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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Gabriel McKay

Alex Dyer slams SPFL for Kilmarnock punishment as inquiry branded 'a joke' by raging manager

Fuming Alex Dyer says the SPFL have failed in their duty of care to clubs after hitting Kilmarnock with a forfeit and a huge suspended fine.

A coronavirus outbreak in October saw a game against Motherwell at Rugby Park postponed after the hosts were unable to field a team.

The governing body opened an investigation and on Thursday, fully two months later, handed down their verdict.

The SPFL found that Killie had failed to ensure adequate social distancing on the team bus, as well as allowing players to sit too close together for a pre-match meal.

That was punished by a 3-0 victory for Motherwell and a £40,000 fine suspended until the end of the season.

The fine will not be levied as long as there are no further breaches but would represent 0.6 per cent of Killie's 2018-19 revenue - the equivalent of a £421k fine for Celtic.

And speaking after a controversial penalty saw his side lose to Hamilton, Dyer came out swinging.

He said: "It has not been a good week for the club. The officials have decided to give the opposition three points. It doesn't make sense to me when we are going through what we are going through. The whole world is going through a pandemic and the league has decided to come out at us a little bit when they should be protecting us.

(SNS Group)

"The club spent a lot of money putting in the right measurements and we have been slapped round the face this week. Down south big games were called off and all they say is they hope everyone gets well and we will rearrange the game. Everything is a drama."

Dyer was dismayed by the governing body's decision after claiming Kilmarnock attempted to follow all protocols amid difficult circumstances.

Dyer said: "We have tried our best. First it was one metre then it was two metres. A lot of things have happened behind the scenes but this inquiry has been a joke. It should never have happened in the first place.

"They are supposed to look after us and protect us and now they want to punish us.

Covid signage at Kilmarnock's Rugby Park (SNS Group)

"We don't need to go down that route. People have lost jobs and lives. It is nothing to that. But we are trying to go in the right direction and do the right things. People sit up on their high chair and they give out punishments and no one comes back to them. It is easy for them."

In Saturday's match, Hamilton claimed a vital three points to climb off the bottom of the table thanks to Ross Callachan's second-half penalty after Clevid Dikamona was sent off.

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