Celtic watch on as Rangers head for another 'nuclear' row with the SPFL

By John McGinley

April 1, 2023

Another commercial deal benefitting Celtic and the rest of the Scottish Premiership clubs is becoming embroiled in Rangers’ bitter dispute with the SPFL, a new report in The Scottish Daily Mail has indicated. [01/04 print edition, back page]

It’s said that the SPFL are on the verge of renewing a sponsorship deal with the Loch Lomond Group, which produces Glen’s Vodka, but that Rangers have written to the rest of the Premiership clubs to tell them they feel they won’t be able to fulfil their duties of any new agreement.

The two sides are still fighting over the aftermath of an agreement involving Rangers and car group Cinch’s title sponsorship of the SPFL. It’s reported that the Ibrox club feel they don’t have to honour any sponsorship deals between now and 2026, when that Cinch deal expires.

There are now fears that the whole row could impact the value of any deal made with the Loch Lomond Group, with a renewal of terms that run until the end of this season on the cards. One club source told The Scottish Daily Mail that the furore threatens to go “nuclear” in the coming weeks. Currently, Glen’s Vodka sponsors manager and player of the month awards.

In the background of it all, Rangers have previously raised concerns about the governance of the league, while the SPFL executive team continues to robustly defend itself against all accusations.

Time for the SPFL and Rangers to sort this out

Many observers will note this is the kind of petty nonsense that holds Scottish football back from maximising its commercial worth. Why any company would want to get caught up in all this tiresome off-the-field wrangling is beyond me.

It’s long past due that the SPFL executive team and Rangers sort out their grievances with each other for the betterment of every other team in the league, including Celtic. I’m sure they’d all enjoy hashing it out over pedantic legal technicalities for the foreseeable future, but this is doing nobody any good.

Surely the common sense approach for everyone involved is to put this spat to the side and press on with attracting companies who want to actually invest in Scottish football. This pursuit of constant rancour is exhausting and counter-productive.

In other news, Celtic’s Dingwall mission after Saturday Scottish Premiership results.