Inverness entering administration is a day of shame for the SFA and the SPFL.

Yesterday’s news that Inverness Caledonian Thistle has officially entered administration, coupled with a 15-point deduction, all but guarantees their relegation to League Two.

It is a sad, frustrating outcome for their supporters, who put up a valiant effort to save the club, raising nearly half of what was required to stave off this initial blow. That’s more than some clubs have managed, including a particular one whose fans ridiculed them. These supporters never even attempted such a rescue. They sat back, waiting for someone else to ride in on a white stallion rather than taking responsibility for their club.

Fair play to the Callie fans for their attempt.

I’ve already gone into detail about the Inverness situation in a previous piece, so I won’t rehash the same points here. What I will say is this: the governing bodies in Scottish football are fundamentally at fault for this.

It’s easy to point the finger at clubs for overspending, but doing so is both simplistic and dishonest. There should be regulatory frameworks in place to stop clubs from getting into these financial predicaments. Other countries manage it. Scotland doesn’t. That falls squarely on the shoulders of those responsible for making and enforcing the rules.

It’s appalling that clubs are allowed to spend their way to the brink of collapse, not just affecting themselves but the entire ecosystem of Scottish football.

For the SPFL and the SFA to stand back and watch Inverness slide towards this disaster is utterly shameful. The consequences will fall hard on Inverness, but those at Hampden Park should not escape accountability.

This didn’t have to happen, and it shouldn’t have.

It’s not that long ago that Neil Doncaster appeared in front of the Scottish Parliament and, in the face of growing concerns, arrogantly dismissed the idea of an independent regulator for Scottish football. He claimed the current system was robust, that everything was under control, and the game was in good shape. Yet here we are.

Doncaster should be made to explain how Inverness ended up in administration if his so-called “robust” framework was working as he claimed.

The truth is, a handful of clubs—especially one we all know—are blocking necessary reform. Doncaster must think we’re stupid if he believes we don’t see it. These clubs want to spend without restraint, without caring where the money comes from or the consequences. If they run up debts they can’t escape or risk not just their future but the future of Scottish football itself, that’s apparently fine by our governing bodies.

If Scotland’s football authorities took financial regulation as seriously as they do in England or across much of Europe, someone would have stepped in long before now. Inverness wouldn’t have been allowed to continue down this path, and while intervention might have been painful, they wouldn’t be in the dire situation they find themselves in today—a situation from which they may never recover. That threat is real, and it’s serious.

The leaders of our game have failed in their duty. It’s beyond shameful. It’s disgusting that they refuse to take responsibility, that they don’t hold clubs accountable, because to do so would require them to govern properly.

It would mean doing their actual jobs instead of shirking their responsibilities. And frankly, I’m tired of them. I’m tired of these small-minded people running Scottish football into the ground.

If I feel angry today, I can only imagine how furious the Inverness fans must be. They’ve been sold out by the very people who were supposed to ensure that no Scottish club would ever face a situation like this again.