Fresh doubts have been placed on the Scottish Cup being played this season with Celtic facing a blank weekend over March 14/15.
That date had been set aside for the quarter-finals of the competition but with the Second Round still to be completed and the two lower divisions still mothballed time is fast running out.
Yesterday the Scottish Government announced that League One and League Two clubs can resume playing but after virtually two months out of action there is no certainty that their league campaigns will be completed.
Celtic are due to play the winners of the Second Round tie between Arbroath and Falkirk but talks are on-going over whether the Bairns will be able to resume their League One campaign which takes priority over the Scottish Cup.
So far Falkirk have played 11 of their scheduled 27 SPFL matches, Clyde have played just 8 matches with the league campaign due to be completed at the end of April followed by the Play-Offs.
Last night clubs in League One and League Two were in talks over whether it was worthwhile to resume the current season which would require playing three matches a week to be completed on schedule alongside the cost of testing players and taking them out of Furlough.
The Daily Record reports:
A Hampden source told us: “The idea of returning to play was probably a lot more attractive than the reality which these clubs are now having to consider. They are now dealing with the reality and it’s throwing up a whole range of seriously difficult issues.
“It’s hard to imagine how League Two can complete a 27 game season but it might be easier for them to find consensus to call it a day than it will be for the clubs in League One.
“If just three clubs in League One decide to play on then the SPFL will have to publish a fixture list for the remainder of a 27 game season – even if the other seven would prefer not to bother. It’s all looking increasingly chaotic.”
League Two chiefs held a meeting last night but there are splits across the board and time is running out.
Elgin chairman Graeme Tatters told Record Sport: “It’s good news the government says we can get back – but it opens a whole new can of worms. There are clubs who don’t want to play, there are others who want to squeeze in the 27 games and some who would try to get 18 in.
“But to change the number of games it would take a SPFL resolution as the clubs voted down the proposal for the league to be able to make decisions. The plan at present regarding testing is just ridiculous for a start. It will cost clubs more than £30,000 to test before games for a start and that’s on top of having to bring players back from furlough.
“The fixture list is another huge concern. We might need to play three times a week, which means more testing, and more travelling as well. That is an issue in itself. We can only get 10 people on a bus, so players need to take their own cars. You can end up on the other side of the country and a player gets injured, and he can’t drive his own car home.
“We have said we are ready and willing to go but there’s no doubt the whole thing is a logistical nightmare.”
The Scottish Cup Final is scheduled to be played on the second weekend in May with Hampden then being prepared for hosting matches at the European Championships. Although the competition has no sponsor the SFA has broadcast deals with Premier Sports and BBC Scotland.
