RANGERS have strongly criticised the the governing body of Scottish football saying it "seems" it is being directed by "individuals intent on harming the Scottish game".
The comments came after Rangers were charged by the SFA with an alleged breaking of rules over an unpaid tax bill before they were awarded a licence to play in European football in the 2011/12 season.
The governing body brought two charges against the Ibrox club which relate to the so-called 'Wee Tax Case' that came to light before the club's business under the control of former owner Craig Whyte went into liquidation.
The rules of the European football governing body Uefa state that clubs taking part in their competitions must declare overdue tax payable although leeway is allowed if the bill is in dispute.
In 2011, the club told the SFA they were in dispute with HMRC over the 'Wee Tax Case' – a Discounted Option Scheme used to play players at Ibrox between 2000 to 2002.
The SFA has decided that the Rangers have a case to answer over the "monitoring period" of 2010/11 and 2011/12.
The Ibrox club have until May 22 to respond to the charges, with a hearing scheduled for June 26.
But the club has hit out at the events of the day saying: "The club will fiercely resist this reconstructed notice of complaint. Unfortunately, monies that should be available to Scottish youth and grassroots football will be diverted into another rehearsal of seven-year-old debates on the rights and wrongs of events that the SFA should have prevented at a time when doing so would have served a useful purpose.
"It seems that Scottish Football is, once again, being directed by individuals intent on harming the Scottish game, Rangers Football Club and its supporters by pursuing a course that has no sensible purpose or reasonable prospect of success."
The club said it had been informed that after an eight-and-a-half month investigation, the SFA will not be proceeding with a notice of complaint in respect of the submission made by the club to the governing body at the end of March 2011 with regard to the issue of the club’s Uefa licence for the following season.
Rangers said: "The club is unsurprised that it has now finally been accepted by the SFA that the accusations made against the club were groundless. The club questions whether the time, cost and expense of this investigation was justified and was a good use of the SFA’s limited resources.
"Disappointingly, and presumably rather than accept that the investigation was a waste of all parties’ time and resources, the club has been served with a new revised notice of complaint relating to the monitoring period subsequent to the grant of the Uefa licence. This new Notice of Complaint neglects to properly capture the provisions of prior agreements made between the Club and the SFA."
In September 2017, the SFA’s “further investigation” emerged in a letter sent to member clubs by Hampden executives.
A section headlined 'The Craig Whyte Trial: the Wee Tax Case' said: “The Scottish FA has noted media reports concerning the testimony in court of two former directors of Rangers FC regarding ‘overdue payables’ to HMRC (known as The Wee Tax Case) and relating to a Discounted Option Scheme.
“The alleged statements, if true, might have implications in the context of the Uefa licence granted to Oldco in April 2011 and in respect of the Uefa Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations “On the face of it, there seems to be contradictions between those statements and written representations made by Oldco at the time of the licence application and during the monitoring period.
“In 2011, Oldco indicated that there was an ongoing dispute with HMRC regarding The Wee Tax Case but the evidence in the Craig Whyte trial suggestions that Oldco knew by early 2011 that it had no defence to HMRC’s claim."
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