Ex-referee Jeff Winter backs new Rangers takeover bid

Jeff Winter: The former referee is a 'supporter' of the Rangers Unite bid.© SNS Group

Former Premiership referee Jeff Winter has become the latest high-profile Rangers supporter to back a takeover bid for the club.

Mr Winter is supporting Rangers Unite, which describes itself as "a small group of like-minded Rangers supporters who see fan ownership as the best way for the club to prosper".

His pledge of support comes as a police investigation continues into an anti-Catholic rant that appeared on his website earlier this year.

The former referee, who now works on the after-dinner speaking circuit, is backing the Rangers Unite bid, which is proposing to rescue the crisis-hit club through a proposal to sign up members on fees ranging from £100 to £5000.

None of those involved in the Rangers Unite are named on its website, while the extent of Mr Winter’s involvement in the bid is unclear although he is described as a "supporter" of the fan-ownership campaign on the webpage.

On his personal website, the former referee wrote about the Rangers Unite bid. He stated: "I believe this would catapult Rangers into the European big boy's league with regular Champion's League football beyond Christmas year in, year out."

Mr Winter, who describes himself as a Rangers and Middlesbrough fan on his Twitter account, is still currently under investigation from police over comments that appeared on his website in January.

The blog entry, posted under the name of Jeff Winter, made derogatory references to the Catholic Church and asked whether "altar boys" would be "abused in celebration" after Celtic won the last Glasgow derby match against Rangers in December.

At the time, Mr Winter denied any knowledge of the posts claiming he had been travelling in New Zealand and had limited internet access. He said he would take legal advice over the blog entries. Subsequently, his web-hosting company 123-Reg suspended the site, before he recently re-launched it using another provider, 1&1, through a server in Germany.

Celtic FC complained to Strathclyde Police regarding the posts on the website and on Monday the force confirmed "an investigation is ongoing" into the comments.

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