UEFA's control and disciplinary services will today attempt to overturn the "not guilty" verdict of April 12 in the bigotry case involving Rangers, which goes to appeal at a special hearing at the European governing body's headquarters in Switzerland this afternoon.

The 12-man appeals body of UEFA - a separate group from the one which adjudicated on the original case seven weeks ago - will reconsider evidence and testimony from various witnesses and then reach their decision.

This afternoon's verdict will be the final step in the case by UEFA. If Rangers are found guilty the club will have the choice of either appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, or letting the case rest.

Today's hearing will essentially be fought between UEFA's disciplinary body - led by a UEFA executive, Peter Limacher - and the Rangers legal team. As evidence, UEFA will use a DVD of various alleged sectarian chants emanating from Ibrox, as well as the original findings of the report compiled by Gerhard Kapl, the UEFA inspector.

Kapl is expected to present today's case, with Limacher assisting him. Much will depend on how well UEFA present their evidence, and on how digestible the whole controversy proves to be to a cross-section of observers from such countries as Greece, Malta, Turkey, Bulgaria and Holland. In that context, the advantage today certainly rests with Rangers.

As UEFA present their case, the Rangers legal team will attempt to assert that much of the singing at Ibrox is of a sufficiently unclear or undefined nature to prove conclusive in terms of sectarianism.

Much intrigue surrounds today's hearing, not least in UEFA's assertion that an air of intimidation has surrounded the case, in terms of UEFA getting witnesses who were willing to come forward and testify about sectarian chanting at Ibrox.

UEFA have asked various figures in Scottish public life to step forward and offer testimony on the bigotry issue, but most have refused to do so, for fear of professional or personal hassle.

A UEFA source said yesterday: "Part of the problem in this case has been in securing testimony from certain people who we believed were in a position to give testimony. Some people, though, have agreed to help us."

While successfully reversing the Rangers decision would be unusual, UEFA have in the past completely overturned decisions. In June 2004, the governing body originally cleared Alexander Frei, the Switzerland striker, of a spitting incident during a Euro 2004 game with England. The case was then presented on appeal by UEFA's inspectors to the appeals body, which overturned the original decision and handed down both a fine and a suspension to the player.

In other cases, such as the recent one involving racist chanting at Steaua Bucharest, the Appeals Body has also altered original findings in disciplinary matters.

The Rangers case will be heard by the appeals committee, a group which is under the chairmanship of Michel Wuilleret of Switzerland. He and 11 other UEFA observers from a total of 12 different European countries will hear today's case. Last night, most onlookers were of the opinion that UEFA will not be able to overturn the original verdict.

In the original case against Rangers in April, the club, despite being fined GBP9000 for an attack by a supporter on the Villarreal team bus, was found not guilty on the charge of sectarian chanting by supporters. The verdict was met with huge relief by Rangers, as well as a certain derision and ridicule elsewhere across Scotland. UEFA immediately announced that they would appeal the decision.

In Kapl's original report to UEFA, he criticised sections of the Rangers support for songs they were singing during two games against Villarreal, citing "derogatory references" towards Catholics in their chanting.

The UEFA inspector even listed the timing of chants during matches, in one report citing 11 different cases of sectarian singing taking place.

Kapl went on to advocate not only fining the Ibrox club, but also consideration of closing down at least one of Ibrox's four stands for Rangers' next home European tie.

While many in Scotland, including many Rangers supporters, believe there is a sectarian problem at Ibrox, the case collapsed in April when UEFA found it impossible to successfully present a prosecution to a disciplinary body consisting of men from across Europe who were unfamiliar with the Scottish problem.

UEFA appeals body The men who will hear the Rangers case today are:

Michel Wuilleret . . . . . . . . . . (Swi)

Jean Appietto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Fra)

Levent Bicakci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Tur)

Carmelo Bartolo . . . . . . . . (Mal)

Imre Bozoky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Hun)

Barry Bright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Eng)

Mariano Delogu . . . . . . . . . . . . (Ita)

Goetze Eilers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Ger)

Vassilis Gagatsis. . . . . . . . . . (Gre)

Michael Hyland . . . . . . . . . . . . (Ire)

Ivaylo Ivkov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Bul)

Michael Maessen . . . . . . (Ned)