Rangers fined £5,500 over dual ownership breach
The Sports Direct tycoon owns 9.82 per cent of the Glasgow club but is prohibited from going over 10 per cent by an agreement struck with Hampden chiefs designed to limit his power at Ibrox.
But that did not stop Ashley exerting influence. Two of his closest associates – Derek Llambias and Barry Leach – sat as directors until Dave King, who wants to be Rangers chairman, forced them out at last month’s general meeting.
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Hide AdAshley gave the club’s old board a £5 million loan in January which remains outstanding.
That agreement gives the 50-year-old a floating charge on the club as well as security on a number of assets, including Murray Park and the club’s registered trademarks.
Representatives of the new board arrived at Hampden at 2pm yesterday to appear before the SFA’s Judicial Panel.
During a three-hour meeting they admitted the club had breached Disciplinary Rule 1, which requires member clubs to “behave towards the Scottish FA and other members with the utmost good faith” – and were fined £5,000.
A second fine of £500 was also imposed after Rangers admitted a breach of Disciplinary Rule 19 – which relates to dual ownership.
Ashley – the world’s 306th richest man, worth an estimated £3.3billion – was fined £7,500 for breaching Disciplinary Rule 19 last month.
A Rangers spokesman said: “The Club has today accepted a £5,500 fine for breaches of the SFA’s Disciplinary Rules 1 and 19.
“They relate to historic events around the time the MASH [Mike Ashley] credit facility was put in place.”
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