CAMPBELL OGILVIE, president of the Scottish Football Association, has refuted the suggestion that any league reconstruction would be implemented to fast-track Rangers back into the top division.
Sebastien Faure, the Ibrox club's new French defender, said at the weekend that there was a possibility the Ibrox club could complete the journey from the third division to the top flight in just two years, giving the impression that Rangers would be allowed to move quicker through the ranks.
But Ogilvie, a one-time Ibrox director, insisted that any reorganisation of the game would be done for the right reasons and that there would be no chance of teams being invited to join any revamped top division on status alone.
"I can categorically take that out of the equation," Ogilvie said after helping make the draw for the second round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. "This debate was on the table long before the Rangers issue came up. There is no short circuit here. Teams will have to come up in the normal channels of promotion and relegation.
"I have heard comment about [Rangers being fast-tracked], but it is not the case. People can perceive issues but, as far as I am concerned, any reconstruction of the game and teams moving up will be done on merit. I don't believe for a minute there is a question of inviting teams."
One of the proposals on the table would involve the merger of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League into one governing body, but Ogilvie remains unconvinced about the merits of such a plan.
"There has been talk of that but I don't know if it's the answer," added the SFA president. "We had one body in the past and you still have to work out the governance and voting structures between the top division and the other decisions. At the start of this debate, I thought one body would be appropriate but it's not the be all and end all. If you have one body but the same voting issues then it is not going to move things forward."
Interview. Pages 2, 3
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