SPL, Yer Having A Laugh (Again)

I shouldn't be surprised. Summer wouldn't be summer without an SPL relegation debate. Two years ago Falkirk were denied promotion due to not having a 10,000 seater stadium. Last year Inverness Caley were denied promotion as they didn't have a groundsharing deal in place by the deadline, but this was eventually overruled and they were allowed up.

This year it's not about whether there will be relegation from the SPL that's being discussed, but who it will be that goes down. Falkirk won the title again and now have a stadium, so will be playing with the big boys next season. It's who the rest of us will be playing that's up for debate.

After 38 league games were played, Dundee were bottom and relegated. Surely there was no question about it. Except there was. Dunfermline and Dundee both complained to the SPL over Livingston's signing of Hassan Kachloul as an amateur. Apparently, they had paid him, which isn't allowed.

Livingston signed Kachloul in late March, just before the deadline for signing free agents passed. As Kachloul had been registered with another club after the January transfer window shut, he had to be registered as an amateur. Fair enough.

After an investigation, the SPL discovered that this wasn't the case. Livingston could have registered the player as a professional, so according to the folk who run the SPL the payment issue wasn't up for debate. They fined Livingston the tiny amount of £15,000 for the misdemeanour. Dundee were, quite rightly, outraged and vowed to go to the courts, whilst Livingston chanced their arm and said they'd appeal the penalty. You've been fined a tiny amount when you could have been relegated and lost over a million quid, why not just accept it.

Anyway, the SPL ruling threw up various issues. First of all, Livingston had consulted the authorities in March what to register Kachloul as. Those authorities were the SFA and the SPL. Yes, that’s the same SPL who fined them, so effectively for following SPL advice Livingston were fined by the SPL. Nice one.

Secondly, why does it matter if Livingston chose to register him as an amateur. Surely that's their choice? Queen's Park have had players registered as amateurs for their entire history, so have they to be fined £15,000 for every player who has played as an amateur?

Thirdly, and far more importantly, Livingston thought they had to register him as an amateur, so did so. They still paid him. They claim it was for doing the job of a commercial executive or such like, well I wouldn't mind getting that job at Livingston. Apparently it comes with a car, house and a lot of money for two months work!

Anyway, Livingston registered a player as an amateur because they thought that was the only option. They then paid him. The fact that it turns out they could have registered him as a professional is irrelevant, they were acting as if this wasn't an option (which they were told it wasn't) and paid him a lot, more than he would have got if he was doing an off the pitch job.

Pure and simple, they cheated. An amateur, in any sport, cannot be paid. Golfers have had to give up amateur status when they win a car or suchlike for a hole in one. Amateur footballers cannot be paid anything above travelling expenses and suchlike. They certainly can't be given a car and a house.

It now seems that the SPL were wrong anyway. Apparently Kachloul had been registered as an amateur player at Reading so would have had to be registered as an amateur at Livingston, so even the £15,000 fine was given for something it turns out they had to do! Will Livingston ever get the penalty that they should for cheating? Don't bet on it.

Will this force the end of the SPL and Lex Gold? I'd love to say it would, but I don't think it will. They'll still survive, just like they have through past dramas, and we'll all be wondering how they got away with it. Dundee are now going to court and so, for the second time in three seasons, we could have Team X on the fixture list.

And remember one thing: the SPL was set up to improve Scottish football, to make things better and give the game a brighter future. Aye, right.