Strip Rangers of titles if guilty, says Neil Lennon

Published on 19/07/2012 12:12

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has reiterated his call for Rangers to be stripped of titles won over the past decade if they are found guilty of signing players on illegal contracts.

Rangers could face losing the five SPL crowns and four Scottish Cups they won between 2002 and 2011 if allegations of wrongful registration of players is proven by an SPL commission’s investigation.

Lennon would consider it “a moral victory” for the Hoops, who were runners-up for all five of their Old Firm rivals’ most recent SPL successes.

Quoted in the Daily Mail, the Northern Irishman said: “I will see what the commission finds and, if they are found to have broken the rules, then they should be stripped of their titles. It will not change what has gone on in the past but I suppose there will be a sort of moral victory in that respect.

“It is not going to change my life now, by any stretch of the imagination, but it would be good to be changed for historical reference.”

Lennon believes the team who finished second or lost the cup final should be retrospectively declared winners rather than the competition be declared null and void.

Meanwhile, Rangers chief executive Charles Green is continuing talks with the SFA in a bid to agree a deal for the newco to gain membership of the governing body which will allow them to play football in the 2012-13 season.