Former Celtic defender Ramon Vega has urged the Parkhead club to join forces with rivals Rangers to help salvage Scottish football and fight a common “enemy”.
With the domestic league shutdown threatening to cause the financial collapse of up to half of Scotland’s clubs, Vega believes the Old Firm rivalry should be shelved for the time being.
The former Swiss international and now football finance expert is convinced that Rangers and Celtic need to join forces to help combat the financial implications of the shutdown.
“There is no better time for them to show some solidarity with the rest of the clubs,” said Vega [Scottish Sun].
“We all know there have been huge differences in the past, but the biggest rivalry here is not Celtic or Rangers, It is the coronavirus. That is the only enemy for anyone at the moment.
“There is plenty time in the future for Celtic and Rangers to rekindle their rivalry.
“Just now surely it should be all about these two massive clubs getting together and helping the smaller Scottish teams.
“It should be about them and the other big teams in the country leading from the front. If they attempt to help everybody I think the other clubs would appreciate it.
“This is the perfect time to show what they are all about.
“The stronger ones will survive, but there is an obligation on them to help.
“If they can cut back a little and provide assistance then the whole pyramid has a better chance of getting through this period. The smaller clubs are the ones who will struggle the most.”
Vega, who now owns an asset management company and focuses on football finances, worries about the future of the smallest clubs in the wake of the domestic league shutdown.
He truly believes that the onus is on the larger clubs to step in and ensure that teams have support in order to get through the crisis.
This is the kind of move which has been taken in Germany, where the nation’s leading clubs have created a €20m cash pot for teams across the top two tiers in the country.
Rangers and Celtic have instead spent much of the shutdown arguing over league titles, leading a Scots columnist to describe the pair as “embarrassing” [Alan Pattullo].
