A company is a legal entity. An ethereal “spirit” of a football club is not.
By the UEFA definition therefore Rangers Football Club PLC, now RFC 2012 PLC (oldco) was the legal entity [a company] responsible for a football team [Rangers] participating in national and international competitions and which was a registered member of the SFA.
Oldco was a football club until 14th June at which time it sold all of the assets and business to Sevco. As the August report by the Administrators says:-
The sale of the business and certain assets included the sale of the Company’s right, title and interest in its SPL share and SFA membership. Following the sale of these assets, the sale of Ibrox and Murray Park and the transfer of the Playing Staff to Newco the Company was no longer in a position to meet the criteria for membership of any of the Football Authorities and therefore no longer operates a Football club.
What about “Rangers”, the football team?
It is not a legal entity.
It might be argued that it fulfils the remaining criteria, but it fails to get over the first hurdle. It is not a legal entity.
Now we have the Rangers Football Club Ltd, formerly Sevco Scotland Ltd or newco.
It fulfils the definition above too, at least now, as it is a legal entity responsible for a football team.
However, it was not a member of the SFA until 3rd August. Therefore newco was not a football club within the UEFA definition until then.
The question arising from this definition is how the football team, Rangers, operated by a football club, oldco, can still be the same team now operated by a different club, newco, where there was a hiatus of almost two months during which time there was no “football club” responsible for Rangers!