CELTIC will want to fulfil the rest of their fixtures rather than being handed the league title, however that scenario is looking less and less likely now. A 30 June deadline set by UEFA yesterday has given little wriggle room for Scottish football to finish the season as most of us all want. On the grass. Only one club would rather end it now and go for the Null and Void means to save their season.
With medical opinion pointing to the coronavirus not even peaking for at least six weeks and a further eight weeks before restrictions in place are likely to be lifted, plus a further four to six weeks for player’s fitness to get back up to speed, then it’s clear Scottish football needs to get its thinking cap on.
A quote from Sports QC Nick De Marco in an article yesterday on The Celtic Star is also a concern when it comes to hoping a consensus, bereft of self-interest, may come into play:
“Seeing as there is at least a slight chance I might be asked to be involved, I had better not express a public opinion on the matter,” the QC advised this site.
The Celtic Star had asked Mr De Marco for a bit of guidance around the issue of a null and void season. His response is worrying. Why would Nick feel there was a slight chance of his involvement unless the noises from behind the scenes indicated there was no real consensus in the pipeline?
Is this crazy notion of dissolving the league race genuinely being considered? Is there support for this option?
If Nick De Marco was going to be involved you’d assume that would be in the employment of Celtic, given his record in defending the club and Scott Brown against those ridiculous trumped up charges, following the fallout from the Celts 2-1 win in last March’s Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park.
You’d further assume if he was thinking Celtic would require his help, it would surely only be on the premise we required assistance from skilled legal minds to ensure the SPFL rule book was followed and Celtic were awarded their rightful league title. Let’s have a reminder of what that rulebook states.
“Season means the period of the year commencing on the date of the first League Match in a Season and ending on the date of the last League Match in the same Season or otherwise as determined by the Board and which excludes the Close Season;”
The Club occupying position one in the League at the end of a Season shall be declared the Champion Club of the League and shall hold the “The Scottish Professional Football League Championship Trophy” until the next Season’s League Competition is concluded. When the winner of The Scottish Professional Football League Championship trophy has been ascertained, the Trophy shall be handed over to the winner who shall return the same to the Company at the League Office not later than 3 weeks prior to the end of the next following Season”.
It is clear the SPFL can decide when the season ends, and when it does it need not be after 38 games, should the board decide otherwise. It could end as of 13 March. Though in theory of course they could end it all together and pretend the whole thing never happened.
The common sense approach at this stage would be to award Celtic the title. A season already 30 games in surely cannot be wiped from the record books. Had we been 4 or 5 games into a season you could argue that point, it would be lunacy to discount an entire league season so close to completion.
The European places can also be determined on current standings. Prize money and the majority of TV revenue could also be distributed to clubs at a time where match day income has fallen off a cliff. Leaving only the thorny issue of relegation.
A null and void is an unknown leap into a financial abyss, with clubs uncertain as to whether prize money and TV deals will be honoured or whether season ticket money would have to be refunded.
Ann Budge at Hearts has made it clear she would not support a solution that saw her club fall through the trapdoor and I have sympathy for that view. Her decision to dramatically cut wages on of her players illustrates the severity of the financial crisis that is looming for Scottish clubs.
‘Rangers’ have also made a stance that they feel ending the season on current standing or indeed playing any games behind closed doors does not suit them. I have far less sympathy for that viewpoint given the current 13 point deficit the Ibrox club faces is far less surmountable than the four point gap Hearts face to get off the bottom of the league.
As things stand the null and void argument it would appear, on public utterances at least suits both parties better.
A temporary league restructure was put forward by The Celtic Star that could well solve that issue. It would also negate the issue of Hearts being threatened with relegation. A proposal then that Hearts could find palatable, something that could allow them to remove themselves from a null and void stance that financially could cripple many clubs in the Scottish leagues.
Given a voting structure that requires eleven of twelve teams to agree, a stance by these two clubs could mean a temporary restructure would not pass a vote. However Hearts and ‘the’ Rangers could both come out of this with their heads held high if this option was considered.
The league and European places are awarded as the league stands. There is no relegation and as such no-one is punished by dropping out any league. The top two teams from the league below are promoted and the top sides from the Highland and Lowland leagues are promoted to League 2 without any need for relegation.
Should we wish to revert back to the original numbers the following season then each league relegates a minimum of two teams the following year and we’re back to the status quo.
Ann Budge would surely find such an option agreeable. ‘Rangers’ on the other hand can still curry favour with their support by standing alone and being voted down.
Let’s be frank here, as I pointed out in a previous article, ‘the’ Rangers stance is simply posturing. They cannot afford a null and void league. Such an outcome would lead to administration. On the other hand they can’t be seen, in public at least, to support a motion that sees Celtic awarded a league title. This way they get to appease their fans and still get what they desperately need. Money, and fast.
All this depends on the other leagues being 75% in favour of the new structure, though again, given a lack of relegation threatening these three other leagues it would surely reach that figure.
It is also dependent on no other clubs wanting to come down on the side of a null and void title race. And that is the concern when there are rumours of Celtic employing the likes of Nick De Marco.
Reality Bites – Hearts Forced To Take Drastic Measures | The Celtic Star https://t.co/l7VZT6LhmK
— The Celtic Star Editor (@CelticStarMag) March 18, 2020
The truth is we won’t know until a proposal, like the one put forward by The Celtic Star, is offered to the clubs and debated by them. We will then learn what the genuine position of all the other clubs may be.
One thing is certain, any fanciful notions that this will be resolved on the field of play need to be binned. Clubs need to decide how we conclude this campaign and avoid the idiocy of a null and void season. Those discussions have to start now.
We also reported last night that a senior Celtic source, responding to our enquiry after we forwarded on the article about Sports Barrister Nick de Marco’s guarded comments on the Null and Void agenda that is being pushed by Ibrox opportunists who had their chance to win all three domestic honours this season and failed comprehensively in each one – as usual, gave us a short but telling reply.
“I can’t see it being void,” was the short message from inside the club. That is re-assuring but obviously lobbying with continue and will intensify as this horrible pandemic health crisis continues.
Niall J
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