Rangers kit controversy sparks Dave King ‘100% certain’ response
Rangers and sportswear brand JD Sports had been found to be breaching competition law by fixing kit prices back in September 2018.
The Light Blues’ chairman at the time, Dave King, helped massively to get out of the club’s deal with Sports Direct and sign with JD (a deal which has now ended with Castore the new suppliers).
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the controversy in December of 2020 and accused the sports firms of fixing the prices of replica kits and clothing products.
King has now come out to state that he is convinced he and the football club won’t be found to have done anything wrong by the latest investigations.
“No,” King told Herald and Times Sport when asked if he thought Rangers would be found guilty of any wrongdoing. “I am 100 per cent certain that the Club was not complicit.”
“I was absolutely not aware and, due to the Club’s prior embarrassments with retail, James Blair and I kept such a tight control over all commercial contracts that I don’t believe it was possible for Stewart (Robertson), or any other executive at the Club, to enter into such an arrangement without my knowledge.”
Distractions
The club’s board will have plenty to do away from the football field which could see transfer dealings delayed somewhat but Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his squad cannot afford to get embroiled in this.
They have too much to try and rectify from last season with only the Scottish Cup added to their trophy cabinet and fans demand more than just one trophy in a season at Ibrox considering that we are arguably the biggest side in Scotland.
They did come agonisingly close to a remarkable Europa League victory as Eintracht Frankfurt won the final on penalties in Seville but they were always on the back foot in the league as arch-rivals Celtic went on to regain the title.
This latest controversy is the last thing anybody at the club needs right now, especially as the events happened a number of years ago and are no longer affecting us in any way.
In other Rangers news, the Bears are yet to open contract negotiations with one of their first-team regulars who is set to leave Ibrox this month.