Forcing Rangers into Division Three could 'spell end for other clubs'

The decision to force newco Rangers to start in the Third Division could spell the end for some clubs, Inverness Caledonian Thistle have warned.

On Friday, Scottish Football League clubs voted 25-5 to put the Ibrox club into the bottom tier of the game.

SFL chief executive David Longmuir claimed the vote had been taken to ensure "sporting integrity" remained in Scottish football.

However, Inverness Caledonian Thistle directors have called an emergency board meeting this weekend to consider the financial effects of at least three seasons in the Scottish Premier League without the Glasgow club.

Chairman Kenny Cameron said: "There will now inevitably be serious consequences for the game in Scotland. We have all, as clubs, accepted the views of our stakeholders in making the initial judgement to uphold sporting integrity. All clubs will now have to live with the repercussions of this decision.

"Scottish football was at a cross roads today in terms of what was on the table for all clubs regarding reorganisation, financial distribution and a road map that would have taken the game forward. But this has now been thrown in to disarray by this decision. This is a sad day for all clubs in Scotland."

Mr Cameron warned that he believed no clubs in the country will "escape the financial fallout" from forcing newco Rangers to start in Division Three.

He added: "There was an opportunity on the table, in terms of the joint agreement tabled at today’s meeting for us all to come together and a genuine willingness to improve the game substantially over the coming years. But it now looks as though this will once again be kicked back in to the long grass. A once in a lifetime opportunity to bring forward change may well have been lost.

"The directors of ICTFC are fully aware of the financial implications of this latest decision on Newco. The loss of either our fans or our sponsors was never going to leave any of the clubs in Scotland in a healthy financial position and for some this could spell the end of football as we know it.

"Certain clubs in the SFL have perceived the financial information they were receiving as a 'big stick' to beat them into accepting newco in the First Division. This was definitely not the case, as far as I am concerned. What they were being told was the reality of the situation."

Previously SFA chief executive Stewart Regan and SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster claimed that the financial implications for the game in Scotland with newco Rangers in the Third Division were significant, with as much as £16m being lost to the game.

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