Gerrard: I’m not one who thinks merging seasons is good idea
Budge vows to take legal action should current standings be taken as final Doncaster: Most challenging Maxwell: Focus remains health
RANGERS manager Steven Gerrard has warned against “merging seasons” when football resumes after the coronavirus outbreak.
Football authorities in Scotland and across the world face difficult decisions over how to close off current campaigns and schedule the subsequent season, with international competitions adding to the complexities.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has called for current placings to be recognised if the Scottish league season cannot be completed. But at least one other top-flight club will push for the campaign to be declared null and void in that scenario, a move that could lead to major financial complications – with broadcasters, for example.
Hearts are reported to be considering legal action if they are consigned to relegation with eight games remaining, while other clubs would also hold grievances.
Gerrard believes patience needs to be shown with football playing second fiddle to the health and financial implications of the pandemic.
“Players’ welfare is paramount right now,” he told Rangers TV when asked how he can plan for a long delay. “We are doing everything we can from a medical point of view, putting all the right precautions in place.
“I am in regular contact with the board and the club on a daily basis to see what happens, but I think we have to trust the authorities to try and find the right solutions.
“I’m not one who thinks we should be merging seasons and this type of stuff because that has different types of problems for the players, playing too much football in a short space of time. I think we have got to be patient. Football is secondary right now.
“What we have to do is just do everything we can at the training ground and the club to protect the players so they don’t contract the virus, because then it has a lot more complications.”
When asked how football solves the problem, Gerrard said: “To be honest I don’t have the answers but what I would say is football is about supporters. The reason I joined Rangers was to coach in front of the wonderful support we have got.
“I know all the players feel the same way. I don’t think the right thing to do is all of a sudden play all the games behind closed doors. I don’t think that’s fair at all.
“So we have to wait, we have to be patient, and let’s hope at some point there is a solution.”
The 39-year-old added: “It’s very much a time where football has to become secondary. People’s lives are at risk, people’s businesses are at risk. There are many more important things, much more important, than football right now. But of course it’s having a huge impact not just for us at Rangers, but every club around the world.
“But for me it’s very much a time where we all need to stick together, think about our own families first and foremost, and certainly put football second.
“We have to be patient. This is a virus that is spreading very, very quickly around the world. I think we have a duty of care first and foremost for our own families and then our own people at Rangers and our supporters, and obviously wider society as well. It’s very much just do everything you can to take precautionary measures to help the virus not spreading quicker than it is.”
HEARTS owner Ann Budge has confirmed that the club will take legal action should the SPFL deem that the current standings be declared as final.
Scottish football is facing having all four divisions’ seasons curtailed due to the spread of coronavirus after football was suspended indefinitely by the Scottish FA and SPFL Joint Response Group last Friday.
And with Hearts four points adrift of Hamilton at the bottom of the Premiership with eight games left, the Gorgie side could be relegated by the football authorities if it is decided the remaining games cannot be fulfilled. However, Budge has made it clear that that the Edinburgh club would take action though the courts.
Asked by Sky Sports whether she would launch legal proceedings if Hearts were relegated, Budge replied: “Yes, I would have to because I fundamentally disagree with it.
“It depends on how you read the rules, and I don’t read the rules that way. I’ve already made my position known – in a non-confrontational manner I’d like to say – but I have put my arguments over. Because there are so many options it’s difficult to sit here and say: ‘Well I would do this, I would do that’.
“I am not of a view that it’s a reasonable thing to do, nor can I see who would benefit. How does that help anybody?
“In a situation where we’re all confronting issues that nobody ever imagined we’d have to confront, who benefits? I just can’t get my head around it.”
Although Budge would prefer a scenario that would see the season being completed, the Hearts majority shareholders insists clubs cannot be expected to agree that the current placings are deemed final.
She added: “It is was at all possible to finish the season, that’s the easier, most sensible things to do.
“I’d love to be able to finish the season but if we can’t then I think we need to be pragmatic about it and take a view on premature ending.
“I think if the season was deemed to be ended then you have to go back to the rules and the rules very, very clearly state that the competition comprises 38 games. I don’t think it’s as simple as somebody can say ‘Let’s just deem everything to be as it is and take it from there’. I don’t think that’s reasonable.”
NEIL Doncaster, the SPFL chief executive, has described the coronavirus crisis as “arguably the most challenging” period in Scottish football history and pledged that future decisions will be made “in the very best interests of the game as a whole”.
The prospect of Celtic being declared Premiership champions and Hearts being relegated based on their league placings on Friday – when the SFA/ SPFL Joint Response Group took the decision to suspend professional and grassroots football indefinitely – has angered many clubs and fans.
Stewart Robertson, the Rangers managing director, yesterday issued a statement warning that finishing a season with a “significant number of games to play” would “impact upon the integrity of sport in Scotland”. The joint response group provided an update on the ongoing crisis yesterday and revealed that decisions on the Scottish Cup semi-finals next month and Scotland’s Euro 2020 playoff semi-final against Israel at Hampden next week would be made following the UEFA conference call today.
The statement read: “The joint response group is engaged in a contingency planning phase that will assess all possible options for the remaining season and beyond. It would be inappropriate and unhelpful to speculate on any future decisions to be taken by competition organisers.
“We will, however, commit to updating clubs, supporters and other key stakeholders when appropriate in this fast-moving landscape.”
The statement continued: “The preference remains that season 2019/20 will be played to completion. However, Scottish football has been suspended until further notice and the joint response group will continue to discuss the developments regarding the virus on a daily basis.
“A UEFA conference call will take place tomorrow. A decision on the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-finals and UEFA Nations League play-off against Israel will be made by the Scottish FA board after that conference call.”
Doncaster said: “The significant challenges being faced by people all over the country have put sport firmly in perspective. However, we have a responsibility to deal with the many difficult issues caused by this outbreak and are working hard with the Scottish FA, with our clubs, and with government departments to arrive at the best possible outcome for our game.
“We are very conscious of the