Old Firm denied entry into Premier League

Premier League clubs today overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to allow Celtic and Rangers to join the English top flight.

A proposal by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside to include the Old Firm clubs was rejected as neither “desirable or viable”.

Other suggestions put forward by Gartside including having a two-tier Premier League will be fed into the league’s ongoing strategic review.

The Premier League said in a statement: “Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.

“The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.

“The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton’s paper will now be taken forward as part of the wider strategic review being undertaken by the Premier League since November 2008 with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010.”