WHAT THEY SAID... harsh words as clubs state their positions
Dundee statement:
‘Clubs are struggling. We are all in the same boat. Similarly we have all been helped by selfless acts of compassion and thoughtfulness to keep our clubs ticking over.
‘In contrast to so much positivity and support, the language in the current proposal condemns clubs to be financially worse off than they already are. The SPFL freely admit they focused on the sporting merit of the proposal and did not take into consideration any financial fall-out to their member clubs. The current proposal will see member clubs cumulatively have in the region of £3.5-£4m of lost revenue. This loss of revenue will land at a time when clubs are coming out of the crisis and striving to get back to normality.’ Inverness CT chief executive Scot Gardiner:
‘Our position is that there was no way we would countenance a vote that would cause financial harm to another Scottish football club in the middle of this pandemic.
‘We were clear in very position since Wednesday and our position did not change. (Friday) afternoon we had a situation where Partick Thistle, ourselves and Dundee were pretty solid. We had all spoken openly and said we could not vote for this resolution.’ Rangers interim chairman Douglas Park:
‘The lack of leadership and responsibility from the SPFL has shocked me. If ever there was a time for complete openness and transparency, it is now. Crucial decisions are being made on the issues of promotion and relegation behind closed doors and without proper time for consideration or debate.
‘The farcical conduct of this seems to me to bring the corporate governance and business operations of the SPFL into sharp focus. It is an example of an undemocratic culture, which has existed within the SPFL for far too long.’ Stranraer chairman Iain Dougan:
‘It was like an episode of House of Cards with a cliffhanger at the end just to make you watch the next episode.
‘There’s no football being played but there’s certainly a lot of games being played. It was like Brexit revisited. I think the only person who wasn’t involved was Putin and the rest of the Kremlin.
‘It didn’t make us look good, that goes without saying. There’s far greater things going on in the world but football will return and we’ve got to get our house in order before it does.’ Ayr Utd chairman Lachlan Cameron:
‘I hear all this talk about sporting integrity coming from certain clubs but the bottom line will always be money. And the reality is this... although it isn’t the greatest option in the world, we’ve been given a way out of this mess.
‘If we don’t take it, multiple clubs will go to the wall.
‘I have never been in a WhatsApp group with any other SPFL clubs. I just want Dundee to clarify their position one way or another.’