How Rangers’ punishment could affect the SPL

It is no secret that Rangers are in deep financial trouble. Thanks largely to the disastrous tenure of owner Craig Whyte, who oversaw a devastating combination of financial mismanagement and mortgaging the clubs future earnings, Rangers went into administration in February owing millions of pounds in unpaid taxes, and there were real fears that they may have gone out of existence as they couldn’t guarantee at the time they had the money to fulfil their fixtures.

There then followed a frantic period of cost-cutting in order to try and save the £1m per month they needed, during which the playing squad took substantial wage cuts and several support staff and a couple of players were made redundant. Not only did Rangers suffer the ignominy going into administration and having their dirty laundry aired in public, then suffering a points deduction that effectively handed the SPL title to Celtic on a platter, there were also charges related to the off-field financial mismanagement that have landed them in big trouble. Last week, Rangers’ punishment was revealed, and it may have long-lasting repercussions not only on Rangers, but on the future of the SPL and as a result, Scottish football.

As well as being hit with a hefty fine, Rangers have been given a transfer embargo preventing them from signing any player over the age of 18 for 12 months. As mentioned earlier, the Rangers squad accepted wage cuts of 75% in order to keep Rangers in business, and it is unlikely that those players will have their wages restored anytime soon. So, it is probable that those players will seek transfers away from Rangers in the summer. Rangers will appeal the punishment meted out to them.

So, if Rangers, as seems likely, will lose most, if not all, of their senior players and cannot sign replacements, that means that effectively Rangers will be fielding an under-18’s team next season, which means that relegation could be a real possibility.

At the time of writing, it looks as though American businessman Bill Miller is poised to be the new owner of Rangers, and has until the 13th May to complete a takeover. Miller’s bid for Rangers was conditional on the Scottish football authorities not imposing further sanctions on Rangers, but it appears as though he has assurances that will not happen as he has changed his bid to an unconditional one.

There is real discussion about what Rangers should do for the best. One option is to liquidate the club and start again in the bottom division, an option which Rangers manager Ally McCoist admits may be for the best. It seems as though that may happen if the club isn’t able to come to a Company Voluntary Agreement with its creditors and start to emerge from insolvency. Or, it may be possible to form a new company for Rangers, but they can still keep Rangers’ place in the SPL, should the governing board of the SPL give permission.

The drawback with that plan is, that as the club would be a new company, and the players have a contract with the old one, Rangers may lose all of their players for nothing, and if the punishment is sustained, can’t replace them. Also, UEFA rules state that clubs have to be members of their national associations for three years before admission into European competition, which means Rangers will lose out, both financially and competitively if that is the road they decide to go down.

Scottish football as a whole is dependent on the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers. An uncompetitive Rangers could have disastrous consequences for Scottish football. Many Scottish clubs owe their continuing existence to the fact that they play Celtic and Rangers at least four times each a season. Attendances, which are generally low, soar when one of the Old Firm comes to town. Usually Celtic and Rangers games are televised, so clubs get an additional payout from TV companies, and that is what keeps most clubs afloat. Lower league clubs dream of getting one of Celtic or Rangers in a cup. If a lower league club gets an Old Firm club in one of the cups, the TV money can often secure the financial future of that club for years to come. If you take Rangers out of the equation, the other SPL and SFL teams will be hit hard.

A great example of the dependence of the other SPL clubs on the Old Firm happened very recently when Rangers’ financial problems meant that Dunfermline did not receive ticket money they were owed by Rangers, a sum of about £63,000. The loss of this ticket money had the knock-on effect that Dunfermline were unable to pay their players on time. The money has since been paid.

Many SPL clubs lead a hand-to-mouth existence and depend on player sales to raise funds. Usually, that means selling their best players to Rangers or Celtic. If you take Rangers out of the equation as a possible buyer for those players, a lot of those clubs could suffer financially.

Scottish football isn’t that attractive to the casual fan, especially as the English Premier League games are easily available to watch on TV. The TV deal currently in place for the SPL is miniscule compared to the one enjoyed by EPL clubs. The fact that even that much is paid is largely due to the Old Firm derbies, which is the biggest game in British football, and probably the only one attractive to viewers south of the border in England. Take Rangers, or a competitive Rangers out of the equation, and that interest withers to virtually nothing. If Rangers aren’t competitive, or aren’t in the SPL, it is unlikely that the current TV deal would remain in place, and would have to be renegotiated at a much lower price.

The general standard of Scottish football is pretty low. Scotland’s UEFA coefficient, a ranking for each country’s league, which is what determines how many European places clubs get, and what stage those clubs enter the competitions, has plummeted recently, and is only being propped up by Rangers’ run to the UEFA cup final in 2008. This season, all of the Scottish clubs were eliminated at the first qualifying round they faced, although Celtic were given a reprieve after Swiss team Sion were thrown out of the Europa League. It is estimated by some that in two seasons, Scotland’s UEFA coefficient will be so low that the league will be ranked below the likes of the Estonian league, which would mean that fewer Scottish clubs would be entitled to play in Europe and they would have to qualify at the first stage.

Despite all of their protests to the contrary, Celtic will also be deeply affected if Rangers go out of existence. Celtic and Rangers share a mutual enmity, and I’m sure there are plenty of Celtic fans who would love to see Rangers brought low, but only the most short-sighted fan would fail to recognise that Rangers and Celtic have a symbiotic relationship. Simply, they need each other, and each team is better for the competition that the other provides.

Without a competitive Rangers, Celtic will walk the SPL. But to me it would be a bit of a hollow victory. Is that really the way Celtic want to win? If there’s no real competition, does it still bring the same satisfaction as a hard-fought campaign? I don’t think so.

There are also more long-reaching effects. If this embargo goes ahead as planned, it will be years before Rangers become competitive again. So, if Rangers aren’t there to push Celtic, this will inevitably affect them so that when they are in a position where they need to up their game, in European games for example, they won’t be able to, as they won’t have had to push themselves for a long time.