Rangers directors are standing their ground against the SPFL in a row over branding visibility for league title sponsor, cinch.
The Scottish champions did not wear the corporate branding sleeve patches on the team’s shirts in Saturday’s win over Livingston, nor was there any meaningful presence of the car sales company’s name on the advertising boards during the game.
It has also been claimed that the deal has cost the clubs a whopping £500k in commission over the course of the five year deal – that would be a very onerous deal to defend.
Mark Dingwall of Follow Follow fanzine, an official media partner of the Ibrox club tweeted this evening:
The SPFL cinch deal cost the clubs £100,000 in commission to middlemen
A commercial outfit did all the heavy listing not the SPFL commercial team and took 12.5% commission leaving the clubs £100,000 short.
— Mark Dingwall (@GrandmasterSuck) August 2, 2021
In another report from the Scottish Sun, they have reported on the re-emergence of SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan and his demand that clubs support the reprimand against Rangers.
Crucially, it is the league’s own rule book that is providing Rangers defence, who believe they have a strong case, citing rule I7:
It states that clubs are not “obliged to comply with this rule if to do so would result in that club being in breach of a contractual obligation entered into prior to the Commercial Contract concerned.”
Rangers have sponsorship deals in place with three companies, involving branding on the shirts but it is not clear whether the cinch dispute revolves around competition or values.
This is the latest spat in a long running saga between Rangers and the SPFL following an unsuccessful attempt by the Ibrox club to instigate a full review of governance and an overhaul in the interests of all of Scottish football.
That proposal was rejected my the member clubs.