SPFL club who blocked Rangers' SPL bid in 2012 now on brink of administration
Today at 07:45 AM
A leading SPFL club who voted not to admit Rangers into the top tier of Scottish football are on the brink of administration.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle made public their intention to vote no to admitting a reformed Rangers into the then SPL back in 2012.
With Hearts, Dundee United and Hibernian also stating their voting intentions early, when Aberdeen went public over their intentions to vote no it consigned Rangers to the bottom tier of Scottish football.
Twelve years on, the roles have reversed significantly with Inverness Caledonian Thistle confirming their drastic financial situation as Rangers prepare for a Europa League clash against Lyon at Ibrox.
Inverness on brink of administration
Inverness have confirmed that they will need to raise around £200k in the next two weeks if they hope to stay off insolvency.
As part of this, the Caledonian Stadium side have launched a crowdfunding campaign in the hope of staving off administration.
We don't suspect there will be many Rangers fans donating to the pot.
It comes with Caley Thistle recorded a loss of £600k the season before last with this season's accounts set to show a loss of £1.2m following relegation to League One.
Inverness claim that they will need up to £1.6m in additional funding by the end of the season or an alternative buyer will have to be found.
The news was confirmed by interim Inverness Caledonian Thistle chairman Panos Thomas, with the club also appealing for fresh fundraising ideas in a desperate attempt to stave off administrators.
It comes after former ICT chairman Alan Savage stepped in with a significant £350k sum to stave off the club's impending financial collapse, with the £200k needed on top of this sizeable donation.
The news comes following a drastic financial appraisal of the state of ICT, with reliability on Savage inevitably set to come to an end.
Thomas finished a lengthy statement on the ICT website by saying:
"It is a matter of considerable regret that, as interim chairman, I have had to write to you in these terms, but you need to be fully aware of matters as they stand currently and with support of the board, shareholders, fans and stakeholders, rest assured that we will continue to work assiduously and explore every avenue in an attempt to restore the club to a financial equilibrium that will ensure its future for years to come."
Inverness fans pressured club to vote Rangers down
Rangers were prevented from accessing the SPL after ten of the twelve clubs in the Scottish top flight voted against the Ibrox side's re-admittance.
The Ibrox club's previous holding company had entered administration and then liquidation with the Gers eventually being admitted into the bottom tier of Scottish football.
At the time, Inverness Caledonian Thistle chairman Kenny Cameron insisted the club's decision was made in consultation with supporters with 'sporting integrity' at the forefront of the Highland club's mind.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Cameron said:
“It is fair to say that in excess of 95% of (enquiries) raised the issue of sporting integrity as the reason why they don’t want the newco to be admitted and had not yet renewed their season tickets.
“Financially, we examined the various scenarios and, frankly, none of them were positive for our club, it is extremely disappointing to be adversely affected by something not of our doing, unfortunately this is a similar situation for the rest of the clubs in SPL.
“We have also been contacted by supporters of various other SPL clubs, saying they would not be back to Inverness if we did not accept that sporting integrity was what mattered, but this is something that we had already considered and it is not only the integrity of the SPL that is at stake but the integrity of Scottish football."
Later Cameron added: "We would be in a completely untenable position, financially and morally, if we defied the overwhelming demand of our own paying customers who are, after all, what Caley Thistle are all about.”
It was clear that everyone enjoyed having 'a wee fly kick at Rangers' when the club was going through it's financial troubles.
But what goes around comes around, and you'll find scant sympathy down Ibrox way for the plight of Inverness.
Jelly & ice cream anyone?
