FORMER Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston has urged the SFA to investigate Mike Ashley's control of the Ibrox club.
The Sports Direct tycoon has seized power at the Glasgow giants - despite being prevented from increasing his stake to 29.9 per cent by the governing body last month.
The Newcastle United supremo, who only owns an 8.92 shareholding, has loaned the stricken SPFL Championship club £3 million to keep them afloat.
But Johnston, who reported the 2011 takeover of Rangers by Craig Whyte to the government, admitted he was concerned about Ashley's involvement.
Asked if he thought the SFA should look into the situation, he said: "I really do. I have some ongoing concerns about the governance of the club. "We found out several months ago that Charles Green sold the rights to the naming of Ibrox stadium to Mike Ashley for a pound a year and a half ago.
"For that not to be made public, for stakeholders not to be aware of it, was really concerning to me. Even more concerning was the fact we found out about it officially when he gave it back to them.
"Also, how he and Rangers board at the time could have formed another subsidiary and become joint partners for official merchandise and retail without it being a bigger deal to my mind is a little suspect.
"Yeah, I do have concerns about what Mike's role is here, what tentacles he has got crawling around Ibrox and what control he is exerting.
"You are concerned when someone thumbs their nose at the SFA and says: 'I'm putting in a chief executive and I'm putting in a chief financial officer and I've got people on the board who are essentially representing my equity on a wink'.
"I think it is still a little mystical that he continues to control the destiny of the club. There is not enough transparency from that standpoint. I would like an awful lot more of it.
"Mike Ashley will be watching what has been going on quietly and carefully as he always does without saying anything. But he will have his own agenda."
Hopes are high among Rangers supporters that "The Three Bears" consortium and Dave King can gain control at Ibrox after buying up significant stakes in their boyhood heroes last week. But Johnston, who was responsible for introducing King to David Murray before he invested £20 million of his personal wealth in Rangers back in 2000, questioned whether the South Africa-based businessman would want to run the club.
He said: "I haven't talked to Dave about his company buying the stock. But when he was looking at being a potential buyer of the club during my era, and he certainly had interest in it, he didn't want to do was be out there on his own, up front, responsible for funding all the ambitions of Rangers fans.
"I think Dave would have a certain amount of trepidation about being the only guy there. He was never going to be comfortable with that. Whether he has changed his mind now the tax case is settled I don't know, but I suspect not. Dave plays his cards pretty close to his chest."
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