( CNN ) -- Glasgow Rangers , one of European football 's most famous clubs , must play in the fourth flight of their domestic league next season , Scottish Football League ( SFL ) clubs decided Friday . The 30 clubs were asked to vote on admitting the most successful club in their country to the SFL and in which division they should be placed . Cash-strapped Rangers went into administration earlier this year and a new company was formed to allow them to continue as a professional team . They were subsequently expelled from the Scottish Premier League ( SPL ) and had to turn to the lesser SFL for next season . Why Rangers ' financial meltdown should worry European football . At a news conference at Glasgow 's Hampden Park , it was announced that 25 of the 30 clubs had voted for Rangers to start the 2012-13 season in the SFL Third Division . `` It has been a very , very important day for Scottish football , '' SFL chief executive David Longmuir told a press conference . `` We have voted to willingly accept Rangers as an associate member of the SFL ( 29 out of 30 clubs in favor ) `` The only acceptable position will be to place Rangers FC into the Third Division from that start of this season , 2012/13 . This decision followed a tried and tested process . `` Today 's decision has been one of the most difficult for all concerned but it has been taken in the best interest of sporting fairness , which is the fundamental principle of the SFL . '' But that decision is likely to have severe financial implications for Scottish football , which has struggled to attract the cash lavished on the English Premier League ( EPL ) south of the border . As one of its two great clubs , part of the famous `` Old Firm '' with Glasgow rivals Celtic , was facing up to years in the wilderness , the EPL sealed a sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank worth £40 million ( $ 62.18 million ) . The three year deal is a near 50 per cent increase on the previous sums paid by Barclays and follows a month after the EPL improved a 70 per cent increase in the value of its domestic television rights to more than £3 billion ( $ 4.67B ) over three years to 2016 . By contrast , the sponsorship and television deals for Scottish football are comparatively modest . A new five year television deal for the SPL , starting from the 2012-13 season , will bring in £80 million ( $ 124.5m ) . Derby matches between Rangers and Celtic , who traditionally battle for the honors in the SPL , are the main attraction for Scottish football fans and armchair viewers . Reports have suggested that the new TV deal may even founder if a certain number of Old Firm matches can not be guaranteed . Rangers have also been regulars in the European Champions League since its inception . They won the European Cup Winners ' Cup in 1972 and as recently as 2008 were runners-up in the UEFA Cup ( Now Europa League ) . SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster and his Scottish Football Association counterpart Stewart Regan both lobbied for Rangers to be placed in the SFL Division One so they could secure a quick return to the top flight , but their pleas were ignored . Rangers went into administration on February 14 this year following court action from UK tax officials . Businessman Charles Green purchased the assets of the club for £5.5 million ( $ 8.55m ) and they were transferred into a new company in June . Several leading players have since left the 54-time Scottish champions , claiming their contracts were effectively annulled when the new company was founded . Reacting to the SFL decision , Green said : `` We are grateful to be accepted as members of the SFL and accept their decision to vote us into Division 3 . `` This decision maintains the sporting integrity that clubs and fans across Scotland have been calling for but it also impacts massively on Scottish football as a whole and only time will tell what the consequences will be . `` We are a football club and we just want to get back to playing football . Now is the time to move on and start afresh . ''
Rangers to play in Scottish fourth flight next season . Clubs from the Scottish Premier League voted on the issue the end of last season . Glasgow giants were liquidated at Friday . New company were expelled from Scottish Football League .