Championship boss accuses SPFL of double standards as he cites St Mirren v Celtic case

Billy Dodds has hit out at SPFL double standards.

The Inverness Caley Thistle boss was without 10 injured players but a request to bring back players on loan in the Highland League was rejected by the SPFL.

Last December St Mirren found themselves in a similar position due to positive testing and self-isolation rules. When they requested the postponement of a midweek game against Celtic the SPFL broke their own rules by allowing the Paisley side to bring back players out on loan at Lowland League clubs.

Dodds fielded players that weren’t ready to play in yesterday’s match against Ayr United. After losing 2-1 he told The Sun:

We asked the SPFL to let us bring players back from loans at Highland League clubs, which is what St Mirren were allowed to do against Celtic last season when they had a lot of Covid cases, but they came back and said no.

I find that a bit embarrassing, to be honest. We have boys on the bench who are first year pros. That can’t be good for them, physically or mentally. They’re not ready to be on the bench, it’s not fair to ask them.

It does seem that the SPFL make up the rules as they go along, fielding ineligible players can result in a 3-0 defeat or in the case of Hearts in the 2018 League Cup they had two points deducted which allowed them to qualify from their group.