‘Embarrassing’, ‘Clowns’, ‘Pathetic’ – Many Rangers fans furious with major SPFL update

Tue 20 October 2020 16:10, UK

Rangers fans have blasted the SPFL after it was reported they are proposing a new “forfeit rule” that will affect teams who cannot play due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

According to the Daily Record, the SPFL are proposing that 3-0 defeats will be dished out to teams who cannot play after a meeting was held on Monday.

Kilmarnock forfeited their Scottish League Cup opener against Falkirk earlier this month while St Mirren versus Motherwell was postponed at the weekend due to multiple positive coronavirus test.

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Earlier in the season, Celtic and Aberdeen had matches rescheduled due to players breaking COVID-19 guidelines. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led calls for those matches to be postponed at the time.

Now, the SPFL are trying to find out how they can ensure there’s no backlog of fixtures later in the season if matches are constantly being rescheduled.

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But Rangers fans are not happy with the proposal as it means that rules are changed while the season is in process and the Gers have not yet been affected by what seems like an inevitable COVID-19 selection crisis.

If this new rule is applied and Rangers are hit with coronavirus, fans do not think that it’s fair a defeat should be forced on a team when Celtic and Aberdeen have so far gone unpunished for players breaching guidelines.

Here is a selection of their tweets:

Last season was bad enough. You don’t want to have a team that doesn’t play all it’s fixtures but ‘win’ some by default. It could cost others relegation / a place in Europe etc. It’s October FFS got til May to rearrange fixtures.
— Matthew Parker (@Matthew15435468) October 20, 2020

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To ensure the sporting integrity of the league forfeit rule would need to be backdated to start of the season. To treat clubs differently going forward to would lead to civil war in the game something I am not sure @spfl care about as this will be to benefit 1 club as always 🐍
— Bear from the North #DefundTheBBC (@Northernger) October 20, 2020

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https://twitter.com/glasgowsportsfa/status/1318541839809609728

https://twitter.com/mrk_1981/status/1318540708496670720

Scottish football must honestly be the worst run game in Europe. Embarrassing
— Wullie G (@w_rangers) October 20, 2020

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Not having that. Celtic and Aberdeen caused games to be postponed and nothing happened to them https://t.co/JqVK9s4on0
— The Louden Tavern (@TheLoudenTavern) October 20, 2020

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Are we retrospectively deducting Celtic and Aberdeen then or are the @spfl and Doncaster making up the rules as we go on to suit their script
— Graham Thomas (@GrahamT56138143) October 20, 2020

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Bunch of crooks the spfl, typical from them, other teams suffered, but not celtic, Aberdeen etc, bit of arm twisting from Peter lawell I suspect, yes Peter no Peter how high do u want us to jump. Bunch of half wits and crooks.
— thomas urquhart (@blue1690cd) October 20, 2020

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Teams are doing what they can to ensure that players and staff are keeping to the rules and avoiding catching COVID-19.

However, this is something that cannot be 100 per cent managed and kept away from people – as we’ve seen with the number of people who’ve died across the world from it.

Punishing teams who are acting in good faith is not the way forward but there’s no way teams like Celtic and Aberdeen should get away with having their players flout rules without there being any kind of punishment for that.

In other Rangers news, Tam McManus has told Celtic fans to get their heads out of the sand over this Gers claim.

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