Rangers ‘counted no-shows’ in Cowdenbeath crowd

RANGERS chairman David Somers has admitted the club announced a misleading attendance figure for Saturday’s clash with Cowdenbeath.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Dec 2014, 00:25 BST
Thousands of Ibrox seats remained empty for the match with Cowdenbeath. Picture: SNSThousands of Ibrox seats remained empty for the match with Cowdenbeath. Picture: SNS
Thousands of Ibrox seats remained empty for the match with Cowdenbeath. Picture: SNS

The club announced midway through the second half of the Scottish Championship fixture that 28,137 fans had turned out at Ibrox.

That figure for Rangers’ 1-0 winwould have been the Glasgow giants’ smallest home attendance for a league game since Graeme Souness’ first season in charge 28 years ago.

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But now Somers has said the true figure was 10,000 fewer than the number given out on Saturday.

The acting executive chairman told the Daily Record: “The 28,000 included season-ticket holders who were not there. In reality Saturday’s attendance was around 19,000.”

Rangers announced losses of £8.3 million last month and also say they would need a similar figure to see the club through the rest of the financial year.

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Auditors Deloitte signed off on the latest results but warned there remains “material uncertainty” over the club’s ability to continue as a going concern.

The Rangers board’s attempts to balance the books have been hit by large-scale supporter unrest.

• Ally McCoist’s men fail to appease Rangers fans

Season-ticket levels dropped from around 36,000 holders in 2013/14 to just 17,000 by the start of the current campaign. Further disappointing results have been registered by Ally McCoist’s side, including the shocking Petrofac Training Cup loss to Alloa.

The club confirmed on Wednesday morning that Norman Crighton has left his role as a Rangers director.

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The 48-year-old joined the board 12 months ago and represented Laxey Partners - the club’s biggest single shareholder with a 16.32 per cent stake - on the PLC board.

A statement released to the London Stock Exchange said: “The Company announces that Norman Crighton has left the Board of Rangers with immediate effect.”

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Related topics:IbroxGlasgowGraeme SounessScotsman