Cash strapped Premiership clubs have been scrambling to unlock more than £7million worth of emergency prize money from the SPFL over the past 48 hours - after Hearts made no attempt to put a legal freeze on the payments.
Record Sport understands the top 12 have been firing invoices to Hampden’s sixth floor ever since the decision to officially end the current season was rubber-stamped by the board on Monday morning as part of raft of coronavirus crisis measures
And as of Tuesday night most of them had already had the much needed cash drop into their accounts, despite suggestions that the relegated Tynecastle club could order lawyers to ask for an interdict which could have prevented the payments from being made.
Hearts owner Ann Budge has chosen not to go down that route - with her club in line for a share of just under £100,000 from the prize pot.
Budge is still drafting a proposal for reconstruction which she hopes will save her club from dropping into the Championship. But her plan has not yet been submitted as a resolution to be put to the vote.
At the other end of the table champions Celtic will collect a final payment worth more than £2m with runners up Rangers in line for a payment worth more than £1m.
One club source said: “There was a concern among some of the clubs that, when Hearts talked about going down a legal route, they might attempt to put a freeze on this money and that would have had incredibly serious consequences for a number of top flight clubs.
“But it seems across the board the invoices have gone in and the money is being paid out.
“Hopefully, this is a sign that the civil war in Scottish football might be coming to an end and all clubs can now pull together to safeguard the future of the professional game in this country because there is so much hard work and serious talking still to be done just to get next season up and running.”
