RALPH TOPPING, the Scottish Premier League chairman, last night insisted his 12 member clubs would stick to the consensus they reached on reforms yesterday because it would be too "embarrassing" if they now change their mind.
The top-flight clubs agreed in principle on a package which includes the introduction of play-offs between the SPL and First Division, a merger of the SPL and Scottish Football League, an all-through financial distribution model for 42 clubs, and a "pyramid" structure for the game. If ratified at an SPL vote in the coming fortnight, and then by 75% of the 29 Scottish League clubs eligible to vote on the issue, the alterations will be rushed through in time for next season.
The agreement yesterday was seen by many as the "cherry-picking" of popular ideas that senior SPL sources had earlier said was impossible without attracting increased broadcasting money by splitting the two top divisions of 14 into three leagues of eight. That unpopular idea was ditched.
Topping praised the clubs for the breakthrough. "For the last few years, I have been saying that you get the league you deserve. And if you can't recognise pain at any point in business then you will come to a point where it will be too painful, and the future will look darker than it is at the moment. Today we are attempting to bring in the change that Scottish football deserves and we are also recognising that at clubs such as Dunfermline, Hearts and other clubs there is a lot of economic pain in the game, and that pain can be dealt with by the 12 most powerful men in Scottish football sitting round that SPL table today.
"With the greatest respect to [SFA president and chief executive] Campbell Ogilvie and Stewart Regan, these 12 guys make the big calls in Scottish football and nothing would happen without these 12 professional clubs deciding. To have the 12 in agreement was a massive step forward." The 12 had previously agreed on a 12-12-18 format, but on that occasion consensus fell apart as St Mirren and Ross County changed their position.
"If anybody did retreat from their position today it would be hugely embarrassing for them within the game," said Topping. "I just don't see that happening. I await with interest the reaction from the SFL. I don't think anyone can afford to be in denial anymore."
The SPL will meet again within a fortnight and yesterday's consensus must be ratified by an 11-1 majority. David Longmuir, the SFL chief executive, said his body would try to work with the SPL on a timescale, assuming his clubs agree. The SFL board will meet today and a vote could even be held at its annual meeting on May 23.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article