Rangers plan for administration

Soccer: Rangers have lodged legal papers signalling their intention to enter administration. The Scottish champions lodged the notice with the court of session in Edinburgh at lunchtime today.

It is believed the Ibrox club now has five days in which to declare formally that administrators have taken over the running of the club. The firm prospect of administration, which would bring a 10-point penalty from the Scottish Premier League, will come as no surprise to Rangers fans or the rest of Scottish football.

Rangers are awaiting the verdict of a tax tribunal which could cost club around €58.4 million.

The HMRC case centres around the use of employee benefits trusts (EBTs) which were in place before Craig Whyte took over from David Murray last May.

The tribunal verdict is imminent but it looks like the Ibrox club have pre-empted any decision.

Whyte, who bought Murray's shares for £1 and pledged to pay off £18million of debt to Lloyds Banking Group, has seen his short tenure shrouded in controversy.

Last week former Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston revealed he had asked the Government's Insolvency Service to clarify "certain financial arrangements" relating to the takeover of the club.

Whyte had earlier admitted securing funds from loan company Ticketus in lieu of future season ticket sales.

Johnston told the BBC: "Rangers' stakeholders are now demanding full transparency."

"I have had numerous approaches following the recent revelations in the press about the acquisition of Rangers Football Club and the use of future season ticket money. I am not in a position to answer all the questions put to me, but I do recognise the issue is causing much concern.

"I believe this is a prevalent view amongst Rangers' stakeholders who are now demanding full transparency about the funding of the acquisition of the club, its current financial status, and most importantly, the way forward."

A Scottish Premier League spokesman confirmed to Press Association Sportthat a 10-point deduction and a transfer embargo would only be put in place when administration was confirmed.

The spokesman said: "At this point in time Rangers are not in administration and we await developments. The instant that they are technically in administration there will be an automatic 10-point deduction and, perhaps of less relevance, an embargo on player registrations.

"If administration is confirmed, as we have done previously, we would be looking to work with the administrators and would be looking for a very early meeting."

Rangers announced they had agreed a deal to sign Gabon striker Daniel Cousin just as news emerged from the court.

The court confirmed that solicitors lodged the papers on behalf of the club's directors on Monday.

The paperwork officially confirms the club's "intention to appoint an administrator".

Rangers last month saw trading in their shares suspended by the PLUS Stock Exchange over their failure to submit independently audited accounts by the end of last year.

The club have also yet to hold an AGM as required by the end of December. Whyte told fans the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the tax case was the reason for the delay.

The stock exchange and Scottish Football Association also asked for clarity over Whyte's admission that he had been disqualified as a director for seven years from 2000.