SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has warned that any legal action challenging Hearts’ relegation from the Scottish Premiership will cost the other 41-clubs money as his organisation does not hold cash reserves.
Hearts relegation was confirmed on Monday when the SPFL board ended the Scottish Premiership season early after it was unanimously decided that the 2019/20 season could not be completed.
Ann Budge has stated that she will fight the decision claiming that the cost of a legal battle would be less than those incurred by relegation.
Former Chairman Leslie Deans has urged Budge to not only sue the SPFL, but also to take legal action against other clubs who voted to send Hearts’ down to the Championship.
Budge is hoping that a reconstruction plan that would save the club’s top flight status will be accepted by a sufficient number of club but that seems unlikely.
The full cost of taking legal action will be substantial for everyone concerned.
“It’s really important that any club makes its own decisions because they are an independent business,” Doncaster told Sky Sports News.
“Although they are one of 42 member clubs within the league, each club – and the board of each club – has to do what’s right for their club, but any action that’s taken by any member against the league ultimately is taken against members as a whole.
“We don’t hold reserves year to year, so any action that any one individual club takes, effectively the burden of that would fall on all the other members.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
