Rangers administration: Rapid Vienna planning to reject CVA proposal

RAPID Vienna will be repre-sented at the meeting at Ibrox on Thursday which will determine the success or failure of prospective Rangers onwer Charles Green’s CVA proposal – and the Austrians are threatening to throw a spanner in the works by voting against it.

Rapid have also indicated they will go to Uefa and/or Fifa to try and recoup what they are owed by Rangers for the sale of Nikica Jelavic in August 2010.

The Austrian club is still owed £1,011,763.44 by Rangers from the £4 million transfer of the Croatia striker. Green’s offer means that Rapid would instead receive a maximum of just over £91,000 – even though Rangers will recoup all £5.5m from the sale of Jelavic to Everton in January.

Rapid could also end up with a lot less than that because creditors have been told the amount they receive will also depend on the outcome of the big tax case and the £25m lawsuit against lawyers Collyer Bristow. It could take years for those matters to be settled and, if results go against Rangers, Rapid could end up receiving just £10,000 of the cash due to them – which is why they insist they are ready to take their case against the Ibrox club to Uefa and Fifa.

“We have a contract with a British law company and they will be at the meeting on Thursday to take care of business on our behalf,” said Rapid spokesman Peter Klinglmuller. “It’s very important that we receive the full amount we are due for Jelavic and not just a percentage of the transfer fee.

“When you do business with a big European football club then you expect to be paid the full amount. There was an interview with Jelavic in an Austrian newspaper the other day where he said that he expected to get more money from Rangers than our club would. Yet it seems unfair to us that we might not receive the money we are owed for the player when Rangers expect Everton to pay the fee they agreed for him.

“I don’t know how the law works in Scotland but we are used to paying our transfer fees in full. We also expect other clubs to do the same and, if we need to, we will go to Uefa and Fifa to help us in this case.”