Falkirk want urgent change after ‘baffling’ lower-league shutdown
Falkirk chairman Gary Deans says he and his club are ready to lead the charge for ‘urgent change’ in the national game.
The decision to shutdown Scottish football – outside the top two tiers – along part-time and full-time lines has left the Bairns and fellow full-time colleagues in League One Par tick Thistle out of action until at least February, and both sent stinging state - ment sin response to the Scottish Football Association’ s decision earlier this week.
Deans and Falkirk, who were vociferous in their calls for reform in the early stages of the national game’s first shutdown, have hammered the ‘unfairness, in consistency, and double standards on display’ from the decision which he says adds to a ‘disproportionate’ allocation of Scottish Government funding.
Following on from si milar calls he made last year for reform in the game, he has called for change in Scottish football, and quickly.
At yesterday’ s scheduled quarterly conference for all 42 SPFL clubs and officials from the SF A and league, questions were raised over the call-off but the Falkirk chairman said: “Unfortunately that meeting did not provide any clearer understanding of the justification for the decision.”
His statement went on: “Our staff have worked incredibly hard to ensure we comply with the varied and numerous pandemic directives and protocols from Scottish Government, the SF A and the SPFL. Quite frankly, our staff and supporters deserve greater respect from Scottish football’ s decision makers who threaten their livelihoods and our club with decisions which we believe are ill-thought through and poorly communicated.
“We all recognise the wideranging and serious impact that the pandemic has had on every aspect of society and of course we commend and support the efforts of the Scottish Government to safeguard life and to protect the NHS.
“Football has been granted unique concessions which reflect its importance to our national consciousness and we are all aware of recent failures which have brought these concessions into focus.
“Unfortunately, only some clubs (namely those in League One and Two and those outside the SPFL) have been made to carry the can for those failings, whilst those in the upper reaches of the league pyramid have been allowed to continue on top of having been rewarded disproportionately with Scottish Government funding .”
Falkirk fought for league reconstruction having been a point behind League One leaders Raith Rovers, with a vastly superior goal difference, at the point of shutdown last March – a call which was ultimately unsuccessful and now leaves the Bairns out of action for the foreseeable future.
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell admitted earlier this week he did not know when football would return for the lower leagues.
Deans added :“Some decisions, such as those to stop us playing and training while allowing other part-time clubs to continue are baffling.
"We have called for change and we are ready to play a leading role in the much-needed reform that our national game requires. Change is required and ur gently .”