Rangers' administrators claim they are confident of a successful appeal against the 12-month transfer ban placed on the club by the Scottish Football Association.
The governing body imposed the sanction on Rangers after an independent judicial panel found the club guilty of bringing the game into disrepute during Craig Whyte's time as owner and chairman. The penalty triggered a furious reaction from the Rangers support and from Duff and Phelps, the administrators in charge of affairs at Ibrox.
"I think the prospect of winning the appeal is high," said David Whitehouse, Rangers' joint administrator. "But it's a question of timing. We need to accelerate the process. An appeal hearing in August won't be any help to us – we need to deal with these issues now.
"The feedback we've had unofficially from the SFA, certainly from the Scottish Premier League, from advisers and commentators, is that it was a judgment that was certainly not anticipated. It doesn't seem to sit comfortably in terms of the commerciality of what all parties should be seeking to achieve here."
Stewart Regan, the SFA's chief executive, said: "I can fully understand the fear and frustration felt by all Rangers fans throughout the most difficult period in the club's history. The Scottish FA has a responsibility to all its members and must implement its rules without fear or favour."
Whitehouse added that Rangers are taking the advice of a QC relating to the judgment. The appeal could be held as early as next week. Whitehouse said: "Effectively the players are akin to stock in a normal business. If you are going to have a normal business, you need trading stock, trading assets. The players are those assets. If the business can't buy new stock, can't buy new players, it clearly diminishes the value of the business. So one of the things we've raised is we're not convinced that this ruling is actually lawful."
The wider issue relates to Rangers' search for a new owner. No party has been handed preferred bidder status; Whitehouse reiterated the impending financial trouble if such a scenario remains.
"We need to have a resolution by the end of the season," Whitehouse said. "That's a cash deadline. We are funded until then. We still have adequate time to put in place a company voluntary arrangement but we're now looking at a period of couple of weeks to get it really progressed.
"We need to accept an offer very, very quickly, and, brutally, we need to have an offer to accept. Because if we get to a scenario where nobody has actually submitted an offer, then the prospect of achieving a sale doesn't exist.
"It's in the gift of the interested parties to bring forward an offer that is capable of acceptance. To achieve that‚ what is absolutely clear from what has happened over the past 24 hours but, more realistically, the last three weeks‚ we also require the pragmatic support of the football authorities."
Rangers have not even been afforded any football-related respite. The club have confirmed they have suspended their Northern Irish forward Kyle Lafferty for a fortnight after the player did not meet up with the squad for last Saturday's game at Hearts. Lafferty, who has been suffering from a from a groin injury, believes he requires immediate surgery.
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| Rangers' administrators confident of beating SFA transfer ban |
The governing body imposed the sanction on Rangers after an independent judicial panel found the club guilty of bringing the game into disrepute during Craig Whyte's time as owner and chairman. The penalty triggered a furious reaction from the Rangers support and from Duff and Phelps, the administrators in charge of affairs at Ibrox.
"I think the prospect of winning the appeal is high," said David Whitehouse, Rangers' joint administrator. "But it's a question of timing. We need to accelerate the process. An appeal hearing in August won't be any help to us – we need to deal with these issues now.
"The feedback we've had unofficially from the SFA, certainly from the Scottish Premier League, from advisers and commentators, is that it was a judgment that was certainly not anticipated. It doesn't seem to sit comfortably in terms of the commerciality of what all parties should be seeking to achieve here."
Stewart Regan, the SFA's chief executive, said: "I can fully understand the fear and frustration felt by all Rangers fans throughout the most difficult period in the club's history. The Scottish FA has a responsibility to all its members and must implement its rules without fear or favour."
Whitehouse added that Rangers are taking the advice of a QC relating to the judgment. The appeal could be held as early as next week. Whitehouse said: "Effectively the players are akin to stock in a normal business. If you are going to have a normal business, you need trading stock, trading assets. The players are those assets. If the business can't buy new stock, can't buy new players, it clearly diminishes the value of the business. So one of the things we've raised is we're not convinced that this ruling is actually lawful."
The wider issue relates to Rangers' search for a new owner. No party has been handed preferred bidder status; Whitehouse reiterated the impending financial trouble if such a scenario remains.
"We need to have a resolution by the end of the season," Whitehouse said. "That's a cash deadline. We are funded until then. We still have adequate time to put in place a company voluntary arrangement but we're now looking at a period of couple of weeks to get it really progressed.
"We need to accept an offer very, very quickly, and, brutally, we need to have an offer to accept. Because if we get to a scenario where nobody has actually submitted an offer, then the prospect of achieving a sale doesn't exist.
"It's in the gift of the interested parties to bring forward an offer that is capable of acceptance. To achieve that‚ what is absolutely clear from what has happened over the past 24 hours but, more realistically, the last three weeks‚ we also require the pragmatic support of the football authorities."
Rangers have not even been afforded any football-related respite. The club have confirmed they have suspended their Northern Irish forward Kyle Lafferty for a fortnight after the player did not meet up with the squad for last Saturday's game at Hearts. Lafferty, who has been suffering from a from a groin injury, believes he requires immediate surgery.
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