Rangers shock revealed amid cinch controversy as trust now eroded.
According to Graeme McGarry, Rangers, Aberdeen, Motherwell, and other clubs were surprised to find no mention of the cinch issue in the Independent Governance report.
Concerns are raised about SPFL Chairman Murdoch MacLennan’s modification of the report before delivering it to member clubs.
The clubs have jointly written to the board requesting greater transparency in these negotiations.
According to McGarry’s article in the Glasgow Times on February 8, criticism of Rangers’ governance throughout the row was common.
Given the acrimony that existed at the time between themselves and the club, the SPFL depicted themselves as being agenda-driven.
is a far more difficult posture to take in this case, given the diversity of the complaint’s signatories.
“Herald Sport understands that teams were surprised not to see any mention of the financial issue in the version of the report they saw, with many believing that it amounted to the SPFL’marking their own homework’.
Aberdeen was the only club that had input into the report, but they remain very concerned about how the process was carried out.
“Trust and confidence in the competence of the SPFL leadership has now been eroded to the point that these clubs have felt they had no other choice to take this step, amid wider concern in the lack of a strategy to meet the recommendations put forward by the club-led Deloitte report that was published last year with a view to growing revenue for the Scottish game.”
Rangers have every right to be furious
The SPFL executive’s lack of transparency and suspected manipulation of the Independent Governance report has generated major issues about the league’s leadership, and Rangers have every right to be upset.
The fact that clubs were not provided with the whole study despite several requests is deeply concerning, especially given that they supported its creation.
Former SPFL CEO Roger Mitchell has expressed outrage and urged swift action to address the problem.
Furthermore, the perceived bias in the report’s editing process, with only one club other than SPFL Board members providing input, weakens its legitimacy.
Rangers’ concerns during the ‘cinch dispute’ appear validated, as the report allegedly omitted any reference to the contentious issue, suggesting a deliberate attempt to protect the league’s interests rather than address genuine governance issues.
MacLennan cannot continue in his role any longer and it’s good to see Rangers getting support from other clubs as well.
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