Sky Sports accused in cinch cover up as broadcaster fears Ibrox backlash

Sky Sports have been accused of being behind the cinch cover up. 

The season long dispute between Ibrox and the main sponsors of the SPFL hit farcical levels on Saturday when Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Scott Wright were interviewed in front of a backing board with masking tape covering up the cinch logos. 

Cinch was suddenly trending on social media but the serious side of the issue is that the SPFL are likely to go short when the car sales firm pay up for a year of part-sponsorship. 

No club has been on Sky Sports more than The Tribute Act but unlike every other club there has been no cinch logo on the cherished Castore kit. 

Any other club would have been heavily fined within a week of refusing to back the sponsorship but under Neil Doncaster nothing has been said to the Ibrox club after 34 of 38 matches were played without recognising cinch. 

Keith Jackson of the Daily Record reports: 

Record Sport can reveal concern is growing that the SPFL ’s title sponsors may refuse to stump up a huge chunk of the whopping £1.6m which is due to be shared out across all four divisions at the end of the current campaign. 

The long running feud took another twist on Saturday when cinch’s branding was covered by masking tape as Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst conducted a post match interview with Sky TV following his team’s 3-1 win at Fir Park. 

We understand, for production reasons, it was the broadcaster’s decision to cover up those logos in a specially modified studio inside the stadium rather than conduct the interview track-side. 

They feared Rangers’ PR department would not allow van Bronckhorst to appear before the advertising backdrop unless all cinch branding was blacked out. 

Record Sport also understands the Ibrox club have been holding discussions behind the scenes with league chiefs in an attempt to defuse the stand-off which began at the start of the season, shortly after the £8m five year partnership was first announced. 

But even if an unlikely peace deal can be brokered, cinch may still feel short changed after nine months without their branding being displayed at the home of the current top flight champions. 

And that has led to fears that the online firm may be unwilling to pay out in full when their first season in Scottish football reaches its climax next month. 

Rather than pick up a fee from an official sleeve sponsor Celtic have had cinch on board for all 34 SPFL matches.