Dave King offers to cover the costs of Rangers pull out from Australian Celtic friendly
Rangers have been offered a way out of the mess they have created with the plans to face Celtic in a friendly in Australia reports the Scottish Sun.
The report says that former Ibrox chairman Dave King has offered to cover the costs of backing out of the plans, which have sparked fury amongst fans and saw protests spill onto the pitch in the win at Dundee at the weekend.
Supporters at Dens Park threw tennis balls and streamers onto the pitch, delaying play multiple times and causing angry reactions from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players, to draw attention to the level of upset.
The report in the Scottish Sun says: “SunSport understands the former Ibrox chairman has written to the beleaguered Ibrox board, giving them an exit route out of the proposed trip to Australia in November.
“The Aussie trip could be worth about £3million to Rangers.
“But SunSport has learned King is now offering to cover the costs should the Ibrox board find a way out.”
At last
The club should bite King’s hand off for the chance to get out of this escalating mess.
Whatever the benefits that were on offer, the growing negative consequences are going to outweigh them.
Had the announcement of the plans come after fan consultation, and not let Celtic get the drop on promoting it, then maybe there would have been a chance for it to go ahead.
But it was a PR nightmare from the start, and that has only got worse since.
Fans were willing to disrupt a crucial league game to voice displeasure at the idea.
And the shareholder group Club 1872 has been especially vocal in opposition to the board, which has sparked an angry response from the club in what is a war of words that will only drag the controversy on.
With the Bears fighting on three fronts for glory on the pitch this year, further distractions could scupper the chance of trophies.
New Zealand Sky Sports man Jason Pines recently reported on Twitter problems behind the scenes with the organisers.
If that has opened the door, King has offered to pay for the club to walk through it, so they should do so as soon as possible and try to draw a line under this.
In other Rangers news, Brian Laudrup has expressed his fears if the protests continue.