Regan: Rangers in third division will kill Scottish football

Football Writer

Thursday 5 July 2012

STEWART REGAN, the chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, has warned that the sport in this country will suffer a "slow, lingering death" if Rangers are denied a place in next season's first division after the Scottish Premier League clubs voted overwhelmingly against the Ibrox newco being given a place in the top division.

Stewart Regan delivered a dire warning

Custom byline text:

Graeme Macpherson

The focus will now fall on the Scottish Football League to see if they are willing to accommodate Rangers into their set-up and at what level. The SFL board are set to meet at Hampden today to hold further discussions, with a vote expected to be taken by their clubs at an emergency meeting next week. There has been widespread opposition to a newco being allowed to start life in the first division but Regan felt there could be severe consequences if that did not come to pass.

"Without Rangers there is social unrest and a big problem for Scottish society," he said. "They have a huge fanbase and to contemplate the situation where those fans don't have a team to support, where those fans are effectively left without a game to follow, I just think that could lead to all sorts of issues."Tribalism in football is really important. It is part of the game. People follow their clubs with pride, it is passed down from generation to generation. There are thousands of Rangers fans whose fathers and parents and grandfathers have been Rangers fans. You can't contemplate a situation without that and if Rangers weren't to exist that could have real dire consequences."Regan estimated that, should Rangers be forced to begin life in the third division, commercial revenue for the SPL would drop from a total of £17m to as low as £1.5m as sponsors renegotiate their deals or withdraw all together. That, he added, would have dire consequences."If Rangers were to go anywhere other than the first division then there would be something somewhere in the region of £15.7m worth of losses," he added. "For the bigger clubs at the top of the league that's half their annual distributions. For clubs at the bottom it's basically wiping out their entire distributions. "St Mirren have already stated they would face a severe financial backlash if they lost their TV money. The same will be true for most clubs. Perhaps clubs could survive for a short period of time, but it's not sustainable. The game is not sustainable, so there would be a slow, lingering death for the game in Scotland."Many SFL clubs, including Clyde, who yesterday released a stinging criticism of Regan, feel they have been pushed into a corner to try to resolve a problem of the SPL's making. Regan acknowledged there would be those who did not agree with the idea of Rangers not starting out at the bottom but felt the alternatives were unworkable."Notwithstanding the moral and ethical arguments, holistically, the alternatives to playing in any division other than the first will not help the game," he said. "The game cannot survive without it. It is an impossible situation because there is not a right or wrong answer. There are no winners here, just losers. It is about who loses the most."Regan suggested there are contingency plans in place should the SFL clubs vote against allowing Rangers into the first division under sanctions, presumably centred on the creation of an SPL2. "There are a series of other scenarios," he said. "The SPL would clearly have to consider keeping their clubs afloat. They have talked themselves about an SPL2. But I think it's fair to say their preferred option would be Rangers in the First Division."Regan felt that many sponsors, including broadcasters Sky, would stay on board with Rangers in the first division but would walk away if they ended up in the third. "It is fair to say the broadcasters would live with a year, because it could be a fantastic story for them, which is why I think first division rights will be an interest as people will want to see how this club is going to bounce back."Beyond that the media value will be less and less so they cannot possibly agree to a contract over five years if a substantial period of the deal does not carry the games they think they bought."Regan conceded there were no guarantees that a weakened Rangers side would return to the SPL at the first attempt. "If Rangers don't get promoted, then the game has got another year to suffer with the financial consequences that brings. I can't predict what will happen because Rangers at the moment are a weakened team because of everything that has gone on."They are a newco at the moment, they have got very few players on their books. They are going to be entering the SFL in whatever division with a weakened team and I don't think it's by any means certain they are going to come back in the way they or their fans might like them to recover."Regan will meet with SFL representatives over the next week to discuss possible incentives that may entice those clubs to allow Rangers into the first division. "I think there is room to bargain but I wouldn't position it as negotiations as we have to work in collaboration. We've talked about play-offs being introduced to create theatre between the First Division and the SPL, not just for fans but to create some new revenues. We want to introduce parachute payments for clubs who do get relegated to soften the landing because the abyss between the SPL and First Division at the moment is not helping the game."We we want to introduce the concept of a pyramid and open up the bottom of the Third Division so that ambitious clubs who have the leadership, the management capability and desire to get to the very top of the game can do it. There is stagnation and almost a lack of vibrancy and dynamism. We have a real chance and a window of opportunity to get this right and we need to act quickly and be decisive."The SPL clubs will vote on who will fill the Club 12 spot vacated by oldco Rangers, with the place likely to be given to either relegated Dunfermline or Dundee, runners-up in the first division.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Regan: Rangers in third division will kill Scottish football

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED