Ibrox View: Gerrard makes valid point about ongoing Rangers battle with SPFL
RANGERS OPINION
The ongoing battle between Rangers and the SPFL has dominated headlines for the best part of a month now and shows no signs of letting up any time soon.
The club claimed to have amassed a dossier of evidence proving that there were elements of malpractice in the vote that brought the Scottish lower league season to an end in April, and are calling for an independent investigation into the ballot process.
However, delays over the publication of that evidence have led to criticism from some quarters, with Michael Stewart in particular accusing the Gers of “unacceptable” behaviour.
But manager Steven Gerrard has now spoken out on the matter, and it’s hard not to agree with the point he makes.
Speaking during an interview on talkSPORT (May 6th, 12.30pm), he said: “For myself, and I think everyone at Rangers was on the same page, what we wanted was to give it the best chance we can.
“There was certainly a difference between the view from the Premier League and the EFL – they wanted to wait and give this season every single chance to be played out.
“Now look, we all know that there might come a stage where it might become impossible to happen, but there seems to be an almighty rush to finish it and get it and get the votes in as soon as possible. That didn’t sit well at all.
“Our view hasn’t changed on it. We want to get back playing and finish the season off when it’s safe to do that.”
The SPFL and SFA took the decision to postpone all Scottish football on March 13th, and by early April had already enacted a vote on shutting things down completely in the lower leagues.
By contrast, the Premier League and EFL are still yet to make a concrete declaration of their plans, and are still hopeful of completing their respective campaigns.
Of course, there is an argument to be made for Scottish clubs being in a more fragile financial state than many of their English counterparts, and a key reason behind the SPFL’s eagerness to conclude the campaign was so that prize monies could be distributed to help soften the blow of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The governing body’s argument was that loans – an alternative solution to the issue – represent a “fundamental problem” in the event that some clubs are unable to pay them back further down the line.
The SPFL cited a payment made to Gretna in 2008 as an example, but a report from The Guardian has since claimed that there is no record of any such loan, and the money was described as an advance by the club at the time.
Removing that central facet of the governing body’s argument hugely undermines a core justification for their willingness to wrap up the campaign.
That, in conjunction with Gerrard’s measured response to the controversy, only serves to highlight once again that Rangers do have a right to question what is going on during this shambolic episode.
In other Rangers news, UEFA consider drastic rescheduling plan that could affect Gers until 2023.