Laurentiis said that Scotland was an option a few years ago. Now there is nothing concrete," said the source.
DRAW
Tuesday, July 31
Peterhead v Dundee
Saturday, August 4
Queen of the South v Alloa Athletic, Stranraer v Livingston, Raith Rovers v Berwick Rangers, Stenhousemuir v Brechin City, Montrose v Cowdenbeath, Ayr United v Clyde, Dumbarton v Albion Rovers, Forfar Athletic v Partick Thistle, Falkirk v Elgin City, Hamilton Academical v Annan Athletic. Arbroath v Stirling Albion
Sunday, August 5
East Stirlingshire v Morton
To be confirmed
Queen's Park v Airdrie United
Rangers v East Fife
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article