Hearts and Partick Thistle are watching developments in France closely after Ligue 1 relegation was scrapped by judges.
The National Court has blocked the demotion of Amiens and Toulouse following the coronavirus curtailed campaign with top flight clubs still having 10 matches left to play.
Now French football chiefs are being forced to re-examine the Ligue 1 format for when football eventually returns.
That means a 22-team top flight could be a possibility and the French State Council has indicated the league should be adjusted in that way.
Amiens started legal action against the French league last month claiming their relegation was “unjust”.
It’s a situation similar to Hearts, Thistle and Stranraer - all of whom were relegated with at least eight games still to play in the SPFL season.
However, the main difference is that the French league body imposed the early curtailing of the 2019/20 campaign, while the SPFL allowed member clubs to vote on giving the board the power to end the Scottish season.
Hearts and Thistle in particular have told Neil Doncaster they are prepared to take legal action after they dropped out of the Premiership and Championship following the league’s season-ending resolution being voted through in April.
Hearts, who are set to lose £3million as a result of dropping out of the top flight, are hoping league reconstruction can save their Scottish Premiership skins - otherwise owner Ann Budge has threatened to go to court.
Thistle too - who were just two points off second bottom place and with a game in hand - are ready to go down the legal route.
Last week the relegation of Belgian side Waasland-Beveren was also declared to be illegal under competition law.
The East Flanders club were sent down when the country's First Division was declared early on May 15 but a meeting will now be held later this month to decide their fate.
Jambos supremo Budge is due to hear back from all 42 SPFL clubs on her reconstruction paper on Tuesday.
That document lays out a proposal for a 14-team top flight and two tiers of 14 below although that could be altered to a 14-14-16 or even a 14-14-18 under a separate plan devised by Rangers.
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