If may be an unedifying to sight to those whose concerns are about the greater good as a global pandemic takes its firm grip, but UEFA’s lack of leadership and direction on Tuesday afternoon ensured that the squabbling will be a perennial in Scottish shores for the foreseeable.
Certainly when it comes to the football side of things.
Ultimately, playing out the remainder of the campaign before the end of June would be the most welcome way to conclude the current season, even if that were only in league form. The problem is that right now that notion looks entirely fanciful given the alacrity with which we have found ourselves in the grip of a pernicious global health crisis.
At one stage it might have seemed ambitious to play out games before the end of June but with schools shutting down and some form of lockdown on the way as scientists and government try to flatten the curve, it now seems an utterly impossible ask to factor in a way to play out the decisive remaining fixtures in the domestic leagues.
The coronavirus is months away from reaching its peak here. It will be months again before there is anything remotely like reality as we know it as we recover from its impact.
And whatever conclusion there is about how best to proceed with football will ensure a vinegar response from certain factions. There is no way of coming up with a solution to decide promotion, relegation, champions and titles that will be universally appreciated.
Bickering over who is awarded what in terms of silverware will look fairly crass to a wider audience if the virus is as insidious as it has been on other parts of Europe.
But if the past week has witnessed all sorts of self-interested raise their heads above the parapet, then one had to applaud Nairn’s statement in the wake of the current debilitating health crisis.
Recognising its role as part of the community, the statement from the club will now look to sustain its members who invested in the club when needed.
The grim reality, though, is that others will not be quite so fortunate, even with yesterday’s emergency cash feed. Hearts have already asked for all full-time employees to take a 50% pay cut – and that’s before the potential of five months without football bites.
This week UEFA needed to not just come out with big decisions and the kind of leadership that could be filtered down to its 55 member associations in terms of how it faces these unprecedented challenges, it also had to be digging through its pockets.
There is enough money in there for the governing body to be bailing out clubs – the majority of whom are either uninsured or whose policy will not cover what is currently been witnessed – rather than standing back and twisting their hands as clubs perish. Which they will without the oxygen of cash coming in.
UEFA’s working group might have time to stand and stare as they consider their recommendations but for clubs living hand-to-mouth, that is hardly an assurance. Hard cash is needed to ensure that people associated with clubs – and that isn’t just players and coaches – are paid.
If the situation we are all living through feels like something from a dystopian Hollywood blockbuster, it is not going to get any better soon. Now is the time for some front line leadership to come up with recommendations that can stave off clubs going to the wall.
That is about the only thing that is currently controllable.
In a period of desperate uncertainty what does seem likely in the next few weeks is a black period that has nothing to do with football. Sport is not a separate entity from society but rather woven into its very fabric. Football will not be untouched by a virus that is inevitably going to claim its victims.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel