Why Rangers WON'T face SPFL 'sanction' like Dundee amid Ibrox shambles as Hearts case study dusted off

Rangers will swerve a punishment from the SPFL amid their Ibrox lockout - just like Hearts did during their Tynecastle building troubles.

That is the view of former Ibrox goalkeeper Cammy Bell - who took on claims that the Light Blues should have their knuckles wrapped by league bosses just like Scottish Premiership rivals Dundee did following the Dens Park washout last season. Rangers chiefs have been left with a major headache as they search for a temporary home with their home out of action for the first month of the 2024/25 season amid delays to improvement work on the Copland Road stand.

With the fixture list now release, Rangers know they have to find an alternative venue for the 'home' Scottish Premiership clash with Ross County and Motherwell scheduled in the first month of the calendar - as well as the crucial Champions League qualifiers and a potential home last 16 clash in the Viaplay Cup.

Some punters have drawn a comparison to the sanction handed out to Dundee following a series of call offs last term at Dens Park. Rangers finally managed to get their away fixture in the City of Discovery played on Wednesday night at the THIRD attempt after two previous call-offs - with six call-off throughout the season landed the Dark Blues a whopping £186,000 fine with £120,000 suspended.

However, Bell reckons that Hearts' issues in 2017 are more realistic. After a delay in fitting seats in the club's new main stand it was announced that three of its first four home games of the Jambos' campaign would be moved to Murrayfield, while switching the other against Partick Thistle to Firhill.

The SPFL did not take action against the Edinburgh outfit. Bell told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: "The games will go ahead at the date and time they are scheduled to (be played). I think we are early enough that there will be a solution, in the next week to two weeks, there will be a solution that will be publicised.

"I think the big point is the games will be played on the dates they are scheduled for - it is just what stadium they are at. I don’t compare it at all to the Dundee situation. The Dundee situation for me was that Dundee were neglecting their pitch, they were breaching the rules because their pitch wasn’t up to a standard that could hold a game.

"Rangers have got construction issues which Hearts previously had, and there was no fine put on Hearts at that moment in time so I don’t expect there to be any sanctions on Rangers either. It has been flagged up early enough, it has not been flagged up a week before the season. We are still in June and it sounds like they are in advanced negotiations with the SPFL over where they are going to be relocating to for this short period of time - so I don’t agree that it is the same situation as at Dundee.”