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FOOTBALL GOSSIP

Draft Hampden documents show that Rangers were asked this summer to accept the loss of five titles and four Scottish Cups won between 2001 and 2011 in return for being parachuted into Division One, a deal rejected by the Ibrox club's chief executive, Charles Green.

Lord Nimmo Smith, the Scottish High Court judge in charge of the investigation into the claim that Rangers' use of Employee Benefit Trust payments to players breached rules, has issued a strongly-worded defence of the impartiality of his panel and its ability to take sanctions against the club despite them no longer playing in the Scottish Premier League.

Computer games giant EA Sports has included Rangers as a "rest of the world" team in Fifa 13, the latest version of its popular video game, despite the real team now playing in Scotland's Division Three.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon says midfielder Scott Brown will be fit for Scotland's World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Belgium.

New Hibernian signing Tom Taiwo, the former Chelsea midfielder who left Carlisle United in the summer, says the Edinburgh club can challenge for the Scottish Premier League title this season.

Motherwell winger Chris Humphrey says he took pelters from his team-mates over summer reports of a move to Celtic that never materialised but believes he is capable of performing for a club the size of the Scottish champions.

OTHER GOSSIP

Fight bosses were last night scrambling to find a new opponent for comeback man Scott Harrison after Spain-based Nicaraguan Miguel Aguilar failed to appear at SECC weigh-in ahead of tonight's boxing bout.

Paul di Resta thinks being signed up to the Richard Goddard's Sports Partnership, the management team co-owned by Jenson Button, can help fire him to the Formula 1 big time.