Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley is embroiled in a High Court fight with Rangers over a merchandise deal said to give the Glasgow side about 7p from every £1 spent.

Bosses at a company within the Sports Direct group claim Rangers' directors wrongly terminated a deal through which branded products, including kits, were sold, and want damages.

Rangers' directors dispute this claim.

Deputy High Court Judge Richard Millett has been asked to decide how the litigation should proceed and is analysing evidence at a hearing in London.

In May, Rangers' directors said they were going to rip up contracts held with a merchandise company, Rangers Retail, they ran with a Sports Direct firm.

The deal had been agreed by former Rangers chief executive Charles Green.

But chairman Dave King, who took control nearly two years ago, and other directors were said to have been unhappy with the arrangement.

William McCormick QC, who is leading Rangers' legal team, told Judge Millett that supporters were also upset.

He said fans became angry after learning how little the club received from the deal and had staged a boycott of the merchandise.

Mr McCormick said fans thought Mr Ashley pocketed too much of their money.

He said there was a widespread view that no "self-respecting" Rangers' supporter wore a replica shirt.

"The involvement of Mike Ashley and Sports Direct in Rangers FC has been controversial with supporters since the outset," he said in a written submission.

"Whether rightly or wrongly, the supporters see Mike Ashley's primary goal as the making of money at the expense of on-field success."

He added: "The greatest anger is reserved for the manner in which the revenue generated by the club's merchandise is divided.

"When it became known in late 2014 that only about 7% of revenue spent on merchandise accrued to (Rangers), certain groups of supporters began to call for a boycott on the basis that Mike Ashley and Sports Direct gained disproportionately from supporters' money."