The confirmation of today's vote by the SPL clubs not to admit the new Rangers into the league next season, means that the Ibrox club will be playing in the SFL - but at what level?
The vote by the SFL on the 12 July looks at the moment like it will lead to a place in Division Three for the 'newco', if current public statements by various SFL clubs is anything to go by.
But the SFL are lobbying their members to agree to have Rangers accepted into Division One next season. This would appear to go against the normal procedures for clubs who apply for membership of the SFL - why would a club be given immediate membership at Division One level?
Payments to the SFL from the SPL of £2 million per year will apparently dry up, according to a statement from Clyde FC today.
That payment will be reliant upon the continuation of TV money being paid to the SPL. The latest deal was agreed in November 2011, beginning 2012/13 season for five years. The scenario of Rangers not being available to SKy and ESPN viewers as part of this deal is supposedly putting this agreement in jeopardy.
The BBC reported in February 2012 that if Rangers were not a part of the SPL, then this deal could be scuppered, claiming that "Its [the SPL] TV deal includes a clause stipulating the participation of both Celtic and Rangers in the SPL".
That statement should ring alarm bells; anyone who has ever shouted "Who's the mason in the black?" at a game when their side has played Rangers may have done so in jest, but consider this scenario -
The last game of the season - Rangers/Celtic lie second bottom of the division, with the bottom club winning their last game comfortably, and the Glasgow giant are losing. With five minutes of the last game of the season to go, one of the Old Firm are looking like relegation fodder.
But, they are on the attack - their star striker goes down in the penalty area, claiming a dubious penalty.
What does the referee do? Everyone knows he should make the right decision by what he sees, but really, he knows that his decision might put the future of Scottish football in jeopardy.
If he gives the penalty, and it is scored, then the SPL retains its TV rights. If he doesn't and the Old Firm are split for a season, then millions of pounds are lost to the game.
I know, it is highly unlikely. But, the fact that a sporting body have agreed with broadcasters that certain clubs will be playing in their competition, brings into disrepute those involved in that decision, and puts under scrutiny all decisions made which come into question the integrity of officials across Scotland.
Let's hope that Rangers, playing through the three SFL divisions, bring some financial reward to those smaller clubs who struggle along each year, while at the same time, the rest of the SPL can become a competitive league once more.
Wednesday 4 July 2012
Monday 2 July 2012
London Welsh get thumbs up for promotion
The decision last Friday to promote London Welsh to the Aviva Premiership was great news for anyone who holds the integrity of sport at heart.
Having declined their original application through not meeting the Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) for playing Premiership rugby, the RFU had no option but to admit them to the top tier, on the basis of the decision by the independent panel led by James Dingemans QC.
The panel met to decide on London Welsh's argument that the rules governing the Primacy of Tenure section of the MSC had infringed UK and EU competition law. London Welsh were successful in arguing their case, so are now free to play their fixtures at their new home, the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.
The ground is home to Oxford United, and owned by the club's former chairman, Firoz Kassam, who oversaw the completion of the stadium's construction over a decade ago.
Given the ground's main status prior to the introduction of the London Welsh scenario, it would be difficult to see how Primacy of Tenure could justifiably have been given to the rugby club.
Ground-sharing between different sports clubs at the highest level in England has been a feature of the sporting landscape since the advent of professionalism in rugby union during the 1990s.
London Irish have used the Madejski Stadium in Reading since 2000; Saracens have been Watford FCs tenants at Vicarage Road since 1997 (although will be moving to their own ground at Barnet Copthall before the end of season 2012/13); and London Wasps playing home fixtures at Adams Park in Wycombe since 2002, and prior to that, Loftus Road from 1996-2002, as part of their ownership by Loftus Road Holdings plc.
Sale Sharks have shared Stockport County's Edgeley Park since 2003, and will now play at the Salford City Stadium, alongside the Salford Reds Super League side. That move comes at a time when they remain as the only northern side in the Premiership, while there are five clubs within the London area.
The Newcastle Falcons will of course, face at least a year in the Championship, under the guidance of Dean Richards, who has a great track record in that division, taking Harlequins back to the Premiership in 2006 at the first attempt after their relegation the previous year.
The side who take up residency at the Kassam meanwhile, will not only have to prepare for life on the playing field among the rugby elite, but also need to build up their fan base in a city that up until now, has only been served by professional football. Rugby fans in the town may already have their allegiances with nearby London Irish in nearby Reading, or any of the clubs within reasonable travelling distance, including Gloucester, further along the A40 to Wales.
They need to recruit a new list of club sponsors who are willing to support the new venture - what happens to those businesses who have supported them over the years in Richmond, their spiritual home?
Despite much hype surrounding the Championship Play-off Final played at the Kassam, only 3456 turned up; a fair proportion of which would have been Cornish Pirates fans.
So, despite congratulations on a deserved promotion, the real battle starts by trying to win the hearts and minds of the good people of Oxford, and also their supporters from the bad times.
Having declined their original application through not meeting the Minimum Standards Criteria (MSC) for playing Premiership rugby, the RFU had no option but to admit them to the top tier, on the basis of the decision by the independent panel led by James Dingemans QC.
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| Kassam Stadium Pic (c) footballaway.co.uk |
The ground is home to Oxford United, and owned by the club's former chairman, Firoz Kassam, who oversaw the completion of the stadium's construction over a decade ago.
Given the ground's main status prior to the introduction of the London Welsh scenario, it would be difficult to see how Primacy of Tenure could justifiably have been given to the rugby club.
Ground-sharing between different sports clubs at the highest level in England has been a feature of the sporting landscape since the advent of professionalism in rugby union during the 1990s.
London Irish have used the Madejski Stadium in Reading since 2000; Saracens have been Watford FCs tenants at Vicarage Road since 1997 (although will be moving to their own ground at Barnet Copthall before the end of season 2012/13); and London Wasps playing home fixtures at Adams Park in Wycombe since 2002, and prior to that, Loftus Road from 1996-2002, as part of their ownership by Loftus Road Holdings plc.
Sale Sharks have shared Stockport County's Edgeley Park since 2003, and will now play at the Salford City Stadium, alongside the Salford Reds Super League side. That move comes at a time when they remain as the only northern side in the Premiership, while there are five clubs within the London area.
The Newcastle Falcons will of course, face at least a year in the Championship, under the guidance of Dean Richards, who has a great track record in that division, taking Harlequins back to the Premiership in 2006 at the first attempt after their relegation the previous year.
The side who take up residency at the Kassam meanwhile, will not only have to prepare for life on the playing field among the rugby elite, but also need to build up their fan base in a city that up until now, has only been served by professional football. Rugby fans in the town may already have their allegiances with nearby London Irish in nearby Reading, or any of the clubs within reasonable travelling distance, including Gloucester, further along the A40 to Wales.
They need to recruit a new list of club sponsors who are willing to support the new venture - what happens to those businesses who have supported them over the years in Richmond, their spiritual home?
Despite much hype surrounding the Championship Play-off Final played at the Kassam, only 3456 turned up; a fair proportion of which would have been Cornish Pirates fans.
So, despite congratulations on a deserved promotion, the real battle starts by trying to win the hearts and minds of the good people of Oxford, and also their supporters from the bad times.
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