A secret plan has been produced by football chiefs that will strip four Scottish Cups and five SPL titles from Rangers. The Daily Record saw the bombshell document after it was drafted following talks between the Scottish Football League, SFA, SPL and Sevco representatives.
A range of punishments are outlined in the plan for dodging Employment Benefit Trust tax, which the club did during Sir David Murray’s regime in order to pay players. If penalties are enforced they would be the harshest seen in football. They not only include stripping five league titles from the club and wiping out four Scottish Cup triumphs; but an a one-year transfer embargo will be upheld and Green’s newco will be forced to pay the clubs old football debts.
Clearly the plan has been drafted by the football authorities to force Rangers to drop to Division One in the SFL and protect the TV and marketing revenues of Scottish football. Chairmen from the SFL overwhelmingly voted to drop Rangers to Division Three last Friday, however it is understood that the punishments in the secret plan may be imposed at a later date.
On August 10 the SPL will decide whether or not Rangers broke rules by using ‘dual contracts’ and EBTs, the document simply shed light on what could be used as penalties for the club. An agreement on the document is yet to be reached, although it appears that Green’s firm would be willing to accept some of the draft
The list of penalties will horrify the club’s supporters, many believing that the document undermines the judicial process of the SFA. Possible the worst part in that the club could lose the status of Champion Club, which is defined in the rules of the Scottish Premier League.