FIXTUREFARCE
SPFL chief Blair warns of postponements to come amid pandemic... and is just praying they don’t involve the Old Firm
SPFL secretary Iain Blair is proud of the fact that, in his two decades working on the administrative side of the national game, only twice has he encountered insuperable fixture pile-ups. And, on each occasion, it was only one club which was involved.
In the wake of Kilmarnock’s postponed game against Motherwell on Friday, Blair claims that the Covid-19 pandemic will see a record number of games called off this season and even more clubs being forced to cram matches into short periods of time.
The Rugby Park affair, which could see the Ayrshire club handed a points penalty if they are adjudged not to have followed the ruling body’s health and safety protocol after six players tested positive for the virus, is merely the latest fixture to fall foul of the virus. But it will not be the last.
Some supporters have already taken to social media, claiming that the Old Firm clubs would not be similarly punished, but Blair insists that is far from the truth — although he admits that Celtic or Rangers being forced to cancel games for health reasons would represent the SPFL’s worst nightmare.
‘They’d be treated the same way,’ he said. ‘However, we’re hoping that doesn’t happen, now that they’ve both qualified for the group stage of the Europa League again.
‘That’s a minimum of six extra midweek matches for them. It would be a real challenge for us if either one of them suffered any postponements because there are so few dates available in which we can reschedule games.
‘In my 20 years with the SPL and the SPFL, we’ve only twice had to ask a club to play four games in eight days. Back in 2001, Dunfermline were in seventh place going into the split and we had to ensure that they completed their first 33 fixtures because we couldn’t proceed with the rest of the campaign until we knew which teams were in the top six and which ones were in the bottom half.
‘Then, seven years later, Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final, the League Cup final and, after a few replays, the Scottish Cup final as well, so they also had to cram the matches in.
‘It hasn’t happened since then. However, I can guarantee right now that we’ll have to force clubs to play four in eight days more than twice this season. More postponements will be coming as a result of this pandemic.’
Blair (right) disclosed that the SPFL investigation into how the Kilmarnock six became infected began as soon as their attention was drawn to the players’ plight.
‘Our lawyer, Rod McKenzie, got that under way on Friday once we heard about that outcome,’ he revealed.‘What’s different from this case and the previous instances at St Mirren and Aberdeen is that the protocols we have put in place for the clubs should mean that there is no transmission.
‘Those structures have worked well up until now, so we need to understand this situation better and discover why it didn’t work. ‘The first three players tested positive and then had those results confirmed by the NHS. The second three players are still to receive their NHS verdicts.
‘If Kilmarnock’s players haven’t followed the safety guidelines, then the club will face a disciplinary process. Motherwell could be awarded the points, which is why we haven’t rescheduled the game yet.
‘That investigation may not be completed by the time the SPFL board meets the club on Monday to discover whether or not they can fulfil the Betfred Cup ties against Falkirk on
Tuesday and Dunfermline the following week.
‘We know that 27 players have been told to self-isolate for two weeks. That leaves them with just 13/14 youth-team players who hadn’t been tested on Friday.
‘If they intend to use them to play the ties, then they’ll need to have those test results.’
Billy Brown, the chairman of the Scottish League Managers’ Association, believes Kilmarnock should put their faith in youth rather than forfeit the ties.
‘As a manager, I would want to play the games and I’m sure Alex Dyer feels the same way,’ he said. ‘They’ll be out of the competition if they forfeit because they’d only have one group game left.
‘They should play the kids. There won’t be any pressure due to the circumstances, plus it will be good experience for them and you just never know what could happen.
‘Managers are the ones who are always left to pick up the pieces but we can’t keep postponing games because this scenario will happen again.’
Meanwhile, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster warned that the prospects of Europa League representatives Celtic and Rangers progressing on the continent will be hampered if First Minister Nicola Sturgeon continues to refuse to allow supporters inside Scottish stadia.
UEFA have already declared their willingness to allow participating clubs to use 30 per cent of their capacity during the group stage games (without visiting fans) pending local government approval and he argues that the Glasgow giants will be significantly handicapped if they are still compelled to play behind closed doors.
He said: ‘Celtic and Rangers will be at a competitive disadvantage if they’re not allowed to have fans (inside Parkhead and Ibrox). That can’t be right and we’ve got to do whatever we can to back our clubs and the national team in what could be a historic few weeks.’