Rangers , a football club in Scotland, suffered financial difficulties during the late 2000s. The club, trades as The Rangers Football Club plc, entered the administration in February 2012. It owes a large amount of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which later refused to allow Rangers to exit the administration through the Voluntary Corporate Settings ( CVA). The Rangers Football Club plc enters the liquidation on October 31, 2012.
CVA's refusal forced administrators to sell Rangers businesses and assets to new companies, operated by Charles Green. Other member clubs from the Scottish Premier League refused to allow new companies to adopt league membership from the old company. Green then successfully applied for the Scottish Football League membership. After getting the membership of the old Scottish Football Association (SFA) company, Rangers (now trading as Rangers Football Club Ltd) entered the Third Division (the fourth level of the Scottish football league system) in time for the 2012-13 Season.
Video Administration and liquidation of The Rangers Football Club plc
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During the 1990s and 2000s, Rangers regularly posted financial losses. In 2009, Rangers owed between Ã, Â £ 25 million and Ã, Â £ 30 million to Lloyds Banking Group, which had taken over the club account of Bank of Scotland after the 2007-2008 financial crisis. In October 2009, first team manager Walter Smith claimed that Lloyds effectively run the club.
Rangers then entered into a dispute, known informally as a 'big tax case', with HMRC, regarding the use of employee benefits trusts between 2001 and 2010. The tax bill could potentially run up to Ã, Â £ 49 million, including interest and penalties, assessed by HMRC in 2010. Rangers argues that their EBT scheme is a legal method of tax evasion. The scale of potential liability led then chairman Alistair Johnston to concede in 2011 that the club can get out of business and that is the main reason for the club struggling to find suitable buyers when it is put up for sale in 2009. There is also a tax liability of 2.8 lbs million others who are dependent on the club (known as the 'wee tax case') are threatening to prevent involvement in European football for the next season, although ultimately the UEFA license is granted because the case is still in dispute at the time.
On May 6, 2011, it was confirmed that David Murray had sold his controlling stake in the club (85.3 percent) to Wavetower Limited , a company solely owned by Craig Whyte, for Ã, Â £ 1. Murray later said that he had sold to Whyte because he promised to pay off the bank debt, settle the 'wee tax case' and invest money in the squad and stadium. To allow the purchase and repayment of debt to Lloyds, Whyte borrowed Ã, Â £ 26.7 million against ticket sales next season from the company Ticketus. This agreement with Ticketus was reached before the club's sales were completed.
Whyte failed to reveal that he had previously been banned as a company director for seven years. He began the blasphemy process against BBC Scotland in February 2012 regarding two documentaries about him and his purchase of Rangers, one of which later won the Scottish BAFTA award. Subsequent investigations by the Scottish Football Association found that Whyte was not a proper and proper person to run a football club. After the club entered the administration, the administrators stated that there was no proof of investment from Whyte to the club. Murray later said he was sorry to sell the club to Whyte, claiming he had been "cheated" and if that information was available to him at the time he would not make a deal.
Maps Administration and liquidation of The Rangers Football Club plc
Administration and liquidation
Immediately after taking control of Rangers, Whyte failed to send a pay-as-you-earn tax deducted from his employees to HMRC. On February 13, 2012 Rangers filed a legal document at the Session Court giving notice of their intention to enter the administration. The next day HMRC petitioned the court for the authorities to appoint their administrator's choice, but this did not work. Rangers officially entered administration on February 14, 2012, after appointing a London-based financial advisor, Duff & Phelps as administrator.
Upon entering the Rangers administration minus 10 points in the Scottish Premier League 2011-12, effectively ending their championship challenge. Rangers then failed to submit an account for 2011 and therefore was not awarded a UEFA license to play in European football in the 2012-13 season. In April it was revealed that the club's total debt could exceed Ã, Â £ 134m.
HMRC made it clear on June 12 that it would vote against the Company's proposed Voluntary Arrangements (CVA). Their formal rejection of the proposed CVA on June 14 meant that the companies operating Rangers would be liquidated, while the clubs had to be reformed in the new corporate structure. Rangers business and assets are sold to Sevco Scotland Ltd , with the BDO accounting firm for being appointed as a liquidator. Duff & amp; Phelps announced in October 2012 that the creditor has agreed at the end of their administration and that they have applied to the Court of Appeal for BDO to be appointed as a liquidator. This appointment is legally approved on 31 October.
In June 2015, BDO proposes a temporary payment of £, £ 10 million for creditors, between 6 and 7 sen per  ¥ 1 which must be paid. Most of the funds are derived from successful lawsuits against Collyer Bristow, a law firm acting for Craig Whyte during the takeover of the Rangers. This temporary payment will be made by the end of July 2015, but is postponed by claims made by Law Financial Ltd. Further payment to the creditor depends on the outcome of the dispute with the HMRC.
On June 25, 2012, the Crown Office asked the Strathclyde Police to investigate the purchase of Rangers and the club's next financial management.
New company
Following CVA's rejection, Rangers' business and assets were sold to Sevco Scotland Ltd, a company owned by a consortium led by Charles Green. While the manager, Ally McCoist and a number of players are willing to transfer, other major team players such as Steven Davis team captain Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker refused their contracts transferred under TUPE regulations and became free agents. This is disputed by Duff & amp; Phelps, who stated that Green bought the contract and player registration. Rangers then agreed a fee for Davis with Southampton, while Charles Green pursued claims in relation to Naismith and Whittaker.
Another consortium, led by former Rangers manager Walter Smith, made a last-minute offer for the asset. This was rejected by Duff & amp; Phelps, who already has a binding agreement to sell it to Charles Green. The Walter Smith Consortium, including Scottish businessmen, Douglas Park and Jim McColl, made a £ 6 million bid that was also rejected. Charles Green then offered Walter Smith the role and opportunity for his consortium to invest in the club. On June 19, 2012, Walter Smith and his consortium withdrew from attempts to acquire the relaunched club. The Smith Consortium was initially hostile to the consortium of Charles Green but stated that "We hope the new Rangers Football Club is every good fortune."
On June 20, 2012, it was reported that two Glasgow businessmen, home developers and property developers Allan Stewart and Stephen McKenna are preparing a bid for the club worth around Ã,  £ 11 million. On June 25 McKenna made an  £ 8.7 million offer rejected. The famous former Rangers player John Brown has been involved in the bidding and made a further effort to take control by leading purchasing supporters of the Green consortium. Brown left his position as a transfers scout after a meeting with Green and told 5,000 supporters who demonstrated at Ibrox Stadium not to renew their season tickets, to "starve" their funds and force them out. Brown challenged Green to show the title deed for Ibrox and Murray Park, as he suspected that Craig Whyte or Ticketus retained interest in assets. Brown also accused Green of "surrender" to a plot by Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell, alleging that Lawwell wanted a weak Rangers in the SPL to boost Celtic's own revenue.
Charles Green responded with disdain for what he saw as the attitude of Walter Smith and John Brown: "It is not true that every two weeks Mel Gibson appears, giving Braveheart a statement, then it does not produce anything." Malcolm Murray, who was installed as Chairman of Rangers, appealed to end "factionalism" and said: "The blood of Satanists must end, not just for Rangers but for Scottish football."
On July 6, 2012, Rangers is reportedly facing serious financial difficulties, as only 250 season tickets have been sold. Major Scottish banks including Royal Bank of Scotland, reportedly "are concerned about the current uncertainty about the club's future and its supporters" refused to provide Rangers with the corporate banking facilities it needs. Metro Bank is employed instead. Local Audi dealers also terminate lucrative sponsorship agreements. It was reported that Tennent's main sponsor will remain with Rangers but will renegotiate a much smaller deal.
In September 2015, Dave King, chairman of the new Rangers company, suggested that the old company could be expelled from liquidation and reused as a Rangers trading company.
In February 2017, BDO launched legal action against Duff & amp; Phelps, claimed damages of up to Ã, Â £ 28.9 million.
Propose a SPL entry
The financial collapse of Rangers resulted in much discussion in Scottish football. Originally proposed by the Scottish Premier League (SPL) that Rangers should be allowed to play in the SPL, despite the failure of the CVA. This failure means that Rangers share membership in the SPL must be transferred to the new company, along with other assets, and the required transaction approval of the two thirds majority of the 12 SPL clubs. Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnson has stated that it is likely he will choose to re-enter, but after consulting with their fans, he decides not to do so. Leaders from Aberdeen, Hearts, Dundee United, Hibernian, Inverness and St Mirren openly declared that they were likely to oppose. St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown stated that he would in principle oppose auto-reentry depending on the extent of sanctions and conditions, while Motherwell chose to vote based on fan and shareholder opinion. Newly promoted Ross County is relatively quiet about the issue, claiming that they will consider the views of other clubs before making their decision.
When voting on a share transfer was held on July 4, it was rejected by a 10-1 majority. Only Rangers' old company is in favor, and Kilmarnock abstained. Celtic was the only SPL club that did not announce their voting intentions before the vote, but then released a statement confirming their "no" vote and stating that "game integrity is very important" and that "the decision to deny access to the SPL one that is remarkable and shows the depth of feeling among everyone involved in Scottish football ".
SFL entry
After a vote by a competing club to refuse an application for Rangers direct entry into the SPL, the SFL and SFA executives propose a direct entrance to the Scottish First Division Football Division. The Scottish Football League clubs felt that they were forced to face situations that were not for them. Famous opponents for direct entry include Raith Rovers chairman Turnbull Hutton, who says that lower league clubs are being "bullied, rail and lied to" and describe the behavior of bodies that govern as "corrupt". Clyde, and Falkirk also voiced strong opposition from Rangers entering the First Division, with Falkirk chairman Martin Ritchie claiming that the parachute entry would be "completely unacceptable".
SFL chose to let the club join as an associate member and put Rangers in the Third Division. Agreements are then reached on SFA membership transfers. Sevco Scotland Ltd. agrees to accept all conditions relating to charges against Rangers FC that bring the game to a bad one, including a 12-month transfer embargo, payment of all outstanding penalties and football debts, and broadcast rights agreement. The Scottish Premier League retains its right to the application of potential sanctions, including investigations into the use of EBT clubs and any penalties that may be applied as a result. The decision allowed Rangers to be relaunched to finish their first game just two days later, a Ramsdens Cup match against Brechin City at Glebe Park.
Aftermath
Claim "" new club "and verdict
As a result of Rangers business and assets sold to new companies when The Rangers Football Club plc entered into liquidation, the extent to which the re-launched Rangers sport's identity can be considered a continuation of a club founded in 1873 has been interpreted differently. The post-2012 Rangers Football Club was described by some mainstream media as a "new club", while Charles Green maintained "this is still Rangers", and SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster stated "it is an existing club, even though it's a new company".
Former Celtic captain Tom Boyd and Donald Findlay, former vice-chairman of Rangers, say they think Rangers post-liquidation is a new club. Steven Naismith, one of the players who chose not to transfer his contract to a new company under TUPE rules, justifies his position by stating that he has no loyalty to the new regime. Five years later, Naismith retracted his comments and said that he was less advised of the situation at Rangers.
Rangers supporters have been referred to as 'zombies' or 'undead'. On August 20, 2012, Falkirk suspended one of their broadcasters after he called the club "Sevco Franchise" ( Sevco is the new company name before being changed to The Rangers Football Club Ltd ). Some Celtic supporters are very intense in their 'new club' statement, after displaying banners in their stadium on various occasions by mocking references to 'zombies', 'dead clubs' and other aspects of Rangers economic problems. In January 2015, a Celtic group paid a full-page newspaper advertisement announcing that their club would soon play its first game against a new club and that the 120-year-old Old Company competition had ended.
In 2013 many complaints were filed with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after Rangers produced marketing materials stating they were "the most successful club in Scotland". After considering the evidence, ASA does not support complaints. UEFA has told ASA that their law allows a team to have "sports sustainability" under different company ownership.
Upon entering into liquidation, Rangers lose their membership in the European Club Association, and as new entities they must reapply for membership. The ECA grants them an associate membership (not an ordinary membership) on the grounds that Rangers is a founding member of the Association, and recognizes that the new entity has gained goodwill, which includes history, of the old company.
In May 2015, Scottish newspapers published articles stating that FIFA's board had 'entered' into the debate, or even 'insisted' that Rangers was the same club, but the organization made no official comment on the matter that. Claims related to articles published in the weekly FIFA magazine, which carries a disclaimer that "any views expressed in The FIFA Weekly do not necessarily reflect FIFA" .
Request Nimmo Smith and EBT verdict
By the end of 2012, the SPL arranges an investigation, led by Lord Nimmo Smith, into alleged double-use contracts by Rangers through the EBT scheme. David Murray denied any fraud occurred during his ownership of Rangers, while Alistair Johnston and Charles Green questioned the independence of the investigation. The investigation found that Rangers had deliberately failed to disclose a trust payment to withhold information from HMRC and fined the old company Ã, Â £ 250,000. It was anticipated that an inquiry would revoke the honor won by Rangers during the period between 2001 and 2009 when a trust payment was made (three League titles, four Scottish Cups and four League Cups), but this was not done because it was thought that Rangers had not gained sports advantage by withholding information.
The First Level Court ruling in relation to the use of EBT by Rangers was announced on 20 November 2012, with Rangers winning an appeal on the majority decision. After the verdict David Murray confirmed that Rangers had offered HMRC a settlement over Ã, Â £ 10 million two years earlier. Murray also stated that, "The biggest question is why Revenue knew in August 2011 that Craig Whyte did not pay for national insurance and taxes but did not lower it - it has many consequences for the business." The High Tribunal upholds the verdict in 2014, but HMRC appeals to the Court of Appeal. In November 2015, their call that EBT's £ 47 million worth of payments made to Rangers employees for nine years is an unpublished taxable income enforced by the three judges, leading to further questions as to whether Rangers has benefited non-sporting sports fair by using the scheme. In July 2017, the Court of Appeal decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of England in its final decision.
Although the Supreme Court ruling on the EBTs was different from the verdict in place at the time of Nimmo Smith's investigation, the SPFL stated there would be no new investigation into the matter after receiving no support from the SFA. Celtic are the only club to make a formal request for this issue to be reviewed, with other club leaders expressing their desire for this issue to be postponed - although fans do not always share this view.
Craig Whyte
In 2013, Ticketus successfully sued Craig Whyte for damages. in September 2014, he was banned from becoming a company director for 15 years. Whyte was declared bankrupt in the High Court in London in October 2015, after he did not pay the damages granted to Ticketus.
A warrant issued on November 14, 2014 by the Crown Office for Whyte's arrest in connection with alleged fraud committed during the purchase of Rangers. Four arrests were also made in Britain as part of the investigation. On November 27, Whyte was detained by police in Mexico and detained for a warrant. On November 28 he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court; no application or declaration was made and he was released on bail.
On September 2, 2015 Whyte appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court along with Charles Green; Whyte was charged with conspiracy as well as allegations under the Criminal Justice and License Law (Scotland) 2010 Part 28 (1). On June 6, 2017, after a lengthy trial at the Glasgow High Court (with Donald Findlay acting as his defense attorney), Whyte was acquitted of all charges.
Wee tax case
In 2016, a group of ordinary Celtic shareholders scrutinized their club and UEFA to investigate the 2011 decision to grant Rangers permission to play in the Champions League (where it would otherwise be forwarded to Celtic) despite the presence of a 'wee tax case'. The dispute is referred to as 'Resolution 12', which is the relevant UEFA law. UEFA insists they will not take action because the tax-case status was not confirmed at the time the license was granted, and at the beginning of the next season Rangers have been withdrawn from European competition due to their bankruptcy.
In September 2017, the SFA said they may be obligated to investigate the issue again after the trial of Craig Whyte, where it is suspected that Rangers directors know they will be held accountable for the tax amount when UEFA licenses are granted. The SFA issued a Complaint Notice on this matter in May 2018 to Rangers, who issued a blunt statement vowing to oppose the matter vigorously, stating that it was only being pursued because "directed by individuals intent on damaging Scotland's Rangers Football Club and its supporters ".
TUPE process
The handling of the TUPE process led to sixty seven players launching legal action against Rangers through the Scottish PFA, while three players claimed a constructive dismissal, although it was later discovered that PFA did not speak to the players to see if they wanted this raised their name. Rangers made a counter claim for a loss of transfer fee revenue from players refusing to join a new company. The panel is set to consider cases set in April 2013 that Rangers must pay the fees.
In January 2017, the Court heard an action from Albert Kinloch against Coral betting makers. Bets have refused to pay on bets made by Kinloch that Rangers will be "relegated" after the Scottish Premier League season 2011-12. Kinloch said in court that he had placed a bet after learning that Rangers was in financial trouble. The court finds in favor of the bandar, deciding that Rangers have not been relegated.
Historical child sexual abuse
BBC Scotland reported in May 2018 that a former youth soccer player had contacted Rangers to demand compensation for alleged sexual harassment by Gordon Neely, who was head of their youth development during the 1980s. Writing in response to the claims, Rangers said that their company currently has no "liability of care" for the plaintiff and advised him that he would need to contact the old Rangers firm liquidator. Plaintiff, Rangers season ticket holders, said he believes that Rangers are morally still the same club despite changes in legal personality.
Events in the field
It took Rangers to bounce back for four years to pass the division and take their place in the Scottish Premier League for the 2016-17 season. As well as winning each of the lower division titles and the Scottish Challenge Cup 2015-16, they reached the 2016 Scottish Cup Final, losing to Hibernian. In their first season back at the top level, Rangers finished third behind Celtic and Aberdeen and qualified for UEFA Europa League 2017-18; the return of European football after a five-year absence ended in disgrace with the defeat of the part-time club ProgrÃÆ'¨s Niederkorn of Luxembourg in the opening round.
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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