Queen of the South claim SPL 'has failed its clubs and Scottish football’

Queen of the South say they believed the positives that could be achieved with a "yes" vote were worth pursuing.SNS Group

Queen of the South have attacked Scottish football’s governing bodies over their handling of which league a Rangers newco will play in this season.

In a statement explaining why they votes yes to Charles Green’s new company playing in the First Division, the Second Division side accused senior members of the SFA and SPL of "focusing on and exaggerating the possible 'Armageddon' rather than rallying and actively trying to find solutions" to the issue.

The Palmerston side said they feared that the opportunity of introducing league reconstruction would be lost, claiming “the message from the governing bodies was that, even with a 'no' vote, they would continue to pursue the newco Rangers playing in one of the top two tiers next season”.

Dundee United and Hearts have moved to quash speculation that discussions over an SPL2 could be held during Monday’s SPL AGM.

Queen of the South have called on the three bodies running the game to introduce "badly needed" reconstruction measures such as play-offs between the top tier and First Division.

In a statement on their official website, the club said: “Scottish football is badly in need of reconstruction.

“The SPL has failed. It has failed as an organisation to attract the level of sponsorship, TV deals etc, that were the very reason for its creation. It has failed its clubs and Scottish football as a whole, not least in its handling of this situation.

“Three governing bodies are too many and Scottish football should be reorganised under one governing body that can represent and be responsible for all of the clubs.

“The real risk, therefore, was that we would end up with Rangers newco not in Division Three anyway but with none of the benefits of league reconstruction or additional revenue for the SFL: the vote, in effect, becoming 'Newco in Division One with benefits' v 'Newco in top two tiers with no benefits'.

“We felt that if there was any chance of getting league reconstruction, and the other overall benefits to the game, that we had to vote 'yes'.

“These changes are long overdue and we urge the governing bodies to continue working towards these proposals, even on the back of the 'no' vote. The fact is these proposals should have been proposed and considered separately from the Rangers issue in the first place.”

Governing bodies

In recent days the pressure has increased on SFA chief executive Stewart Regan and his SPL counterpart Neil Doncaster.

Regan has spoken of a "slow, lingering death" for Scottish football should a newco play in the bottom tier of the game.

While praising the role of SFL chief executive David Longmuir, the Dumfries-based side criticised both Regan and Doncaster for their conduct.

They said: “We have been incredibly disappointed and angry at the actions and leadership of the senior members of the SFA and SPL throughout this whole saga. There have been statements, both public and private, that have amounted to little more than threats.

“The dialogue has been negative, focusing on and exaggerating the possible 'armageddon' rather than rallying and actively trying to find solutions that all clubs and, more importantly, supporters would feel comfortable supporting.

“Instead we were presented with a set of proposals that no-one was happy with. More importantly, the message from the governing bodies was that, even with a 'no' vote, they would continue to pursue the newco Rangers playing in one of the top two tiers next season.”

Read the Queen of the South statement in full

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