Jump to content

What happens next?


killiehippo

Recommended Posts

12 hours ago, chubbs said:

Utter rubbish...

The view that they don't want to go the way of kicking Sevco out again is that of the authorities (SFA / SPFL) IMO. The Blazers don't want their succulent lamb threatened again. They don't care how much of a fuss all the other clubs kick up, Keeping both the Twisted Sisters alive is their number one priority. 

They should have put in place proper fiscal oversight with real powers to punish Sevco if the misbehaved after the first Rangers debacle but bottled out.. Now this current cash flow problem is going to bite Sevco and the authorities right up the bum very hard. 

Just what I think. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From The Sun:

Hamilton Accies owner Ronnie MacDonald said “Once 75 percent of the games have been played, the SPFL’s own rules say they can declare the season completed.

I thought they could not void the season in mid stream, seems I was wrong ( I know, its hard t believe). Looks like Ann Budge could be up the creek.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, gdevoy said:

From The Sun:

Hamilton Accies owner Ronnie MacDonald said “Once 75 percent of the games have been played, the SPFL’s own rules say they can declare the season completed.

I thought they could not void the season in mid stream, seems I was wrong ( I know, its hard t believe). Looks like Ann Budge could be up the creek.

 

That’s not voiding it - it’s saying it’s completed ie placings now stand 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, gdevoy said:

From The Sun:

Hamilton Accies owner Ronnie MacDonald said “Once 75 percent of the games have been played, the SPFL’s own rules say they can declare the season completed.

I thought they could not void the season in mid stream, seems I was wrong ( I know, its hard t believe). Looks like Ann Budge could be up the creek.

 

Potentially opens up a civil war in the league. Celtic will back it being completed as stands. Killie, Accies, St Mirren, County, Motherwell, probably Livi will all go with that as it secures their league status or a decent finish in some cases. Aberdeen, Sevco and Hearts likely to be dead against it and want the season null and void or played to a finish. Hibs and St Johnstone hard to tell what their stance would Beas they currently occupy the middle of the table.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The SPFL rules that could hand Celtic nine-in-a-row and send Hearts down to the Championship

The SPFL board is set to face the thankless task of attempting to bring clarity to the chaos of the coronavirus shutdown.

The coronavirus shutdown means huge and unprecedented decisions lie ahead that will have deep-seated ramifications for the Scottish game.

With 30 league matches on the board for most clubs so far and the prospect of a ball not being kicked until as late in the year as September, the SPFL board have the daunting task of aligning the rules, a sense of sporting integrity and serious financial considerations amid a pandemic situation that would have seemed unimaginable just three months ago.

The men and women on the board tasked with sailing the good ship Scottish football through choppy waters are Neil Doncaster (CEO), Murdoch MacLennan (Chairman), Karyn McCluskey (non-executive), Alan Burrows (Motherwell), Les Gray (Hamilton Academical), Stewart Robertson (Rangers), Ross McArthur (Dunfermline Athletic), Ewen Cameron (Alloa Athletic), Ken Ferguson (Brechin City) and Peter Davidson (Montrose).

They will have to use guidance delivered from UEFA on Tuesday alongside the rules of the SPFL to steer their decision-making process.

A complex legal document that runs to 249 pages, many fans have been posting elements of its contents on social media to strengthen arguments about what they reckon the final decision should be.

Scanning through this near impenetrable mix of legalese and erroneously capitalised words it's clear none of the most important section is in the 'Definitions and Interpretation' section, where the word season is defined clearly.

It posits: "Season means the period of the year commencing on the date of the first league match in a season and ending on the date of the last league match in the same season or otherwise as determined by the board and which excludes the close season."

This rule appears to strengthen the argument that the season could be ended after 30 games with Celtic declared winner and Hearts relegated given it stipulates that the end of the season is defined as the "last league match" or "as otherwise as determined by the board".

It appears to give the SPFL enough legal wiggle room to end the season at this stage should it be decided the season can't resume.

Rule C38 further strengthens this case.

It states: "The club occupying position one in the league at the end of a season shall be declared the champion club of the league and shall hold the "The Scottish Professional Football League Championship Trophy" until the next season's league competition is concluded."

Put simply, the SPFL board have the power to define at what point the season ends and when it does with the team placed first automatically declared champion.

Whether such a decision will be accepted by clubs without legal challenge is another matter, with Hearts already intimating they would be looking to take action if they were relegated at this stage.

Jambos and Rangers fans might be forgiven for reading this with a growing sense of unease but there is a sliver of hope in the form of rule C14.

It states: "The clubs for the time being entitled in terms of these rules to participate in the Premiership shall, disregarding any abandoned or postponed matches, play in 38 league matches in any one season."

While this clearly defines a season as 38 matches, it could be superseded by the notion that the season is now determined as 30 games under the  "otherwise as determined by the Board" part of the season definition.

 

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spfl-rules-could-hand-celtic-21701473

 

Not sure that board would be too inclined to hand it to Celtic.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Right, so if hearts go down, who we going for?

Worth taking a risk on Naismith. Halkett is a no brainer but would imagine he would be one they'll find a way to keep. Always liked the Brozanic fella in the middle of the park. 

Likes of Boyce, because they've paid a transfer fee for him they'll find a way again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, sporting integrity my old friend, where have you been?

RANGERS are continuing to monitor the ongoing situation regarding Coronavirus and its impact on football at all levels.

I reiterate Steven Gerrard’s comments this morning that football is secondary to the health and well-being of the citizens of the United Kingdom. Life is precious and as a society, we must endeavour to do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable in our community. As a club, we will continue to follow government guidelines and advice relating to the health and safety of all members of staff.

It is our firm view that this season’s league competition (2019/20) is only complete when all 38 games are played by all teams.  For the avoidance of doubt, we believe that final standings can only be confirmed when all games have been completed, not before. Any attempt to finish the season with a significant amount of games still to play, impacts upon the integrity of sport in Scotland. 

Furthermore, we are strongly opposed to playing games behind closed doors. Rangers fans have stuck by our club in the darkest of times. Their loyalty will not be forgotten and they will not be left behind. 

We are cognisant of the uncertainty surrounding the future of many businesses and peoples jobs because of a potential lengthy extended break. We must be mindful that football goes well beyond the result of a match. Football brings us all together, it provides countless people with a livelihood and we will work to ensure no one runs roughshod over people’s lives.

We will continue to maintain a watchful eye on the decisions of footballs governing bodies. Let me reassure the fans that we will not be found wanting in this situation.

Rangers FC Managing Director, Stewart Robertson

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Despite numerous clickbait articles about Gerrard's thoughts on the matter over the past few days I noticed he has never actually commented (that I have seen) on the prospect of Celtic being handed the league title. Perhaps because he wants his beloved Liverpool to get the title in the same circumstances.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Ngonge88 said:

Right, so if hearts go down, who we going for?

Worth taking a risk on Naismith. Halkett is a no brainer but would imagine he would be one they'll find a way to keep. Always liked the Brozanic fella in the middle of the park. 

Likes of Boyce, because they've paid a transfer fee for him they'll find a way again

Wouldn't be surprised to see Naismith managing them in the Championship

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The situation is still very much in flux though,as nobody at this stage knows when it might be possible to play out 9 matches (behind closed doors if need be).Even if it were August before things cleared sufficiently a two to three week window playing 3 matches a week with midweek would complete the season.The new season could conceivably then start in September with the League Cup scrapped for next year.

To end it now,with no idea if it will be possible to complete in mid to late August,would still be a minefield of potential legal challenges.They would be better off postponing a decision now until say, July.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

if the virus graphs are correct, it looks like it could be at least September before anything approaching normality returns, conceivably you could finish this season at the end of the year and then move straight to a summer league next year, although there's a lot of ifs about what might happen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...