Soccer: English league ‘‘ready to meet’’ with Old Firm
The Nationwide League insist they would be willing to listen to the Old Firm clubs if they made an approach to join the English set-up.
Scottish Premier League chief executive Roger Mitchell believes the time may have come for the Old Firm to join the English league after the pair pulled the plug on SPL TV on Monday.
The withdrawal of the Glasgow giants from the deal has left the other 10 SPL clubs facing an uneasy financial future without the valuable finance from a television contract.
But Football League spokesman John Nagle has warned Celtic and Rangers to be aware of the ‘‘regulatory hurdles’’ which stand between any cross-border move.
Nagle said: ‘‘No approach has been made to the Football League by either club.
‘‘However, were it to happen, we would be willing to meet with them.
‘‘But, it must be recognised that there are a whole host of regulatory hurdles that make such a move difficult to put into practice.’’
However, Mitchell was certain both parties were watching the collapse of SPL TV with ‘‘great interest’’.
‘‘Ian McLeod Celtic chief executive has said he believes change will happen around a seminal moment of uncertainty. That moment may now have arrived,’’ said Mitchell.
‘‘I am sure the Nationwide League looked upon what happened here on Monday with great interest and I am equally sure Celtic and Rangers are looking with great interest about what is happening in the Nationwide League.
‘‘I have no idea if Celtic and Rangers are looking at moving into that league in time for the coming season but there are a lot of clever people involved here.
‘‘We are not operating in a vacuum and I am sure these people will be looking at various options and giving them a great deal of thought.
‘‘If I believed in the Atlantic League - which I did - then I believed the SPL could flourish without Rangers and Celtic and I’ve no reason to change that view.
‘‘In fact, given the changes in the structuring of the other 10 clubs, it is true to say such a move might be even more suitable now than it was back then.’’
But McLeod maintains the Old Firm clubs are still SPL sides despite speculation linking them with a move to negotiate their own television deal.
McLeod said: ‘‘We are part of the SPL. We want to do what is right for ourselves and also what is right for Scottish football, although we have said all along that structural change will eventually arise.
‘‘We have put a three to five-year time frame on it and I don’t see anything that has been indicated likely to change that.’’
