By Andrew Warshaw
July 4 – After weeks of protracted negotiations Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers today lost their fight to remain in the Scottish Premier League (SPL), and now wait to discover which division they will be forced to join in their new guise next season.
SPL chairmen voted against new club’s application to replace the 54-time Scottish champions (supporters pictured above) in the top flight of Scottish domestic football.
The reformed Ibrox club will now have to apply to play in the lower leagues in Scotland, but it is not clear which division they will enter.
“Clubs voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL,” a spokesman said.
Rangers entered administration in February owing up to £134 million ($209 million/€167 million) to unsecured creditors.
The company will eventually be liquidated and has been replaced by a new venture run by former Sheffield United supremo Charles Green (pictured below).
One knock-on effect of today’s decision concerns who will replace Rangers in the 12-team SPL, with the choice between Dunfermline, who were relegated last season, and Division One runners-up Dundee.
The next crucial meeting is on July 12 when Scottish Football League (SFL) clubs meet to decide whether Rangers can enter Division One or if the iconic club will have to begin next season in the bottom tier of domestic football alongside minnows who hardly attract four-figure crowds for home games.
Eleven out of the 30 SFL clubs have already indicated their opposition to Rangers entering Division One.
SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster said sending Rangers to the bottom rung of the pyramid would “inflict massive damage” on the whole of the game in Scotland.
Green said he was “deeply disappointed” that the application to rejoin the SPL had been overwhelmingly rejected.
“The club hopes that the supporters, who have been absolutely tremendous since the club went into administration, will continue to support the club and make Rangers a success once again,” he said in a statement on the club’s website.
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