Rangers: King slams Wallace ‘fan insult’

DAVE King has criticised Graham Wallace for claiming the Rangers support have destabilised the club with their threat to withhold season ticket cash – insisting the chief executive’s comments are an insult to the Ibrox faithful.

Dave King is set to fly to Scotland to discuss his next move. Picture: PA

In a statement released last night, former director King has taken swipe at Wallace for questioning fans’ loyalties to their club.

The Union of Fans, a supporters’ pressure group, issued a vote of no confidence in the Ibrox board on Thursday and backed King’s bid to lead a fan-based group to secure a major shareholding in the club. They also backed the South African-based businessman’s call for a trust to be set up that would collect season ticket fees and drip feed the money to the regime controlling the Light Blues week by week.

Wallace responded by saying that threat was “damaging” Rangers but King rejected his claim.

In his statement, King – who now plans to fly to Scotland to step up his bid for change – said: “Unfortunately, I can only express bemusement at the board’s response to myself and the fans.

“In what is really a non-response, the board states that our statements are an attempt to undermine the club. That is an insult to fans who have nothing other than the club’s interest at heart.”

The latest squabble was sparked on Monday when Rangers announced that it had taken out a £1.5 million loan from investors Laxey Partners and Sandy Easdale.

The terms of the loan handed both Laxey and Easdale security on the Albion car park and Edminston House facilities near Ibrox, while Laxey stands to make a £150,000 profit. That angered supporters who claim a better deal was available from other shareholders.

Wallace pleaded for the fans to trust the board’s management but King – who lost a £20m investment when oldco Rangers were liquidated – said: “They ask for trust but don’t recognise that trust is a mutual relationship and requires transparency.

“What the board is really asking of fans is to have blind faith – not trust. This board has not earned that right and has, in fact, repeatedly demonstrated the opposite.”

And King raised doubts about who was really pulling the strings behind the scenes. “[The board states] that the current problems can be attributed to previous management. That does not explain the ongoing lack of transparency on shareholding and finances by the existing board.

“It is quite possible that Charles Green is still de facto controlling the club.”