Supporters may have noticed something different during Rangers’ Thursday night's 1-0 victory over FK Jablonec: despite playing in a UEFA Conference League play-off, the Rangers players were wearing the club's SPFL sleeve badges rather than a UEFA competition patch.
There is, however, nothing untoward about it.
Rangers' first-leg victory over the Czech side at Ibrox was officially a UEFA Conference League play-off, with Ryan Naderi's second-half goal giving Derek McInnes' side a narrow advantage ahead of next week's return leg.
Why were the SPFL badges worn?
The reason is straightforward: UEFA's competition-badge requirements do not apply in the same way during the Conference League qualifying and play-off rounds as they do once the league phase begins.
Therefore, Rangers are not required to replace their domestic SPFL sleeve branding with the familiar green UEFA Conference League competition patch for these play-off matches.
That explains exactly what viewers witnessed at Ibrox. Rangers were permitted to retain their SPFL badges because Thursday's match was still part of the qualifying/play-off stage rather than the league phase.
If Rangers eliminate Jablonec and reach the Conference League league phase, the situation changes. The UEFA competition branding then becomes applicable.
What about the "no green on the Rangers kit" claim?
There has also been speculation among some opposition fans online that Rangers deliberately removed the green UEFA patch because of a supposed policy of having "no green" on the club's kit due to the colours links with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
However, that theory does not stand up. The simplest evidence is sitting directly across the pitch.
FK Jablonec were also playing a Conference League play-off and were not wearing the green Conference League patch either.
This is therefore not a Rangers-specific decision or evidence of some new club policy regarding the colour green. It is a consequence of the stage of the competition.
The UEFA Conference League regulations apply to the competition, but the competition itself distinguishes between the qualifying/play-off stages and the league phase. UEFA's official schedule confirms that the Jablonec match was a play-off fixture, with the league-phase draw not taking place until August 28. In other words, there is no great mystery behind the SPFL badges.
Nothing to do with Rangers banning green
The suggestion that Rangers have somehow adopted a rule preventing green from appearing on their European shirts is therefore nonsense.
Had this been a Rangers-specific decision, it would be difficult to explain why the opposition were operating under the same badge arrangement.
Both teams were playing a Conference League play-off, and both could therefore appear without the league-phase UEFA competition patch.
So, for anyone wondering why Rangers' shirts looked more like their domestic shirts than their usual European versions on Thursday night, the answer is simple. Rangers wore the SPFL badges because the Conference League play-off round does not require the league-phase competition patch. It has nothing to do with a supposed Rangers "no green" policy.
Once the league phase begins, assuming Rangers get past Jablonec, expect the UEFA branding to return.
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