Rangers appeal rejected

Rangers: Appeal against SFA transfer embargo and fine has been rejected

Rangers have lost their appeal against a £160,000 fine and 12-month transfer embargo imposed by the Scottish Football Association.

Administration-hit Rangers were hit by the sanctions by an SFA judicial panel last month but had hoped to overturn the decision at an appellate tribunal hearing on Wednesday.

But in findings released late on Wednesday night by the SFA, the club were told they had no grounds for reversing the decision.

The hearing, which was chaired by Lord Carloway and also included Spartans chairman Craig Graham and former Partick Thistle chairman Allan Cowan, heard the Ibrox club's representations through Richard Keen QC.

The tribunal's full report will be published at a later date but it released several key points by way of summary.

Correct

They included the following observations: "It was competent for the disciplinary tribunal to impose the additional sanction of prohibiting registrations of any new players of 18 years or older for a period of 12 months.

"The disciplinary tribunal was correct to determine that the conduct involved - especially the deliberate non-payment of very large sums, estimated in excess of £13m of tax in the form of PAYE, NIC and VAT - was attributable to the club as a member of the Scottish FA.

"Although the Appellate Tribunal has listened carefully to the representations from Rangers FC about the practical effects of the additional sanction, it has concluded that this sanction was proportionate to the breach, dissuasive to others and effective in the context of serious misconduct, bringing the game into disrepute."

Rangers fear the inability to sign and register senior players for a full year would be debilitating to their on-field prospects, but the panel concluded that they had sufficient resources already at their disposal to remain viable.

Contracts

"The appellate tribunal recognises that the disciplinary tribunal decision does not affect Rangers' ability to extend the contracts of existing professional players, including those whose contracts will expire at the end of this season and including also those currently on loan to other clubs," the statement continued.

"The appellate tribunal observes that Rangers FC have over 40 professional players in this category."

When the punishment was initially handed down, Rangers were found guilty of five charges in relation to their financial affairs and appointment of Craig Whyte as chairman.

Rangers received the ban and the bulk of their fine mainly because of a disrepute charge borne from their non-payment of more than £13million in taxes since Whyte took over Sir David Murray's shareholding in May last year.

Whyte, who made no representation at the three-day hearing, was given a lifetime ban from Scottish football and fined £200,000 but has told the SFA the punishment will have no impact on his life.

The SFA also published the judicial panel's rationale for their punishment in a lengthy document last Friday.