‘Highly-damaging’ – SPFL chief Doncaster makes UEFA claim amid Rangers battle
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has claimed that voiding the Scottish Premiership season is not an option because of pressure from UEFA, despite protestations from Rangers.
The Gers have been drawn into a high profile war of words with the governing body over their handling of the Coronavirus crisis and its effects on Scottish football in recent weeks.
The dispute has become so severe that the club have been granted permission to hold a ballot on whether or not an independent investigation into the SPFL should be conducted.
But regardless of the outcome of that vote, Doncaster has made it clear that there is no intention of declaring the current campaign null and void.
Speaking to The Herald, he said: “UEFA have made it clear that clubs have to be put forward for Europe on sporting merit.
“If you void a league it’s quite hard to see how teams can be put forward on sporting merit. We feel deciding a league on a points per game basis is sporting merit.
“There are all sorts of other factors. If it’s voided you would find a number of clubs and the league would face highly-damaging claims for a season that never happened. It could have led potentially to claims being made by partners of the league and of clubs themselves.”
What does this mean for Rangers?
It’s not good news, that much is clear.
This is the most obvious indication yet that we are in a position whereby we either play the rest of the season, or Celtic are handed the title on a silver platter.
Of course, nobody is naive, and it would take something bordering on a miracle for us to catch the Hoops even if the remaining matches were to be played, but while there is still a mathematical chance that they could slip-up, there is bound to be some dispute over whether or not this is the right call.
Perhaps most worrying, however, is the fact that UEFA have set a deadline of May 25th for the SPFL to declare whether or not they plan to finish the current campaign or curtail it prematurely.
Increasingly it feels as if they will opt for the latter option.
In other Rangers news, ‘Nut job’ – Andy Halliday claims ‘exceptional’ Ibrox teammate is a ‘bully’.