Rangers chief Green charged over racism claims

London: Rangers chief executive Charles Green has been charged over claims he made racist comments, the Scottish Football Association revealed on Wednesday.

Green is accused of breaking the SFA`s Disciplinary Rule 66 and Disciplinary Rule 71, which concern comments that bring the game into disrepute. He was criticised by campaign group Show Racism the Red Card earlier this week after he told a newspaper that he referred to former Rangers director Imran Ahmad as his "little Paki friend". "The comments of Charles Green are very ill-advised and someone in his public position should really know better than to use this kind of racist and offensive language," the group`s chief executive, Ged Grebby said on Tuesday. Green however defended himself, blaming Show Racism the Red Card of giving a knee-jerk reaction. "In the interview, I referred to the fact we are now living in a politically correct world where words and phrases that were once used are no longer acceptable. "My use of the word `Paki` was when I was referring to how I sometimes warmly address my colleague and friend Imran Ahmad when we meet, something we both know is light-hearted. "I deplore racism and sectarianism and this football club does a huge amount of work in this area to help eradicate these problems." Rangers, winners of the Scottish league title on 54 occasions, recently celebrated winning the Third Division, having been demoted to Scotland`s fourth tier after going into administration at the end of last season. AFP