The proposed Atlantic League won't happen without Celtic, because the Parkhead side's brand is too important to the competition.
That's according to Shelbourne chairman Andrew Doyle, who proposed the idea last year, but was told no by Dermot Desmond.
Doyle wanted Celtic to join Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibs and Hearts and a number of other clubs in Northern Europe to form a new breakaway league.
His company SAL Sports Capital were prepared to finance the project with £350million of broadcast rights set to be available if it went ahead.
The idea has come back to the fore after a the controversial new European Super League was announced in the dead of night on Sunday.
But Doyle is adamant the plans differed from the ESL in that promotion from and relegation to domestic leagues would be built in to the set-up, with solidarity payments also made to the remaining Scottish clubs.
However, he has confessed that without the backing of Celtic there is no future for the proposition.
Doyle said: “The first thing to say about that project is it was designed to improve competitive balance, rather than this current proposal, which is designed to create a closed Super League.
“The position on it is that Celtic have decided not to participate in the proposal.
“As a consequence, Celtic being a significant brand, it’s on pause or dead, because of Dermot Desmond or Celtic’s opinion of it.
“I think it’s obvious that bigger clubs should play at an appropriate level of competition and what we were trying to do with that proposal was simply trying to create another layer in the pyramid.
“So, Scottish football, and Irish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish football, would benefit because they would be playing at a higher level of competition, but nevertheless remaining in their own countries.
“The players would play for their own clubs at a higher level of competition with completely open access from the SPFL to this league.
“So, explicitly, the SPFL becomes more competitive because it’s no longer a league that only two clubs can win.
“Then this higher tier in the pyramid creates new, additional financial value, which can then be poured into the Scottish game through solidarity payments.
“I am a believer in tradition, but over time things have to change because, with the greatest respect, Celtic probably belong in a different league to one or two of the clubs at the lower end of the Premiership.”
Doyle emailed clubs in November to let them know that ‘Celtic were not interested in pursuing the project any further, preferring the status quo or the concept of a British isles league’.
Speaking to the BBC, Doyle has added: “It was all about helping Scottish football and Irish football and so forth but, without a brand like Celtic, we can’t really progress that proposition.”
