THE SPFL have responded to a bombshell Park's statement calling for a Scottish FA investigation into the cinch sponsorship saga.
A statement from Park's of Hamilton - which Rangers chairman Douglas Park owns - accused the SPFL of bullying and bringing the game into disrepute.
The strongly-worded correspondence also demanded an independent investigation into the cinch sponsorship issue as well as an apology to member clubs, Park's, the SFA and Rangers.
However, the SPFL have now hit back after confirming the Park's "version of events" was noted.
The body have now written to Rangers and Park's over confirmation over whether confidentiality no longer applies to the matter over the cinch agreement.
And, should the club and Park's agree to the SPFL proposal then chiefs have promised a "full and frank" narrative to member clubs to "set the record straight".
The public back-and-forth comes after the SPFL confirmed a new sponsorship agreement with cinch after a lengthy legal battle between the Hampden chiefs and Ibrox board.
Rangers refused to display cinch logos on their shirts or use branding for the used car sales firm after expressing concerns over the £8million deal that was signed last summer.
Chairman Park was involved in his own legal challenge after the SPFL sought an SFA arbitration case against the then Premiership champions earlier this season.
A spokesperson for the SPFL said: “We note with interest Park’s version of events.
“We are currently bound by the confidentiality of the legal process. Frustratingly, we have had to keep our counsel throughout.
"However, we have written to Rangers and Park’s seeking confirmation that this confidentiality no longer applies, following yesterday’s announcement of our revised title sponsorship agreement with cinch.
“If they agree to our proposal we will be able to provide a full and frank narrative to our member clubs. We very much look forward to the opportunity to set the record straight.”
A spokesperson for Park's of Hamilton Ltd said: “We were not surprised to learn from the media announcement last night that the SPFL have finally acknowledged Rangers legitimately engaged rule i7 in June of last year and thus, vindicated the stance held by the club for over a year. It is not for us to speculate as to why the SPFL leadership sought to ignore their own rules for so long.
“The fact that the SPFL prevaricated and continued to stall an arbitration process they themselves initiated in August last year, and which was ruled upon by the court of appeal in October, underlined the weakness of the case they truly had. Were it not for our interim interdict, it is clear their strategy was to try and bully one of their members and shareholders; a strategy which they have employed on numerous occasions.
“Throughout the last year, Park’s have kept their counsel as the SPFL leadership insulted us and misled the SFA, their member clubs, their title sponsor, and various other stakeholders in Scottish football.
“We have a long-standing and proud association with Scottish football, and it was entirely wrong that we were compelled to take the SFA to court because the SPFL decided to abuse the SFA’s arbitration process. We believe that the SPFL and members of its leadership have brought the game into disrepute and have failed, as have the SPFL as an organisation, to act with the utmost good faith towards their members.
“The SFA must carry out an independent investigation into this issue which has cost all parties involved hundreds of thousands of pounds. Despite being awarded expenses in court, Park’s will not recover all their legal fees nor be compensated for the reputational damage caused by the SPFL.
“Finally, the glaring omission from the SPFL’s statement was an apology. The SPFL leadership owe their members an apology, they owe Park's an apology, they owe the SFA an apology and they also owe an apology to Rangers. Unfortunately, they seem to lack any accountability and would rather spend their members money than admit their failures.”
