Scottish Football League: Ten clubs consider breakaway

By Jim SpenceBBC Scotland

Last updated on .From the section Footballcomments504

SFL. SFA and SPL logos

Ten clubs are ready to quit the Scottish Football League in time for next season, BBC Scotland has learned.

A letter signed by the 10 clubs has been sent to the Scottish Premier League asking them to consider forming a new second tier.

The move comes against the backdrop of protracted talks on root-and-branch reform of the Scottish game.

The clubs are understood to have taken legal advice about quitting the SFL without the required two years' notice.

The letter will stress that their preference for league restructuring is through dialogue with all 42 senior clubs but that, if that cannot be achieved, the SPL should set up a second division.

Rangers are not among the clubs involved in the possible rupture.

For any breakaway to succeed, SPL clubs would need to approve the plan with an 11-1 majority required.

Chairman Les Gray confirmed that Hamilton Accies were one of the clubs involved and expressed disappointment that news of the letter had been made public.

"We've given an alternative," he told BBC Scotland. "It's the last chance to do something for next season.

"We need to do something to create extra wealth for the second tier."

Asked why the 10 clubs did not discuss their intentions with SFL chief executive David Longmuir, Gray added: "We're very disappointed with our board.

"I'm worried that if we didn't do something ourselves it couldn't be fixed."

Plans for a new three-tier set-up with two leagues of 12 and a division of 18 above a pyramid structure and a new governing body did not get past a vote from the top flight clubs, with St Mirren and Ross County opposed to the model.

SPL clubs gathered again on Monday to explore the possibility of adopting some elements of the blueprint but, again, no consensus was reached.

The top flight teams are to meet next Tuesday to discuss the possible introduction of play-offs for next season but they will now have this letter to mull over.

County and St Mirren have previously voiced opposition to any SPL2, saying that a compromise had to be reached involving all of Scotland's professional clubs.

A statement from the SPL read: "We can confirm that we have received a letter from the overwhelming majority of those clubs which would be in the SFL Division 1 next season expressing a desire to be admitted to the Scottish Premier League for season 2013/14.

"This letter will be put in front of all SPL clubs at their All Club Meeting this Tuesday when we look forward to discussing how best to take forward the game in this country."

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504 comments

  • Comment posted by U14935130, at 16:01 3 May 2013

    What a mess, this is what happens when you have three inept bodies in charge of the game.

  • Comment posted by tobymaxtonesmith, at 16:49 3 May 2013

    All this bickering about Rangers smacks of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

    What we need is two divisions, 20 and 22, with 3 up 3 down with English style play-offs, with a regionalised pyramid system below that. It's such an obvious solution but the idiots running Scottish football can't see it.

  • Comment posted by U15558990, at 16:37 3 May 2013

    1 - We know the Scottish League is poor
    2 - We know Celtic and Rangers run away with it every year
    3 - We know our national team sucks
    I don't understand why people use these threads to have a dig.

    The whole league needs restructuring, but there is little that can be done that will make a huge difference. the structure of the SFA needs rebuilding, bring in ex pros who understand the game.

  • Comment posted by John K, at 16:05 3 May 2013

    This, if it were to go ahead, would be the biggest disaster for Scottish football ever.

    We need a holistic solution not an extension of the greed is good brigade!

  • Comment posted by mrspoons, at 20:13 3 May 2013

    clubs north and south of the border need to adopt the german model and fast. the germans have given football back to the people with cheap tickets, and matches on terrestrial tv. Forget the myth that football needs sky tv: its quite the reverse and is the root cause of the wage bills bankrupting clubs and creating success for the few. Football needs new people at the top, badly.

  • Comment posted by U15706388, at 18:44 3 May 2013

    @181 "Scottish football was great when when the likes of di canio, Jorge cadette laudrup and flo was playing".

    Rubbish. Scottish football was great when the likes of Dalglish, Cooper, Narey, Miller, Strachan, Johnstone, McGrain, McLeish, Sturrock, Provan, Leighton etc. were playing.

    The foreigners and mercenaries killed off the Scottish game and our National team.

  • Comment posted by U15193487, at 16:29 3 May 2013

    Will the ball still be round?

  • Comment posted by U15605691, at 16:19 3 May 2013

    something has to be done! its as simple as that! I don't think celtic and rangers will ever be invited to the prem, so they have to sort something out in the long term not only for themselves but for the good of scots footy. the current state is not good, before the season would bookys even take odds on celtic winning league

  • Comment posted by YourMrBumbles, at 17:18 3 May 2013

    Such a shame that there is so much division within Scottish Football. So many talented Scots playing and managing in football. They do urgently need to address issues.

  • Comment posted by U1763426, at 16:28 3 May 2013

    Really surprised Airdire United aren't one of the 10.

    Time for every club to have a supporters trust and the trust to have a seat on the board. These directors don't have a clue and are only about self-interest. Walking away will not make the massive problems that face Scottish Football die. There are far too many clubs in Scotland, far too many with no heart and one ambition: to survive.

  • Comment posted by McGurk, at 19:34 3 May 2013

    I don't know what the answer is ,but I do know that 3 different bodies over the last 30 years have completely destroyed our footballing infrastructure to such a degree we are a laughing stock throughout world football.
    It seems the only reason Scottish football exsists is to benefit Celtic and Sevco and sod everybody else,how are Doncaster and Regan still in a job is beyond me

  • Comment posted by U15129590, at 18:29 3 May 2013

    Who in their right mind would want to see those 10 teams - many pretty rubbish - playing themselves several times a season?
    There was a good opportunity to widen the leagues so that clubs would only play each other twice a season but experience more variety of play with different managers, players and stadia.
    However, they don't want to share the TV money with too many clubs!

  • Comment posted by U10614929, at 19:31 3 May 2013

    Why should Celtic and Rangers start in the Premier League? If they join the English leagues, they start at the bottom tier.

  • Comment posted by grahame, at 21:57 3 May 2013

    When Scotland was relatively wealthy the money was used to pay for expensive foreign imports instead of grooming our own talent. This had a knock on effect to the national team as the pool of players to pick from was reduced. Now we are skint, teams have to develop their own players again and this can only be good for the long term development of the game. Fans will always watch good football

  • Comment posted by U15702653, at 19:19 3 May 2013

    Scottish football is still slightly ahead of England in terms of attendance per head of population, so why try to make some 10th rate copy of the game down "souff". We're doing fine - playing the game we invented much the same as we envisaged it. It's not pretty - it's often dire, but at least it's honest. The EPL is fake. It's all about money and buying success - and played by a bunch of bufties.

  • Comment posted by DavidinUSA, at 18:44 3 May 2013

    #207.The Great BfB - my mom says so
    "Celtic should leave the SPL and join the English leagues. We don't want racist Rangers though, they can stay where they are; nowhere!"

    You're surely joking. Celtic with their mob-like fans singing, ahem, "sectarian" songs?!! The English would never have it.

  • Comment posted by sobraon, at 16:29 3 May 2013

    Rangers are nothing to do with this breakaway, stop being obsessed. If the ten SPL clubs wanna breakaway then let them, they will bring Scottish football further to it's knees

  • Comment posted by Peter from Sussex, at 23:35 3 May 2013

    Looking from the south of the border I cannot understand why you have so many divisions. Why not just have a Premier Division and Championship with 4 teams relegated and 4 promoted each season.

  • Comment posted by scotscraig, at 23:01 3 May 2013

    @373 St Mirren and Ross County did not go against the majority of clubs, they went against the majority of SPL clubs. It never went to the SFL clubs as they opposed it and since it involved an SPL2 it first had to be passed by the SPL clubs. They are not against reconstruction but merely held the view along with many fans that this version of reconstruction would not be the best for all 40 clubs.

  • Comment posted by len mollins, at 22:14 3 May 2013

    just read 352 I am old enough to remember when Scotland was not "relatively wealthy"but still managed to turn out the likes ofpaddy crerand Ronnie simpson slim jim baxter alex McLeish billy bremner I can go on but I think you get my gist as long as clubs import overseas players we will never see"their likes again" I rest my case

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