THAT WAS SHAMEFUL

CHAMPIONSHIP LATEST Yogi lashes Doncaster & Co after they order Raith to play on without recognised keeper

JOHN HUGHES accused SPFL chiefs of “making a mockery” of Scottish football after his Raith side had to start a forward in goal.

The SPFL turned down Rovers’ plea to postpone Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Ayr with all three of their regular keepers crocked.

And the decision sparked a seething response from Stark’s Park boss Yogi who said “half of them couldn’t kick the blankets off the bed”.

The ex-Inverness gaffer accused chief executive Neil Doncaster and his colleagues of double standards after Hearts had a match against his old side called off last year following a sickness bug that wiped out 16 players.

However, the SPFL have hit back arguing Rovers had plenty of options short of playing attacker Ryan Stevenson between the sticks.

Hughes said: “I remember last year when Hearts pulled out. I phoned up SPFL secretary Iain Blair and he said, ‘There’s nothing I can do’.

“He should have a right good look at himself because he has let Scottish football down. They’re just making a mockery of it.

“They need to have a right good look at themselves – I hope they’re embarrassed.

“The guys who sit and vote and put their hand up for it to go ahead, half of them couldn’t kick the blankets off the bed – never played football.

“That’s the problem – they don’t know what it’s all about. Half of them might be there on self-interest – our brand is bad enough as it is.

“They’ll try to swing it and say, ‘These are the rules’. Rubbish, they let Hearts away with it last year.”

Having used up their quota of loans Raith w e r e relying on a

SPFL rule that allows a goalie to be brought in “exceptional circumstances” after injuries to Kevin Cuthbert, Aaron Lennox and Conor Brennan left them without one for the trip to Somerset. Hughes had hoped to land Celtic’s third-choice keeper Logan Bailly but despite ex-Hoops No.2 John Collins being recruited to try to talk him round the Belgian turned down a move less than 24 hours before kick-off. Hughes said: “We thought we had one from Celtic but the boy decided he didn’t fancy coming. Celtic bent over backwards to try to help us. Even on Tuesday they were trying to help us out for the best of Scottish football. “The goalkeeper situation is diabolical to tell you the truth and it’s embarrassing for Scottish football. “No doubt they (the SPFL) will try to turn it around on Raith Rovers. They’ll all dive for cover – ‘We need to cover this up’. Neil Doncaster needs to come out with his explanation and what he’ll say is we had ample time to try to get a goalkeeper in.” The SPFL said Rovers had a “number of options open to them” once their only fit keeper was crocked.

In a statement the governing body said: “They could have brought in an Under-21 goalkeeper or an out-ofcontract goalkeeper of any age, in each case without any permission from the SPFL.

“They could also have sought permission from the SPFL board to bring in a goalkeeper of any age on an emergency basis.

“All of these options were explained to Raith who chose to do none of these things and instead requested a postponement on the day of the m a t c h .”