Yorkston: the SPL’s flat, everyone’s crying out for change – except the Old Firm

Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston has warned that the SPL will remain “flat” unless the Old Firm pave the way for change by agreeing to amend the voting structure.

Currently, any proposals have to be sanctioned by 11 of the 12 top-flight members but, in practise, Celtic and Rangers traditionally vote together.

The other clubs – the “Gang of Ten” – recently met to discuss the issue and are pursuing a 9-3 set-up, which the Old Firm strongly oppose, at a special general meeting on April 12. The ten also advocate league reconstruction and a more equitable distribution of revenue between all 12 clubs.

Yorkston, whose side are currently bottom of the league, believes Celtic and Rangers, whose vote would be cast by administrators Duff & Phelps, are effectively the gatekeepers to a potentially brighter future. He said: “The present structure means the game is flat.

“There’s not enough excitement. Do the Old Firm hold the ace cards? That’s the way it’s been in the past. Maybe a new regime at Rangers will take an independent view and not just vote the way Celtic do. Nothing’s changing under an 11-1 voting structure, so what we have to do is get a 9-3 or an 8-4 voting structure. It’s definitely undemocratic at 11-1. That’s the only thing the ten of us are all agreed on. The voting structure needs changed to make change.

“The one thing we have in common is that we want the SPL to be successful and attractive but we have differences of opinion over how to get there. If the Old Firm vote against it then nothing will change in Scottish football.

“But everyone’s crying out for change. Everyone’s crying out for a ten, a 14 or a 16-team league, but we can’t change anything as a league with the 11-1 vote at the moment.”

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has described as “disrespectful” the meetings between the ten but Yorkston insists the Old Firm have held their own private gatherings previously.

He added: “Rangers and Celtic have met regularly over the years to discuss things that suit them. They get together and discuss things so why shouldn’t we?”

Yorkston says many other issues need to be addressed. “I’d certainly be in favour of play-offs at the bottom of the league,” he said. “It would add a bit of spice. In the First Division normally one team runs away with it, but you have to have an incentive for players to keep playing or the season falls flat. The redistribution of money is also something I’d like to see reviewed.”