League bosses have drawn up a controversial plan to dish out mandatory 3-0 defeats to any clubs who can’t play on through the coronavirus crisis.
Record Sport understands the emergency measure was discussed at a meeting of the SPFL board on Monday and will now be circulated to all 42 clubs as the authorities attempt to prepare for increasing fixture chaos in the face of rising Covid-19 cases.
The proposal has been tabled following the disruption that saw Kilmarnock fail to field a team for a Betfred Cup tie with Falkirk and St Mirren forced to pull the plug on Saturday’s top- flight clash with Motherwell.
And there are mounting fears of widespread call-offs over the winter months.
The SPFL has launched investigations into recent outbreaks at Kilmarnock and St Mirren to determine if all strict protocols were being adhered to behind the scenes at both clubs and could take disciplinary action if any breaches are established.
But while the board has the power to hand out 3-0 defeats for any club which cannot fulfil their fixtures in the Betfred Cup they do not have the authority to hand out similar sanctions in the league.
Clubs previously booted out a request for the board to be granted emergency powers in order to cope with potential consequences of the ongoing health crisis – despite the lockdown voting farce that brought last season to an early end.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster had asked for the extra remits in the hope of avoiding another civil war if this campaign cannot be completed.
But with transmission of the disease impacting on the fixture schedule Doncaster is set to go back to the clubs with his new crisis plan.
A Hampden source told us: “This will be described as a consultation because the board has to establish if there is an appetite for it to be put to a vote.
“It has the support of a number of clubs already but it’s obviously a sensitive issue. The main concern is the number of Covid-related postponements is highly likely to increase.”
