‘Bad faith’ – Michael Stewart launches attack on Rangers amid SPFL controversy
Michael Stewart has accused Rangers of acting “in bad faith” over their handling of the ongoing dispute between themselves and the SPFL.
The Gers have been embroiled in a bitter war of words with the governing body over their poor handling on the vote that brought lower league football to an end in Scotland amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
The club claim to have a dossier of evidence against the SPFL that proves there were elements of malpractice at play during the controversial ballot process.
But even though he agrees that the SPFL have gotten things wrong in recent weeks, the pundit has still hit out at Rangers’ decision to withhold their evidence up until this point.
Speaking to BT Sport, as per the Glasgow Times, he said: “I think it’s quite clear that the SPFL are at the stage where they’re frustrated with the lack of movement from Rangers on this.
“For me, there is grounds for being unhappy with how the SPFL have handled this, undoubtedly. I’ve been saying this for weeks. But to take it to the level that Rangers have taken it, it’s incumbent on them to bring forward the evidence.
“They can’t wait this long. This is acting in bad faith now as far as I’m concerned and the time has been and gone for them to present this evidence. We can talk about the EGM and whether that will come about with regards to getting an independent investigation but both sides are coming out of this and not covering themselves in glory.”
Does Stewart have a point here?
Ultimately, this is a bit of a moot point now, with the Scottish Sun reporting that the Gers plan to release their dossier over at some point over the next 72 hours.
Should the club have released it before now? Perhaps, but at the same time it should really have made too much of a difference.
It is quite clear that something went wrong with the vote.
Even if nothing illegal happen as such, it was still a shambolic incident that reflected horrifically on Scottish football.
For the sake of maintaining the integrity of the professional game north of the border, an inquiry – preferably not one commissioned by the SPFL itself – seems like a minimum requirement.
Maybe the Gers could have acted quicker, but sniping and point scoring will go out of the window when the dossier is eventually released.
Hopefully some justice can be served if needed, and some faith restored.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox View: Wilson claim on potential big name Gers exit can only be good news.