Rangers will not be punished by the Scottish Premier League after sectarian singing by their fans in the game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the opening day of the season. No action will be taking against the host club either after an investigation into the match, which took place at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on August 4.

Rangers have been fined more than £21,000 by Uefa for similar offences in European games but the SPL took into account the club’s efforts to eradicate unacceptable conduct by fans.

Rangers also voluntarily provided a number of additional stewards at Inverness and measures are currently being taken by the club to deal with fans who were identified as indulging in inappropriate behaviour. However, the SPL has warned that future misconduct will result in Rangers being referred to an SPL commission, with the risk of sanctions being imposed.

The findings were welcomed by Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, who said: “We are pleased the SPL has recognised that our club had done everything it could to prevent unacceptable conduct by supporters. This decision does not mean that offensive singing and chanting will be tolerated.We fully recognise that if such behaviour continues the authorities will take further action.”

Meanwhile, Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, has confirmed his interest in Portsmouth’s 32-year-old left-back Dejan Stefanovic but added: “We are not any further forward with that situation.”

But more players are likely to be off-loaded before Smith can further strengthen his squad. “There are one or two positions where we are quite light and, if someone were to come in and take one or two players from us, we would need to react to that,” he said. “If not, we are happy to go along with the squad we have at present. We have lost three players – Libor Sionko, Filip Sebo and Ian Murray – so we are down to the number we would be happy to operate with.”

However, there are no plans for Brahim Hemdani to join the exodus. Osasuna have confirmed their interest in the midfield player, 29, who is reportedly unhappy at being dropped for the last two matches, but Smith insisted no exit was imminent. “We will wait and see but we have had no contact from anybody,” he said. (PA)