Neil Doncaster has accused Sevco directors of libelling him and other people.
The accusation is explosive.
If it is substantiated – and Doncaster claims the club’s own release proves it – then there the fallout could be enormous for all involved.
I get the feeling that a little game of brinksmanship is being played. Sevco claim to have legal advice which could justify having Doncaster suspended.
He claims that he has evidence that Sevco has both threatened and libelled people including him. It’s his way of pulling a gun to counter theirs.
Whether it will work or not depends on whether he’s bluffing.
But just putting that allegation out there is hugely significant and consequential. The debate is raging over what might happen next here.
Some want the SPFL to try and make peace with the Ibrox club.
Others think that they must show strength against them.
Robertson will certainly be removed from office tomorrow; anything less would be farcical.
The media is going to accuse the SPFL of being vindictive. It is nonsense. Robertson has breached his fiduciary duties and needs to go. But there are bigger issues at stake than the fate of one stupid man, who the game here will not miss.
The action that is most necessary is the opening of a disciplinary case against the club itself for bringing the game into disrepute.
If the media will defend Robertson can you imagine what they’ll do if the SPFL does that? But it’s essential that the governing body does this regardless, because you cannot allow one club to do what they have done and get away with it.
If Doncaster thinks there’s enough here to constitute libel then there’s certainly enough to justify an SPFL or SFA charge against the club.
It is patently obvious that they have risked the general wellbeing of the sport. They have publicly trashed the reputations of the governing bodies. They have suggested that individuals on those bodies are corrupt.
No other club in the country would get away with this. Regardless of whether or not it looks like an escalation – the media will certainly say it is – and regardless of how the Ibrox club reacts, this is not something that should be dodged or denied.
This game is either governed, or it is ungovernable. To allow a club to behave this way and not subject them to sanctions would be a retrograde step from which Scottish football might not recover in years. It would be a recipe for disaster, because it could unleash anarchy.
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain has put up a piece today which is worth reading; it touches on this subject.
He also references the excellent article from Jim Spence which flat-out demands the sanctioning of Sevco.
You won’t read this in much of the mainstream press but this is something that needs to be done.
When tomorrow’s meeting wraps up, the investigation should be opened at once.
Scottish football needs to know that clubs cannot hold the rest to ransom.
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