Murdoch MacLennan has published an open letter saying eight of the nine SPFL board members believe Rangers, Hearts and Stranraer’s demand for a new investigation on the vote to end the lower league season would be “wholly unnecessary, inappropriate and contrary to the interests” of Scottish clubs.
Chairman MacLennan, who responded to accusations against the SPFL in recent days – which he described as “without foundation” – at length, defended an initial investigation, carried out by Deloitte, with the results published on Friday, describing it as “thorough and detailed”.
Deloitte found no wrongdoing from any SPFL personnel on April 10, when Dundee’s deciding vote went missing in a junk folder.
The Dens Park club subsequently said their vote should not be considered cast, and they then changed their initial no vote to a yes vote.
However, Rangers have continued to allege there is a dossier of evidence which casts a negative light of the SPFL’s actions in the build up to and aftermath of the vote, not only demanding a further independent investigation, but also the suspension of SPFL legal adviser Rod McKenzie and chief executive Neil Doncaster.
They have secured an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the 42 clubs on May 12, where they seek enough votes for a new investigation to be carried out.
MacLennan said: “We have had no detail or evidence whatsoever of what it is the directors, appointed by you, and our senior employees are alleged to have done ‘wrong’.
“If Rangers had been prepared to make available this alleged evidence, then the investigation could have considered that material and could have directly addressed the issue(s) which are said to be causing that club so much apparent concern.”
Setting out the SPFL’s response to accusations which have been levelled at them thus far, MacLennan added: “I trust that it will be apparent to all fair-minded people that the accusations are entirely without foundation. At this hugely challenging time, distractions, scapegoating and sideshows are our enemy.
“We currently have a very small executive team comprising only five senior members of staff who are working tirelessly in the interests of Scottish football. Two of them are the subject of unexplained calls for their suspension.”
In the part of the open letter where MacLennan bullishly responds to each allegation, he admits clubs should have been given more than a couple of days to vote, but – among other defences – he denies Dundee were offered the “sweetener” of reconstruction to get the SPFL’s motion to end the season over the line, writing: “The restructuring process that is happening now is precisely the one that the Board had committed to in the legal briefing document sent out to members with the directors written resolution on 8 April.
“A number of clubs wanted commitments that went beyond those set out in the legal briefing document sent to all Members. But at no stage was any additional commitment or ‘sweetener’ given to any club before it voted.”
