Top boss: 'Old firm wouldn't be courted by Super League'
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has suggested those behind a new European League wouldn't invite Celtic or Rangers to join.
SPFL boss Neil Doncaster has given a no-holds-barred podcast interview - and has suggested Celtic and Rangers would not be invited to join a European Super League.
The always-excellent Price of Football podcast has done a great job in quizzing the chief executive and so I don’t want to steal their thunder.
But I’ll touch on some of the topics they grilled Mr Doncaster on during their 47-minute chat.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster
Who does he actually support?
Two clubs, none of them Scottish. One of is Norwich, which is no surprise given he was the club’s CEO at one point.
Scotland fans in Germany.
Unsurprisingly, he was full of praise for Scottish fans who attended the Euros in Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart, dubbing them “a joy to behold”.
The Old Firm and the Super League.
Mr Doncaster was asked if he thinks Celtic or Rangers could be part of it and replied by saying he doesn’t see “any of the clubs in the medium-sized leagues being courted by a European Super League any time soon”.
He then reaffirmed his opposition to a Super League, particularly because it wouldn’t have a purely convention promotion structure - an idea he called “pretty unsavoury.”
Playing domestic games abroad.
This was a new one. The conversation moved into whether two Scottish teams could potentially play each other abroad.
It’s one to listen out for
Mr Doncaster didn’t rule it and then qualified his response by emphasising the need to prioritise the needs of match-going fans in Scotland.
It’s definitely one to listen out for on the podcast. And I’ll cover it in more detail once the podcast is released.
The Scottish TV deal.
Here, Mr Doncaster talked about balancing showcasing games on TV with alienating matchgoing fans.
He suggested the new system is working so far because all five televised games on the opening weekend were sold out in the home end.
Rangers v Hearts was sold out on the opening day
Mr Doncaster stated some figures about how many games will be televised this season and why he and his colleagues arrived at that figure.
More regulation ahead?
He was also asked about the English Football League’s move to show a massive amount of games this season and said he doesn’t foresee that happening north of the border.
Outspoken on more regulation.
English football is soon to get an independent football regulator (when the politicians get round to it) and Mr Doncaster was asked if that could happen in Scotland.
It was interesting how forthright he was about this idea, amid concerns about “imposing a fresh level of a hugely expensive level of bureaucracy.”
He went into a lot more detail to expand on this and his observation was insightful.
Airdrie’s plastic pitch is decent
Banning 3G surfaces in the Premiership
This came about due to an “almost unanimous” vote of the 12 top-flight clubs and it won’t come into force until 2026.
He explained the reasons behind it and cited Airdrie for having a good 3G pitch while saying other (unnamed) clubs do not.
Shooting down a conspiracy about the Old Firm
There have long been allegations from some quarters that Rangers and Celtic can ‘block’ change by voting against a proposal and Mr Doncaster talked about how he’s never seen an example of it in 15 years.
Again, he went into a fair bit of detail to back up his claim.
Colour-blindness and kits
A reader question came from a colourblind fan who said he watched Aberdeen v Airdrie recently and there was a kit clash that made it almost impossible to watch.
The reader asked when the SPFL would implement guidance on getting rid of kit clashes.
Mr Doncaster’s answer was pretty knowledgeable - but suggested it was up to clubs to sort out and was “a work in progress”.
Increasing the top flight to 14 or 16.
This was another fan question courtesy of the Improving Scottish Football podcast lads.
This was probably the only question that Mr Doncaster was diplomatic about.
He gave reasons in favour of the current 12-10-10-10 format while saying “we should always be open to ideas about potential new formats - as long as it takes the game forward.”
This episode of the Price of Football podcast will be released on Thursday August 22 and is available for streaming or download wherever you get your podcasts.
I’m still away - but I’ll have a post for you on Wednesday which I’m sure many of you will find intriguing.
Until then, as usual - please subscribe and all feedback welcome.