WELCOME TO IBROX
Rangers deny there were ever any negotiations about renaming home
THE PARENT company of Rangers entered negotiations to rename Ibrox with a firm that secured an SPFL sponsorship deal, a court has heard.
Bosses at Rangers Football Club Ltd spoke to chiefs at online car retailer cinch about renaming the club’s stadium. Lawyer Lord Keen QC told the Court of Session yesterday that the organisations explored the possibility of calling the club’s home “the cinch Ibrox stadium”. Lord Keen spoke during a hearing in which the SFA succeeded in a bid to appeal against an interim interdict which had been granted against it earlier this year. Rangers chairman Douglas Park had won the court order which forces the SFA to comply with its own guidelines on arbitration. The businessman instructed lawyers to go to Scotland’s highest civil court as his company is in dispute with the SPFL over an £8million sponsorship deal with cinch.
The Scottish champions are currently refusing to allow cinch’s branding on team shirts or advertising boards.
Park believes that the deal struck by the SPFL breaches a commercial agreement which has been made between his company, Parks of Hamilton, and Rangers.
But on Wednesday, Lord Keen said his legal team had received a heavily redacted document which claimed to be a contract made in May 2021 between Parks of Hamilton and Rangers.
Lord Keen – who is acting for the Scottish Professional Football League Ltd – said his colleagues had been told the redactions had been made due to “commercial sensitivities”.
He insisted that he needed to see the complete version of the document in order to find out the exact relationship between the two organisations.
The lawyer told Lord Braid that Rangers Football Club Ltd was also involved in negotiations with cinch.
Lord Keen added: “The fact is that right up to June 7, Rangers Football Club Limited was negotiating with cinch to sell them the naming rights to Ibrox so it became the cinch Ibrox stadium and, of course, that was a proposal of considerable value to Rangers Football Club Ltd.
“We do have considerable doubt about the way in which this document has been produced and redacted and we would invite your lordship to direct the petitioners to disclose the full contract to your lordship in a sealed envelope in order that the purported redactions can be examined and the issue of commercial sensitivity determined as it is a matter under the court.”
The SFA’s lawyer, Roddy Dunlop QC, asked Lord Braid for permission to appeal the interim interdict to the Inner House of the Court of Session.
Dunlop, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, said legal tests showed that the SFA had the right of appeal.
Lord Braid granted permission for the SFA to appeal the decision.
But he said that, because he had granted the SFA’s request, there was no need for the unredacted document to be given to the court.
Rangers said last night: “Contrary to the SPFL’s claims, no ‘negotiations’ took place.
“Cinch approached Rangers to discuss commercial opportunities in early 2021. Rangers provided information on what opportunities might be available.”