Budge comes out fighting...and dismisses takeover talk
ANN BUDGE last night doubled down on her threat of legal action against the SPFL if relegated Hearts start next season in the Championship.
The Tynecastle chief’s reconstruction plans for three leagues of 14 — or potentially 14-14-16 — for the next two seasons will be discussed by all 42 clubs at a crisis summit on Monday.
If accepted, her proposals would save Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer from being relegated prematurely without a full season being played, a controversial decision voted through by a majority of member clubs in April.
However, if Budge’s plans are rejected, Hearts face the prospect of dropping into a second tier where matches may not start up again until October or January.
Should her bid fail, the Hearts chair insists she would have no choice but to go to the courts, arguing the SPFL were causing a ‘restriction of trade’.
Budge said: ‘If it unfortunately becomes clear that we will be starting the season in the Championship, I don’t have any choice but to go ahead with a legal battle.
‘Even if it delays the start of the season for everybody? We have already got two QCs who have looked over the original (SPFL) decision and that is one angle.
‘If we are in the Championship and the Championship isn’t playing, then that is effectively a restriction of trade.
‘Do I want to (take legal action?) Absolutely not.
‘We could have done it straight away but I didn’t do it because it wasn’t the right thing to do without exploring other options.
‘But other clubs have admitted that we should be given financial compensation (for being relegated with eight games left) but who benefits out of that?
‘If it is clubs compensating us, then they are basically admitting that something wasn’t fair.’
Budge is adamant that she is not fighting because Hearts would not be able to financially survive a drop to the Championship or a shortened campaign in the second tier.
‘No, I’m still fighting because it is wrong,’ she countered. ‘We started out planning to make sure we could see ourselves through to late August or September, when we hoped we would be able to return to playing football then.
‘But we have revised that and now we have a business plan that takes us through to next year.
‘So it isn’t so much about (money). It’s because it is wrong and, if I have exhausted all other avenues, then I think I owe it to the supporters to say we will not take this lying down.
‘The only reason I am still talking about Hearts, Stranraer and Partick Thistle is because the initial decision was wrong and nothing has been done to fix it.
‘The reason we are in this mess — or it is as bad as it is — is the unfairness of what happened in April.’
Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen have all offered tacit support to Budge’s league reconstruction plan but other top-flight chairmen will oppose any temporary measure that condemns three or four clubs to the drop in 2022.
Sportsmail also reported this week that a number of Championship clubs have privately said there is no chance of them backing the proposals, which could see up to six of their number relegated in 2022.
Ayr United’s Lachlan Cameron this week branded Budge’s plan ‘purely a “let’s save Hearts” campaign’.
Yet, while she favours a 14-team Premiership, she is optimistically hoping the lower-league clubs can come together to agree a set-up that suits all their needs, whether that’s 14-14-14, 14-14-16 or another model.
Budge added: ‘I’ve had a couple of emails from clubs saying: “You’re not thinking about us”.
‘But my starting point was a 14-team Premiership because that addresses the unfairness of the April vote for ourselves, Partick and Stranraer, and it is also acceptable to the (television rights holders Sky Sports).
‘I have got back to everybody and we have had long chats and the thing I have tried to get through to them is that all I’m really trying to do is encourage the different groups to talk about what is possible.
‘It doesn’t need to be 14-14-14. The 14-14-14 was a starting point to kick off a more definitive discussion.
‘The teams below (the top flight) can discuss what structure should be there based on their needs.
‘I just had to get something down to get that debate going. It might turn out to be 14-14-14 or 14-10-10, or even 14-12-0 depending on how much of the season teams can sign up to and under what circumstances.
‘But we need to know all that so we can move on and try to finalise things because this is not easy for any of us and we all need to make plans.
‘What I am trying to do is get clubs to sit down and say what works for them. They now need to drive it themselves.’
Budge does not expect a vote to be taken on league reconstruction next week but hopes for a quick decision.
‘It could drift and drift and drift and I don’t want that any more than anyone else,’ she continued.
‘I am desperate for a decision here. As if there weren’t enough uncertainties about. Some people will say: “Just give up then”, but I’m not giving up because this is wrong.
‘But we are running out of time. If there is any hope at all of the Premiership playing by anything like the dates being suggested, we need to get the fixtures done.
‘I was told that we have to get that done within the next couple of weeks, but how do you do that when we don’t know who is able to play, or who can play behind closed doors and who can’t?
‘That is the issue throughout all of the divisions and we need more concrete answers on that if we are to steer things in the right direction.
‘We need to ensure everyone has access to the fullest information.’
Meanwhile, Budge says Daniel
If clubs are compensating us, then they are admitting it was unfair
Stendel has not given up on being Hearts manager next season.
Stendel is back home in Germany, having waived his salary amid the coronavirus crisis.
The former Barnsley boss is now out of contract but Budge insists he is keen to return to Edinburgh.
She said: ‘We speak once or twice a week. I spoke to Daniel on Wednesday and he is as frustrated, as I am with all this. I really feel for him.
‘He is in a very difficult situation and he is — technically — out of contract.
‘But we are still talking about the future. Daniel is telling me that he wants to be back here.
‘He feels he has started something and wasn’t given the opportunity to finish it, so he wants to come back.
‘But I do have to take a view, depending on where we are, what we can afford and when we are likely to get back playing football.
‘All that has to be considered and I do need to talk to Daniel about what it would mean if he comes back.
‘I would certainly have to talk to him about reduced budgets. But, as you know, he has been fantastic throughout this and hasn’t taken a wage since this (shutdown) happened.
‘I can’t ask for any more than that. But I can’t expect him to go on with no salary for the next six months if that is how long it is until we play again.
‘To a certain extent, it all depends on when I would need to bring him and the players back and when we think we will be playing again.
‘But it is hard to plan for that without definitive answers on those topics.’