Rangers chief executive Charles Green has been issued with a notice of complaint by the Scottish Football Association.
Green was charged for alleged comments made regarding the integrity of the commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith, which will investigate the Ibrox club's use of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs).
The three-man panel was set up by the Scottish Premier League to discover if Rangers had broken any rules in using the EBTs during the tenure of former owner Sir David Murray from 2000 to 2011.
Green refused to recognise or co-operate with the commission, set to meet on November 13, and was reported as saying: "That's what we're going to spend our time doing, not turning up at supposedly independent hearings where the SPL appoint the jury, set the outcome, and set the punishment before we have the trial."
Green has been charged with breaching Disciplinary Rule 66 by allegedly "Bringing the game into disrepute by calling into question the integrity of the Commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith and appointed by the Scottish Premier League Limited ("SPL") to examine alleged breaches of the SPL's Rules regarding the use by Rangers PLC and Rangers FC of Employee Benefit Trusts to pay players, by suggesting in a media interview that the outcome and sanction of said Commission had been pre-determined by the SPL."
He has also been charged with "Not acting in the best interests of football by calling into question the integrity of the Commission, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith and appointed by the Scottish Premier League Limited ("SPL") to examine alleged breaches of the SPL's Rules regarding the use by Rangers PLC and Rangers FC of Employee Benefit Trusts to pay players, by suggesting in a media interview that the outcome and sanction of said Commission had been pre-determined by the SPL", a breach of Disciplinary Rule 71.
Green has until Monday, September 24 to respond to the notice of complaint, with a hearing scheduled in principle for Thursday, October 4.
Rule 66 states that "No recognised football body, club, official, team official or other member of team staff, player, referee, or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall bring the game into disrepute."
Rule 71 states that "A recognised football body, club, official, team official, other member of team staff, player or other person under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA shall, at all times, act in the best interests of association football. Furthermore, such person or body shall not act in any manner which is improper or use any one, or a combination, of violent conduct, serious foul play, threatening, abusive, indecent or insulting words or behaviour."
