Rangers v Dundee: Headache for Neil Doncaster as Sky Sports look to charge SPFL £100,000
The SPFL is facing a bill of up to £100,000 over the double-postponement of Dundee vs Rangers, according to the Scottish Sun.
Reporting via their website on 16 April the paper claimed Sky Sports chiefs are ready to hit the league with a six-figure bill, which they will look to recoup part of from the Dark Blues at a disciplinary hearing this week.
Don Robertson was twice forced to call off the Gers’ trip to Dens Park thanks to a flooded pitch, first on 17 March and then last week on 10 April, with the third attempt to play the game due tonight (17 April) after a pitch inspection .
On both occasions Sky sent fully-staffed units to cover the game live and “frustrated” TV chiefs now wants to recoup some of the “significant losses” they suffered as a result, with their claim potentially set to feature in the SPFL’s hearing against John Nelms and Dundee on Thursday 18 April.
Rangers trip to Dens Park twice called off by Don Robertson
It is little surprise that Sky Sports want to be reimbursed for the farce that has developed around this fixture, with just a matter of hours combined before the final decision to push back the date arrived each time.
Rangers as a club, and particularly the supporters, will have also been left out of pocket thanks to the playing surface at Dens Park failing to cope with the weather.
The disruption can’t be used an excuse by Philippe Clement and the players for their alarming slump in form, but it is unlikely to have been especially helpful to maintaining any momentum.
There has been no shortage of fury from pundits and journalists over the Dundee club’s management of the situation, with Eric Drysdale criticised for blaming erratic weather conditions as he insisted investment is now on the way for the summer.
The club while unsurprisingly shoulder most of the blame and so Doncaster and the SPFL will no doubt look to pass on as much of the cost of the Sky claim to them as possible.
But the league also deserves criticism for failing to implement adequate contingency plans, at least for the second attempt, when they had been offered alternative venues and the forecast made more rain issues predictable.
In other Rangers news, David Edgar has issued an ironic reaction to the latest injury blow ahead of the rearranged clash.
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