Rangers have responded to Scottish FA charges over UEFA licensing procedures by saying they will "fiercely resist" the action and said the national game was "being directed by individuals intent on harming the Scottish game, Rangers Football Club and its supporters".

The governing body's compliance officer issued the club with a notice of complaint on Tuesday, charging Rangers with breaching rules when submitting information relating to UEFA licensing seven years ago.

The charges came after an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Rangers UEFA licence application in 2011 and the Scottish FA's own decision to grant the club permission to play in Europe.

In a statement on the club's website, Rangers questioned the amount of time and money spent on the investigation and criticised the conclusions.

The statement read: "The Rangers Football Club ("the Club") was informed today by the Scottish FA ("SFA") that, after an eight-and-a-half month investigation, the SFA will not be proceeding with a Notice of Complaint in respect of the submission made by the Club to the SFA at the end of March 2011 with regard to the issue of the Club's UEFA licence for the following Season.

"The Club is unsurprised that it has now finally been accepted by the SFA that the accusations made against the Club were groundless.

"The Club questions whether the time, cost and expense of this investigation was justified and was a good use of the SFA's limited resources.

"Disappointingly, and presumably rather than accept that the investigation was a waste of all parties' time and resources, the Club has been served with a new revised Notice of Complaint relating to the monitoring period subsequent to the grant of the UEFA licence.

"This new Notice of Complaint neglects to properly capture the provisions of prior agreements made between the Club and the SFA."

The statement then went on to suggest that an agenda was being pursued against the club and that the Scottish FA had failed in its duties at the time.

"The Club will fiercely resist this reconstructed Notice of Complaint," it said.

"Unfortunately, monies that should be available to Scottish youth and grassroots football will be diverted into another rehearsal of seven-year-old debates on the rights and wrongs of events that the SFA should have prevented at a time when doing so would have served a useful purpose.

"It seems that Scottish Football is, once again, being directed by individuals intent on harming the Scottish game, Rangers Football Club and its supporters by pursuing a course that has no sensible purpose or reasonable prospect of success."

Rangers have until May 22 to respond to the charges, with a provisional hearing date of June 26 set.