Rangers reacted with "utter dismay" after UEFA confirmed their control and disciplinary committee would discuss an alleged case of discriminatory chanting among Rangers supporters at the away leg of their Europa League clash against PSV Eindhoven last month.

Rangers have previously been fined for the same offence and face a fourth punishment from UEFA in five years when the panel meets in Nyon on April 28.

UEFA confirmed that could mean tougher sanctions should their fans be found guilty of "sectarian chanting".

UEFA's head of communications, Rob Faulkner, told BBC Radio Scotland: "Within the range of potential sanctions, the disciplinary regulations allow for anything from a warning to a fine to banning certain areas of the ground or banning away supporters, so there are a number of options available to the disciplinary committee. But I wouldn't want to prejudge that."

He added: "There is a clause regarding recidivism, which is the repeat of a similar offence within five years of an infringement. That is clearly stated within our regulations."

But Rangers chief executive Martin Bain argued the club had done everything possible to tackle sectarianism and were being unfairly singled out.

And he accused some critics of deliberately undermining the club's attempts by lobbying for punishment.

In a statement on the club's official website, Bain said: "We are utterly dismayed to be informed by UEFA that it is to take disciplinary action against the club.

"We will defend the club's position vigorously at the hearing which is scheduled for later this month.

"UEFA has already made clear in previous disciplinary hearings that sanctions against Rangers have been mitigated by the extensive work the club does to tackle sectarianism."

Bain, who attended a summit with First Minister Alex Salmond and police last month to discuss problems surrounding fixtures with Celtic, added: "A high-ranking UEFA delegation also described our club as exemplars of best practice in this area and only a few weeks ago the First Minister complimented us on the efforts we make as a club.

"Our position regarding sectarian and offensive singing has been made clear time and again - we condemn it and those who indulge in it only damage the interests of the club.

"We have worked closely with our supporters groups to try to deal with this issue and believe that few other clubs make as big an effort to tackle anti-social behaviour.

"We are not saying there is not a problem but we are saying that for many years now we have made strenuous attempts to address it.

"We do, however, believe that it is absurd to think that only Rangers supporters sing offensive or sectarian songs.

"That is patently not the case and we are left to conclude that there is a disproportionate focus on Rangers.

"It has also become clear there are people who have been determined to undermine our club at any cost and have constantly lobbied UEFA and other organisations to take action against Rangers."

The club's most recent punishment from UEFA came when they were fined almost £18,000 in November 2009 after their fans clashed with Romanian police during a Champions League match against Unirea Urziceni.

Two years earlier, the club were fined £8,280 on an improper conduct charge for fans' behaviour at an away UEFA Cup game against Osasuna.

The Scottish champions were fined £13,300 for supporters' discriminatory chanting and £9,000 following an attack on their opponents' team bus during an away game against Villarreal in 2006.

Rangers avoided sanctions over the trouble that followed their UEFA Cup final defeat against Zenit St Petersburg in May 2008 because it took place away from the stadium.

The blow comes just as tycoon Craig Whyte closes in on a takeover, with details of the deal still being ironed out.

But one certainty is that chairman Alastair Johnston will depart if and when Sir David Murray sells his majority stake.

"It has always been my intention that when the club moves on, I move on," Johnston said.

"I was only in on the basis to bridge the gap between the residual Murray era into the next era, whatever that is.

"So I will be stepping back and I have made that clear to Craig Whyte.

"I'm not going to step away before I feel that I have delivered maximum value to the Rangers stakeholders - I've also made that clear. So at this point I'm intensely involved in the process."

Meanwhile, former Rangers manager Alex McLeish expressed his desire for Whyte's bid to succeed.

"I really hope it happens," the Birmingham manager said. "I really want my old club to get over this period of frustration, probably more for Walter and my good mates up there like Ally McCoist and everyone associated with Rangers.

"I saw Craig Whyte at the Chelsea game last night, he is buying my old club, and I hope it goes through for everyone's sake."

McLeish defended the outgoing Murray over his handling of the club's finances. The club are believed to be more than £20million in debt and have been hampered by the influence of Lloyds Banking Group in recent seasons.

"I think he has worked wonders for Rangers," McLeish said. "He tried to inject his personal money into having a go at the Champions League.

"For a Scottish team to do that is almost impossible because they don't have the backing of the top English and Spanish teams financially.

"It would need personal wealth of an owner like David Murray. He tried really hard for Rangers to achieve that dream.

"It didn't quite happen and sometimes chasing a dream ends up in a situation like this."