Neil Doncaster is facing the nightmare scenario of punishing his friends at Ibrox or putting an £8m SPFL sponsorship deal in jeopardy.
Back in 2012 the SPFL Chief Executive sat down with Peter Lawwell and Stewart Regan to create a route for a new club into the professional ranks while passing them the ‘honours’ of one that had died of shame leaving 276 creditors high and dry.
In June Doncaster patted himself on the back after negotiating a five year sponsorship deal with cinch that would see money pumped into clubs in all four SPFL divisions.
Cinch are an online company looking to muscle into the used car market, in clear competition to Parks of Hamilton which is run by Ibrox chairman Douglas.
The sponsorship deal requires clubs to have the cinch logo on their shirt as well as the backing boards for all media interviews. On Sunday the Ibrox club ignored their new sponsor of the SPFL.
Covering the issue, The Sun reports:
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster is under growing pressure to solve Rangers’ sponsor snub. As Sunsport revealed yesterday Gers refused to wear the logo of commercial partners cinch in their Premiership opener with Livingston
And the Ibrox side failed to declare a cinch-sponsored man of the match, while the car company’s branding was absent from broadcast interview boards.
And the fallout from those shock actions could spark a bitter new war over Doncaster’s role within the Scottish game.
Cinch have agreed an £8million deal with the SPFL due to run over the next five years and have their rights protected in their regulations.
But Rangers — whose chairman Douglas Park made his fortune in car sales — have blatantly ignored rule G46, which covers logos on shirts.
Without the backing of Lawwell Doncaster may find his position is more vulnerable than at any point over the last decade.
