Rangers to play in division of SFL choice

Rangers Chief Executive has confirmed the team will play in “whichever division” the Scottish Football League decides, despite being rejected by the majority of clubs.

Charles Green said "false hope" that the side would be admitted to the league left the club and their supporters "deeply disappointed" at Wednesday's no vote.

"At the weekend, we were approached by representatives from the SPL suggesting our application still stood a chance of success and we should discuss this further with clubs. This we did in good faith but with the knowledge of the hurdles that lay ahead of us," he explained.

"We had asked the SPL whether it would be more appropriate for us to withdraw our application but were advised against this."

A presentation made to the clubs on Wednesday morning was rejected "overwhelmingly" following five hours of talks at Hampden.

An SPL statement read: "At today's General Meeting, SPL clubs today voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL."

It appears that most if not all of the SPL's commercial contracts include exit clauses for sponsors and partners allowing them to pull out or renegotiate if the Old Firm are not present.

Green: "If our application were to be accepted, Rangers will play in whichever division the SFL sees fit & we will move forward from there."

— Rangers FC Official (@RFC_Official) July 4, 2012

The clauses were inserted amid speculation over the Glasgow pair moving to England or into a European league but they have proved costly after Rangers went into liquidation last month.

A package put to SFL clubs to accept the Ibrox side in the second tier includes moves to merge the leagues, promotion play-offs to the top flight and a £1million payment for television rights.

Before the meeting, SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "There are probably three options for dealing with Rangers. Rangers coming into the SPL with an appropriate range of sanctions is one option. Rangers going into the second tier is another option.

"The option that a lot of people have talked about, Rangers in the fourth tier, ultimately that would wreak huge financial damage on the whole game and it's difficult to see why 41 innocent clubs should pay the price for the misdeeds of one.

It is thought the Scottish side may go forward to compete in the third division, while leaving them in the bottom tier could cost the SPL around £16 million, leading to fears that up to half of the league's clubs could go into administration.