GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Rangers legend Richard Gough during a memorial service for Walter Smith at Glasgow Cathedral, on November 19, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Suspicious fingers are being pointed towards Richard Gough after the sale of a special piece of memorabilia last month.
Every so often McTears will hold a sporting auction which will include medals, shirts, some programmes and various bits and pieces from Scottish football down the years.
Some rare items pop up, some shirts from Stevie Chalmers and Bertie Auld have come up in the past with families perhaps deciding to cash in and allow collectors to add something rarely available to their more routine collections.
There was one very unusual item up for auction last month, one that jarred a nerve with Rangers fans.
A small trophy/item with the BELLS logo was put up for sale, it had been issued in recognition for the season 1996/97 Scottish League Championship, Celtic received a similar trophy the following year.
Since the 96/97 BELLS item was the only time that Rangers won 9-in-a-row it has an emotional value but clearly not for the owner who decided to cash in.
Buyers and sellers are kept anonymous by McTears but they do carry out some research work to ensure that the items they sell are genuine and also that the seller is the rightful owner.
Typical chat among Ibrox fans is given above.
After the 96/97 season Gough left to join Kansas City Wizards but after 17 appearances he was summoned back to Ibrox to complete 10-in-a-row.
Naturally he failed to do that but at some point word on the street has it that he was presented with the BELLS 96/97 trophy.
Where it has been over the last 28 years is a mystery. It may have been sold or gifted to a special friend or collector but whatever the story it went under the hammer last month, selling for £16,000 plus a variety of additional charges.
Current Ibrox fans have been left wondering why their Tribute Act never splashed out on the BELLS item, but like  other issues the story remains untold.
Only Gough would be able to shed some light on what happened to the item between presentation in 1997 and going to auction at McTears.
Interesting, removed by who & guessing McTears have confirmed it wasn’t stolen.
— Gav Alexander (@_GavAlexander) May 27, 2025
There was a comment on the sevco forum about the trophy will always belong to the club and you can’t buy trophies and history.
By that logic, Charles green didn’t buy the rangers trophies and ebt backed history
I guess they don’t do irony
The headline had me thinking of something else…
Ditto.
Cheers…young man .
Same here
Can you fill me in on what you mean? Am i missing something?
Hells Bells ! Rama lama ding dong…..
If ye don’t know…then better to leave it Bigmick.
Let’s just say he was rumored to have a secret penchant similar to Keir Starmer’s secret penchant….
Never knew that about KS .
You didn’t find it strange his old home and car were torched by “male models”? And that there’s been barely a peep about it in the press since?
It’s apparently one of the worst-kept secrets in Westminster…
So it’s the end of the bell for the bell end then !
Boy, what a clever attention grabbing headline!
Probably selling it on behalf of Sevco to gain a few more shekels for the transfer fund.
Something of the night about Gough.Make a good hammer horror butler.Who knows what he’s up to.