The footballing world is currently in turmoil over various questions on how to complete the season. Teams across Europe have come out to fight together against Coronavirus, but it cannot be denied that most clubs would look at personal interest when it comes to deciding how the rest of the season should pan out. There have been a lot of suggestions, especially for the SPFL that the current standing should be treated as the final standing.
Here we look at the timeline of what significant things have happened so far in the SPFL.
March 4– A big day in the title race as Hamilton were able to get the better of Rangers at Ibrox. Celtic too dropped points in their encounter, but it was a point gained for them. Lennon’s men move 13 points clear on the top of the table. After the game, Lennon said (Daily Record), “I want more from some of the players as we go along. The league’s not done yet, we’ve got St Mirren on Saturday who are no pushovers, and we can’t take anything for granted.”
March 13– The Scottish FA suspended all domestic and grassroots football until further notice. The English and Scottish clubs were seemingly looking to go ahead with it for some time as it seemed like they were looking to ride the tide instead. However, it wasn’t surprising that the games were called off when high profile names like Mikel Arteta, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Daniel Rugani tested positive for the coronavirus.
Soon, Lennon came out to push the narrative that Celtic should be crowned champions in the worst-case scenario even though he had earlier claimed that the league’s not done yet after going 13 points clear. The Celtic boss now said (Daily Record), “Certainly, if you are talking about the Armageddon of the league being cancelled or stopped, it should go on the average points total which would make us clear champions and rightly so.”
Some more Celtic cheerleaders joined on the agenda and started pushing the narrative that Celtic should win the league based on average points. Chris Sutton wanted Celtic to win the title based on that but believed Liverpool being awarded the title will open a can of worms. Hypocrisy much Mr Sutton?
Deciding the league on current standings will have significant financial ramifications down the table. Maybe some clubs in the relegation zone have played tougher fixtures, or someone who are just above has played easier fixtures. Deciding the league based on current standing/averaging the point would be unfair from top to bottom.
Another agenda which came out recently was given a financial spin on it. The claim is that if SPFL declares the current campaign null and void, then all the professional football clubs in Scotland will be facing a massive loss in terms of their revenue from the broadcasters and supporters.
Nevertheless, we tried to debunk that myth by explaining here- Busting The Myth That Celtic Needs To Be Handed The Title To Avoid Financial Catastrophe
March 16– Hearts owner Ann Budge made it clear that if the current standings are decided as final, then they would take legal action. Rangers also finally came out against making the current league standings permanent and wanted the season completed.
March 17– UEFA has decided to call a meeting regarding what is to be done with the Champions League and Euro 2020. Most federations would likely follow suit of what UEFA decides, and if the Euro is postponed to next year, then that would give more time to the leagues to complete their current campaign.
We believe that continuing the league seems to be the fairest solution. It’s the upcoming season which should be pushed to a later start. There are two Old Firm derbies to go right now, and Rangers have a game in hand. If Celtic win it fair and square after the season is completed, then we won’t mind congratulating them. Until then, media should stop pushing on the agenda that Celtic should be awarded title based on averaging the points for the rest of the games or based on current standings.
