The "long-running stand-off" between Scottish Premiership side Rangers and Sports Direct over their "controversial merchandising agreement is costing the Ibrox club more than just millions of pounds in lost revenue," according to Matthew Lindsay of the HERALD SCOTLAND. That "was the warning" from a football finance expert "in the wake of a further round of hostilities between the two factions in their ongoing dispute." There is "no love lost between the two," and it was the "latest story to unsettle a club which is trying to rebuild after years of corporate vandalism." Former CEO Derek Llambias gave an interview to Sky Sports last month "in which he questioned where" the £30M ($36.6M) investment from Chair Dave King was. Llambias said, "When we were voted off I asked, 'Where is the money? Where is the cash?'" Rangers supporters are "refusing to buy replica strips and official club merchandise in protest at the punitive terms of the deal with Sports Direct." Deloitte Sports Business Group senior partner Tim Bridge believes the "acrimonious and protracted dispute will be having far wider ramifications for the Ibrox club in the long-term." He said, "Merchandising is important for two reasons, not only the revenue that it brings in. Depending on how your merchandising contract works, clubs may make a significant amount from merchandising" (HERALD SCOTLAND, 3/6).
