Rangers lose out with bid to force independent investigation into SPFL

The resolution, which was initially proposed by Rangers, drew 13 of the 32 votes needed to pass. There were 27 votes against and two clubs abstained.

Rangers had joined with Hearts and Stranraer to force a general meeting on the back of a controversial and drawn-out vote which ended the lower-league season last month and handed the SPFL board the power to do likewise for the Ladbrokes Premiership.

The resolution got the support of four clubs in the Premiership and one from the Championship, plus eight in the two lower divisions. Another two teams from the combined ranks of League One and League Two abstained.

SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan urged unhappy clubs to move on, while promising to address their concerns at a later date.

He said in a statement: "The last few weeks have been bruising ones for many people in our game. Far too many words have been spoken and written which have sown anger and division amongst clubs. That is a matter of the deepest regret to very many people in our game, myself included.

"I know those who proposed this resolution will be disappointed, but I trust that everyone involved, on both sides of this argument, will now respect the clear, democratic and decisive result we have seen today and allow our game to move forward together.

"The overwhelming majority of clubs voted to oppose this resolution and it's now incumbent on all clubs to put their differences aside, otherwise we will all suffer together.

"I have taken careful note of the concerns expressed by the minority of clubs which voted in favour and when we are back to playing football in a safe environment, I will bring clubs together to discuss the lessons learned.

"Every single one of us understands that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought huge challenges for our game, which we must overcome soon if we are to save all 42 clubs and restart the sport we all love.

"That is a daunting prospect in its own right - one of the gravest our sport has faced and it's no exaggeration to say that it threatens the very existence of many of the SPFL's clubs if we get it wrong.

"If Scottish football is to survive this, we simply must unite and use the enormous talents, resources and creativity at our collective disposal to rescue our game.

"Time is short. In reality, we must do everything humanly possible to get games back up and running by the end of July.

"We simply cannot afford the distraction of further infighting or legal challenges. I'm sure we can all agree that the quicker we get back to playing football, the better."

Aberdeen, Partick Thistle and Stenhousemuir had all given the resolution their public backing while Inverness and Falkirk had launched scathing attacks against the league hierarchy in recent days.

Celtic quickly welcomed the result and declared they were satisfied there was "no evidence of any wrongdoing by the board or executive".

A club statement read: "We greatly regret the denigration of named individuals who have, on every occasion, acted upon decisions which were made by the board of the SPFL, representing all 42 clubs.

"The board and executive of the SPFL have operated under circumstances of unique difficulty in dealing with challenges of an unprecedented nature."

Celtic added: "We now appeal to all clubs to look to the future in the knowledge that the threats which exist to the fabric of Scottish football are grave and unprecedented.

"All of our energies should be applied to planning for the return of the game in season 2020-21 and to the financial survival of all our clubs."

SPFL chief calls for unity

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster claims the rejection of calls for an independent investigation can be a springboard for unified attempts to "save the game" and get next season started in July.

Doncaster will now press ahead with talks with the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Government in a bid to get next season started as soon as possible.

Doncaster told the PA news agency: "It's a very clear outcome and I think it's incumbent on all of us to use what is a resounding result as a springboard for both reconciliation and working together for the good of the game and to allow the game to survive.

"Ultimately we have a duty to try and save the game and we can do that much better if we are united and focused on that objective.

"We are a membership organisation and we have a duty to do what the members want. They have been very clear - about two-thirds of clubs rejected calls for an investigation and I believe want us to focus on the future, working hard to save the game and enable them to survive this crisis. And that's what we will do."

All football in Scotland, including training sessions, is suspended until June 10 at the earliest and SPFL board member Les Gray and SFA medical consultant John MacLean both recently claimed that September/October was the likeliest return date. But with new broadcast deals due to start, Doncaster is making all attempts to get action under way as initially planned.

"We have the Betfred Cup group stages, which are scheduled for mid-July," he said. "We have an exclusive partnership with Premier Sports. And we've got the new five-year deal with Sky Sports, which is due to kick off in the first weekend of August. Those are the timescales we are working to.

"We have enjoyed the interaction we have had with (Scotland's national clinical director) Jason Leitch and we are looking forward to further engagement coming up for a way in which we can get the game to return as soon as is safely possible."

Those aims are ambitious and the Scottish game faces a major challenge given the league is more reliant on gate money than most others in Europe.

"We all understand how vitally important it is that we have fans in stadia, safely, and we look forward to engaging with government to ensure that the game can return as soon as is safely possible," Doncaster said.

"I think we do need to think about all options but it's well understood that the economics of the Scottish game rely on fans in stadiums, so that has to be our focus."

However, demands for change are unlikely to go away. As Doncaster spoke, Rangers were finalising a statement which ended with the declaration that "the status quo cannot hold".

When asked whether it was possible to get a better working relationship with the Ibrox club, Doncaster said: "I think it's really important that we all reflect on how we can improve relationships between the SPFL and member clubs and between members, and we will certainly be playing our part in ensuring that we do that.

"It's always important that whatever line of life you are in, that you reflect on things you could have done better and listen to members' concerns.

"The members made it very clear that they reject the call for the independent investigation and want our focus to be on getting the game returning as soon as possible.

"It's also important that we listen to those views of the members who voted for the resolution and we will certainly do that."

Rangers had called for Doncaster to be suspended but the former Norwich chief executive focused on board members when asked whether the result had been a personal relief.

He said: "I'm very pleased for the board members of the SPFL, who have worked very hard for no reward and taken a lot of flak in the process, and have been supported by two-thirds of the membership."

Follow Sporting Life on social - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC

Related Bundesliga content

• Inside the Bundesliga title race
• Bundesliga scouting report
• Bundesliga Team of the Season
• Quiz: Guess the Bundesliga kits
• Five predictions for the remainder of the season
• Nine key Bundesliga fixtures
• Bundesliga: 5 Brits who made a mark
• In Profile: What has happened to Philippe Coutinho?
• In Profile: Enjoying the Sancho ride
• In Profile: Just how good is Erling Haaland?

Responsible gambling

We are committed in our support of responsible gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

Sky Bet's responsible gambling tools are detailed here and if you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133, or visit begambleaware.org.

Further support and information can be found at GamCare and gamblingtherapy.org.