The next couple of seasons could be huge for Scottish football, with plenty of clubs struggling financially due to the Coronavirus shutdown.
It’s vitally important that sporting integrity is upheld, but those in charge will know that things need to be managed carefully.
That includes promoting the game and getting as much from the TV companies as possible, which could explain calls for Celtic’s games against the Rangers to be delayed until fans can attend games again.
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Whether we like it or not, Sky are only truly interested in the Premiership so they can show their “Old firm Derbies”. A huge part of that is the crowd and the atmosphere, so it’s understandable that they want to preserve that spectacle.
A report from Football Insider has featured some quotes from Noel Whelan over his views on this, and he’s not happy at all.
They point out that Neil Lennon suggested the fixture could be postponed, but Whelan was having none of it:
“Every game is just as important as the other. We all knows what lies behind the Old Firm derby. Everyone wants to be at that game, I have been at one and the atmosphere is incredible. The build-up to the game is incredible but at the same time you have to respect what we are going through.”
“If a fixture list is there and it is one of the first games you have to take it. It is the way that it is.Will they be there at the start of the season? It all depends what happens over the next two to three months.”
It’s an odd thing for him to get so worked up about, as he doesn’t have a serious connection with either club.
It might be understandable if it would have a huge impact on the other teams in the league, but it’s been generous at times to refer to the Rangers as title contenders, and nobody else has shown they have the ability to mount a title challenge.
If both clubs agree to it then there’s really no problem, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
