Rangers legend Ally McCoist identifies ‘bigger problem’ in SPFL title race controversy
Rangers legend Ally McCoist has claimed that it is inevitable that there will be divisions in Scottish football regardless of how the ongoing Coronavirus crisis is resolved.
At the present moment, the Premiership could still be concluded as planned, but UEFA have set a deadline of May 25th for the SPFL to make a decision on whether or not they intend to do so.
If they decide against completing the season, it is highly likely that Celtic would be crowned champions, in line with similar measures we have already seen implemented in the lower leagues.
But McCoist has warned of the repercussions such a move could have, as well as referencing a “bigger issue” facing the Scottish game.
Speaking to BeIN Sports, he said: “I think no matter what happens there’s going to be a lot of people upset. There are going to be splits.
“Now, you’ve got to say straight away – and I include Liverpool in the same scenario as Celtic – they deserve the opportunity to win the title outright for themselves. Hopefully that will still be the case.
“I think the relegation issue is a bigger problem. Because if Liverpool are given the title, and Celtic are given the title, and Dundee United are given the title no matter what happens, through no fault of their own, there will be an asterisk against it.
“But for me – and I genuinely mean it – the far bigger issue is awarding somebody for something that hasn’t happened is one thing, but in my opinion there is no way on this earth that you can punish somebody for something that hasn’t happened.”
Does McCoist have a point here?
Absolutely, yes.
In an ideal world, the fairest and most satisfactory thing to do is to finish the season as planned.
Forget voiding it, forget anything else, even if it means Celtic win the title, that would be the best outcome here.
Realistically, however, it feels as if the chances of that happening are dwindling by the day.
We have already seen France and the Netherlands bring their domestic seasons to a halt, and you would expect more countries to follow suit as they try to find a way out of this crisis.
Would it then be fair to crown Celtic champions while there is a mathematical chance that Rangers can still catch them?
Not according to former England striker Darren Bent, who recently told Football Insider that the Hoops’ title would be tainted of it was just handed to them.
Only time will tell, but there are some huge arguments still to come before this one is properly resolved.
In other Rangers news, ‘It wasn’t like that’ – Gordon Strachan weighs in on Gers SPFL controversy.