Scottish Premiership football clubs demand meeting after unprecedented attack on SPFL

Six Scottish Premiership sides have urged SPFL chiefs and all member clubs to meet in the wake of a row regarding an independent report into the governing body.

Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livingston, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren sent an invite to the Scottish Professional Football League executive on Wednesday.

The clubs claimed “serious concerns” regarding the report’s independence, transparency, and the overall governance of the SPFL.

The SPFL claimed the criticism contained “factual inaccuracies” that have since been addressed.

The independent review had been commissioned after the league body lost a long-running legal dispute with Rangers over a sponsorship deal, which ended with the SPFL paying costs and making a public apology.

The six clubs claimed SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan had released a statement saying that he was “reassured” by the findings of the report without approval from clubs or the board and that his comments did not reflect the full findings. The clubs also alleged that the SPFL executive made amendments to the report before it was shared with the board.

In a statement released on Friday, the Hampden bosses claimed that the clubs had their facts wrong and that the matter had now been dealt with.

But on Wednesday, the six clubs said it was “imperative” and in the “best interests of transparency and governance” that Mr MacLennan and chief executive Neil Doncaster meet shareholders.

“The clubs have invited the chairman and chief executive to attend a meeting of all member clubs to address the issues around the Independent Governance Review,” a joint statement said.

“All SPFL member clubs are invited to attend and participate in this meeting, which is to take place at 11am on February 27, 2024.”

It comes after the league faced fresh criticism from a member club, with Stenhousemuir saying the six clubs have their full backing.

Stenhousemuir said that the issue had begun with the “apparent botched handling” of the sponsorship issue with Rangers, and that their chairman Iain McMenemy raised his concerns at the SPFL general meeting in July 2023.