Rangers took money out of loyal fans pockets and showed staggering arrogance in denouncing Sky deal - Hugh Keevins

Rangers’ arrogance is staggering. In the week in which a stream of people inside Ibrox publicly denounced the SPFL for signing a £30m-a-year broadcasting contract with Sky Television something else happened concerning the club.

They were fined £225,000 for illegally colluding with two other companies, Elite Sports and JD Sports, to fix the price of Rangers’ replica kit at a level that made them more expensive for their own supporters than they ought to have been. The ultimate betrayal.

When the fans could have made a saving, the club decided to make a killing at their expense. They took money out of the pockets of the people who had stood by them during what was termed the ‘Journey’ through the lower leagues back to the Premiership following administration and liquidation. Unless I’ve missed something, there has been no statement from the club on this matter. And certainly no sign of an apology after the imposition of the fine by the Competition and Markets Authority. Instead, the club announced the launch of a new fourth kit in the midst of a cost of living crisis. You couldn’t make it up.

Meanwhile, as Rangers were being forced to take money out of the bank to pay the cost of collusion, the SPFL were announcing the payment of record annual fees to clubs, including Rangers, totalling almost £30m. A figure up five per cent on the previous year.

The SPFL also declared a record turnover of £39.5m – up seven per cent from the previous season. However, if you open any door inside Ibrox you’ll find somebody to tell you SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster is guilty of underselling Scottish football, alleging there has been no proper investigation of the market for more lucrative coverage of the Premiership.

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