HOSTILITIES have intensified between Rangers and Mike Ashley with the Ibrox board seeking to remove the controversial Newcastle owner’s right to a say in how the Glasgow club is run.

Rangers International Football Club plc headed by chairman Dave King is putting forward a resolution calling for the removal of the voting rights of any shareholder who is involved in running another club at the annual general meeting later this month.

The move has come seven months after Rangers were fined by the Scottish Football Association for breaching so-called dual ownership rules relating to the Sports Direct supremo.

Scottish football's governing body ordered the club to pay £5,500, following a similar £7,500 fine for Mr Ashley for the same offence. The fine for Mr Ashley was later cut to £1000.

A Scottish FA disciplinary tribunal deemed Mr Ashley, whose Mash Holdings is the third largest shareholder with 8.92 per cent of the plc, had influence in the Ibrox boardroom.

If the resolution is approved, it would remove all of Mr Ashley's voting rights which are given to shareholders for decisions on who should be on the board, on corporate policy, investment and on substantial changes to operations.

The move emerged as Mike Ashley took an even tighter grip on Rangers' retail division and now shares a place on the board with club chairman Dave King - despite attempts to renegotiate the joint venture.

The billionaire is already the ultimate controlling party of Rangers Retail, which runs the club's entire retail and merchandise operation and now his people outnumber King's by three to two.

Now, in a move the directors say is to prevent any future dual ownership issues, they want to adopt a Scottish FA disciplinary rule forbidding any person with influence at the club to be involved in any capacity with another club without their consent. The board indicated that anyone breaching the rule would lose their shareholding voting rights.

The board say that a further breach "could result in the SFA seeking more onerous sanctions against the club" including expulsion from the Scottish Cup. The directors say they believe adding a new article to the company’s Articles of Association will prevent a further breach occurring.

The bulk of Rangers' April fine was imposed for failing to act towards the SFA with the utmost good faith.

Mike Ashley's men, Derek Llambias (left) and Barry Leach

The club were also fined £500 as Mr Ashley was deemed to have influenced the management or administration through the appointment of business associates Derek Llambias and Barry Leach to the club's board.

Ashley has made cash loans to the cash-strapped Scottish Championship club, holds commercial contracts and had Mr Llambias and Mr Leach operating as chief executive and finance director, respectively, on the Ibrox board until they were removed at an extraordinary general meeting called by Dave King.

At the weekend up to to 2000 supporters gathered outside the Ibrox club shop to protest against Sports Direct and it's owner Mike Ashley over their continuing involvement in operations.

The proposed new article says: “No member shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of any class of any shares in the company, either in person or by proxy, in respect of any shares held by him (whether absolutely or as a trustee, either alone or in conjunction with one or more associates or solely through an associate or associates (even where such person has no formal interest)) if he is involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of a club, or has any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration of a club and the directors of the company shall be entitled at their sole discretion and without issuing reasons therefore to determine whether or not a member does have such involvement in or power to influence a club.

"For the purposes of this Article 'club' shall mean any football club in membership of a national association which is in membership with FIFA other than Rangers Football Club.”

The AGM is to take place at The Clyde Auditorium on November 27.