THE JUDGE presiding over a multi-million pound Rangers football kit sales action has urged lawyers to “give 110 per cent” to finalising a deal which ends the dispute.

Lord Braid made the comment in the latest hearing in proceedings brought against the ‘Gers by a sportswear brand called Elite Sports Group Ltd.

The firm were suing the Glasgow side for £9.5 million in the Court of Session, Scotland’s highest civil court.

Elite were the exclusive brand partner to Danish sportswear firm Hummel and it instructed lawyers to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh last November.

Lawyers claimed the ‘Gers breached a contract which allowed the firm to provide the Glasgow team with Hummel kits.

Lawyers for Elite say the breach occurred when Rangers signed a deal with Castore, a Manchester-based brand which counts tennis ace Sir Andy Murray as one of its investors.

Last week lawyers told Lord Braid that a deal had been agreed between parties in “Fergie Time”. Lord Braid described it as being made in “the last minute of stoppage time.” No sum was disclosed.

However, on Thursday, lawyers in the matter returned to court to tell Lord Braid that the matter hadn’t yet settled.

Elite’s lawyer David Thomson KC said the deal agreed between the firm and Rangers had to be put in writing.

He said that a draft agreement had been given to lawyers acting for Rangers. But that the Glasgow club hadn’t given any instructions to their lawyers about the agreement.

The advocate acting for Rangers, Gavin MacColl KC, told the court that the draft contained things that hadn’t been agreed between parties last week.

He told Lord Braid that the proposed agreement didn’t “reflect the bargain” made between parties last week.

Lord Braid told the lawyers that they had a two-week deadline to settle the action.

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He told them that the matter would call in court next Tuesday to see if matters had been resolved.

He added: “Given that the parties seem to be agreed that settlement has been agreed then it should easily be capable to get the settlement over the line in the next few days.

“I don’t know where the fault lies.

“I will continue the case until next Tuesday at 9am and expect all involved - parties and solicitors - to show 110 per cent commitment as it were to get this over the line by then.

“I hope we are not having the same discussion next Tuesday.”

This prompted Mr MacColl to say: “I am happy - if this the way to cut through any Gordian knots that are being furiously tied at present - for myself and Mr Thomson to discuss anything as a way to sort this out.”

Lord Braid replied: “The parties have been given two weeks of the agreement to get it sorted so one way or another I expect it to be done by then.”

The case which was brought by Elite arises from a separate legal dispute involving Sports Direct, which was then owned by Mike Ashley and Rangers.

Lawyers for Ashley’s firm went to the High Court in London seeking an injunction to stop the deal between Elite and Rangers from going ahead.

The deal, which was signed in October 2018, was supposed to allow Hummel to supply the ‘Gers with kits and to sell replicas to fans.

However, Judge Lionel Persey QC found that the deal with Hummel, to be a three-year contract worth £10 million, was undertaken without giving Sports Direct a chance to match it.

Judge Persey ordered that Rangers couldn’t “wear any Official Rangers Technical Products designed by, supplied by, gifted by or manufactured by Elite or Hummel, or bearing the Hummel brand”.

Last Tuesday, the case, which was expected to take eight days to hear, was due to begin in Parliament House at 10am. However, lawyers in the action could be seen talking to each other discreetly in Parliament Hall.

They later came into court shortly after midday and told Lord Braid that they needed more time to negotiate.

Mr Thomson said: “We are not so much as into stoppage time but what has been described in the popular press as Fergie time.”

Fergie time was an expression coined during Sir Alex Ferguson’s tenure as Manchester United manager.

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It was used by opposition fans to describe moments they reckoned were added onto matches to allow the reds to score a winner or equaliser.

On Tuesday, the case called again and parties addressed each other in a virtual hearing.

Mr Thomson said: “The current position is that having had the agreement since Friday last week, instructions have not been given by the defenders to allow the finalisation of the written agreement.

“So the essential position of the pursuer is that it wants this agreement reduced to writing as soon as possible as the parties have contemplated.”

Lord Braid replied: “I was given the impression last Tuesday that everything had been agreed. I don’t remember being told that it had to be reduced to writing.

“I certainly wasn’t given the impression that there was anything material that instruction had to be given on.”

Mr Thomson told Lord Braid: “The fact remains that what’s holding things up, as the pursuer sees at the moment, is not the terms that were proposed by the pursuer but the fact that instructions have not yet been given by the defender despite knowing that the hearing was taking place today.”

Mr MacColl told the court that a deal had been concluded but the draft didn’t reflect what had been agreed.

He added: “The deal has been concluded and a settlement has been agreed.

“It took until after 4pm on Friday for a draft to be produced by those who instructed Mr Thomson and it has taken those who have instructing me sometime to go back. They have gone back with comments already in relation to matters.

“They have pointed out that the draft appears to have introduced things that are not are part of the agreement between parties.

“I don’t know why that has been put into the draft - but no doubt it can simply be taken out because it doesn’t reflect the bargain.

“I am quite happy for it to be continued to whatever date suits the court.”

Lord Braid then fixed a hearing for next Tuesday.