FANS have called for Dave King to be allowed to take up his position in the Rangers boardroom after he and his allies won a landslide victory to create a revolution at Ibrox.

 

Shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting voted for Mr King, who owns 14.5 per cent of shares in the holding company Rangers International Football Club plc, to be voted onto the board along with Paul Murray and John Gilligan. Chief executive Derek Llambias and Finance Director Barry Leach were voted off.

Mr King's consortium received about 85 per cent of the votes cast.

And the new board has already appointed shareholder Douglas Park as a director.

Mr King has stepped back from joining the board to get himself cleared as a 'fit and proper' person to hold a directorship of a company floated on the Aim stock market. He also faces an examination by Scottish football's ruling body, the SFA.

Mr King's 2013 conviction in relation to breaching 41 criminal counts of South Africa's Income Tax Act saw him sentenced to a fine totalling 3.28 million South African Rand (£180,000) or face 82 years in prison. He avoided the jail sentence by paying the fine.

Mr King also agreed to pay a £45 million settlement to the South Africa Revenue Service in relation to his personal income tax and the tax liability of Ben Nevis, a King trust company managed out of Guernsey.

Chris Graham, of the Rangers Supporters Trust, said he was hopeful that fans would finally see the coronation of Mr King.

"It has been a fantastic day. We have been working to this point for what feels like 10 years. I think when you look at the reaction of people outside Ibrox and talking to people at the EGM, there was a feeling of optimism before the result was announced, but for it to be so clear cut is very good.

"And I think personally for what he has put into it, Dave King should be on the board. I think he deserves to take that position.

"He has fought a pretty long battle and I think it would be appropriate for him to take that position. I think the SFA is the final hurdle to clear and if you look at some of the people who have been through the boardroom in recent years, if they didn't have a problem with them, you'd hope they wouldn't have a problem with Dave King.

"At the end of the day, the rules are there to protect the club, and at the end of the day, I don't think anyone could suggest that Dave King didn't have the best interests of the club at heart."

Mr Graham said he hoped Mr King would be there to question the retail contracts provided to Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley and the terms of the £10 million emergency loan secured against assets of the club.

"I think as far as the boardroom is concerned, the turmoil is over, " he said. "When you look at the profile of the shareholdings, there is no way for someone to come in and regain control of the boardroom.

"Effectively you have such a large portion of shares in fans hands now, that essentially there is no mechanism for somebody to come in and say they are going to buy the club, because quite simply they won't sell."

Rangers First, the community-interest company with an equity-buying scheme aimed at putting the club back in the hands of the Ibrox faithful, circulated an online poster featuring a rocket in outer space containing former board members David Somers, Derek Llambias and Barry Leach.

It said: "Mission accomplished. Thank you all."

Rangers First spokesman Ricki Neill said: "The Rangers supporters have voiced their discontent at the way the club has been run in recent years but we are confident the new board will treat the club and supporters with the respect they deserve after years of being taken for granted.

"We have an important and powerful voice and our growth in the last few months has been incredible but our work is just starting."

He said Rangers First was keen to work closely with the new board for the good of the club.

He said: "Supporters have been embarrassed by the lack of corporate governance at the club in recent times but we have cause to celebrate today as men of impeccable corporate pedigree and genuine Rangers supporters are now in control of the club.

"We share their goals of taking the club back to the higher echelons of Scottish football and we all want to see Rangers competing in Europe once again. It will be a long journey but with the support of the fan base it can be achieved far quicker.

"We should now have a stable board and that should mean more focus can be placed on the one thing that matters to everybody and that is winning games on the park."

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