Rangers are bracing themselves for a double-whammy of further disappointment today, when Uefa announces its punishment for the crowd trouble in Bucharest last week, on top of the club’s annual financial results which are finally about to be revealed.

The Uefa decision, which its control and disciplinary body will deliver this afternoon in Nyon, will almost certainly involve a fine for last week’s disturbances during the Champions League tie against Unirea Urziceni. But Uefa may go one step further and include a match behind closed doors or even a Champions League points deduction.

The latter would almost certainly mean the end of any further European football for Walter Smith and his players this season, given that they have so far only mustered two points from a possible 12 in group G.

Smith and Rangers fear the worst in Switzerland this afternoon, given the club’s track record with Uefa in recent years. The present case is the third time that Uefa has put Rangers in the dock in under four years for crowd disturbances, and the Ibrox club, in effect, has been “on parole” with European football’s governing body.

If Rangers come away with just a fine this afternoon, there will be a huge sigh of relief at Ibrox. The club is considering refusing any tickets for the last Champions League away fixture, against Seville on December 9.

Unirea, who were held accountable for poor facilities in the stadium during last week’s unrest in Bucharest, are also set to be punished today.

Yesterday, the Rangers striker, Steven Naismith, on duty with Scotland in Cardiff, was asked if Smith and his players were distracted by the Uefa case. “To be honest, not really — whatever happens we will deal with it and get on with it,” Naismith said. “The football is the main thing for the players. Whatever the decision is, we will go out and do our best and hopefully push on and fight for this Champions League group that we’re in.”

Asked about the possibility of being ordered to play a match or matches behind closed doors, Naismith said: “I don’t think that is a worry, it would just be a bit surreal. Every week we have a full house at Ibrox and they are right behind us. So it would obviously be a different kind of atmosphere, in fact, there would be no atmosphere. It’s one we just have to deal with and face the consequences.”

No sooner will Uefa deliver its Rangers verdict today than the club’s balance sheet will also be laid bare. Rangers’ 2008-09 financial results have been grimly awaited by shareholders and supporters, given the wretched state of the club.

It is believed that the Rangers’ debt will today be revealed as exceeding £30 million, in the course of multimillion pound losses. The club’s annual turnover, which is only one indication of the fiscal health of Ibrox, will probably struggle to rise above £40 million for the year, in comparison to the £71 million turnover that Celtic revealed two weeks ago.

Rangers are already in the grip of the Lloyds Banking Group, which is seeking ways to reclaim its money, while Sir David Murray continues his search for a buyer for his near 90 per cent shareholding. Meanwhile, various Rangers supporters groups, including the Rangers Supporters Assembly and the Rangers Trust, are exploring the idea of trying to buy out the club.

The Rangers shareholders are already wincing over today’s figures, following the club’s interim results published in February. Back then Rangers’ half-year turnover was a paltry £21 million — less than half that of Celtic — which included sustained losses of £4 million. At the time Murray savaged what he called “the amateur economists” who were picking over the figures, though Murray today might find the health of his club difficult to defend.

Today’s Rangers figures will set the tone for what is sure to be a stormy AGM at Ibrox in four weeks’ time.