Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has had a fine imposed by Scottish football's governing body for breaching so-called dual ownership rules involving Rangers cut from £7,500 to £1,000.

 

An appeal tribunal took the decision despite agreeing that he had deliberately sought a degree of control at Rangers.

The club had been ordered to pay £5,500, following the original £7,500 fine to Mr Ashley in March for the same offence.

An SFA judicial panel had deemed Mr Ashley, who has a near nine per cent stake in Rangers, had influence in the Ibrox boardroom.

The bulk of Rangers' fine was imposed for failing to act towards the SFA with the utmost good faith.

The move to cut the level of fine came after a appeal tribunal decided an the judicial panel "erred" and that it considered the "appropriate sanction" to be at the entry point for top end breaches and impose a fine of £1,000.

Mr Ashley had been deemed to have influenced the management or administration through the appointment of business associates Derek Llambias and Barry Leach to the club's board. He also offered a credit facility to the club in October.

The judicial panel previously heard that Ashley made cash loans to the cash-strapped Scottish Championship club, held commercial contracts and had Mr Llambias and Mr Leach operating as chief executive and finance director, respectively, on the Ibrox board until they were removed at an extraordinary general meeting called by Dave King.

The grounds of the appeal said that it was clearly established that MASH Holdings Ltd company entered into a credit agreement with Rangers, and not its owner Mr Ashley, with the result that the judicial panel finding was "inconsistent".

Mr Ashley argued there was "no direct evidence" that either he or MASH Holdings Ltd nominated Derek Llambias as a director and a "full and fair reading of all witness statements provided no basis for such an inference".

The appeal tribunal, in rejecting an appeal that Mr Ashley had breached dual ownership rules, agreed the club's granting of a right to for the Newcastle United owner to nominate directors gave rise to the possibility of him influencing the affairs of two clubs.

But they agreed to cut the fine, agreeing that the Judicial Panel "failed to specify clearly the mitigating and aggravating factors on which they relied" to impose their sanction.

The tribunal said: "The range of penalties applicable for top end breaches is very wide, ranging from £1000 to £10,000, and reflects the extensive variety of possibilities.

"In this case the basic circumstances of the breach are such as to bring this breach within the top end range. Although the funding provided was needed by Rangers, it could have been provided without the perpetration of an obvious breach of the dual interests rule.

"That breach was deliberate and had the effect of providing the Appellant with a measure of power over the management and administration of another club.

"Although answerable to the shareholders, the board directs the affairs of the club. Membership of the Board is a powerful position. Securing that degree of control was done deliberately."

But it said "on the other hand the interests of Rangers FC were not directly adversely affected and that Mr Ashley was "previously of good conduct".

In December last year, the SFA refused to allow Sports Direct owner Mr Ashley to increase his stake in Rangers International Football Club to 29.9 per cent. He had previously signed an agreement that limited his shareholding to 10 per cent.

In January, with bills to pay, the Rangers board agreed to borrow £10m from Mr Ashley's Sports Direct, £5m of which was made available as immediate working capital and to repay the October £3m loan made by Ashley.

For this, the businessman took security over the club's Murray Park training ground at Auchenhowie, near Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire and registered trademarks.