Another SPL shambles

It’s a no-brainer really, but I’ll say it anyway — football should be decided on the pitch, not in courts or at disciplinary hearings.

That’s why we have rectangular areas of grass with goals at either end. The team that puts the ball into the net most often should be the winner. What could be more simple?

Unfortunately, too often in the brief and painful history of the shambles we know as the SPL, this is not how winners and losers are decided.

Recent seasons have seen Falkirk twice denied promotion because they did not meet the necessary stadium criteria.

Last summer, it was the Jags of Inverness and Partick who had to battle it out in committee and court rooms before it was decided ICT — despite not meeting the stadium criteria either — would replace their Glasgow cousins in the top echelon.

Now, the precious few weeks when we should be enjoying golf, tennis and another England failure to win back the Ashes, are in danger of being spoiled by the fuss over whether or not Livingston fielded an ineligible player in their bid to avoid relegation.

If they did, via paying former Premiership star Hassan Kachloul when he had only signed an amateur contract, there will follow an argument over whether or not the offence was enough to merit a points deduction that would see them and not the Dark Blues go down.

Here I have to be careful and remember the golden British principles of fair play and the presumption of innocence, though seldom have they ever spilled over into football.

I must also be wary of further infuriating Livi fans who have become my own personal hate club since I was less than complimentary about their set-up on the eve of the final game of the league season.

Three of them — yes, half their travelling support — emailed to forcefully disagree with my assertion theirs was not an SPL club.

To be sidetracked for a moment, while my view has not changed (events of the last fortnight have strengthened it) and their number few, it’s right to concede that at that final-day battle against Dundee, the Livi fans were quality.

Back to the 2005 summer scandal, and pushing all obvious City of Discovery bias aside, hand on heart I can say I hope the outcome of this latest tawdry tale of SPL doings will be that Livi are found to have done nothing wrong and Dundee remain relegated.

Make no mistake about it, I am desperate to see the Dark Blues back up, but, over the 38 games of the last league season, they were the worst team and it is only fair they take their medicine.

Having said that, if Livi have erred then they will have to pay the price — whatever the SPL board feel it should be. If they go down and Dundee stay up, they will only have themselves to blame.

And, at the end of this sorry episode, maybe someone at Hampden will see sense, put together a working party who can take as long as it takes to come up with a clear and sensible set of rules for our top division.

If that leads to the introduction of a baseball-style independent commissioner to oversee the running of the league and implementation of its rules, so much the better.

Now, I’m off to find a Pimms, some strawberries and ice cream and a copy of Wisden. Either that or my Beano Summer Special and a pint of lager!