Edinburgh City confirm they voted ‘no’ and call for reconstruction
Edinburgh City are calling for league reconstruction in Scotland after revealing that they voted against the Scottish Professional Football League’s resolution to end the 2019-20 football season early.
The capital club, who currently sit second in League 2 and harbour ambitions of promotion, were one of four clubs in League 1 and League 2 to decline the chance to terminate the campaign due to the coronavirus crisis. Under the proposals, City would miss out on the title to Cove Rangers and would be denied the chance to compete in the League 1 play-offs.
Although the resolution has yet to be passed due to Dundee’s pending vote, City have set out their stall for league reconstruction, arguing that promoting clubs and not relegating others is the fairest way to deal with the unique situation Scottish football is facing right now.
City also voiced disapproval of the suspension of Scotland’s pyramid play-offs – the route by which the club entered the
SPFL – and questioned why prize money could not be paid out “immediately”.
“Edinburgh City Football club would like to confirm that we voted against last week’s SPFL resolution,” a statement on the club’s website read. “We did so on the basis that we do not believe any clubs should suffer financially for the current situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Without the full league programme being completed, we felt that teams being denied the opportunity of promotion or facing relegation would not be in line with the philosophy of ‘sporting integrity’.
“Additionally, we were opposed to the suspension of the pyramid system.
“We strongly advocate league reconstruction featuring an increased Premiership with promotion from each division, including the winners of the Highland and Lowland leagues joining the SPFL.
“This would be a solution which creates only winners and no losers.
“It is also our view that there is no clear reason why prize money – or at least a large percentage of it – could not be paid out immediately given these exceptional circumstances.”