Judge orders strip ban and £400k costs

Rangers have been banned from wearing Hummelbranded kit from next season and ordered to pay Sports Direct nearly half a million pounds in costs.

A long-running court battle between Mike Ashley’s sportswear firm and the Ibrox club has resulted in a High Court injunction to prevent Rangers wearing or selling strips made by Danish firm Elite/hummel from the 2020/21 season.

Judge Lionel Persey QC had earlier found that Ibrox chiefs did a deal with Hummel, understood to be athree-yearcontractworth £10 million, without giving Sports Direct a chance to match it, a right which was included in their own contract with Rangers.

The club have also been told to pay legal fees to Sportsdirect,withaninterim sum of £444,846.60, due by 4pm on 16 August, according to reports.

That amount could rise dramatically, with both parties expected to return to court at a later date in order to reach an agreement over damages.

A company in the wider Sports Direct Group – SDI Retail Services – claimed Ibrox bosses had been in breach of obligations concerning replica strips.

Rangers disputed the claims but Judge Persey ruled in favour of SDI, imposing the injunction for next season. It means

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Rangers cannot register a Hummel-made home, away or third kit with the Scottish FA ahead of the 2020/21 campaign. The ruling stated: “Rangers shall not perform the Elite/hummel Agreement. Rangers shall not assist Elite or Hummel to perform the Elite/hummel Agreement. And Rangers shall inform Elite and Hummel that it will not perform the Elite/ Hummel Agreement.”

Rangers are also prohibited from permitting any of the club’s teams “to wear any Official Rangers Technical Products designed by, supplied by, gifted by or manufactured by Elite or Hummel, or bearing the Hummel brand”.

Rangers could be held in contempt of court, fined, or have assets seized if they fail to comply with the order. Club directors risk a fine or even jail if they breach the court ruling.

A statement issued on the club’s official website said: “Rangers was disappointed by the terms of the recent court judgment but respects the decision of the court and will meet any financial award made by the court.”

Rangers’ existing tie-up with Hummel will continue for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.