Rangers Managing Director Stewart Robertson has nailed the hapless SPFL directorate to the wall with an explosive letter over their handling of the cinch sponsorship fiasco.
The Ibrox club refused to display cinch branding around the stadium and on their Scottish Premierships shirts following the signing of a new deal with the online used car dealership.
The Gers also refused to award a “cinch Man of the Match” in line with the partnership signed by the SPFL.
This is due to a conflict of interest regarding commercial partnerships which were signed at Ibrox prior to the cinch deal being concluded.
Said to be worth £1.6m per season across five seasons, the SPFL had previously talked up the deal as the “largest title sponsorship in SPFL history” [SPFL].
The professional members’ body would then write to the member clubs openly criticising Rangers for refusing to adopt the branding.
In it – and you can read the entire thing via the Scottish Sun – SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan criticises Rangers for being unable to “to deliver inventory to cinch”.
Rangers, however, have now bitten back with a letter of their own which lays bare the blatant and hubristic incompetence of the SPFL directorate when it comes to this new deal.
Not only did the Gers make the SPFL well aware of the conflict of interest and the club’s rights under Rule I7 of the SPFL’s rules, but the body went on and signed the deal anyway.
Rule I7 states clubs are not “obliged to comply with this rule if to do so would result in that club being in breach of a contractual obligation entered into prior to the Commercial Contract concerned.”
Stewart Robertson hasn’t held back as he takes aim at the nature of the arrangement, Rangers’ issues with it, the SPFL negotiations with cinch and the fact they outsourced the commercial arrangement at the cost of £500k to the member clubs.
Here’s the letter via the Scottish Sun:
“We have been in private dialogue with the SPFL Executive since 8 June on this topic but, given that they have sought to make the issue public, it is appropriate for you to be aware of the circumstances involved.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Rangers continues to comply with the rules of the SPFL.
“One of the key rules that protects the commercial interests of all members is Rule I7.
“When the SPFL Executive put forward the written resolution with regards to the new sponsorship contract, Rangers immediately notified Neil Doncaster that, in line with Rule I7, we would be unable to provide the new sponsor with many of their rights due to a pre-existing contractual obligation.
“We cannot breach an existing contract. This is a legal principle which is founded in Scots Law and is the reason that the SPFL has Rule I7 within its rules.
“Rangers has complied with and will continue to comply with the SPFL rules and fulfil all sponsorship obligations which do not conflict with our pre-existing contractual obligations.
“However, this situation has raised some questions which the members may well wish to ask of the SPFL Executive:
- Given the possibility of Rule I7 being relied upon by members, did the SPFL Executive/legal advisors include a clause in the contract with cinch, which allows the SPFL not to provide rights to cinch where members rely upon Rule I7? If not, why not?
- Given that the issue was raised by Rangers (when there is no need under the rules for Rangers to do so) immediately after the written resolution was raised, why did the SPFL Executive proceed to sign the contract when they knew there was an issue and without further checking with Rangers as to its extent?
- Did the SPFL Executive inform cinch prior to the contract being signed that it could not provide all of the rights it was contracting to provide due to SPFL Rule I7?
- It was interesting that the Chairman provided the Chief Executive with the credit for closing the deal when it was introduced to the SPFL by an agency that will receive c.£100,000 pa in fees for each of the 5 years of the deal. That is c.£500,000 of cash that will be leaving the Scottish game. Is this the best use of Scottish Football’s limited resources? Could this money have been better spent by employing a full time Commercial Director?
“I trust that this clarifies the position. Best regards. Stewart Robertson
“Managing Director.”
This is the latest in a long-line of run-ins between the Gers and the SPFL, with the Ibrox club previously demanding the suspension of SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster for his role in the end-of-season lost vote debacle.
Robertson even took aim at the game’s powers that be over the “undersold” TV deal which Rangers believe isn’t reflective of the value of the division.
Rangers want change in Scottish football and unless these guys at Hampden can take charge of their own responsibilities effectively, we don’t expect the club will let up in their demands for it any time soon.
Here’s more on the SPFL letter to member clubs and those claims of £500k going to middlemen when plenty feel the deal itself doesn’t represent value to the league.
