FLAMIN’ JUNE!

Only deluded UEFA could think we’ll be ready to play Israelis at Hampden as virus reaches peak

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell last night cast doubt on UEFA’s plan to reschedule Scotland’s European Championship play-off against Israel for June.

An emergency video conference with the 55 member associations yesterday saw European football’s powerbrokers bow to the inevitable by postponing their showpiece event for 12 months.

But as the coronavirus pandemic tightens its grip, suggestions that the delay offers a chance to complete both domestic leagues halted by the virus and hold the Euro play-offs by June 30 flies in the face of medical opinion suggesting Covid-19 will peak in the UK around the same time.

With fears growing that cash-strapped Scottish clubs could go bust unless the league is called and emergency prize payments are doled out quickly,

Sportsmail understands the SFA and SPFL joint response group could still call the league if the Westminster government issue a decree restricting or prohibiting public gatherings in all four home nations by the end of this week. Privately, Hampden insiders believe Scottish football is unlikely to make a return before August or September. There is also the issue of players’ contracts to consider, with many running out when the season was due to end in May. Yesterday, Maxwell expressed doubts over Scotland’s ability to host a sell-out qualifying semi-final against Israel in June. ‘It’s difficult to envisage a situation where we play the games in June,’ he said. ‘There are a number of countries involved in the play-off, the virus is at various stages across the world and there may be some countries that see themselves coming out of that situation a little bit quicker than others. ‘We will take advice obviously from the medical teams and liaise with UEFA. Whether we can get the games played in June will be up for debate. We would love to think so, but it’s probably unlikely at this point.’ With the game against Israel a 50,000 sell-out, the SFA faced a financial nightmare if the game was cancelled or played behind closed doors.

In a statement,