Stephen Halliday: Vested interests on SPFL board bedevil any call on 2019-20 season

In a conference call of the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League board in response to the coronavirus pandemic, all ten member clubs agreed to null and void a season which had just six games left to play.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

Dispiriting as this was for the teams still in contention for the title, there was unanimous agreement that the global health crisis had left them with no option but to write off the campaign.

As the Scottish Professional Football League wrestles with the issue of what will become of their 2019-20 season, no-one is holding their breath in anticipation of the same level of consensus displayed by the EIHL.

Neil Doncaster isn’t a man who either expects or receives much sympathy in his role as chief executive of the SPFL but who would fancy being in his well-polished shoes right now?

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS

All too predictably, the graveness of COVID-19 hasn’t prevented a simultaneous outbreak of division over how and whether titles, promotions and relegations should be determined in the event the SPFL season cannot be completed.

While everyone’s preference is for fixtures to resume and be played to a finish as soon as possible, that appears an increasingly fanciful prospect.

But finding an alternative outcome which doesn’t cause ructions throughout Scottish boardrooms and fan bases will be impossible.

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell’s insistence on Thursday that the season “cannot be voided” was accompanied by his demand for a “fair and reasonable solution” which he clearly regards as nothing less than his club being awarded a record-equalling ninth consecutive title.

It’s a perfectly understandable claim from Lawwell’s perspective, with Celtic 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership with eight games remaining.

Yet it’s equally valid for Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson to assert, as he did earlier in the week, that the final standings can only be confirmed when all fixtures have been completed.

It may be a long shot for the Ibrox side, but with 27 points still to play for in a schedule which includes two Old Firm games, they have a sporting entitlement to retain hope of a dramatic turnaround.

As a member of the SPFL board, Robertson will clearly be arguing strongly against any proposal to “call” the season now and declare Celtic champions. He is far from the only member of that board with a vested interest. His fellow Premiership representatives are Motherwell chief executive Alan Burrows, whose club are locked in a battle with Aberdeen for Europa League qualification, and Hamilton vice-chairman Les Gray, whose side are four points ahead of Hearts in the relegation battle.

The Championship is represented by Dunfermline chairman Ross McArthur, whose club are just 
outside the play-off places, and Ewen Cameron of Alloa who are currently just above the drop 
zone. League 1’s representative is Peter Davidson of Montrose, in the promotion play-offs as things stand, while from League 2 there is Brechin City chairman Ken Ferguson whose club are seven points adrift at the bottom and facing the grim scenario of dropping out of the SPFL altogether. It’s obvious that freezing the league tables as they are might appeal to some board members, while others will oppose it vehemently.

The SPFL rules appear to lack any definitive guidance, although they do say the board is “entitled to make such arrangements, adopt such procedures and make such determinations as it considers appropriate in circumstances where the rules or regulations do not direct or provide for the manner in which the league, League Cup or other competition operated by the company should proceed or be operated”.

Good luck to Neil Doncaster in sorting this one out.