Bearman

On the subject of the SNP...anyone else find it odd that all the other parties during the referendum told us we are 'better together' and now that Scotland (according to polls) are voting for their preference in a democratic UK vote are painting Scots as 'dangerous' folk? Better together Scotland as long as you shut your effin mouth. That's not democratic.

It was that Labour bloke McConnell...never ever vote Labour again.

Some may think the powers that be 'want' Rangers back in the big league, some may even say they are 'desperate' for us to be back in the big league. The truth is those who run the game and work in the media don't, they would rather see us suffer more. The scum Record is trying to take our eye off the ball, of that there is no doubt.

Can see this one reporter turning up with a hat and white raincoat on...hello miss...

He has a point though regarding important events on the field, funny how all this bull rears it's head via the DAILY RECORD. Some of the stuff written is laughable when you look at it.

I'd rather discuss Rangers matters in 'Rangers Chat' rather than politics, but since this is what we have I'd like to moan about the buggers in government that stopped me smoking a fag in the pub and in the airport. In fairness a lot of pubs accommodated the smoker by creating covered smoking areas for them, but some don't which means folk walking past as you puff away outside give you a sidestep and a dirty look. Should be in the lounge this.

Jings crivvens!!!! Just noticed the price of that RHAG!!! ...besides that, hope there's something in the headline.

I wanted Juve to win and they did, unfortunately the wee number 7 what's his name spoiled the game by scoring again in the CL, apparently his 76th in the competition?? I want the Italians to make it to the final, and the way they play they might just do it...then again, there's that wee number 7.

We need a league with equality for all teams playing, to have some clubs having more home games than others is ridiculous and lacks sporting integrity. The 'split' is a joke as well, already we see the league table with the 7th club five points more than the 6th club.

You mean...don't go DOWN!!!

...so says spfl official site http://spfl.co.uk/premiership/fixtures/ All we need to do now, is stay there.

If Mark warburton and sir Davie Weir take Brentford up we have no chance of attracting them to Ibrox...if they FAIL themselves and lose out in the play-offs we could very well see them here next season, but only if Rangers are in the Premiership. Then again, if we win our play-off and reach the top league next year the board will give McCall the job regardless.

Anybody know how much money ALL clubs participating in the play-offs are getting for their games being shown live on BT Sports or is all this money already secured by the spfl without any 'extra' going towards the teams taking part?

How much do Hearts get for going up, and what does the 2nd club get if they go up? If Motherwell survive the play-off, do they get a 'bonus' or a parachute payment if they don't?

Yes before costs isn't fair in any walk of life, it's the sort of thing that would happen to a criminal fighting his corner. I have no idea what the costs are, but it must run into hundreds of thousands, the spfl are the criminals in this case. Rules drawn up by crooks themselves...let's take them to court.

Rangers should just go ahead with their plan and we will see what they can do about it, if anything.

...also, Hibs were allowed to let in season ticket holders for free to give that club a better chance of staying in the Premiership with a large home crowd backing their side to glory, the twelfth man so to speak. The spfl had already lost Hearts and didn't want to lose another 'big' club so the free entry for ST holders was good for them. Hamilton Accies had other ideas though.

The RST statement is a good one...if Hibs were allowed to do it last season then the spl have no grounds to stop Rangers from repeating the gesture.

We could give home fans a substantial discount though without altering the normal cost for away fans? Edit: I've read rule 131 again, and we would have to give the away fans a discount too...sorry!

SPFL to refuse permission for Rangers' play-off season ticket plan By RAMAN BHARDWAJ The Scottish Professional Football League will refuse to let Rangers to allow their season ticket holders in for free to the Premiership play-offs. STV understands the league's board have taken the stance that the clubs must abide by rules, which the SPFL believes prevents free admission being given. It is believed the board also canvassed the opinion from other member clubs before arriving at their decision. The decision leaves Rangers and Motherwell, who have also publicly stated their wish to allow free entry if they finish 11th in the Premiership, with a decision over whether to press ahead and subsequently be in breach of the regulations. If a rule breach can be proved, clubs can face any number of sanctions. That includes a financial sanction, which would seem the most likely given the SPFL would stand to lose out on cash if season ticket holders are granted free admission. The row stems from rule C26 of the league's regulations. It states that clubs must give 50% of the gross proceeds from gate receipts to the SPFL by means of a levy, with all sums "paid or payable" to be directed to the league. STV spoke to a sports lawyer this week who says he can see a legitimate case for both sides of the argument, but warned he could see no explicit rule which forbids clubs from giving out free entry to season ticket holders. Neeraj Thomas from Burness Paull LLP said: "I think the SPFL are basing their argument on rule C26, which basically states that money "paid or payable" for play-off matches. On that money should be a 50% levy paid to the SPFL as an organisation. "There's a counter-argument to that in that there isn't a clear rule which says you can't let in fans for free for these play-off matches. So I think that's probably where the tension is coming at the moment. "The fact they do mention 'or payable' I think is what the SPFL are going to hang their hat on and say whether the money is paid or not is really relevant. The fact is the money is 'payable', so it is due. "So if Rangers or any other clubs don't want to charge their fans for that, the money is [still] payable so it should be paid by the clubs to the SPFL in lieu of the fans not actually paying their own admission fee. "The clubs are saying if there's no actual rule saying we have to charge season ticket holders into these play-off matches, then they are obviously saying they are free to do what they want. "But it is clear there is some ambiguity about what rules apply and how those rules are going to be interpreted. "It is very difficult. It does purely come down to interpretation of rule C26. The club view would be that the money hasn't been paid, therefore they are free to not charge their season ticket holders into this match. There is not a specific rule which says they have to." It remains to be seen whether the clubs will now press ahead with their plans. The clubs' plans Earlier this week, Rangers outlined their "intention" to let season ticket holders in for free to all play-off home matches. "The club believes supporters who bought tickets for the entire season should not be asked to pay more," they said. "It is fundamentally wrong to ask supporters to pay for season tickets and then, at the end of the campaign, expect them to pay again to watch what will now be the most important matches of that same season." Motherwell have said they will let season ticket holders in for free for their home match if they finish in the 11th position in the Premiership. Hibernian are yet to publicly state their intentions, while Queen of the South say finances mean they will have to charge their season ticket holders for entry. The Hibernian precedent The SPFL didn't rule Hibs to be in breach of league rules last season when they let in season ticket holders for free to their play-off final match with Hamilton Academical. Sports lawyer Thomas believes this could lead to conflict. "The Hibs issue definitely has caused a significant problem for the SPFL," he said. "When it comes to the enforcement of these rules, they have to be enforced consistently. "In a situation where it is all a bit vague what happened with Hibs last year, but it seems to be the position that they didn't charge their season ticket holders for entry into the play-off matches. However that was decided, it was the decision was made they didn't have to charge their fans for that match. "The problem now for the SPFL comes when they insist other clubs have to charge their season ticket holders for that match. "The other clubs will obviously say 'what about Hibs last year? They didn't charge their season ticket holders, why is it we are having to charge our season ticket holders now?'".

STV reporting SPFL are to refuse season ticket holders entry for free...

Belgian under-21 international Gregory Mertens died on Thursday, three days after collapsing with heart failure during a match, a spokesman for his club, Lokeren, said. The 24-year-old defender had been in a coma since going into cardiac arrest early in a reserve team game on Monday. Club spokesman Herman Van De Putte told Reuters that his condition continued to worsen and the player's family had agreed with doctors to switch off the life support system. "Much too soon must we bid farewell to Gregory Mertens," the club said in a statement. "We are a football club. Everyone in and around the club breathes football. But suddenly something happens where we realise football is just football. "Today is such a time ... The medical team did all they could to save Gregory but in the end had to recognise their impotence. Gregory passed away today about 4:30 PM. "His family were able to say their farewells." Mertens, who joined top-flight Lokeren last summer after nearly 100 appearances for Cercle Bruges, collapsed 15 minutes into the game at Racing Genk and despite lengthy efforts to bring him round doctors quickly said his survival needed a "miracle". The death of a young man his club described as making himself "indispensable" while never losing his "quiet modesty" shocked many leading figures across European soccer. Chelsea's Belgium international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois tweeted in Dutch: "RIP Gregory Mertens! Much strength to family and friends." Fabrice Muamba, who as a 23-year-old nearly died during an FA Cup match in England three years ago, tweeted: "Horrible news that Gregory Mertens has passed away, only 24 years old. #RIP." A former England under-21 international, Muamba's heart stopped for over an hour during a televised quarter-final for Bolton Wanderers at Tottenham Hotspur. He survived and retired from the game, drawing attention to the health risks young players can face. "Shockingly sad," former England striker and television presenter Gary Lineker tweeted after news of Mertens' death. Manchester City said: "Our thoughts are with the friends and family of @KSCLokeren's Gregory Mertens at this sad time." http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/soccer/belgian-gregory-mertens-dies-from-heart-failure-after-collapsing-on-pitch-20150430-1mxfgi.html?

I've adjusted the headline the morons at BBC Scotland decided on... http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32542780 Rangers manager Stuart McCall believes Rangers would do well in the Scottish Premiership next season. McCall is also confident should they fail to make it through the play-offs they will be promoted from the Scottish Championship within a year. "If you look at Hamilton this season, top three until they lost their three best players, Dundee have finished top six," McCall told BBC Sportsound. "If we were in the Premiership we would do well." The Ibrox club trail Hibernian by a point ahead of the final day of the league season on Saturday, with McCall taking Rangers to champions Hearts, and Hibs travelling to fifth-placed Falkirk. Whoever finishes third face a two-legged tie against Queen of the South, with the winner then playing the side who finishes second, over another two legs. The winner of that tie will then play home and away against the side finishing 11th in the Scottish Premiership to determine who is in the top-flight next season. "I believe if we were in the Championship next year we would get things right and bounce straight up," said McCall. "If we got promoted, there might be a long way to go before we're challenging Celtic and possibly Aberdeen to maybe an extent." McCall, who has taken charge until at least the end of the season, said their celebrations will be muted should they finish second ahead of Hibernian. He said: "We are aiming to finish second but it won't have any impact on how play-offs finish. "There are no favourites going into the play-offs, it comes down to who handles the games. "There won't be a great deal of celebration if we finish second, because we won't have achieved anything." McCall also believes the club are right to defy league bosses and allow season ticket holders into their play-off clashes for free. That would breach the rules of the Scottish Professional Football League, which claims 50% of the gate receipts from each play-off match and shares it amongst its remaining clubs. Rangers insist they will hand over half the cash they receive from the sale of one-off tickets, but their decision could cost the SPFL thousands of pounds. "A full Ibrox would be a big advantage in the play-offs. It's totally right for the clubs," said McCall. "When I bought season tickets you would get all the league games and pay for the cup games. The play-offs are classified as league games, so fans should be let in. The supporters have paid, they've shown loyalty in buying season tickets, they deserve to be there [for free]." I'm confident if we go up this season (which I still believe we will) then Rangers are looking at a 2nd place finish next season at worse, with our superior resources and ability to attract quality footballers with the prospect of qualifying for European football the following year, then the sheep, the arabs and all the rest will soon discover at short shrift notice that the honeymoon is well and truly over.

There are millions of 'OF' fans all over the world...they would lose more than 'Scottish' subscriptions if they stopped showing football up here. Besides most people in Scotland have Sky to watch everything that isn't football.

D'ye think after today's verdict there'll be a large police presence at ti*mys next match and many arrests, before, during and after the game?