Brendan Rodgers has warned the SPFL not to “run away” from the game that Scottish football wants to see, a league decider, in a fortnight’s time, between our club and the pretenders from Ibrox. Speaking after the match against Hamilton today, where we secured the opportunity to win the title in the first match after the split, Brendan was unequivocal about what he wants to see happen.
Echoing the article I put up yesterday, he has called on the governing bodies to deliver a game that will put Scottish football front and centre in the weekend ratings wars. He knows this could be a bonanza for our sport. He also knows its unlikely to happen.
“”In probably any other country in the world, they would look to play the game and showcase your football and country on telly – whether it was Real Madrid v Barcelona, Manchester United v Manchester City or AC Milan v Inter,” he said. “But for some reason we can’t do that here which is a sad indictment of the world that it is here at times … They should do it and put it at an appropriate kick-off time and trust that people can behave themselves and play the game and show it as a great advert for Scottish football.”
He made it plain that people would view any other decision as something indefensible. “Don’t bury your head in the sand and hope things don’t happen,” he said. “Let’s live and learn. I know they are trying to avoid what happened in 1999 but it’s been a long time since then. You have to show that football and society has changed for the better and you can make it work. Hopefully they will do that – if that’s what they want to do and not just try and avoid it. Scotland is a wonderful country with passionate supporters so make it a great advert – let’s not run away from it.”
The SPFL will probably make the announcement tomorrow.
Brendan has made his feelings clear, and I hope that he gets the support he deserves in the media and elsewhere. What a travesty it would be, what a shocking statement on the mentality in this country, if the fans were denied such a showpiece.
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