Indian Premier League Founder Lalit Modi "confirmed his interest in buying a stake" in Scottish Championship side Rangers, according to Andrew Miller of the LONDON TIMES. Modi, who was banned for life by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in '13 after being found guilty of indiscipline and misconduct, last week declared himself “vindicated” of the findings of the Indian Supreme Court’s investigation into corruption in the IPL, and "speculation has been rife about his return to sports administration." Modi said in a statement on Twitter, "Glasgow Rangers FC is an institution in itself given the history and lineage of the club. Yes, I am looking at acquiring a stake in this Scottish institution, as I think the club is seriously undervalued." Modi "is understood to be an associate of Rafat Rizvi, a Pakistan-born businessman whose talks last year with Sandy Easdale led to calls from a supporters group for the Rangers director’s removal from the club board." Now it appears that Easdale "is ready to sell his stake in the club, with a meeting likely to take place as early as next week" (LONDON TIMES, 2/6). In London, Mark Walker wrote Rangers "made the long-awaited announcement" that its extraordinary general meeting will be held at an "extraordinary venue, with an unsuspecting London hotel set" to become the site of one of the "biggest days in the club’s history." The attempt by former Dir Dave King to win control of the club "will be heard on Wednesday, March 4 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in Kensington -- the first time any meeting of the Ibrox club has been held outside Glasgow." The starting gun "for what is certain to be a particularly dirty battle for control of the club" was fired by the board with a stinging attack on King’s credentials, in which it made references to tax convictions in his homeland of South Africa and repeated a judge’s verdict of him as a "glib and shameless liar" (LONDON TIMES, 2/7). In Glasgow, Gary Ralston wrote Rangers fans "fear the London Calling of the club’s general meeting is a cynical ploy by their beleaguered board to cling to power a little longer." Ibrox directors "stunned supporters" when they announced they were hosting the meeting in a 500-capacity suite in the Millennium Gloucester hotel. Rangers shareholders "are already organising buses to attend the explosive showdown en masse but the Trust fear that is exactly the scenario the board want to see played out." The Rangers Supporters Trust wrote a letter to Rangers advisor Paul Shackleton, which read, "The previous year, in December 2013, over 3000 shareholders attended the agm. The Millennium Hotel facility holds around 500 people. This is clearly not adequate. This is a clear attempt by the board to limit the fan shareholder vote and it is clear proper arrangements have not been made" (DAILY RECORD, 2/7).
