Rangers go into administration
Reuters - Tuesday 14 February 2012, 15:16
Scottish champions
Rangers went into administration on Tuesday after running into
financial problems, the 140-year-old club effectively
surrendering the league title to Glasgow rivals Celtic as they
fight for their future.
Rangers, one of the best supported clubs in Britain, are in
dispute with Britain's tax authorities and could face a bill of
more than 50 million pounds.
Corporate restructuring specialists Duff & Phelps have been
appointed by the club to run their affairs, with cost-cutting to
try to balance the books now inevitable.
Rangers were docked 10 points by the Scottish Premier
League, leaving them 14 adrift of Celtic but still in second
place.
"As Rangers FC is subject to an Insolvency Event, a ten
point deduction has been applied to its total points in the
League Championship for the current Season. In addition, Rangers
FC is subject to restrictions on the registration of Players
with the SPL whilst in administration," a league statement said.
The crisis facing such a big club, champions a world record
54 times, has sent shockwaves through British football where many
smaller teams face a precarious existence.
English Championship club Portsmouth are
set to go into administration this week over an unpaid tax bill
while Hearts in Scotland have also run into financial difficulty
amid the global economic crisis.
Rangers Chairman Craig Whyte said a combination of rising
debts and the threat of a big tax bill made the move inevitable.
"Due to its cost structure, the club has been loss making
for many months," Whyte said in a statement.
"It remains our firm belief that the club's future can be
secured and we hope this period of administration will be as
short as possible," added Whyte, who bought an 85 percent stake
in the club for a nominal one pound last May.
"OLD FIRM"
The Scottish club had warned on Monday that it was likely to
go into administration over the next few days but the tax
authorities hastened the move when they took court action on
Tuesday over nine million pounds in unpaid payroll and sales
taxes.
Paul Clark of Duff & Phelps said the administrators would
ensure that Saturday's home game with Kilmarnock could go ahead.
Media reports said Strathclyde Police had been seeking
guarantees the club would pay them for their duties at the
match.
Scottish Football Association Chief Executive Stewart Regan
said it was "a profoundly sad chapter in the history of Scottish
football."
"In light of confirmation that Rangers Football Club have
appointed administrators, I would like to express my deep regret
that a Scottish institution should find themselves in the kind
of parlous state that has necessitated today's course of
action," he said in a statement.
"I shall also be seeking a discussion with the appointed
administrator in early course, to establish their intentions for
the club given the wider implications for the Scottish game."
The "Old Firm" of Rangers and Celtic dominate the game in
Scotland, with one of them having claimed the title every year
since Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen won it in 1985.
Rangers, who have traditionally had strong ties to the
Protestant community in Scotland and Northern Ireland, have an
average home attendance of more than 45,000.
However, the 12-team Scottish Premier League is a poor
relation of its English counterpart in terms of television
revenue and sponsorship.
Rangers sold Croatian international striker Nikica Jelavic
to English Premier League club Everton last month and a
prolonged period of turbulence would add to the root problem of
Scottish football - a lack of genuine competition.