Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livingston, Rangers, St Mirren and St Johnstone wrote a joint letter to the SPFL outlining "serious concerns" over a governance report; SPFL cited inaccuracies in the letter; a meeting has been set for March 19
Friday 16 February 2024 14:52, UK
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) is "confident" any concerns raised by six top-flight clubs over an independent governance review will be answered after sharing the findings with all 42 members.
Aberdeen, Livingston, Motherwell, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren expressed "serious concerns" over the "independence and transparency" of the report and wanted "full clarity on numerous issues" to clarify if "further action is necessary".
League Two side Stenhousemuir then backed the six Premiership clubs who called for a meeting to discuss the issues on February 27, but the SPFL has now confirmed all clubs will gather instead on March 19.
The independent review was commissioned after SPFL chair Murdoch MacLennan apologised to Rangers following a lengthy dispute about its main sponsorship deal.
In January the SPFL announced a draft report following the three-month review showed it complied "with significant elements of the UK Code of Corporate Governance", with MacLennan adding he was "reassured, but not complacent".
The review was carried out by independent external auditors and involved detailed questionnaires and interviews with 15 stakeholders, including senior executive team members, non-executive directors, and other senior figures in the game.
The six clubs, however, released a joint letter with concerns over the "independence and transparency" of the report, plus the overall governance of the SPFL and questioned questioning why the executive were able to amend the original draft of the report before it was presented to the rest of the board.
The SPFL cited "a number of factual inaccuracies" in the letter which also claimed MacLennan's statement following the completion of the report "was issued without the approval or knowledge" of the SPFL board and member clubs. Furthermore, some clubs were concerned MacLennan's statement was not a true reflection of the report.
Sky Sports News understands there were also concerns that outside of current or previous SPFL members just one club, Aberdeen, were allowed any input into the auditing process, and, despite several requests at the time, the full report was not yet released to any of the clubs who paid for it.
While the six top-flight clubs wanted a meeting in February for all 42 members to discuss concerns around the report, the SPFL has confirmed a board meeting will now take place on March 19.
"We are pleased that, following further discussion with Henderson Loggie, we have now been able to circulate their independent governance review in its entirety to all 42 SPFL clubs. Now that clubs are in possession of the review, we are confident they will see for themselves how thorough and detailed the exercise was - and that Henderson Loggie have delivered in full on the brief announced in July 2023.
"Henderson Loggie's report contains a number of recommendations for the board's consideration.
"The board had hoped to consider all of Henderson Loggie's recommendations at its scheduled meeting on Monday 19 February. However, one director requested that this discussion be put back to allow all board members to attend. That meeting, to discuss the individual recommendations, is therefore scheduled to take place on 19 March, which is the first date after 19 February that all SPFL board members can be there in person.
"Given the ongoing public debate, however, we are keen that clubs and the board are able to discuss the review at the earliest possible date. A scheduled meeting of Premiership clubs will take place on the morning of Monday 19 February and the governance review is already on the agenda. The SPFL board is meeting later that day and its agenda also includes the governance review. As well as the Premiership club meeting, we intend to schedule further meetings in the weeks ahead, to enable all clubs to have their views heard, and their questions answered, at the earliest opportunity. The board will discuss the timing of those meetings on Monday.
"In addition, we intend to call a general meeting of all 42 clubs, in line with the SPFL's articles, where our shareholders will be given ample opportunity to consider the board's proposals in respect of Henderson Loggie's recommendations, as soon as possible after 19 March."
"On behalf of SPFL Premiership clubs Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livingston, Rangers, St Johnstone and St Mirren, a letter was today issued to the SPFL executive in response to the handling of the recent Independent Governance report.
"The clubs hold serious concerns regarding the report's independence, transparency, and the overall governance of the SPFL.
"The letter seeks full clarity on numerous issues so that the clubs, as shareholders of the SPFL, can determine if further action is necessary.
"In conjunction with a draft report being made available to the SPFL board, SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan hastily released a statement that did not reflect the full findings of the report.
"Additionally, the statement was issued without the approval or knowledge of members of the SPFL board or SPFL member clubs.
"The SPFL board is to meet at a future date to discuss the draft report's contents, making it highly inappropriate for the SPFL chairman to have made any public comment ahead of that meeting.
"Regarding the report itself, the clubs and others are deeply concerned about its independence, given that the SPFL executive received the first draft of the report and made changes to it prior to sending it to SPFL board members.
"Of the 42 member clubs, only one had the opportunity to input into the report's investigation, outside of current or previous SPFL board members.
"Despite several requests from the clubs, the report has yet to be released to any of the member clubs despite the clubs footing the bill for its creation.
"The handling of the Independent Governance report has brought the clubs' governance concerns to a head, and it is now incumbent on the SPFL board and executive, for the sake of trust in those running our game, to provide clarity over these clear and deeply troubling concerns as a matter of urgency."
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