Sky Sports Pundit Says SPFL Is Now A “Hostage” As Celtic Title Decision Is Put On Ice

Sky Sports Pundit Says SPFL Is Now A “Hostage” As Celtic Title Decision Is Put On Ice

Sky Sports pundit Davie Provan says UEFA’s threat to withdraw European spots to countries that declare their seasons over has stopped the SPFL from declaring Celtic the champions.

There have been reports that chief executive Neil Doncaster was prepared to make the drastic decision but Provan thinks UEFA’s stance has put the plan firmly on the backburner:

“You can bet that was Doncaster’s intention. Even more when Belgium set the precedent by declaring Club Bruges as Pro League champions. With the null and void route never an option, crowning Celtic would have brought him some grief, but nothing he couldn’t have handled.”

“Prize money would have been dished out, clubs could have started shifting season books and corporate boxes for next season and the start date for the next television contract would have been unaffected. Instead, Doncaster has become a hostage of Uefa’s big five leagues who need to complete their fixtures.”

Something will have to give eventually if the global health crisis continues to prevent Scottish clubs from playing matches. As Provan mentions, the biggest issue is the financial situation. With the season in limbo, clubs can’t make plans for the start of next campaign but UEFA are doing all they can to ensure the interests of the bigger leagues are prioritised.

Breaking multi-million pound TV contracts appears to be unthinkable for elite clubs, while it seems the SPFL would prefer to move on to the more lucrative deal they have with Sky Sports for the start of next campaign. Things could get pretty messy in the coming weeks.