Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

Neil Doncaster rails against Nicola Sturgeon snub as SPFL chief insists calls for help have been ignored

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster insists the Scottish Government has not responded to a letter requesting support for professional football clubs.

The Joint Response Group between the league body and the SFA contacted Nicola Sturgeon's administration in the wake of an announcement in England that declared grounds in Tiers One and Two open to 4000 and 2000 fans respectively after this weekend.

In Scotland, only Highland clubs are able to admit fans - and crowds are being capped at 300.

Doncaster insists that's not sufficient to keep the game going without some form of bailout package as seen in other devolved administrations in the UK.

Asked if he'd received a response to his renewed requests for Scottish Government support, Doncaster told BBC Sportsound: "No response at all.

"Clearly, the story has been given a boost this week with the news that in England there will be 4000 fans in some stadia, 2000 fans in many stadia.

"I think we'll see more than 30 EFL grounds next week with 2000 fans in them, and we're simply at 300 fans for Ross County, Inverness, and Elgin City.

"We're all in the UK and we are extremely conscious of the fact that in Scotland, unlike in England where they have a number of other revenues, it really is about fan income.

"60 per cent of all income coming into the game is generated by fans, that's the highest proportion of anywhere in Europe. So we're totally dependent on fans coming back in, or in the absence of fans, funding from the Government.

"And unlike other countries where they've received direct funding from their Governments, we haven't.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon opened her party conference. (Andy Buchanan)

"You've got £300m has been given to English sport from the UK Government, the Northern Irish executive recently provided £25m to Northern Irish Sport, Welsh clubs have received direct government funding, and our clubs have received absolutely nothing.

"Again, we haven't had a response to the letter, which is disappointing. We are keen to engage, we believe football can be not a problem, but actually part of the solution."

First Minister Sturgeon responded earlier this week: "However much Neil Doncaster, for reasons I understand, is only looking at football, we can't see any sector or any part of society in isolation because there is only so much we can do overall to keep the virus under control."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.