League Cup wins remain with Rangers, says SFL chief

Rangers won six League Cups between 2001 and 2010, the period under investigation by an independent commission appointed last week by the Scottish Premier League. However, after hosting the draw for the Scottish Communities League Cup second round, in which Rangers were handed a home tie with Falkirk, the SFL chief executive David Longmuir confirmed that he was “comfortable” with the stance they have chosen to adopt, which is that Rangers’ history remains intact whether they are found guilty or not.

Specifically, he was referring to the League Cup section of the list of honours displayed on the Rangers page of the SFL’s website. In total the Ibrox club have won the SFL-run competition on 27 occasions, with the most recent victory coming in 2011. The two other governing bodies, the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Premier League, have worked on a draft document which proposes stripping Rangers of five league titles and four Scottish Cups if an ongoing investigation finds the club guilty of breaking rules by not disclosing payments made via EBTs.

“We are very comfortable with the position we have adopted,” said Longmuir. “The history of Rangers is appropriately described on the SFL website.” Asked to clarify this, he added: “We are quite comfortable with the way we are treating the history of Rangers.”

Although Longmuir also stressed that “we have to remember the SFL is not just about Rangers,” he did reveal that those Rangers matches due to be shown on television will be the subject of special treatment. While fourth officials are not normally employed at SFL matches there will be one detailed to attend those Rangers games which are covered live by ESPN and Sky, starting with tomorrow’s league season opener at Peterhead. “We can have fourth officials at any game,” said Longmuir. “Up until now, we haven’t had to deploy them. But I think that given the renewed interest in the Third Division, particularly the televised games, a fourth official would be a useful addition. It would give the referee support.”

Longmuir himself will not be present at Balmoor to see Rangers’ first ever league match outside the top flight. Instead, he will be presenting Alloa with their Third Division title flag before the game against East Fife. He was, however, at Brechin to see Rangers’ first competitive match since the liquidation of Rangers oldco, and can testify to the abundant benefits of the Ibrox club’s deplacement in the SFL. However, he would also have heard their less positive contribution to life in the SFL, with sectarian singing now an unwanted problem for the SFL to have to deal with.

Longmuir said that there were no plans to arrange for match observers to attend games involving the Ibrox club. “We rely on the referee and, on certain occasions, the fourth official,” he said. “Also, club officials and directors of the SFL can all give us feedback on games. We have worked that process for as long as I can remember and will continue with it.”

The SFL are focusing on the issue of health and safety in preparation for the huge leap in numbers attending matches at grounds where big crowds are not commonplace. “We are taking public safety and crowd management very seriously,” added Longmuir. “All 30 of the SFL clubs are attending a seminar next week for advice and guidance on how to deal with bigger crowds. There is also going to be an increase in terms of cost, but that is all part of dealing with crowd management and public safety. But the upsides are terrific and that is also great for our current sponsors who have been very loyal when Rangers were not part of the league. Overall, I can sense a renewed vigour and a bit more of a happy feel about the SFL at the minute.

“No-one has done specific financial sums yet,” he added, when asked about financial benefit to clubs. “That will happen as the games progress and Third Division clubs host the number of fans that want to see Rangers.”

The news that Rangers’ successes in the League Cup are to remain intact will come as a relief to manager Ally McCoist who, as well as winning the trophy nine times as a player, also played a part in three victories as assistant manager. Another campaign began on Tuesday with a 4-0 win over East Fife, before which debutant Dean Shiels made the mistake of mentioning the fact he was the only reigning League Cup winner in the Ibrox dressing-room. “I actually said to the manager before the East Fife game that I was the only one defending this Cup and he congratulated me on that before then telling me he’d won it nine times already! I didn’t have much of a comeback. He’s got a reputation for being good for one-liners and I couldn’t really argue with him there.”

Though now playing for a Third Division club, Shiels sees no reason why he cannot follow his triumph with Kilmarnock by winning the trophy again this season. “Rangers are going to want to win every competition they enter,” he said. “That is the pressure and expectation at a club like Rangers. I don’t see the League Cup being any different to the rest.”