July 5 – How are the once mighty fallen. In one of the biggest club upsets of recent European seasons, Scotland’s Rangers were knocked out of the Europa League qualifying competition on Tuesday by part-time Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn.
Rangers may not be quite the all-conquering side they once were domestically but they are still one of the biggest names in European football as far as supporter base is concerned yet failed to capitalise on a 1-0 first leg lead as they lost 2-0 in the return to crash out.
To put the humilation into perspective, Progres Niederkorn are ranked 440th by UEFA and had never won a European fixture.
Niko Kranjcar, Josh Windass and Kenny Miller all hit the woodwork for Rangers who were back in Europe for the first time in six years but will now have to wait another season.
Former Rangers owners lose tax case
To complete a miserable 24 hours for the Scottish club, off the field The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Britain’s tax authority, in a long-running dispute over tax avoidance.
More than £47m was paid to Rangers players, managers and directors between 2001 and 2010 in tax-free loans but HMRC argued the payments were earnings and should be taxable.
The court’s decision is not expected to have any financial impact on Rangers since the club is now owned by a different company but could have strong implications for future cases.
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