UEFA’s decision has left Celtic merely a step away from being crowned the champions of Scotland for the ninth straight time.
13 points ahead but the gap is getting closer. The gap to when Celtic are announced as SPL champions that is.
UEFA’s executive committee today reached an agreement which should allow the SPFL board to adopt the precedent set in their recent board resolution to bring the Premiership season to a close. And that should mean the announcement we are eagerly waiting for – Celtic as league champions, 9 in a row confirmed. Bring on 10!!
UEFA laid down guidelines today which did cover opportunities to try and play remaining games to end leagues, but did cover the circumstances where that may not be possible. In doing so UEFA took note of representation from football authorities in Scotland and Belgium.
The #UEFAExCo today approved a series of guidelines on eligibility for UEFA club competitions in 2020/21.
— UEFA (@UEFA) April 23, 2020
More information: 👇
Leagues can be ended early where there are “insurmountable economic problems”. Or where there is an official order prohibiting sports events meaning there isn’t time to play out the remainder of the season. It’s clear from many Scottish clubs with desperate finances that they need the league resolved, the recent SPFL board resolution proved that. While the UK government approach to lockdown and Nicola Sturgeon’s recent comments mean the latter point is very applicable.
Nicola Sturgeon saying sports fans should not expect to be back to stadiums any time soon - certainly difficult until there’s a vaccine. Her CMO also against televised sports events resuming behind ‘closed doors’ - he warns it could encourage people to gather in groups to watch.
— Peter A Smith (@PeterAdamSmith) April 20, 2020
Moving on from declaring the season over and Celtic as champions, UEFA also made it clear who calls the shots in declaring entries to next seasons European competitions. The SPFL will have that responsibility in Scotland, they’ll select on sporting merit using “objective, transparent and non-discriminatory principles”.
That likely means a shuffling of official papers, a review of licensing requirements and a draft statement or two are underway for Rangers!
Rangers club captain was perhaps slightly behind the game when he declared their “winning mentality” today. Just as the signs pointed to 2nd place for Rangers being confirmed.