Row is so unedifying .. sooner it’s resolved the better .. but don’t expect just to switch lights on so we can all carry on where we left off before Covid-19 hit

ROD PETRIE’S VERDICT

Rod Petrie finds himself at the Scottish football helm during one of the most challenging periods in its history.

The SFA president is at the forefront of our game’s plans to tackle the effects of Covid-19, ensure our clubs survive and find a way to restart with limited damage.

Petrie sat down with MailSport – from the comfort of his own home – to discuss the SPFL in-fighting, a climax to the Scottish Cup and the game’s future in this country post coronavirus.

He answers the questions fans want asked and offers hope that we will eventually see a return to football as we know it. Here’s the Q& A from Petrie’s in-depth interview: Q

There’s been a lot of noise surrounding Scottish football and the SPFL. Is there a reason why the SFA have stayed out of that, rather than stepping into a row between clubs and the league? A

What we are witnessing can probably best be described as unedifying and the sooner it’s resolved, the better for our game.

It’s not appropriate for the SFA to intervene. But it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that there might still be a dispute at the end of the process and the SFA is the final arbiter.

So if there’s something brought to us to resolve, we’ll have a role. It would be wrong to express a view prior to the matter coming to conclusion. Q

Has the whole episode been bad for Scottish football’s image, especially given everything that’s happening in the world right now? It doesn’t look good, does it? A

It’s unedifying. It’s not helpful to the game or to its image. These are important matters that the SPFL and clubs need to resolve – and they will.

It’s important the SFA tries to focus attention on matters which are equally or more important in terms of how we restart the game – but only when it’s safe to do so. I’m grateful to everybody who has played a part in that so far. Q There has been government talk of no mass gatherings for up to a year. Given how reliant Scottish football is on gate money, is that a real concern? A

In Scotland the balance between prize money – in effect the broadcast money from the SPFL – and gate receipts is much more heavily weighted in favour of gate money, so football as we know it needs to be played in front of a live audience.

In England TV revenue is key so you can understand that they might be prepared to look at games behind closed doors as a televised event.

We need to look at how we get supporters safely back into a stadium. What is the medical environment in which we can do that?

Two-metre safe distancing is cheap and easy to do but if you compromise that by trying to get people together, you have to look at physical protection. That costs money.

How do you get a fan safely into the stadium? If the supporter behind you coughs in his hand then touches a turnstile that you touch too, it’s a potential transmission point. How do you avoid that happening?

How do you get people into a concourse, with access to kiosks? How many supporters can you get into a stadium and maintain safe distancing?

What are the economics of it? Is it worthwhile spending the money to do it given the gate receipts and TV money here?

Those are all the things our working groups will look at. A financial assessment will have to be made to see whether it’s viable to do it.

The measures we are taking are to save lives but we also need to make sure we save our clubs and they start playing football again when it’s feasible to do so. We need to make sure when they start to incur costs and bring people back potentially to play games, that there is enough revenue to support that. Q

Are you worried that we might lose clubs before we start playing again? A

Our ambition and objective is to ensure we get all clubs through the pandemic. That’s why it was important to start releasing money to clubs.

In a few days the SFA made an advance payment to clubs, money that would have gone to them later in the year. The SPFL got to a point where prize money was distributed in the lower leagues too.

A decision on the Premiership hasn’t been made yet but when we get back playing there will be money from the next TV deal.

Clubs have been sensible in limiting their outgoings and we must try to help them get through this. Q

How keen are you – and how hopeful are you – of finishing this season’s Scottish Cup? A

We’re very hopeful. The Scottish Cup needs to be played to completion, two semi-finals and a final. But we don’t feel a pressure of time as to when it will happen.

It will be in line with medical advice, social distancing and any other restrictions that are in place.

But it’s the commitment of the SFA to play out our showpiece competition.

We have no cut-off point, the ambition is to play it.

It’s important when we get to that point, that we get supporters into Hampden Park for those three games. Q Could you potentially move the semi-final between Hibs and Hearts to Murrayfield? A

We need to be open-minded enough to look at all considerations.

It may be that the risk of 50,000 people travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow is outweighed by other measures but equally we need to do it in a manner that is fundamentally safe, creates a spectacle and provides some income for the participating clubs. Q Could we start the new season with those Scottish Cup ties, almost as a curtain raiser to the new campaign? A

That’s a great suggestion but I don’t think it’s practical. We need to start up in a manner that doesn’t put undue pressure on people.

Playing a cup competition before domestic football resumes isn’t ideal. Teams want to give a good account of themselves, they’ll want to be at their competitive best when they play those games. There’s no pressure of time

to play it out. We can make whatever adjustments we need to make to the SFA regulations to get it played.

It’s better to have it much later when we’re able to get a significant amount of supporters into the stadium to watch it.

A great football idea has to be tempered by the practicalities, the logistics and the restrictions.

It’s going to take a while before we can get everybody to these semi-finals and final. But it’s good to have that as an encouragement, that we will see our most prestigious competition in Scotland played out to finality. Q

So you’d rule out playing them behind closed doors? A

Having supporters there is the only thing that makes them meaningful. We could do it behind closed doors but having fans there adds to the colour.

It’s a day out to look forward to, something that’s important to the idea of football.

I’d rather wait until a point where we can get supporters into the stadium and give them a day that they were expecting, as opposed to rushing to play them early. Q

How is the SFA coping financially after losing four big games – the Scottish Cup ties and the Euro 2020 play-off semi against Israel? We’re like any other business, we have to look at our own position and we regrettably had to furlough some staff, as well as asking those working from home to take a pay cut. We’re very grateful to everybody in the SFA for doing that and making a contribution to the game.

Yes, we’ve lost revenue but those games will be played at some point. There was no point in playing the Israel game until it’s safe to do so with spectators inside Hampden.

The Euro 2020 tournament isn’t happening for many months so if the play-offs happen in the run-up to the start of it, that would be logical. There’s no pressure to play that fixture. Why not take the time because we want to give a good account of ourselves and have the strongest possible Scotland team?

That means playing domestic football to the best of the players’ capabilities and then playing well for the national team to make sure that we qualify.

Ultimately, it’ll be UEFA’s decision when the games are played and we’ll respect whatever decision they come to. But I don’t see any airlines opening up any time soon to allow mass travel. Q Football can be seen as a force for good and a return would help the national mood. But with the health issues involved do you have to be careful striking a balance? A

Yes, it’s very delicate. You can’t expect to just switch on the lights and pick up from where we left

We want to ensure we get all clubs through the pandemic

off. Players have had a significant period with very little in terms of conditioning so we’ve got a whole lead-up in terms of how to put ourselves in a position to play games again.

We need to see restrictions being relaxed by the government when it’s safe to do so. Then together we need to make arrangements that are fundamentally safe which give us an opportunity to get back.

I don’t think football will be treated as a special case.

We understand the joy, the impact, the entertainment and the engagement that playing games provides for supporters in this country.

We understand the importance of what clubs do within their communities. Football can be a great ambassador for a healthy lifestyle, so it would be good for it to be up and running again as we remember it.

But we have to be realistic. The way we remember it won’t happen any time soon. But that can be our aim, to identify stepping stones we need to hit to get there.