ian1964 10,626 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 By STUART BATHGATE and STEPHEN HALLIDAY Published on Wednesday 28 March 2012 00:03 DUNFERMLINE chairman John Yorkston has claimed that the ten non-Old Firm clubs could resign from the Scottish Premier League if Celtic and Rangers go ahead with their intention to block voting reform. In yesterdayâ??s Scotsman, SPL chairman Ralph Topping urged the administrators at Ibrox to declare their hand in public on the issue. Topping called for a collective approach from all 12 clubs to solve the current problems afflicting Scottish football and branded the actions of the so-called â??Gang of Tenâ? as â??not the smartest thingâ?. Last night sources close to Duff & Phelps, in charge of the Ibrox club since they went into administration on 14 February, confirmed that they, like Celtic, are opposed to any alteration to the current arrangement which at present requires an 11-1 majority to pass any major SPL policy decision. But Yorkston said that he would carry on the battle for a more democratic set-up, and would not rule out the option of resignation by the non-Old Firm ten. â??I expected it,â? he said of the confirmation of Rangersâ?? intention. â??But Iâ??m disappointed democracy has not come to Scottish football. â??One option is for the ten of us to resign and leave the league, similar to what happened before when the SPL was set up. Weâ??re not prepared to put up with this 11-1 vote any longer.â? Asked if that was an option he would consider, Yorkston added: â??I would vote for resignation, but it does depend on the other ten. If the other two are going to keep voting against our proposal for reform, it leaves the rest of us to consider our position.â? The weighted voting system, passed by all of the inaugural members when leading clubs split from the Scottish Football League to form the SPL in 1998, effectively gives the Old Firm the power of veto over any proposal to which they object. The ten other clubs held a meeting last week at which they agreed to pursue change at a special general meeting of the SPL at Hampden on 12 April. Their key proposal will be scrapping the 11-1 vote and replacing it with a 9-3 majority required for all decisions taken by the SPL. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell was quick to condemn the move, branding the meeting of the ten clubs as â??disrespectfulâ? and â??divisiveâ?. He stressed the financial importance of the Old Firm to the SPL and claimed that any diminution of their influence could weaken Scottish football â??to the point that we wonâ??t have any European context at all.â? While the ten clubs fully anticipated Celticâ??s opposition, they were hopeful that the current financial crisis enveloping Rangers may present a situation where they could persuade the administrators to vote with them on 12 April. Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston, another of the leading figures behind the move by the ten clubs, said: â??It might make it easier for the administrators to get whatever they are going to try to achieve, whether it is a Company Voluntary Arrangement or new company to be formed and rejoining the SPL and SFA. The support of the ten clubs might be needed at some point. â??This is a pro-democracy movement. â??We have this oppressive regime at the moment where you require an 11-1 majority in order to achieve any major change and that canâ??t be healthy for any organisation. â??Thereâ??s definitely a mood for change and, if weâ??re going to have radical change, then there has to be a more flexible voting structure.â? It is now clear, however, that the mutual interests of Celtic and Rangers have not in any way been affected by the Ibrox clubâ??s problems. On the contrary, it is understood Rangersâ?? administrators believe the club would be less attractive to potential purchasers if they no longer held the voting power to ensure the Old Firm have the lionâ??s share of television income and commercial revenue. The SPLâ??s current sponsorship deal with Clydesdale Bank, worth in excess of £2million a season, expires at the end of next season. A new £80m television contract with Sky and ESPN, which is dependent on the provision of four Old Firm fixtures a season, begins next season. It remains to be seen if the ten non-Old Firm clubs can obtain any degree of compromise over a more equitable share of income, although last nightâ??s developments suggested that the factions remain as far apart as ever. http://www.scotsman.com/news/spl-tv-deal-gang-of-ten-could-quit-league-over-votes-reform-1-2199629 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumshie RFC 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Did this not happen a few years ago when the rest of the league resigned or is it just my imagination? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 It did happen in 2002 after Sky's bid for a new tv deal was knocked back. A pay-per-view SPL TV station was mooted but when it was knocked back by Rangers and Celtic, the other ten resigned after a two-year deal was done with the BBC. A deal was agreed between all the clubs a few months later, leading to the resignations being withdrawn. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
calscot 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Seems a bit of a silly threat. To be honest, I can't see that much difference between the teams at the bottom half of the league and the top half of Divisiion 1. If they resign, we just need to promote 8 to 12 clubs. That would leave the other clubs outside the league structure and if they start their own league, it would be outside the umbrella of the SPL, SFL, SFA, UEFA and FIFA. They probably wouldn't get a TV deal and their attendances wouldn't hold up much in a meaningless league. They would end up having to apply to join the SFL and at best be playing in Division 1. The way they've been treating Rangers lately and with only the motives of pure self interest on display as usual, I'd be tempted to call their bluff. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I would vote with the rest and tell Celtic to get in line or f#*k off. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 I would vote with the rest and tell Celtic to get in line or f#*k off. Hate to say it but I'm with the dark side on this one. We generate 85% of the income and yet we're supposed to accept a change in the vote system which will give us less power? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Hate to say it but I'm with the dark side on this one. We generate 85% of the income and yet we're supposed to accept a change in the vote system which will give us less power? I can see your point Danny about the money, but something has to be done the football is dying a death and the way Celtic are going about things their only twisting the knife. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Difficult one this. The screwed up TV deal goes to show that the majority isn't right. I'd like to see a 14 team league and summer football. Maybe the voting structure can be amended in areas that are non- financial. If - as I'm sure is the case - Rangers and Celtic overwhelmingly provide the fans who pay to go games and pay subscriptions to sports channels then why should teams who provide a pittance in comparison get even splits and even money. Just encourages bad management. But I agree something needs to be done. Also about Celtic's effective coup of the SFA. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metlika 0 Posted March 28, 2012 Share Posted March 28, 2012 Yorkston, the main architect of this. When his club are struggling themselves, seems sensible..... not 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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