The chairman of Scottish Premiership club Rangers has hit out at Mike Ashley in an ongoing row over Sports Direct's influence on the club's retail operations.
Rangers, who returned to the top flight this season, have been involved in legal battles over an arrangement that means most of the proceeds from the sale of replica shirts do not go to the club.
Dave King said Newcastle chairman Ashley had "cut and run" when he stepped down from Rangers Retail Limited, jointly owned with Sport Direct, in June.
"Mike Ashley went off the board. So he kind of cut and ran, I suppose, when the going got tough," the Daily Record quoted King as saying. "He's disappeared -- we don't deal with Mike Ashley at all.
"He went on the retail board to try and impose himself on Rangers. He failed miserably and he has cut and run. I guess he has bigger problems in life right now than worrying about the retail relationships with Rangers."
Many supporters have boycotted this season's replica shirt because of the nature of the commercial arrangement.
King said: "That is a decision that supporters will have to make themselves.
"We are in a situation where we have made a lot of progress on the legal and commercial front in terms of our dealings with Sports Direct.
"I would say our position now, in terms of what I would call the control and ability to influence the outcome of the commercial situations, is far advanced relative to what it was three months ago."
In May, Rangers said they would end the contract that allowed Rangers Retail to sell official merchandise.
The club then withdrew its trademarks from Rangers Retail -- but manufacturers Puma opted to go ahead with the launch of the new kit, leading to calls for fans not to buy it.