Neil Doncaster on Rangers, play-off pricing and last-day fixtures

[pete 2,499]

Neil Doncaster on Rangers, play-off pricing and last-day fixtures

 

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has defended the league's position over Rangers' desire to allow season ticket holders into play-off matches for free.

 

Doncaster said that the SPFL and board merely enforced existing rules agreed by clubs and that rules could be changed by the clubs themselves.

 

The chief executive also admitted that mistakes were made over the scheduling of the final Championship fixtures, where Rangers and Hibernian were slated to play a day apart despite being in direct competition for second place.

 

He insisted that sporting integrity was not endangered but that the SPFL had allowed a situation where it was in question.

 

Speaking after the announcement of a new sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes, Doncaster was quizzed on a number of issues by STV's Raman Bhardwaj.

 

In addition to touching on the importance of TV to Scottish football and the possibility of league reconstruction in the future, the league official spoke at length about recent controversy over the conclusion to the Championship season and the play-offs.

 

Neil Doncaster on Rangers and the dispute over play-off ticket pricing

 

via STV via STV

 

Q: Can I discuss one of your member clubs, Rangers, and their attempts to allow season ticket holders to attend play-off matches at Ibrox for free? Can you explain why season ticket holders cannot attend the matches for free under the league rules?

 

Neil Doncaster: That’s actually a slight misapprehension about what the rules are. The rules state that, for similar accommodation, clubs are unable to give some sort of discount to season ticket holders relative to away fans in similar accommodation.

 

We would have been open to clubs, should they have wished, admitting all fans for free. That would have been fine or a nominal fee, a pound or five pounds. The issue is about equivalent pricing.

 

Q: So, in effect, Rangers could have let supporters in for free but they would have to let Queen of the South fans in for free as well?

 

ND: Generally, pricing of tickets is an issue for individual member clubs. The rules that were set by all member clubs back in 2013, in relation to the playoffs, made it clear that home and away fans had to be treated the same in terms of pricing.

 

Q: Some people were taken aback by Rangers’ bullishness when they released this statement and said it was “fundamentally wrong” for supporters to be charged for play-off matches. What did you make of the tone of that statement and what they said in that statement?

 

ND: Ultimately, the board and myself don’t set the rules. The rules of the competition are set up by the member clubs themselves. Those rules were set back in 2013, were agreed to by all member clubs at that time, they were reaffirmed in the last month when member clubs discussed the rules around play-offs.

 

So those are the rules that the clubs themselves have set. Ultimately, it is open to individual member clubs to come forward with suggestions about different rules, rules that they may deem to be more appropriate.

 

If the clubs themselves agree then those are the new rules going forward. The role of the board is to monitor and ensure as best it can that the rules set by member clubs are abided by.

 

Q: Do you foresee changes in the rules come the end of the season? Given the apparent fall-out this time round, would that be one way of averting it next time?

 

ND: It’s certainly possible. There was an attempt made to change the rules last month. Ultimately that was defeated and the majority of the member clubs felt that the current rules were the best rules in the circumstances.

 

That doesn’t stop there being rule changes coming forward in the future and if enough clubs agree then those new rules will take priority. Ultimately, the board can only work with the rules as they are, not as a few clubs wish they should be.

 

If enough clubs decide on a new set of rules then those are the new rules going forward.

 

Q: How important was it for the league to stand firm in its position when Rangers effectively took on the league or, as some might suggest, showed two fingers to the league?

 

ND: I think it’s very important that any league demonstrates that the rules are there for everyone and that the board is there to ensure that the rules are abided by. I’m pleased that it appears that those rules will be abided by.

 

Q: Were you taken aback by the language used by Rangers in that statement?

 

ND: These are passionate areas. I understand that these are issues that people will have different views on. But ultimately, the board’s view can only be ‘what are rules and are clubs living within the rules?’

 

If the rules are changed at the behest of the clubs then the new rules are what the board will monitor going forward.

 

Q: As it now transpires, with Rangers deciding to charge a fiver, a flat rate, that would equate to maybe about £100,000 that the league might get. You will lose out on money you may have had if they had a higher pricing level.

 

ND: Ultimately, the rules are what they are and clubs are entitled, within the rules, to charge what they want for tickets for those games. If clubs had intended something different then they would have set different rules.

 

If clubs are within the rules then it’s entirely up to them what they do. That has to be the right way to approach it.

 

Q: Is this a scenario you would want to avoid next season?

 

ND: Ultimately, you will always have some clubs that disagree with some rules. That’s life. That’s what it’s like when you are in a league.

 

But we are a collective. We’re a collective of the 42 clubs and the 42 member clubs sign up to that set of rules and it’s the board’s job to enforce those rules.

 

Q: But you think there’s a feeling towards [changing the rules]?

 

ND: I genuinely don’t know. There was a debate about changing the rules last month. When it was put to the vote clubs generally felt that the existing rules, other than the new proposed rules, were the right ones to have in place.

 

Q: And Rangers’ ultimate climbdown almost made your position justifiable?

 

ND: As I say, I think it’s absolutely important that leagues, and league boards, enforce the rules and are seen to be enforcing rules equally across all member clubs.

 

Final day fixtures, sporting integrity and moving games for television

 

via STV via STV

 

Q: Another talking point going into the play-offs was the scheduling of the fixtures. Do you have any regrets with the way the scheduling of the final day of the Championship season was handled?

 

ND: I think you can always do things better. I think it would be wrong to pretend otherwise.

 

Ultimately, we allowed a perception to be created that sporting integrity somehow didn’t matter. The truth couldn’t be further from that.

 

We do need to take the lessons from what happened and ensure that we are not erroneously creating that misapprehension going forward.

 

Q: So it was wrong to schedule a match , the Hearts ve Rangers match, 24 hours after the Hibernian match?

 

ND: No, not at all. Ultimately, the scheduling of individual matches to suit TV is at TV’s behest.

 

We sign up to a contract with our TV broadcast partners that will enable them to move games for televising.

 

Ian Blair chose to consult with clubs before moving other games to ensure that all games took place at the same time on the final day before making decisions to move other games. That gap allowed the erroneous impression to be created that somehow we didn’t care about sporting integrity.

 

That is just not the case.

 

Q:But you’re saying it’s an erroneous impression. Do you think sporting integrity is in question when two clubs are competing in the same competition on the final day of the season but are not playing at the same time?

 

ND: But they are...

 

Q: They are now, after a reversal

 

ND: The reversal happened, effectively, because the broadcaster decided to reschedule the game.

 

Ultimately, when the game was initially scheduled to be moved from the Saturday to the Sunday, at that point the company secretary consulted with all the other clubs in that decision about those games moving.

 

It was that choice to consult rather than simply moving games which created that erroneous impression.

 

Q: At some stage did someone in the league not think ‘Hang on a minute, you’ve got Hibs and Rangers both vying for second spot. They should be playing at the same time. ‘ Did nobody think about that?

 

ND: Absolutely, at that time. But the decision was made to consult with clubs before moving those games.

 

Q: And the decision was made by whom?

 

ND: The company secretary Ian Blair, who schedules games. Ultimately, the broadcaster moved the Hearts-Rangers game to the Sunday and, before moving other games, Ian decided to consult with clubs before moving them.

 

It would have created some inconvenience to other clubs, moving all games en masse. Ultimately that was probably what needed to happen.

 

It was the decision to consult before moving those games that allowed the false impression to be created.

 

You’re saying lessons have been learned. Can we then take it that next season, should the situation arise, we will not be in the same position?

 

ND: Well, we’ll certainly be in a situation where some games will move for TV. It’s how we then respond to that.

 

It’ll be incumbent on us to simply move games rather than consult with clubs before moving them, if we want to avoid the same situation happening again.

 

You’re saying it’s possible that you could have a similar scenario next season?

 

ND: It’s certainly possible that games will move for TV, while we’re in a live TV broadcast contract games will move. Ultimately we schedule all the final Championship games for the final Saturday at 3pm.

 

Clearly you can’t broadcast within those hours so as soon as the decision was made to broadcast one of those games then it led to a number of games having to move.

 

So is the league saying that if fixtures are moved, and it may lead to some people questioning sporting integrity, blame the broadcaster not the league?

 

ND: No, not at all. Games will move for television because we’re not allowed to. The starting block is that all games are scheduled for 3pm on a Saturday, but games do have to move and they have to move for a number of different reasons . Other clubs competing in the Europa League or Champions League is one reason and games moving for TV is another reason.

 

Why didn’t Ian Blair go to Sky and say ‘Hibs are playing 24 hours previous, can you not do it on that date’?

 

ND: You can’t schedule [televised games] at 3pm on a Saturday. That’s when the fixtures are scheduled for initially and when they move for TV you need to work through the consequences.

 

What allowed the mistaken impression about sporting integrity being created was the decision to consult with other clubs about moving their games.

 

Had the decision simply been made that ‘We’re going to move all the fixtures to Sunday to be in line with Hearts v Rangers’ then we wouldn’t have been dealing with a situation where sporting integrity was questioned. We would have been dealing with a situation where the league was being seen to be heavy-handedly moving all fixtures and inconveniencing all clubs simply for one game on TV.

 

That’s the nature of where we are with live broadcast contracts.

 

Do you see any issue with two competing teams, in the same league on the last day of the season, not playing at the same time?

 

ND: Absolutely, and that would never have happened.

 

What happened was, the decision to move one game was followed by a decision to consult with all the other clubs before moving all the games.

 

It was that decision to consult that led to the impression that we didn’t care about sporting integrity.

 

Had all the games been moved, en masse, at the first opportunity then different issues would have arisen.

 

Q: It did say in your statement ‘It’s not clear to us why this has caused so much surprise’....

 

ND: The rescheduling of games for TV shouldn’t. It should have been no surprise to anyone.

 

Q: On the final day of the season?

 

ND: Absolutely. Ultimately, once a broadcaster selects a game for TV, you move the game and then you need to think about the implications of that move for sporting integrity.

 

http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/hibernian/1320345-neil-doncaster-on-rangers-play-off-pricing-and-last-day-fixtures/

Edited May 14, 2015 by Zappa
Adding link to original article

[Blue Moon 1,113]

What an obnoxious interview!

[TheWee BlueDevil 0]

What an obnoxious interview!

 

By a truly obnoxious man.

 

Hateful, arrogant puppet.

[limeburner 0]

The guy is simply not fit for purpose.

However,there is a club that thinks he is.

Gers fans are pissing against the wind whilst this incompetent is still in office.

[barca72 440]

Well, at least he has impressed himself with his efforts.

[westway 0]

He does like the word, ultimately, useless tosser.

[Zappa 0]

What an obnoxious interview!

 

The word obnoxious sums the interview and Neil Doncaster himself up perfectly.

[calscot 0]

To be fair to ND, the questions were obnoxious shit stirring, but the answers showed his odious politician type tendencies.

[Zappa 0]

To be fair to ND, the questions were obnoxious shit stirring, but the answers showed his odious politician type tendencies.

 

To be fair to the reporter (whoever that was? pete! no link and no writer credit again!!) asking the obnoxious shit stirring questions, that's what's required with guys like Doncaster and Regan who seem to be experts at lying about what a disaster they've overseen in Scottish football.

[craig 5,198]

Didn't read it. There isn't anything that this fool can say that has me interested in knowing.

 

Shouldn't be in the job so I am paying him no credence.