Rumour Mill: referee strike | Legia Warsaw | Bilel Mohsni

Scotland’s referees close to strike over pay, Legia decision due today and Bilel Mohsni fears he has lost his Rangers starting place after sending off.

Rangers and Hearts now compete in the Championship. Picture: TSPL

Scottish referees on brink of strike action

Scotland’s referees are demanding a pay rise from the SPFL as they being asked to cover Championship matches - featuring teams such as Rangers, Hearts and Hibs - for a fraction of the fee they receiving for taking on top tier matches.

Refs are paid £195 for lower league matches and £840 for Premiership games and are looking for the payments to be the same.

Talks are expected to continue this week with a possible compromise potentially coming from a watering down of the top rate fee. (Mail)

Player at centre of ineligibility row says Legia warned

Polish FA chief Zbigniew Boniek says Legia Warsaw are incompetent after it emerged that Bartosz Bereszynski said that he had warned the club that he was ineligible to play against Celtic.

Legia’s failure to register the defender for their previous match against St Patrick’s meant that he was technically still banned for the ties against Celtic.

Sources in Poland say Bereszynski was alerted by keeper Dusan Kuciak that he may be ineligible but was assured by the club that he could play. (Record)

• Former Celtic player Dariusz ‘Jackie’ Dziekanowski says the Parkhead club are now a laughing stock in world football for the manner in which they progressed to the final round of Champions League qualifying.

Legia’s appeal will be heard this morning after they fielded an ineligible player against Celtic in their second leg qualifier. (Mail)

Mohsni fears he has been dropped from Rangers

Bilel Mohsni says his sending off for butting Derby County’s Chris Martin in a pre-season friendly has could have cost him his regular starting spot at the Ibrox club. Mohsni has been suspended for two games but is available again for the Championship clash at Falkirk on Friday night. (Record)

5k Tartan Army fans to travel to Germany

Scotland will be backed by at least 5,000 supporters when they travel to Germany next month to face World Cup champions Germany in their European Championship qualifier on September 7. (Express)

Hibs suitor says Tom Farmer keen to sell

David Low, the businessman heading a projected £3.5 million bid for Hibernian, has claimed he has received encouragement from within the Easter Road club to make an offer.

Low, who was involved in Fergus McCann’s takeover of Celtic in 1994, has turned his attentions to Hibs, despite being a self-confessed Celtic supporter. (Scotsman)

Livingston hit with signing embargo

Livingston’s off-field problems deepened yesterday when the SPFL imposed a signing embargo on the club.

The Championship outfit have been prohibited from registering players by the governing body for an indefinite period because of an allegation over undeclared bonus payments which are reported to total £30,500. (Scotsman)

Deila pleased with Jason Denayer loan capture

Ronny Deila believes he has ­effectively secured the services of a £10 million player for Celtic with the season-long loan signing of Belgian central defender Jason Denayer from Manchester City.

The 19-year-old, a protege of his compatriot and Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, goes straight into the Celtic squad as they open their defence of the Scottish Premiership title against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park tonight.(Scotsman)

IN BRIEF

• Rangers flop Emilson Cribari has signed a one-year deal with Hungarian side Haladas after being released by Ally McCoist. The former Lazio defender’s move is being financed by a sponsorship deal.

• Willie Collum will referee the first Edinburgh derby of the season on Sunday

• Dundee United will face a transfer tribunal with Rangers over Charlie Telfer after the two sides failed to agree a fee