Old Firm still barred from Premier League

The latest proposal to let Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers play in the lucrative English Premier League (EPL) was rejected on Thursday as “not desirable or viable”.

Bolton Wanderers chairman Phil Gartside had put forward a plan which would have seen the Glasgow duo moving from the Scottish Premier League as part of a scheme creating a two-tier EPL.

But an EPL statement issued on Thursday said: “Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.

“The clubs welcomed the additional input into an ongoing process, however, they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.

“The other relevant ideas contained within Bolton’s paper will now be taken forward as part of the wider strategic review being undertaken by the Premier League since November 2008 with the aim of providing recommendations before December 2010.”

The EPL statement came on the same day as Scottish champions Rangers announced a net debt of 31.1 million pounds (52 million dollars), an increase of almost 10 million pounds (17 million dollars) for the 12 months up to June 30, 2009.