RANGERS stars are featuring in promotional material by sportswear giant Puma for the release of new Rangers strips for sale as the dispute over the rights to trade the merchandise escalates.
Sports kit firms have defied Rangers by offering brand new kit for sale on Thursday.
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It emerged Rangers could ditch the controversial Puma strip released without their consent and replace it with a new kit midway through the season.
Puma, who insist they have a legal right to sell and market the kit under the terms of their five-year kit deal with the club joined the likes of Mike Ashley's Sports Direct, JD Sports and Intersport to start selling the kit players will be wearing when the new season starts on Saturday.
Puma even distributed adverts for the sales featuring Rangers stars Martyn Waghorn, Wes Foderingham, Lee Wallace and Barrie McKay wearing the new kit to promote the sales.
It comes as Rangers consider what action to take over the sales.
An extreme option of creating a new kit outside of the Puma deal is one of a number of moves Ibrox chiefs are currently exploring following the breakdown of their relationship with the German sportswear firm and Mike Ashley's Sports Direct empire.
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When the kit deal was announced in February, 2013, Rangers said it made the sportswear giant "the official supplier and licensee of replica merchandise for the club" in a deal that complimented the Rangers Retail merchandising joint venture with Sports Direct, set up under a previous Ibrox management.
Fans have become enraged that fellow supporters have been buying the strips.
Fans group Sons of Struth again urged fans to boycott buying replica kit having long been concerned that themerchandise deal makes the club 4p in every pound.
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Yesterday in Sports Direct's Sauchiehall Street store, there was no activity around the display of new Rangers shirts for some two hours as they went on sale for the first time.
Rangers in May said it had withdrawn the exclusive licensing rights for the Sports Direct-controlled Rangers Retail to use the club's trademarks given to its merchandising joint venture with Sports Direct and it was believed that meant kit which contains the protected logos could not be sold.
But Puma has said that after taking legal advice it was happy to sell, market and distribute the new kit.
It distributed it's Forever Ready promotional material on Thursday featuring Rangers stars to plug the release of the new club kit and some now appear on sales websites, including Sports Direct.
Puma said as part of the promotion: “We understand the rich heritage that is intrinsic to Rangers Football Club and as the team return to the Scottish Premiership we wanted to deliver a kit that was worthy of this. With just a few days to go until the season starts we wish the team the very best of luck in what is set to be such an exciting season for both the club and fans."
It said it was releasing the kits into the market in "full compliance" with the sponsorship and licensing agreement it has with Rangers Retail.
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Rangers said Puma had manufactured some replica kit after receiving purchase orders directly from Sports Direct and "without the prior knowledge or agreement" of the club and its directors on the Rangers Retail board, Paul Murray and David King.
The club added: "We are surprised and disappointed by the lack of consultation with the club and/or supporters groups prior to the launch."
The Rangers board said it was cancelling the merchandise deal with Rangers Retail, unhappy at the return they were getting on the venture.
The trademarks agreements were a cornerstone of Rangers' merchandising joint venture with Ashley's company confirmed by then chief executive Charles Green in August 2012.
The club has already triggered a seven-year notice period required to cancel all contractual ties with Sports Direct.
READ MORE: Kenny Miller: Scott Brown is right, Aberdeen will challenge Celtic... for second place
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