Celtic and Rangers' B teams plans met with opposition

Plans to include Celtic and Rangers’ second teams in the Lowland League have been met with opposition from below and within the competition.

The competition’s feeder leagues have united to condemn the idea while Lowland League club Bonnyrigg Rose vowed to vote against any formal proposal.

The Lowland League last week announced plans to invite the Glasgow clubs to enter B teams on a one-season basis only with neither able to be promoted to Scottish League Two.

Rangers welcomed the potential invitation after being frustrated at the progress of their request to enter a B team into the lower leagues of the Scottish Professional Football League, which has not been put to fellow clubs.

Lowland League clubs are meeting on Monday to discuss the fresh idea but opposition has already emerged.

Three leagues that help make up the sixth and seventh tiers of the Scottish football pyramid – the East of Scotland, South of Scotland and West of Scotland – stated they were “disappointed and dismayed” at the proposal amid no “discussion or consideration” for their clubs.

A joint statement added: “It has been stated that the colt teams could not be promoted next season but no discussion regarding this has taken place with the SPFL.

“Should one of the colt teams win the league, what guarantee would there be that the second-placed club would enter the promotion play-offs?

“The SPFL would be within their rights to deny runners-up the opportunity to play in the SPFL play-offs as they were not the champion clubs.”

The leagues added they saw no benefit other than self-interest and a “small financial reward” for Lowland League clubs but fear a “serious risk to the future of the pyramid structure”.

Bonnyrigg Rose say 95% of their members are against the idea.

The club added they had to “jump through hurdles” to join the Lowland League, such as installing floodlights within three weeks, after gaining promotion through the East of Scotland League.

“We, alongside Kelty Hearts, Bo’ness United and Caledonian Braves all had to start at the bottom in order to gain our status in the Lowland League and there are over 100 clubs trying to do the same,” the statement added.

“Our members have no problem whatsoever with any B team joining the pyramid and if the names were Hibs and Hearts or Livingston and Hamilton their decision would have been the same, but that they are treated in the same way as every other new joiner and starting at the bottom.

“Simply put, by voting this proposal through we turn this league into one for hire and that can’t possibly correlate with any semblance of either sporting or pyramid integrity.”

Another Lowland League club, Civil Service Strollers, stated last week that any two extra places in the competition should be awarded to teams from further down the pyramid.