Scottish FA Won't Stop Glasgow Clubs Should They Chose To Leave Scottish Football

The Scottish FA "will not stand in the way of Rangers and Celtic if the Old Firm clubs seek a route out of Scotland," according to Richard Wilson of the HERALD SCOTLAND. There "is currently no means for either club to join a competition in another country, although both are actively investigating their options." While league reconstruction "is the pressing topic in Scotland just now," SFA President Campbell Ogilvie "admits the governing body would assist the Old Firm in seeking a move elsewhere if it will make Scottish football more competitive." Ogilvie "addressed the subject during a discussion on the league reconstruction proposals for a 12-12-18 set-up that will be voted on" by the Scottish Football League clubs later this month (HERALD SCOTLAND, 1/13). In Glasgow, Gordon Waddell reported Ogilvie "acknowledged the proposed 12-12-18 set-up for Scotland is not perfect, but insists it creates more meaningful games." However, he also admitted that "as long as Rangers and Celtic are in the game, true competition for the prizes will always be a struggle." Ogilvie said: "We would like to make our environment more competitive. The problems we’ve had with a couple of top teams dominating is becoming more prevalent in other countries. We have to be a step ahead, so we are speaking to UEFA. The clubs involved in the ECA (European Club Association) -- Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen to a lesser degree -- will be involved in these debates" (DAILY RECORD, 1/13).

TWO TICKETS TO PARADISE: In Edinburgh, Martin Hannah wrote "much has been made of Rangers CEO Charles Green’s threat to move the club to England if league restructuring goes ahead in Scotland." Rangers Manager Ally McCoist "has added his tuppenceworth, saying he would 'settle' for the top league in Scotland, although he backed Green’s right to explore the possibilities of a move down south." Talk of Rangers moving south "is all so much hot air," however. The migration to England "will not happen, unless there is a referendum of a different kind and the people of Scotland vote to become English." Green "is wasting his breath because, as yet, he does not fully understand the true nature of football administrators." Their self-preservation and self-interest "comes before anything else, and they are simply not going to allow a situation where clubs can join another country’s league on a whim." McCoist said, "I can’t sit here and moan about sporting integrity and then try to go straight into the Premier League. That wouldn’t sit well with a lot of people, and the irony wouldn’t be lost on them. But if you started in League Two and earned the right to work your way up -- like, say, Cheltenham -- then you can understand that concept better than Rangers and Celtic being shoved into the middle of the Premiership" (SCOTSMAN, 1/13).