Green buys Rangers and asks McCoist to stay
Reuters - Thursday 14 June 2012, 16:41
A consortium led by businessman Charles
Green said on Thursday it had taken over stricken Scottish club
Rangers and urged Ally McCoist to stay following media reports
he was on the verge of walking out as manager.
Rangers, champions a record 54 times, must now ask other
Scottish Premier League (SPL) clubs to allow them to remain in
the top flight after their debt-laden parent company was
liquidated.
"The consortium I represent has fulfilled its agreement with
the administrators and has completed the acquisition of the
business and assets of Rangers Football Club plc," Green said in
a statement.
"Our consortium wants Ally McCoist to remain as manager and
we firmly believe he is the man to take Rangers forward," said
Green who was previously involved in the sport as chief
executive of English second-tier Sheffield United.
There was another twist in a convoluted tale earlier on
Thursday when former Rangers manager Walter Smith said he was
leading a group of Scottish businessmen who wanted to take over
the club and urged Green to drop his deal.
McCoist played under Smith in the 1990s and was also his
assistant manager before taking the top job last year.
Smith's intervention appears to have come too late to affect
the takeover but it could make it harder for the new owners to
win over the Rangers fans.
Green gave details of the new investors in the club and they
include Scottish clothing company Glenmuir.
UNPAID TAXES
Rangers, one of the biggest teams in British football, went
into administration in February over unpaid taxes of around nine
million pounds.
They also faced a much bigger potential tax liability
relating to how they paid their players over the past decade.
The tax authorities rejected a settlement with Green earlier
this week, consigning the club to liquidation and raising
questions about which league the reformed Rangers should play in
next season.
Officials said their decision would ensure a proper
investigation into what went wrong at Rangers and should help to
recover more of the money taxpayers were owed.
The new owners have said the club will remain at their
iconic Ibrox home.
Rangers and Celtic have dominated for decades and the bitter
rivalry of the two Glasgow clubs is an integral part of the game
in Scotland.
"An application has already been made by the company to
register with the Scottish Football Association and to
participate in the SPL," Green said.
"These applications will be considered over the next few
weeks and I will continue to have discussions with the football
authorities in relation to the club's position."
The issue is pressing as the SPL fixtures are due to be
announced on Monday, with the new season starting on August 4.