Neil Doncaster has blamed SPFL Secretary Ian Blair and communication issues for the shambles over the scheduling of the final round of Championship fixtures.
Within 24 hours the SPFL shifted the Hearts v Sevco match to start the day after the other fixtures, issued a statement questioning the criticism the fixture change created then brought all of the fixtures back to kicking-off at the same time!
Hibs and Hearts were outspoken in their criticism of the SPFL with Doncaster the main target as clubs and supporters expressed their amazement at staggering the final round of fixtures which would have an impact on which club would finish in second place and avoid one round of play-off matches.
For over 30 years it has been convention to have the final league fixtures all kicking off at the same time, in the 2007/08 season the final SPL fixtures took place on a Thursday night with some clubs having to wait 12 days between their last two matches.
Today the SPFL announced a two year sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes that is believed to be worth just over £2m a year.
To promote the deal Doncaster took part in a round of media interviews where the shambolic handling of the final fixtures came under questioning.
Speaking to STV Doncaster admitted: “I think you can always do things better. I think it would be wrong to pretend otherwise.
“Ultimately, we allowed a perception to be created that sporting integrity somehow didn’t matter. The truth couldn’t be further from that.
“We do need to take the lessons from what happened and ensure that we are not erroneously creating that misapprehension going forward.
Doncaster added: “Ian Blair chose to consult with clubs before moving other games to ensure that all games took place at the same time on the final day before making decisions to move other games. That gap allowed the erroneous impression to be created that somehow we didn’t care about sporting integrity. That is just not the case.”
That version of events seems completely at odds with a statement issued by the SPFL on the evening of April 15- after Hibs and Hearts had gone public with their surprise and opposition to switch one fixture back.
The SPFL stated: “In response to recent criticisms of the Championship fixture scheduling for the weekend 2/3 May, we’d like to clarify some specific points.
“On this weekend, the Hearts v Rangers match is scheduled for Sunday 3 May to be broadcast on television and it is not clear to us why this has caused so much surprise. This is a key game in the Championship season and will inevitably attract huge interest from fans around the world.
“It is unreasonable to expect all Championship fixtures that weekend to move to the Sunday when a number of them will be unaffected by the Hearts v Rangers tie. However, as a result of this fixture, all Championship clubs have been invited to submit a request should they wish to move games to the Sunday.
“To date, the only feedback we have received is from one Championship club which has asked for its match to remain scheduled for the Saturday. For the avoidance of doubt, we have had no request from Hibernian FC to move its fixture to the Sunday at the time of writing (8.45pm, Wednesday 15 April).”
The following day, at lunchtime the SPFL announced that the final round of Championship fixtures would take place on the Saturday with a 12.15 kick off.
After the Hearts-Sevco match Blair presented the Edinburgh side with the trophy, a duty normally carried out by Doncaster who did get to present Aberdeen with the Development League trophy.
