St Johnstone have been ordered to take down a massive advert from the side of McDiarmid Park.
Saints bosses renamed part of the stadium to secure permission for a huge sign on the North Stand.
Plans for the installation – advertising former club chairman Geoff Brown’s company GS Brown – were rejected last year.
Council planners said they could not allow the display because it had nothing to do with football.
St Johnstone responded by renaming that part of the stadium the GS Brown Construction Ltd Stand, leaving planners with little option but to approve the advert.
Perth and Kinross Council has now taken enforcement action against the club, demanding it removes the legend or face a fine of up to £1,000.
The local authority complained the finished advertising was not the one that was agreed. Officers claim it has a “detrimental impact” on the nearby crematorium and garden of remembrance.
The main difference between the original design and the final product is a white and blue background behind the lettering.
A council spokeswoman said: “On August 23, advertisement consent was granted for the display of signage on the north elevation of the north stand at McDiarmid Park.
“The council recently became aware that the signage that has been displayed on the north stand is not in accordance with the advertisement consent.”
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She said: “Due to its detrimental impact on the visual amenity of the area (including the new section of the A85 linking the A9 and the Crieff Road, and Perth Crematorium and its memorial gardens), the council considered it appropriate to serve an advertisement enforcement notice requiring the unauthorised signage to be removed.”
Notice has been served on the club, directors Steve Brown, Charles Fraser and Stanley Harris and secretary Albert Ramsay.
They have been given 28 days to comply. If the sign is not removed, the council has the power to go onto the site and take it down themselves – then take civil action to recover its costs.
The club could also be fined up to £1,000, plus £100 for each day the signs remains in place after conviction.
Steve Brown confirmed the club will appeal against the decision.
“This came as a real surprise to us,” he said. “We are taking legal advice. We understand that the council are not entirely happy with certain aspects of the sign, but we did get permission for it.
“Hopefully we can all sit down and sort something out.”
Geoff Brown, who previously said he could not see what was so controversial about the advert, has clashed with the council several times. He has threatened to take the local authority to court over its handling of his firm’s long-awaited Oudenarde housing development.
The scheme was called in by the Scottish Government hours before it was due to be approved by councillors.
