PREMIER League chief executive Richard Scudamore insists the campaign for Celtic and Rangers to be allowed to join the English top flight is over for good, saying: ‘‘No means no.’’ The 20 club chairmen yesterday overwhelmingly rejected a bid to include the Old Firm in a two-tier competition, with almost three-quarters voting against the proposal by Bolton chairman Phil Gartside.

Other suggestions put forward by Gartside, including having a two-tier league with a smaller top-flight and changing the distribution of TV money will now be fed into the league’s ongoing strategic review.

Scudamore told BBC Radio Five Live: ‘‘The clubs discussed this and, as far as Celtic and Rangers are concerned, it’s a non-starter.

‘‘The clubs constitutionally voted to say we are not going to take this any further.

‘‘We have made a clear and unequivocal statement. No means no – Celtic and Rangers are not coming in.’’ Gartside’s other proposals have not been rejected but will now be part of a wider review of the top flight, which will be published next year.

The Bolton chairman had expressed concerns that too much money continues to flow into the coffers of the top four clubs.

Last season, Manchester United earned £52.3m in Premier League television money, compared to £31.6m for bottom club West Brom.

In his annual report, published last week, Gartside made it clear he believed addressing the big differences in income was the league’s greatest challenge.

Gartside wrote: ‘‘The gap between Premier League revenues and those of the Championship continues to widen and I believe a fear factor is beginning to emerge amongst Premier League clubs outside the top few.’’ Following yesterday’s chairmen’s meeting in London, the Premier League said in a statement: ‘‘Bolton Wanderers submitted a discussion paper detailing ideas concerning the restructuring of the Premier League into two tiers with the inclusion of Celtic and Rangers.

‘‘The clubs welcomed the additional input in to an ongoing process; however they were of the opinion that bringing Celtic and Rangers into any form of Premier League set-up was not desirable or viable.’’ The big Premier League clubs will oppose any major change to the status quo, pointing out they have already boosted income to the smaller clubs by agreeing to every club receiving payment of facility fees for at least 10 televised matches totalling £4.8m, even if they only appear in a handful of live games on TV.