SPFL could rake in 1 million from play offs

[Tiger Shaw 30,674]

LEAGUE bosses could rake in over £1million if Rangers finish in the Championship play-off zone, it has emerged.

Ally McCoist's side are nine points adrift of league leaders Hearts and, while they still have their sights set on the title and guaranteed promotion, the Light Blues may have to settle for a second shot at securing a step-up.

But under a controversial SPFL rule, half of the gate money from play-off ties is retained by the league body.

And that could prove very lucrative for the Hampden hierarchy if Rangers fans flock to see their team's bid to win a top-flight place.

Should the Gers finish in second spot in the Championship, they'd have to play home-and-away ties against the winner of the match-up between the third and fourth-placed teams.

If successful, they would face another two-legged tie against the side that finishes second-bottom in the Premiership.

That would mean half of the proceeds from what could be two 50,000 crowds going to the SPFL, rather than the home teams keeping the full amount.

Potentially, that would give a £1m boost to the Hampden coffers rather than those of cash-strapped Rangers.

And should McCoist's men finish in third or fourth place, another tranche of money would require to be handed over from the first round of play-off games, which could take the total to over £1.5m.

Queen of the South, Falkirk, Hamilton and Hibernian were victims of the rule last season but the biggest gate was the 18,031 crowd at Easter Road when Accies relegated the Edinburgh side. The other five games in the play-offs attracted an average of just over 4100 fans.

A source at one of the clubs said: "We tried to raise issues surrounding this rule last season but nobody was interested.

"It will be interesting to see what the reaction will be if the funds involved become far more substantial."

http://www.eveningti....0976n.26017800

Sneaky bastards, although I doubt we would sell 50 thousands tickets unless there is big changes throughout the club.