MORE than two years have passed since the June day back in 2017 when the media were called to Ibrox and informed that a deal had been concluded which meant Mike Ashley would no longer be an impediment to Rangers reclaiming control of their retail deal.
“It has been one of the priorities for us over the last couple of years,” said Dave King that day. “In fact THE biggest priority if you are ignoring the football side of getting back to the Premiership and into Europe was the resolution of the retail deal. It has been a really monumental effort, taking a massive amount of time and resources to get to this point. But it was so critical to the club that we got something sorted out.”
Whether everyone bought into the notion that day that the controversial Sports Direct tycoon, a man whose intentions King paraphrased as ‘coming across a board in a weak position who took advantage’, had decided to take a step back in the face of a fierce supporter boycott and the thwarting of his ownership ambitions, it is a reading which now seems hopelessly optimistic.
Because just as the club were preparing yesterday to bury one of the gloomier episodes in their recent history with a grudge re-match against Progres Niederkorn in Luxembourg, further details were emerging of how they remain unable to free themselves from the clutches of Ashley and his Sports Direct Empire.
READ MORE: Sports Direct verdict analysis: Court ruling heaps pressure on Rangers
The news yesterday wasn’t so much a bombshell as a few more aftershocks from the recent ruling in the High Court by Lionel Persey QC in favour of SDI Retail Services, who said Rangers bosses had been in breach of obligations of a replica kit deal when they agreed a £10m arrangement with Hummel.
While both parties will return to court at a later date to settle damages incurred by SDI, in the short-term, Rangers have been given a couple of weeks to make an interim payment of around £450,000, with the Hummel deal effectively ‘killed’ from 2020-21 onwards. "During the future football season 2020/2021,” the ruling reads, “Rangers shall not permit the Rangers FC teams to wear any Official Rangers Technical Products designed by, supplied by, gifted by or manufactured by Elite or Hummel, or bearing the Hummel brand."
By King’s own admission that day, successfully concluding the retail deal was vital to the future success of the club, perhaps “the priority”. As positive as results on the pitch may be, the club’s inability to free itself from his clutches will remain a demoralising drain on Rangers’ resources.
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