FORMER Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert says that the decision to send Rangers to Scottish football's fourth tier in 2012 was "an absolute disaster" - and insisted that the club should have simply been fined for their transgressions.
The financial implosion at Ibrox eight years ago resulted in the Ibrox club starting the new season in the Third Division, and remains a bone of contention for supporters who believe their side was treated unfairly.
Speaking to the Daily Record, Parkhead fan favourite Lambert said that he felt the decision was harsh on his old club's rivals - and fears that the Scotland national team suffered as a result.
He said: "I was in England on the outside looking in and I thought it was an absolute disaster for the game and for Scottish football.
"It was a disaster PR-wise, not only for Rangers, but for the image of our game as a whole.
"If Rangers were to get punished, fine, no problem. But to send them down to the bottom leagues caused real harm to the Scottish game.
"There was also the issue of denying the national team players from one of the two biggest clubs in the country because Scotland couldn’t pick players who were playing every week in the Third Division, as it was at the time.
"Over the years, the Scotland manager could always rely on three, four, five Rangers players but in the Third Division Rangers had players who would never in a million years be good enough for the national team.
"Whoever made that decision, got it bang wrong. If Rangers needed to be fined, fine them. But taking them out of the league was a big mistake in my opinion."
Es war genau richtig, wie damals entschieden wurde. Solchen Leuten wĂĽrde ich fĂĽr ewig den Weg in den CP verwehren.
