Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish fears an “absolutely chaotic” situation in Scotland should Hearts and Partick Thistle win their case against the SPFL.
The Liverpool icon was writing in a column with the Sunday Post and believes if Hearts and Thistle win it could realistically lead to Celtic losing their title.
Such has been the chaotic way in which the ending of the SPFL season has been handled, the spotlight will be shining even brighter upon the executive should the two clubs win their case.
The decision to end seasons and relegate clubs in France and Belgium have now been overturned, setting a precedent for the same to happen here.
The case will initially be heard by the SFA’s arbitration court but there is scope to take it to the Court of Arbritration for Sport in Switzerland if the situation isn’t resolved in Scotland.
“Such a ruling may well open the door to many, many decisions in the SPFL’s four divisions being called into question,” said Dalglish [Sunday Post].
“For example, if the relegation of Hearts from the Premiership, and Thistle from the Championship, is ruled to be unlawful, what’s to stop a club challenging the outcome at the top of the table as well?
“What’s to stop them asking that any titles given before the fixture schedule had been completed should also be ruled null and void?
“The argument would be that the same rules must apply to every place in the league, and not just the issue of relegation.
“The past few weeks have been bad enough for the reputation of Scottish football. But this scenario could lead to our game becoming absolutely chaotic.”
This is a very real scenario for Celtic and for the rest of the SPFL who – much like what happened in Belgium – have already released this season’s fixtures despite the legal situation.
Should Hearts and Partick Thistle win their case and their relegations are overturned, then it absolutely means that Celtic should be forced to hand back the title.
And let’s be honest – this is the only fair and proper way to handle the situation.
It’s what they did in Holland – and it’s what we should’ve done here if there was no chance of finishing the season.
