SCOT GARDINER who has been the CEO at Inverness Caley Thistle since April 2019, has put himself at the centre of the controversy that has blown up this weekend around SPFL’s voting to end the season in the lower divisions and to agree that the same can be done in due course in the Scottish Premiership should it not be possible to play out the season.

This as the SPFL Chairman Murdoch MacLennan explained is the ONLY way that would allow the payments to be made to the SPFL clubs. We have reported on MacLennan’s letter that he sent to all the clubs today.

The SPFL proposal would mean that Dundee Utd would be Champions in the Championship but Celtic would have to wait until either the games are played or as seems likely, the decision is taken that this season has to end as things stand, with Celtic 13 points clear at the top of the table, before they could be confirmed as Champions.

The BBC in Manchester last month mentioned a super computer that predicted the likely outcome of all leagues across Europe when play was suspended due to the coronavirus global crisis. Celtic were 98.87% certain to win the league and if you remember the mood in the Rangers camp prior to the coronavirus kicking in, they had well and truly thrown in the towel as far as this season was concerned.

You can however understand that they are reluctant to concede anything to Celtic, especially as in doing so they know that Celtic will be the first club to reach 9-in-a-row for the second time and will have a shot at the magical ten next time round.

But if no games can be played and that is a decision that needs to be taken then Scottish football – like every other league around Europe – will need to find a way to press the re-set button to go again. That means dealing with this season that is 79% completed and with Celtic clear as runaway leaders at the top of the league.

If no football can be played there are only two options. Declare as outlined by the SPFL at the end of last week or go for the doomsday Null and Void option, which wasn’t even on the table last week due to the horrendous financial consequences for the game.

It remains well and truly off the table despite the best efforts today from a Sunday Mail writer.

Null and Void would be like this season never happened at all and broadcasters, sponsors, supporters and other interested parties could all be entitled to their money back. No wonder it wasn’t even considered as a viable solution by the SPFL Board.

It was pushed by a series of ex-Rangers players over the last month, and don’t for a second think that this was not coordinated. But it failed for the very clear and obvious reasons and was out of the conversation until today when the Sunday Mail reasoned that because of the dispute between the Rangers and the SPFL the only viable alternative left was to null and void the season. Remarkable really.

Earlier today we questioned the ongoing relationship between Celtic and Parks of Hamilton in supplying the Celtic team bus and thousands of you have been voting on that today to send a clear message to Peter Lawwell. We also really need to have a conversation about Celtic’s media partner on The Celtic View – the publishers of Daily Record and Sunday Mail. Maybe we’ll do a Poll on that one next week, too much is happening today.

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Before joining Inverness Caley as their CEO Scot Gardiner was Chief Operating Officer at Hearts between July 2014 and August 2017. He has been in and around football for around two decades and had a spell as chief executive of Dundee FC who curiously are the side that is at the centre of the controversy surrounding their vote in the SPFL’s motion. Hearts and Dundee? Perhaps that’s just a coincidence.

Scot Gardiner also worked as both a Commercial Manager and Acting Commercial Director of Tottenham Hotspur FC so he clearly has plenty of experience in the game.

He even had a spell at the club he supports when he acted as a Commercial Sales Manager of Glasgow Rangers FC.

When he was appointed as the Inverness Caley CEO the Rangers supporting Executive was clear that generating income was his key task as the Highland side had failed to bounce back into the Premiership after relegation the previous season.

“I am also fully aware of the challenges facing the club in terms of reduced income from playing in the Championship for a second season,” Gardiner said, as reported by Insider on 11 April 2019.

“That said, the numerous meetings and phone calls I have had with the various board members over the last couple of weeks have convinced me that we can make a positive impact on the football club, both on and off the pitch.

“My priorities are to build a strong support team to generate the income needed to field a side capable of progressing to the Premiership of the SPFL and – parallel to that work – develop a strategy for the club which will give confidence to the local and regional business community as we look to garner their support for what is, after all, their team.

“There is no doubt that a successful football side in Inverness is good for the city.”

All well and good. Earlier this season we reported on the threat to Inverness Caley Thistle’s existence due to the lack of cash at the club. They had no debt, they own their own stadium but the funds were simply drying up and a meeting was arranged with supporters and sponsors asking for emergency financial help to keep the club afloat – and Scot Gardiner in a job. It has been a desperately tough struggle for ICT in the Championship.

If you were an experienced football operator who have worked at Hearts, Dundee and Rangers (anyone seeing a pattern here?) and also had some time in the big money English Premier League, then you may have decided that it would be a wise thing to do to look at your options for your next career move. Nothing wrong with that either.

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But Inverness Caley Thistle didn’t go into administration – as had previously happened at Hearts, Dundee and Rangers (remarkable coincidences these) and were in a decent position for a play-off shot at making the Premiership next season.

Dundee Utd were run-away leaders and were going to win the Championship but Inverness, when the pandemic stopped play, were looking good for a play-off crack at the Premiership’s second bottom side. That could have been Hamilton or Ross County or maybe even Hearts.

The SPFL’s plans last week would have promoted Dundee Utd as Champions of the Championship and opened the door for Inverness Caley Thistle to join them through the league restructuring that would inevitably follow.

It just seems unjust – as we have repeatedly argued on The Celtic Star – to relegate Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer and it would be hard to find a club who would argue against increasing the leagues by two clubs next season. Brora Rangers and Kelty Hearts from the Highland and Lowland leagues (curiously while the former has had their Champions status confirmed the latter has employees previously associated with Rangers who have been among the null and void brigade over the last few weeks) would enter the second division and there would be no relegation.

So Scot Gardiner, with his twenty years experience in the game, at the end of last week had to tick a box on the SPFL ballot paper that would get Inverness around £350,000 in immediate much needed income and in the next stage over the next few weeks would help seal the restructuring that would see Inverness promoted back in the Scottish Premiership.

That money and that promotion would put Gardiner in a position where he could say that he has delivered on his objectives set out when he was appointed as the Inverness CEO to represent the club’s best interests.

And if you supported Inverness Caley Thistle, you’d think that recruiting Scott Gardiner had proved to be a sound piece of business as he’d just delivered big-time for the Highland club. Much needed revenue and desperately needed promotion – job done.

Well that’s not how it’s all panned out for the Highland club and maybe it’s time someone told them what’s really been happening…

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Gardiner went onto the BBC Sportsound radio show yesterday afternoon and put the proverbial cat among the pigeons. At 5pm on Friday, seven Championship sides were in favour and two against (Inverness Caley Thistle and Partick Thistle) – giving the one outstanding club, Dundee, the power to decide the success of the vote either way.

Partick Thistle were always going to vote against this resolution. They were being relegated even though they had a game in hand – ironically enough against Inverness – which could have seen them avoid the drop. Restructuring could of course save the Jags and hopefully that’s what eventually happens. Like Hearts they were unwilling to wait for the restructuring proposals that were set to follow a Yes vote to the SPFL Proposal.

Scot Gardiner had made it clear that he has an insight into how Dundee was planning to vote, indeed he was also well aware of Partick Thistle’s position. So a NO vote from Inverness Caley Thistle would kill the SPFL proposal stone dead, had things panned out at the Inverness CEO had expected and that frustrated not just himself but his associates operating out of Ibrox.

The SPFL either never received the Dundee NO vote or it was never sent. Or the SPFL are at it – as the Rangers statement implies. The outcome though has caused the vote to still be in the ‘all to play for category’, with all eyes on Dundee.

Dundee now have had clarity from the SPFL Chairman that there will be no funds distributed until the placings are determined and clubs like Raith Rovers and Ross County have been urging a satisfactory outcome. For that to happen Dundee will have to vote YES, and as we explained this morning, they have 28 days to make up their minds.

You get the feeling that delay won’t happen and we’ll get a decision from Dens Park one way of the other, early in the week. We will report on Dundee’s decision in due course but the position that Inverness Caley Thistle’s CEO has adopted remains curious and is worthy of further comment.

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Why did Scott Gardiner and Inverness Caley Thistle vote NO?

We have outlined Gardener’s raison d’être in his Highland CEO job and have argued that a YES vote would very much be in Caley’s interests as it would deliver cash and probably their promotion back to the Premiership.

The CEO should be acting in the club’s best interests at all times but Scot Gardiner has taken a different view on this critical matter and that has raised one or two eyebrows in the game. Questions are being asked that will need answering.

A CEO is duty bound to represent the best interest of the club he works for not the club that he supports or indeed any other club. It would be a fairly lame point for us to make that Gardiner has let a blue nose get in the way of fulfilling his contractual obligations to his employers.

But remember we said that given Inverness Caley Thistle’s financial difficulties, perhaps looking for a new job might be a prudent thing for for their CEO to do?

Well this evening The Celtic Star can tell you that we have heard from a very senior source at Celtic who understands that Scot Gardiner, the Inverness CEO has been offered a job at The Rangers Football Club on the basis that he voted NO to the SPFL proposals.

Gardiner duly voted NO and with sight of the Partick Thistle and Dundee NO VOTES he was certain that the SPFL proposal would as a result of three Championship NO VOTES, fail and he would be leaving the Highlands to take up his new position at Ibrox. The Dundee vote getting lost in transit has scuppered his plans, left the Rangers squealing like the bad losers they are and his career move up in the air.

Further, our senior Celtic source understands that  the league’s Sponsors Ladbrokes have been contacted by former Rangers spin-doctor Jim Traynor, “asking them not to give Inverness Caley Thistle or Scot Gardiner a hard time.”

Our senior Celtic source summed up by describing the Inverness Caley Thistle CEO thus: “Gardiner is a massive blue nose.”  This evening it’s more likely to be a bloody nose.

And the Rangers had the absolute cheek to lecture the rest of us about SPORTING INTEGRITY!

Final point on this, our Celtic source is rock solid and we have a 100% track record in everything we have reported, most recently that there would be pay cuts and wage deferrals at Celtic announced last week.

Celtic’s relationship with Parks of Hamilton is something that we’d like your opinion on. Should Celtic terminate their contract with Parks of Hamilton as soon as it is possible to do so? Please vote below…

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