SPFL Shambles

[16BlueSherbert90 19,223]

3 minutes ago, British_Empire said:

Sounds about right tbh. Think we got something like 8 million from last season which included the group stages. Prize monies meant to go up every year plus we're another round on (with 2 wins against Braga) meaning more money bonused for the wins and also whatever we're due from them for the Leverkusen game.

It might be off, it's fag packet math but sounds about right to me.

Good. Every little helps:) 

[British_Empire 9,648]

1 minute ago, 16BlueSherbert90 said:

Good. Every little helps:) 

Now I think about it too (if we do get more money bonused for a win) we had a few wins so that bumps the money up more

[DMax399 3,704]

8 hours ago, 16BlueSherbert90 said:

What's this rumour about Rangers seemingly getting £12M from UEFA campaign, allegedly? 

Couldn't find a thread on here to write this on and not starting a thread about it. Just read some people on Facebook discussing it on a page. 

 

We should be declared winners.  Everyone else seems to be doing it.

[magic8ball 27,901]

27 minutes ago, DMax399 said:

We should be declared winners.  Everyone else seems to be doing it.

That would be funny ,imagine the seethe 

I don’t know what would be bigger ,the tarrier meltdown or the size of the asterisk they would attach to it. 😂

[Dave Hedgehog 10,673]

Rangers won more games in the Europa League than any other team.

That means we won it doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? 😂

 

[ChampionsAgain 1,373]

8 hours ago, 16BlueSherbert90 said:

What's this rumour about Rangers seemingly getting £12M from UEFA campaign, allegedly? 

Couldn't find a thread on here to write this on and not starting a thread about it. Just read some people on Facebook discussing it on a page. 

 

I don’t think that’s far off tbh. I remember after when we drew Leverkusen our total earning inc ticket sales would be about 18m. I could be wrong but I think UEFA pay out prize money at the end of the season. 

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

1 minute ago, Dave Hedgehog said:

Rangers won more games in the Europa League than any other team.

That means we won it doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? 😂

 

100% Dave,let the campaign begin 

[GersInCanada 7,775]

If the Europa is abandoned and EUFA's policy is not to null and void that must make us joint winners.

With limited qualifiers to be played next season I will not be surprised if the 16 teams still standing are automatically in next seasons group stages and given the chance to go again.

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

1 minute ago, ChampionsAgain said:

I don’t think that’s far off tbh. I remember after when we drew Leverkusen our total earning inc ticket sales would be about 18m. I could be wrong but I think UEFA pay out prize money at the end of the season. 

Better inform Micky Stewart immediately,seeing as he's so worried about our finances ;-)

 

[Dave Hedgehog 10,673]

What does Leo Messi and celtic have in common?

 

Answer....Leo Messi plays as a “false 9” and, well.....😂😂

[eejay the dj 31,964]

2 minutes ago, GersInCanada said:

If the Europa is abandoned and EUFA's policy is not to null and void that must make us joint winners.

With limited qualifiers to be played next season I will not be surprised if the 16 teams still standing are automatically in next seasons group stages and given the chance to go again.

That is actually a great idea and you would think Uefa would see this maybe not 

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

THEY had a tweet of CLAPF9RCELTIC in the general football section with 8 trophies  Think it's been removed ;-)

 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,722]

Why was there such a rush to end the SPFL season? The board still have questions to answer.

The SPFL handed celtic the title on Monday afternoon after declaring a ‘unanimous' decision had been reached to end the season immediately, despite having eight rounds of fixtures still to play. Hearts were also relegated despite being only four points adrift at the bottom of the league, and have confirmed they will take legal action against the decision.

By BRUCE ARCHER

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1286009/SPFL-season-ended-Neil-Doncaster-celtic-Rangers-Hearts

Scottish football has been through the mill over the past three months with in-fighting, claims of bullying and corruption, votes being lost and then reappearing, threats of legal challenges and explosive statements replacing the action on the field. It has been a sour way to end a season that promised so much as celtic hunted down a record-equalling ninth title in a row, and Rangers, at times, gave a very real challenge to stopping it.

Now though there is some kind of clarity with the season being called, but the picture is still very much blurred.

The coronavirus pandemic could not have been predicted, and while the whole world is engulfed in the ensuing crisis there is an acceptance that things are clearly not business as usual, but there are still questions to answer over several of the steps that have led us to this conclusion.

The SPFL ended the season on Monday with a statement claiming that Premiership clubs had reached a ‘unanimous agreement that the top flight cannot be finished’.

However the unanimous part of that statement is understood to be factually incorrect. At least two clubs were against curtailing the season and saw no reason why a decision needed to be rushed through so soon.

With the Premier League in England hoping to return under Project Restart, the SPFL adopted a different approach - ‘Project No Start’.

There were understandable fears over clubs surviving without the prize money they were due from finishing the season if it needed to be extended into the summer and beyond, and the call to end the season was, at least publicly, aimed at sending out money to those different clubs. However there are still issues with that and how the SPFL will get the money should BT Sport and other sponsors call on payments of around £10m to be held back due to the season being prematurely ended. That marks part of the issue raised by Rangers, who say that wasn’t made clear to clubs before the voting began. Rangers also offered an alternative resolution where clubs would receive money now to help them see out the season.

The SPFL’s legal advisor Rod McKenzie deemed that an ‘incompetent’ way to operate and the SPFL themselves claim clubs were aware of the potential for the broadcasters and sponsors to ask for money back, and proceeded to call the season this week in spite of the problems still bubbling over.

“I don’t think there was much of a decision to be made,” Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said in an interview on Sky Sports on Wednesday.

“It was clear to all and sundry that with the government restrictions we have in place in Scotland, and with the start of the new season coming up in the beginning of August that there just wasn’t the time to get the remaining fixtures played.”

That decision was made despite it emerging on Thursday that Scottish clubs hope to be back in training by June 10 in time for the new season to start in August, with the likelihood that next season will be started behind closed doors.

So why was next season given priority over this season? Other leagues in Europe have adopted different approaches. France called their league with elite sport banned in the country until September and handed PSG the title, as well as relegating the clubs at the bottom. Holland meanwhile decided against giving out a title and relegation, instead nominating teams for European competitions and sparking legal battles from those in the second tier.

The Bundesliga in Germany restarted last weekend, while England continue to play the waiting game and have stepped up phase one of a return to training.

In Italy Serie A have set a deadline of August 20 to get this season complete, and hope to start next season in September.

Footbal in Scotland, like in France, has been banned by Nicola Sturgeon, but only until June rather than September, so why the rush and clamour to end the season now particularly when any restart this side of next January looks set to see clubs playing in empty stadiums and bitting the financial bullet on ticket sales?

There is certainly no perfect answer and no one size fits all in these situations across Europe. That is why UEFA have allowed each individual FA to make their own mind up on how to finish the season. All they require is nominations to their events - based on ‘sporting integrity’.

The conspiracy theorists are out, of course. celtic are now champions for a ninth season in row. They were well ahead and Steven Gerrard had all but admitted a title race was over despite having two games to play against celtic and another in hand, which could feasibly have seen the gap cut to just four points.

But fans of the Ibrox side will now call it the asterisk season. They’ll say it was won in the boardroom, rather than on the pitch. They’ll say it was Peter Lawwell and his influence over the likes of Doncaster, Murdoch MacLennan and those at the top of the Scottish game, rather than by Scott Brown, Odsonne Edouard and co.

And celtic will now go for the record of 10 in a row on the watch of Sky Sports, who take up the broadcasting rights with a sparkly new deal to replace BT from next season and could even become the new sponsor of the league, with one still to be found by Doncaster and co.

On the decision to end the season this week SPFL chairman MacLennan said: “Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to officially congratulate celtic on their achievement of winning the Ladbrokes Premiership this season, and also to sincerely commiserate with Hearts on their relegation.

“We would all have rather seen the league season played out on pitches, in stadiums and in front of supporters. This is not the way anybody involved with Scottish football would have wanted to conclude the league season but, given the grave and unprecedented circumstances that we are facing, the Board has agreed that it is the only practical way forward.

“Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on sporting competitions around the world and the repercussions will be felt for a long time. Scottish Government restrictions and deep concerns for both player and spectator safety left the SPFL with no realistic option but to call the Ladbrokes Premiership now and we thank the Premiership clubs for their support on this decision.”

Fans of Hearts, and indeed the club themselves, maintain that the decision to curtail the campaign under these conditions is unfair. They are still hoping for a reconstruction of the leagues, but it’s widely accepted that that is now very unlikely to pass.

“As previously intimated the club has been taking legal advice throughout this process and are continuing to do so,” a statement read.

“We hope that the resolution being prepared will avoid the need to go down this route. Legal action would be both time consuming and expensive. However the cost to the club of relegation would outweigh these considerations.

“To our supporters, we thank you for showing patience and continuing to back the club. We will continue to fight against what we believe is an unjust outcome.”

MacLennan’s connections with celtic and Dermot Desmond are well documented. Rangers have sought to clarify the ‘ah cannae stand the b******s’ comment several times to no avail with Douglas Park having written to him personally without response or denial.

The disputes between Rangers and the SPFL have been painted as Rangers trying to dislodge members at the top of the game, or to have a pop back after the demotion to the bottom of the Scottish game in 2012.

And while there is something in that, they certainly want change at the top of the game, it’s clear that the allies Rangers have picked up in the dispute would not stand alongside them in normal circumstances. Aberdeen for one are no friends of the Ibrox club. What have Hearts, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Partick Thistle, Falkirk, Stranraer, Stenhousemuir, Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts got to gain with a seeming allegiance with Rangers and a battle with the top dogs of the game?

This leads to the point of Rangers asking for an independent investigation into the governance of the game, and their ‘dossier’ which was knocked into touch.

Surely in any other walk of life or industry an accusation similar to what was brought to the SFPL would have resulted in an independent hearing, so why hasn’t it in this case?

The SPFL insist there is no case to answer. Lawwel called it ‘an absolute embarrassment’. But clearly questions remain. Why were Dundee allowed to change their vote (as the leaked WhatsApp messages show to be true), were clubs aware there may be issues with the prize money even after ending the season, and what is next for Scottish football?

Former celtic manager John Barnes labelled the rushed decision ‘ridiculous’.

“It’s ridiculous. It's unfair,” he told Bonuscodebets.

“There are eight games to go and Hearts are four points from safety, and they can come back up.

“I don't understand. With eight games to go, whenever they're going to play the next season then just finish the eight games and continue to the next season.

“I don't see why they have to make a decision now to stop the season because stopping the season now isn't going to make them play the next season any quicker.

“But next season will come whenever it comes. So, what I'm saying is that whenever that comes, just take six weeks off to play eight games, and then go straight into the next season.”

“There are eight games to go and Hearts are four points from safety, and they can come back up.

It’s still unclear if the Scottish Premiership will be allowed to kick off in early August due to the restrictions in place to tackle the virus, but that’s the hope. UEFA have opened the door for leagues to start while others are still playing the previous season, and insist European games won’t get in the way of that as well. Rangers for example have a second leg with Bayer Leverkusen to play in the Europa League.

After releasing six players on Tuesday who were out of contract it’s not clear what kind of squad they would have for a game still technically in the 2019/20 season. It’s also uncertain what shirts they would wear, having signed a new deal with Castore to replace Hummel. UEFA say they will deal with those issues nearer the time and won’t rush anything.

Those points are less important than the long-term survival of less financially stable clubs, particualarly with Rangers being 3-1 down after the home leg anyway, but they remain unanswered nevertheless.

UEFA have set Monday 25 May as the date for all leagues to map out their futures, but have also intimated there is flexibility in that.

Doncaster, though, confirmed the decision in Scotland a week earlier. He hopes to kick off the brave new world under the Sky contract in the first week of August, but why then could’t they have waited until then to get this season complete, and maintain the ‘sporting integrity’ that everybody so craves?

UEFA have already signed off the short term extension of contracts that were due to expire, which was seen as the greatest obstacle to that, other than the TV and sponsorship deals. They have also confirmed the Champions League and Europa League ties will be played out in August if safe to do so, making it complicated, although not impossible, for domestic leagues in Europe to try and start before those competitions are finished.

The broadcasting issue in Scotland in an interesting one, with the BT deal expiring in favour of the new long-term Sky Sports one. Would Sky have allowed BT to show games beyond August if it meant completing the season, and would BT have been able or even want to? It’s not as if BT would have had celtic or Rangers on each week, would they have been willing to send TV crews and producers for the middle rung games they would have been due some weeks?

They remain silent on the issue, still waiting to make their decision on the recalling of money they could be owed.

Despite the concerns of what broadcasters will do if they don’t fill their allocations of games Premier League members in England first discussed the potential for not finishing the season on Monday 12 May, after weeks of talks on how they could try and get games played again.

While in Scotland ballot papers had been drawn up and plans were in the works as early as March. That would seem pretty early in the grand scheme of things to be working on an end game like this.

Neil Lennon was presented with the Scottish Premiership trophy on Monday live on Sky Sports and claimed this was his greatest ever title, despite getting it without actually getting over the finish line and having to celebrate with his team over a Zoom call.

Whether or not they were worthy winners is a different debate, but regardless there must be a tinge of regret at not finishing it off outright and on the pitch, as they have the previous eight years, that in itself makes this one different, whether that’s with an asterisk or not.

[GersInCanada 7,775]

A decent summation from Archer.

It's hard to argue against the belief that the SPFL is run by scum, for the benefit of scum,  with a few crumbs thrown around for diddy clubs to keep them onside.

This whole current scenario of many clubs being unable to operate behind closed doors (costs), should have been part of a wide ranging discussion, hosted by the SPFL board, at the time of the vote fiasco. Instead, awarding celtic the title took precedence over trying to protect the whole entity of the SPFL. Doncaster has been shown up to be nothing but a  liewell puppet, with no interest in helping the member clubs he gets paid a small fortune to represent. 

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

10 hours ago, SeparateEntityMyArse said:

I agree mate. I'm not criticising as such but stating how I see it.  I get it, I get the passion for away games, I'll not slate bears for going but I'm out now and wish others were too. But there's no doubting we're a fragmented support that dont hurt our haters the way we could.

If one cannot stand up for a very basic basic first principle, then there is no point.

The board would be as well STFU and continue playing in a rigged competition.

[eskbankloyal 19,446]

1 hour ago, GersInCanada said:

If the Europa is abandoned and EUFA's policy is not to null and void that must make us joint winners.

With limited qualifiers to be played next season I will not be surprised if the 16 teams still standing are automatically in next seasons group stages and given the chance to go again.

Current tournaments will almost certainly be completed in August with all games played in one locations (either city or country)

The qualifiers for next season will be delayed and likely to be one off games with the lowest ranked team at home - that’s the current plan at least. 

[eejay the dj 31,964]

1 hour ago, Dave Hedgehog said:

Rangers won more games in the Europa League than any other team.

That means we won it doesn’t it? Doesn’t it? 😂

 

Based on sporting merit, NO LAUGHING AT THE BACK  . It would seem so . yet sadly the double standards at Uefa would not be having this kind of thing . 

[eejay the dj 31,964]

7 minutes ago, eskbankloyal said:

Current tournaments will almost certainly be completed in August with all games played in one locations (either city or country)

The qualifiers for next season will be delayed and likely to be one off games with the lowest ranked team at home - that’s the current plan at least. 

eskie , i swear you read too many papers mate . This idea of playing football at one venue is an absolute non starter 

[Malvern 11,329]

2 hours ago, DMax399 said:

We should be declared winners.  Everyone else seems to be doing it.

We are not catholic and UEFA are not controlled by Mr Park.

[eskbankloyal 19,446]

5 minutes ago, eejay the dj said:

eskie , i swear you read too many papers mate . This idea of playing football at one venue is an absolute non starter 

One location,  not venue, to minimise travelling. 

Not saying it’ll happen but it’s the current plan from UEFA. 

[eejay the dj 31,964]

2 minutes ago, eskbankloyal said:

One location,  not venue, to minimise travelling. 

Not saying it’ll happen but it’s the current plan from UEFA. 

Don't see it mate . TBH i don't see much happening . The Germans showing others the way to a degree , that could go pair shaped any week.

Our Country being the embarrassment it is, will probably be the very last to do anything right mind 

[DMax399 3,704]

9 minutes ago, Malvern said:

We are not catholic and UEFA are not controlled by Mr Park.

True on both counts.  But no less ridiculous a decision than the one made by the Papal disciples of the SPFL.

[sRcFoCt 7,662]

I know it will probably be played out or called null and void but it would be fucking hilarious if UEFA declared us champions of the europa league.

This country would lose its mind taigs in your work

"Yez dinae play aw the matches, yer no winners"

sutton,stewart and the rest trying to explain the difference between not playing all the matches in the league and being declared winners is different from...........................not playing all the matches in a tournament and being declared winners.

[bluenoz 30,836]

The Europa should be n&v and all 16 remaining teams automatically qualify for next seasons group stages. Seems logical and fair to me.

[magic8ball 27,901]

48 minutes ago, eejay the dj said:

eskie , i swear you read too many papers mate . This idea of playing football at one venue is an absolute non starter 

That’s been Uefas plan for a while and it did seem a good idea until you see the reason why the EPL want to play games at neutral venues 

The whole season throughout Europe at least should be written off ,But they are coming out with nonsensical plans everywhere to save cash