Celtic 'surprised' by SPL's Rangers conclusion
Celtic have declared their “surprise” at the official conclusion that Rangers gained no competitive advantage from years of making undisclosed payments to players.
Oldco Rangers were fined for breaching rules from 2000 to 2011 but a three-man panel led by Lord Nimmo Smith ruled the affected players were not ineligible and so ruled out stripping the Ibrox club of five Scottish Premier League titles won during the period.
Celtic made an official statement tonight after saying they had been “inundated” with requests to make their position clear.
The statement read: “We note yesterday’s decision that Rangers FC has been found guilty of contravening the SPL rules on disclosure of payments over 11 years between 2000-2011. The scale of this amounts to a deliberate non-disclosure of £47 million in payments to players and staff. We also note the penalty of £250,000 which has been imposed.
“Like many within Scottish football, including supporters and other observers, we are surprised by the parallel conclusion that no competitive advantage was gained from these arrangements.
“However, the implications of this verdict are for the Scottish football authorities to address since the rules breached were specifically intended to defend ’sporting integrity’.”
