Rangers frozen out as SPFL to hit button on Sky deal after Livingston sign off on rule change

Scottish football’s new £150m TV deal is set to be rubber-stamped this week after Rangers were effectively frozen out of the vote. Record Sport revealed earlier this month that the SPFL were ready to rip up their own rule book to force a bumper Sky deal through after the Ibrox club refused to give it their backing.

But the five year package was left hanging in the balance once again last week when both Rangers and Livingston failed to respond to a ‘qualified resolution’ to change the top flight’s voting structure. League bosses need the support of 11 Premiership clubs to push their plan through.

And now we understand the West Lothian outfit have finally signed off on the rule change. That means the new five year agreement with the broadcast giants, worth £30m per season, is set to be accepted ahead of a deadline on Sunday night. It will now require the support of 11 top flight clubs, six from the Championship and a combined total of 32 clubs from across all four divisions.

And it’s believed those numbers have already been secured in spite of Rangers’ high profile reservations. Ibrox managing director Stewart Robertson has accused SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster of selling the game on the cheap. And Rangers have also refused to support the beefed up package until they receive a cash payout and an apology from Doncaster relating to the club’s long running dispute with league sponsors cinch.

The Rangers hierarchy demanded the SPFL say sorry for a botched arbitration in the bitter row and also agree to pick up legal tabs on behalf of the club and chairman Douglas Park. Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack waded into the argument on Sunday when he issued a statement calling on all rival clubs to give the new Sky deal