RST Board and Member’s statement
Sunday, 08 July 2012 20:08
It is with little surprise but some dismay that we note the statement made today by the Hibernian Supporters Club. Give the propensity for these statements to appear in groups we feel it is worth correcting some of the inaccuracies contained within it before others make the same mistakes. After all, given the now shattered falsehood that ‘sporting integrity’ was the overriding aim of clubs in the SPL, we should do all we can to avoid another myth being perpetuated by those clubs and their fan groups.
It is probably worth noting that we fully agree with the Hibs Club’s opposition to the SFA/SPL aim of placing Rangers into Division 1 of the SFL. However, their assertion that this is being done to assist Rangers is absurd. The Rangers fans have made it very clear that we wish the club to resume playing in Division 3. This has been communicated to both the board and the manager of our club and they are entirely supportive. This is the correct solution and one which means the club will forever be beyond reproach. The tactics being employed by the SPL and SFA in order to deny Rangers the opportunity to do so are outrageous.
However, let us be very clear. This ‘solution’ is being cobbled together for the benefit of clubs in the SPL, like Hibernian, who have based their business models around having Rangers in the league. It is being done so that Rangers can be used as a cash cow to sustain these clubs whilst inflicting maximum damage on our club’s ability to compete. If our club are forced into this it will be purely to protect the financial interests of the current SPL clubs.
Whilst we have little interest in whether the financial projections for the SPL clubs are accurate, the SPL chairmen clearly feel that they can sustain their clubs with reduced, or no, TV revenue and sponsorship and without the patronage of our away support. We wish them the best of luck.
The SFL clubs are blameless in this scenario. They are being blackmailed by the spectre of formation of SPL 2 and should not have been put in this position by the SPL clubs and the SFA. The SFA are also attempting to blackmail Rangers into accepting these proposals using a licence document concocted specifically to threaten our club.
That the Hibs Club should use Rangers’ successful court challenge of an unlawful SFA sanction as an excuse to attack our manager says everything about the motives behind their statement.
If the Hibernian fans, or fans of any other SPL club, are unhappy with the plan to place our club, against its will, in Division 1, then perhaps they should address their concerns to the boards of the Scottish football authorities, rather than taking it as a further opportunity to attack our club. Indeed, the Hibernian Supporters Club are in an excellent position to do so, given that their Chairman, Rod Petrie, is one of the main architects of this proposal along with Stewart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the club chairmen who are lucky enough to hold privileged positions on the boards of the SPL and SFA.
Rangers Football Club has existed and prospered for 140 years. We are in the middle of a very difficult period in our history but are resolute in the knowledge that our club will be here for another 140 years, and beyond. We look forward to being given the opportunity to make new friends in our journey through the Scottish leagues, starting in Division 3. We are sure this journey will benefit the clubs in those leagues and look forward to returning to a prosperous SPL with bountiful ‘sporting integrity’. If we are denied this opportunity then rival clubs should look no further than their own chairman for someone to blame.
