Rangers and Celtic were dealt another aggressive blow from peace-loving Switzerland yesterday. UEFA's executive committee met outside Geneva and issued a decree that flatly rejected a proposal which sought a new European league for the so-called big clubs from small countries.

The Old Firm, along with 10 other teams including PSV Eindhoven, Ajax, Anderlecht and Benfica, have long struggled to fulfil their vast potential by breaking free from their financially constricting national leagues. In their quest they have met a dogged opponent in Gerhard Aigner, UEFA's chief executive.

Aigner was up to his old tricks yesterday - not for the first time he asked Rangers and Celtic to go home and think again. "The proposal to install a special league for a limited number of clubs is rejected," said Aigner.

The proposal they put to UEFA certainly needed tweaking, but had been hailed by analysts as a decent enough formula.

It proposed having Rangers, Celtic, Ajax and others playing in a new European league, with a feeder system applying promotion and relegation each season from the indigenous leagues of the six countries involved.

"If you look at both Rangers and Celtic we are easily drawing crowds of 50,000 to 60,000 each week, and in both cases it would be greater if our stadiums permitted," said Celtic chief executive Allan MacDonald.

"Ajax also play to big crowds in Amsterdam. These clubs have a bigger pull than many of the other top teams in Europe but are hampered by not being able to get a bite at the cherry."

The cherry in question is the increasingly succulent television money. The Champions League is due for a renegotiated television deal at the end of 2001-02.

By that time, teams completing a reasonable number of matches could walk away with at least £20 million sterling each. This season, merely by belonging to the Premiership, teams like Bradford City and Southampton are earning around £8 million a season. Rangers and Celtic currently earn less than £3 million each from local television revenue.

David Taylor, chief executive of the Scottish FA, has been supportive of the Old Firm's case at UEFA, but yesterday said they had no option but to keep trying.

"It would seem highly unlikely that they could pursue their case going down any other road," said Taylor. "Football in the international arena is governed by the statutes of UEFA and FIFA.

"It would seem senseless for either of the Old Firm to pursue this without the footballing family."