Rangers say Ibrox won’t be ready for start of season as staffer sacked over delay

Rangers have revealed that they don’t expect Ibrox to be ready for the start of the football season following a delay to improvements at the stadium.

A member of staff has been sacked over the situation, STV Sport understands.

It comes after a delay to material shipments from Asia which is impacting the completion of work on the Copland Road stand.

At the start of the year, the Glasgow club set out plans for improvements to the stadium to increase capacity and add more wheelchair accessible spaces.

Rangers initially believed that work would be completed before the start of the competitive season for 2024/25 but in a statement released on Thursday they revealed that delays have hampered those plans.

The club say they are “deeply disappointed” at the outcome and have sought contingency plans with the SPFL and UEFA.

A statement said: “We have recently been advised of a delay in a materials shipment from Asia which is likely to have an impact on the programme for the completion of the Copland Stand works.

“It is therefore expected, unfortunately, that there will be an impact on matches at Ibrox at the beginning of the 2024/25 competitive season.

“The club has engaged with the SPFL and UEFA in order to review planned contingency arrangements. Naturally, everyone at Rangers is deeply disappointed with this news.

“The club is working intensively to ensure that all steps are taken to deliver the project at the earliest possible date and a further progress update will be issued to supporters in due course.”