St Mirren chief Tony Fitzpatrick has blasted back at Maurice Ross' comments on the Buddies' Covid-19 woes.
He's accused the Motherwell coach of suggesting Saints took advantage of SPFL coronavirus rules to have their Saturday clash called off.
St Mirren were scheduled to take on Well at the weekend but positive Covid tests within their camp led to the match being postponed.
Former Rangers defender Ross, appearing on BBC Sportsound, later insisted teams should forfeit the points if they're unable to fulfil fixtures, claiming the current rules allow clubs to be "opportunistic".
But a stunned Fitzpatrick has hit back in a strongly-worded letter to Fir Park bosses.
He wrote: "I am writing to express my disappointment at the comments of Maurice Ross on the above podcast following the postponement of the fixture between our respective clubs on Saturday 17 October.
"In particular I deprecate any suggestion that we or any other football club would take advantage of this pandemic for personal gain.
"Any notion that we have been “opportunistic” in seeking to discharge our public health responsibilities is a fallacy.
"I cannot fathom why Mr Ross would seek to publicly call into question the integrity of a fellow SPFL member club for adhering to the agreed protocols which are in place to protect players, officials and clubs.
"As we, and all football clubs in Scotland, try to navigate our way through these difficult times the comments of Mr Ross are both unfortunate and unhelpful.
"With respect I would suggest Mr Ross might want to reflect on the comments which he broadcast to the nation and I am sure he will support your fellow clubs in being hyper vigilant as we work together to tackle this virus.
"I would be grateful if he could avoid such derisory language in future."
Ross, appearing on BBC Sportsound on October 17, stressed he was not levelling any accusation at Saints over the matter.
He said: “There needs to be a rule change in the league so if you can’t fulfil a fixture then it’s, ‘Tough, three points’.
“I’m not saying that St Mirren were doing this but people can be opportunistic with how this goes.
“Hypothetically at Motherwell if we got two injuries before we play Celtic we can say that the kitman’s wife has Covid and we need to self-isolate till all our good players are back.
“I think the rules can allow for it.”
