THREE directors have stepped down from the board of Rangers fan group Club 1872.

Iain Leiper, Laura Fawkes and Joanne Percival were appointed to the top table in September as the organisation held its first boardroom elections.

But fans were left in shock on Saturday evening when it was announced that all three had tendered their resignations.

Club 1872 are the fifth largest shareholders in Rangers International Football Club plc after increasing their Ibrox stake to 6.25% last year.

It was formed after several fan groups – including the Rangers Supporters Trust and Rangers First – voted to come together under the one umbrella following the change in power in the boardroom that saw Dave King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan oust the former Gers regime.

But the organisation has now been hit by three departures just months after members cast their vote for the first time.

A statement read: “Club 1872 has been advised of the resignation of three directors, Iain Leiper, Laura Fawkes and Joanne Percival.

“Club 1872 is disappointed that these directors are unable to see out their term of office but does thank them for all of their hard work, dedication and efforts to date.

“Becoming a director of the Club 1872 is a considerable undertaking and we should be grateful to all of those willing to take this step.

“The remaining Directors, James Blair, William Cowie, Alex Wilson and Craig Houston remain and have each committed to continue to serve Club 1872, its members and the vision and objectives of an organisation which is run for and by its members.
“The Board has made efforts over the last few days to deal with the practical consequences of the resignations.

“This has included speaking to our employee, dealing with the transfer of passwords and social media accounts, reassigning work streams and many other matters.

“A dialogue has also been maintained with the resigning directors. We are conscious that they were elected by you, our members and that you would want us to deal with them professionally and with respect.”

The resignations of Leiper, Fawkes and Percival leave just the four remaining directors in charge of Club 1872 at present.

The trio released their own statement over the weekend outlining the reasons for the departures as they claimed they found ‘the conduct of one director particularly challenging, causing all of us to make considerable personal compromises at times.’

And the former board members admit it was a wrench to stand down from office just months after winning the backing of the Light Blue legions.

A statement read: “As you will be aware following the announcement from Club 1872, all three of us have resigned as directors.

“We considered it an honour and a privilege to be voted to serve on the board of Club 1872 by our fellow Rangers fans, and those of you who know each one of us personally will understand how painful it was for us to leave an organisation we firmly believed in and worked tirelessly to establish since our election.”