Rangers Football Club enters administration

Rangers Football Club has entered administration - meaning the club will be docked 10 points, effectively ending its Scottish Premier League challenge. It follows an unsuccessful legal bid by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) at the Court of Session in Edinburgh to appoint its own administrator. London-based firm Duff and Phelps was appointed by Rangers at 14:50. It has now emerged that Rangers' game against Kilmarnock on Saturday may not go ahead unless police can be paid. In a statement, Strathclyde Police said it had a duty to make sure public resources were used appropriately. Public resources "We are seeking an urgent meeting with the administrators to ensure that any payment for policing costs at future Rangers games is guaranteed," said the force. "Until we have such a guarantee we would not be in a position to commit public resources to policing an event unless we had a reassurance that our costs would be met." Administrators Duff and Phelps will now take over the day-to-day running of the club while addressing its massive debt problems. Sport Minister Shona Robison said Rangers current plight was "a concerning situation for everyone involved in Scottish football". She said: "Football is our national game and it is now for the administrators to take forward the process of assessing the business and securing an outcome in the best interests of the club, its staff, supporters and the game of football as a whole in Scotland." Rangers owner Craig Whyte confirmed on Monday that the club had filed legal papers to appoint administrators. It was initially thought that the club had 10 days to make a decision on whether to proceed, but the HMRC action on Tuesday changed the dynamic of the situation. The two parties are at loggerheads over a disputed tax bill and penalties of up to £49m. HMRC believes the Ibrox club owes the cash over its use of Employment Benefit Trusts (EBTs) to pay staff over a 10-year period. It alleges the Ibrox club did not administer the scheme properly and underpaid tax. Secured creditor Rangers disputes this and has contested the claim in a first tier tax tribunal, which is due to report within weeks. After the club signalled its intention to go into administration, owner Craig Whyte said the eventual tax liability facing Rangers could be as high as £75m - a sum it would be unable to pay. He said the best outcome would be to reach a creditors agreement which would allow the club to continue trading. Mr Whyte is believed to be a secured creditor of Rangers and could collapse the club if HMRC block a creditors agreement. The chairman could opt to pursue the legal routes of receivership or pre-pack administration to avoid paying any tax liabilities. These routes would involve Rangers' assets being transferred to a new company or companies and the old club - formed in 1873 - being left behind with the unpayable debts. It would, almost inevitably, be wound up. Revenue impact In these cases, HMRC, as an unsecured creditor, would receive very little if anything. If Rangers was wound up, the ramifications for the Scottish game would be far-reaching. It is likely that existing TV deals, which provide significant revenue streams for Scottish clubs, would be scaled back or in extreme cases cancelled. The absence of Rangers fans at other grounds in Scotland would also reduce revenue to competitor clubs. A rigorous debate is now likely to begin as to whether Rangers hypothetical absence from top-flight Scottish football would be a blessing or a bombshell.