SPFL officially send Hearts down and hand Celtic title as Premiership season is ended

The Scottish Professional Football League have officially relegated Hearts and handed Celtic the title by calling an end to the 2019/20 Premiership campaign.

During an SPFL board meeting via Zoom this morning, league officials ratified the decision to terminate this season’s top flight following the coronavirus pandemic.

That sends bottom-of-the-table Hearts down to the Championship and confirms Celtic as champions despite each Premiership team having at least eight league games remaining. It also releases £7.5m in end-of-season prize money for clubs.

Scottish football went into shutdown on March 13 and last month’s controversial vote to end the campaign was passed by 81 per cent of clubs, including Dundee who changed their vote from ‘no’ to ‘yes’.

That allowed the SPFL to conclude the Championship, League One and League Two instantly – promoting Dundee United to the Premiership, Raith Rovers to the Championship and Cove Rangers to League One.

Partick Thistle were also relegated to League One and Stranraer to League Two as a consequence. The governing body have now brought the Premiership to an end after those in the top division agreed outstanding fixtures could not be played.

Whilst Celtic celebrate a ninth successive title, Hearts will now consider their options on how to contest their premature relegation. The Edinburgh club were four points adrift at the bottom with eight games left and believe they could have stayed up if matches were played.

Owner Ann Budge is adamant no club should be punished as a result of coronavirus and is supported by Stranraer, Partick Thistle and others.

She is contemplating legal action but has also not given up on possible league reconstruction to expand the top flight from 12 to 14 teams.

Budge is preparing a formal proposal to that effect, although many Premiership clubs stated earlier this month that they would not discuss a restructure during the coronavirus crisis.

Hearts have not ruled out the legal option, although that would be costly and protracted with no guarantee of success.

In a statement, the SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan said: “Firstly, I would like to take this opportunity to officially congratulate Celtic on their achievement of winning the Ladbrokes Premiership this season, and also to sincerely commiserate with Hearts on their relegation.

“We would all have rather seen the league season played out on pitches, in stadiums and in front of supporters. This is not the way anybody involved with Scottish football would have wanted to conclude the league season but, given the grave and unprecedented circumstances that we are facing, the Board has agreed that it is the only practical way forward.

“Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on sporting competitions around the world and the repercussions will be felt for a long time. Scottish Government restrictions and deep concerns for both player and spectator safety left the SPFL with no realistic option but to call the Ladbrokes Premiership now and we thank the Premiership clubs for their support on this decision.”

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “On Friday, Ladbrokes Premiership clubs expressed their clear and unanimous view that there was no realistic prospect of completing the outstanding fixtures from Season 2019/20.

“The SPFL Board met this morning and in line with the express agreement of member clubs in April, the Board determined that League Season 2019/20 and the Ladbrokes Premiership be brought to an end.

“This decision now enables us to pay out around £7million in fees to help clubs stay afloat during this incredibly difficult time. We will begin processing these payments immediately.

“The focus of all those involved in the game will now turn to how we get football up and running again safely as soon as possible. Next season’s Betfred Cup first round group stage is scheduled to begin in mid-July, with coverage from Premier Sports.

“The 2020/21 League Season in all four of our Divisions is due to commence on 1 August, which coincides with the start of our new and exclusive five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports.

“Nobody should be under any illusion as to how complicated and difficult a challenge it will be to return Scottish football to normality. We will be liaising with Government on the best way forward and working to ensure that all of our 42 clubs are playing football again as soon as humanly possible.”

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