King sanction could put backers on edge
WHERE Dave King is concerned, opinions are black and white. They divide down tribal lines. In a statement justifying the cold shoulder from the UK Takeover Panel, he cites the need to free Rangers from the people who once ran the club. The most serious sanction the Takeover Panel can apply, the cold shoulder has been administered only four times in the last 50 years. Nevertheless, King makes it sound like an act of unselfish heroism on his part. And the gratitude of Rangers fans knows no limits. Supporters of other clubs — one in particular — take a different view. There are Celtic bloggers who have made a living out of branding the Rangers chairman an untrustworthy, shady character. Given King’s chequered and ropey history of non-compliance with the tax and regulatory authorities in South Africa, it’s an easy sell. What supporters think here isn’t really the issue. There’s more intrigue elsewhere. In 2015, the SFA altered their own protocols to strip a decision on King’s fit-and-proper status away from the Professional Game Board and take it to the full board instead. Some members of the PGB felt King’s fit-and-proper declaration was worthy of closer investigation given his past in South Africa. But the SFA board waved it through and, despite this latest judgment which prevents UK financial institutions from dealing with King on any takeover matters for the next four years, the governing body won’t fancy opening up old wounds. More interesting is how Rangers’ investors and shareholders react to King’s latest brush with authority. A ban on financial institutions dealing with the biggest shareholder in relation to takeovers is unlikely to trouble him or the club unduly. Nevertheless, investors like the Three Bears (Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor) are upright figures in the business world with a sizeable stake in Rangers. One or two might feel some discomfort with the situation and the impact it has on the club’s standing. Whatever the motives. One way to put some distance between themselves and what the Takeover Panel called ‘an offence of the utmost gravity’ would be a change of chairman. It’s pretty clear what fans think of Dave King. Now, more than ever, the views of fellow investors and shareholders are less obvious.