Rangers 'have lived beyond law and all morals, and should now be declared beyond the pale,' says Vladimir Romanov
Owner Vladimir Romanov has revealed Hearts are set to vote against a newco Rangers being accepted into the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

By Telegraph Sport

The 12 Scottish Premier League clubs - including Rangers - will vote on the issue at a general meeting on July 4, with an 8-4 majority required for the newco to be included.

In a 500-word statement on Hearts' official website, Romanov said: "Supporters deserve a new beginning and have to accept the fact that their club has to start from the lower league, keeping order in the SPL and without creating unfair competition with other clubs."

While expressing sympathy for supporters of Rangers, Romanov - who pointed the finger of blame at various figures - was adamant the Glasgow club should be punished.

He added: "As regards the club itself, we can only express our deepest condolences to its supporters, who have been lied to for so many years.

"It had to happen sooner or later. They have lived beyond law and all morals, and should now be declared beyond the pale."

Meanwhile, Motherwell have announced they will let the Well Society decide whether or not the club should vote in favour of granting newco Rangers entry to the SPL.

The Fir Park side is in the process of moving towards a fan-ownership model and will hold a ballot of Well Society members and minority shareholders on June 29 to determine how they should cast their newco vote.

Inverness chairman Kenny Cameron has indicated supporters' opinions will help to sway the club's vote on whether Rangers should be able to take up a place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League next season.

Cameron said opinions of supporters, including the supporters' trust, will be considered ahead of the vote.

Dundee United have struck a further blow to the newco Rangers being accepted into the Clydesdale Bank Premier League by indicating they will join Hearts in voting against the proposal.

In a statement tonight, Dundee United said after discussing the situation with supporters' groups, they reached the conclusion that the sporting integrity of the competition required the newco Rangers not to be included.

The statement said: "The board... are unequivocal in the belief that a form of sporting punishment must form part of the reasoning behind any decision made and, therefore, cannot vote the newco into the SPL.

"General sporting integrity and, more importantly, the integrity of Scottish football must also play a significant part in the decision-making process. It is our belief that any form of sporting punishment must be unambiguous in the message it displays."

In an open letter published on his club's official website, Cameron said: "It is fair to say that those who say that Rangers have been punished sufficiently are in an extremely small minority of all the representations received.

"The directors of the club have taken all the comments on board. Our final decision on the issue will be taken based on the views of supporters and the Supporters Trust combined with what we think is best for our club from a business perspective and for Scottish football in general.

"As events continue to unfold, the board will continue to assess the situation on an ongoing basis."

Rangers chief executive Charles Green has assured fans that season ticket money will be ring-fenced in a secure account until the issues surrounding the club are resolved.

He told Rangers' official website: "The chairman and I had a very productive meeting with members of the Fans Fighting Fund yesterday and I believe we have assured them of our best intentions to secure the long-term future of the club.

"We would like to thank them for encouraging fans to renew their season tickets to demonstrate their ongoing support for the manager, his team and the players.

"I can reassure all fans that season ticket money will be ring-fenced in a secure account and will not be used before the current issues surrounding the club, such as what league we will be playing in, are resolved.

"The chairman and I also believe that we - the fans and the club - are stronger together and we want to thank the fans for their unwavering commitment to secure the best future for the club."

Bury chairman Brian Fenton insists there has been no contact between his own club and Rangers following claims the Scottish giants were poised to launch a takeover bid for the npower League One outfit.

National newspaper reports this morning suggested the Light Blues would look to take up Bury's fixtures in England's third tier next term, continuing to play their home games at Ibrox, before a club statement from the Shakers offered a firm rebuttal.

Despite a takeover by Green's consortium last week Rangers' ongoing financial strife means their Scottish Premier League status remains in severe doubt, but Fenton said there have been no discussions over an unusual alternative.

"There's been no contact whatsoever," he said. "I got a call off a journalist yesterday asking whether I'd had contact with Rangers regarding investment or a takeover of Bury.

"At the time I thought it might just die a death as something that was being bandied around the press.

"Then this morning I got a call off one of my fellow directors about it being all over the back page of The Sun and The Mirror. I turned the television on and it was all over Sky Sports."

This led to the swiftly issued statement that Fenton felt was essential to quell speculation and reassure supporters.

"I didn't want anybody thinking that we'd sold them down the river to somebody who's north of the boarder," he said.

"Every football club is looking for investment and we wouldn't turn anyone away if they were realistic investors.

"But this isn't realistic. This is basically, I'm led to believe, a takeover to get into the Football League and take Bury Football Club away from Bury.

"We are sponsored by the local council who we have an excellent relationship with. We've got the fans and don't want to leave Bury without a football club."

Along with having no contact beforehand, Fenton is disappointed no one at Rangers has been in touch subsequently to offer clarification over the events of the past 24 hours.

"We haven't had any contact with Glasgow Rangers, even since it's hit the press or the TV," he said.

"It would be nice to have some kind of communication with Rangers, whether it's 'we're sorry for what's gone on, it's not come from us' or 'it has come from us'.

"We don't know at our end where all these rumours have come from."

Taken from telegraph.co.uk