Ibrox Stadium, home of Glasgow Rangers.(Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell, Getty Images)
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Fallen Scottish giant Rangers escaped being stripped of five of its world-record 54 league titles on Thursday following a long-running investigation into the club’s undisclosed payments to players from 2000 to 2011.
However, the company that owned the Glasgow club before it went into administration last year was fined 250,000 pounds ($380,000).
An independent commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League imposed the fine after finding Rangers guilty of failing to disclose the use of offshore employee benefits to pay players in the 11-year period in question.
Rangers won the Scottish league five times in the period under investigation, but kept those titles after the commission ruled the club “did not gain any unfair competitive advantage.”
“Rangers FC is of course now owned and operated by newco, which bears no responsibility for the matters with which we are concerned,” the commission’s report read, “(so) we have decided against the imposition of a sporting sanction.”
Rangers was demoted to the bottom tier of Scottish football last year because of financial problems, and the commission accepted that “any fine is likely to be substantially irrecoverable” from Rangers’ former board of directors.
“Our fans will take great heart from this and hopefully now, after all that we have been through, there will be a widespread realization that it is time to move on,” Rangers manager Ally McCoist said.
Rangers currently holds a 20-point lead in Scotland’s fourth tier.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
