The football authorities: Ibrox hopes now lie with contrition and compromise

Chief football writer

Wednesday 13 June 2012

CHARLES Green will attempt to strike deals with other Scottish Premier League clubs in an attempt to drum up enough support to get his newco Rangers into the SPL next season.

It was business as usual as David Longmuir yesterday as he made the Ramsdens Cup draw. Picture: SNS

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Michael Grant

That could involve Green promising a newco Rangers will settle outstanding debts to SPL clubs, or committing to accept future punishments if found guilty after the SPL's investigation into alleged undisclosed payments via Employee Benefit Trusts. Other clubs could also insist that a newco Rangers are not admitted without agreeing to support a change to the existing requirement for an 11-1 majority on votes on SPL commercial matters, which has given the Old Firm the power of veto. That issue is due to be discussed at the SPL annual meeting on July 16.

Each SPL club has one share in the league and the newco Rangers will have to apply for the transfer of the share held by the soon-to-be liquidated current club. The SPL share and SFA membership are among the "assets" now being bought by Green's group.Once that application is received, the SPL will convene a meeting of all 12 clubs to decide on whether or not to accept the newco. But there is a 14-day notice period before that meeting can be held. If the application was received by the SPL on Friday – the day after tomorrow's creditors' meeting at Ibrox – the very earliest the newco vote could be held would be on June 29.Rangers will continue to have a share, and SPL voting rights, until their existing share is passed on. That means all 12 clubs will vote on the matter when the time comes. An 8-4 majority is required for the application to go through, meaning five SPL clubs would have to vote against it for Rangers to be playing in the third division next season.David Longmuir, the chief executive of the Scottish Football League, said last night the matter was only for the SPL and SFA for the time being, but that if a vacancy was created (by another SFL club moving up to replace Rangers) then the Ibrox club could apply to join the third division and would then be assessed accordingly. All SFL member clubs would then vote on whether to allow Rangers in.The SPL will publish next season's fixture list on Monday and Rangers will be included as usual. Their liquidation came too late for the fixture scheduling process to be interrupted but, if the newco application is rejected by the other clubs, the SPL will meet to consider alternative scenarios. There will be no reprieve for Dunfermline Athletic because their SPL share was transferred to Ross County, as per the rules, at the point of relegation.There is the possibility of Dundee, the Irn-Bru First Division runners-up, making an application for any vacant share and there is also the unlikely but possible scenario of the league going ahead with only 11 members for 2012-13. That would mean a rota in which one club did not play a fixture every weekend. The SPL declined to comment yesterday. A newco Rangers will also have to successfully apply for membership of the SFA. The newco would apply to the SPL first (and subsequently the SFL if it was refused entry). Once the newco has a provisional league membership, it can apply for membership of the SFA. A condition of membership would almost certainly be that the newco took on any existing or potential punishments for offences under the "oldco" management. The SFA is waiting to set the date for an Appellate Tribunal hearing on how to punish Rangers for bringing the game into disrepute, after the initial imposition of a 12-month transfer embargo was overturned at the Court of Session. A date for the Tribunal, under Lord Carloway, cannot be set until Rangers decide whether to appeal the Court of Session decision by Lord Glennie. The club had 21 days in which to appeal.

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The football authorities: Ibrox hopes now lie with contrition and compromise

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