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Vital Football Legend
Dundee intended to vote against the proposal to finish the lower league seasons early, but the SPFL says no intimation was ever received from the club.
BBC Scotland has seen a voting slip from the Championship club, signed and dated by managing director John Nelms, which shows they were voting against.
But the SPFL say no vote was received from Dundee, whose decision will determine the success of the resolution.
The league has the necessary backing of 10 of the 12 Premiership clubs, and 16 of the 20 in Leagues One and Two.
As it stands, nine of the 10 second-tier sides have voted 7-2 in favour.
But with eight votes needed for the resolution to pass Dundee will have the decisive say having missed the requested deadline, but it remains unclear if they will stick to their original intention.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Partick Thistle were the clubs in the Championship to reject the proposal.
According to the league, Dundee emailed them after the deadline saying: "Please do not consider our vote cast at this time."
The club, who are third in the Championship, released a statement on Friday evening criticising the proposal saying it "condemns clubs to be financially worse off than they are already" citing lost revenue of up to £4m.
If passed, the resolution will end the Championship, League One and Two seasons early with the Premiership curtailed only when the SPFL board determines the current campaign cannot be completed.
The league had also committed to dialogue with clubs about possible league reconstruction if the resolution carried.
Rangers and Hearts were the Premiership sides to vote against having both publicly condemned the resolution.
Rangers statement:
WE have been presented with evidence via a whistleblower that raises serious concerns surrounding the SPFL’s processes relating to its stewardship of the voting on the resolution presented to member Clubs.
Rangers’ Interim Chairman, Douglas Park, attempted to discuss this evidence with SPFL chief executive, Neil Doncaster, who initially refused to do so. The SPFL followed up that call with an e-mail, which we believe was a thinly disguised attempt to silence legitimate concerns.
Rangers will not be bullied into silence. We believe it is in the interests of all Scottish clubs and supporters that the evidence, which is alarming, be addressed as quickly as possible.
The voting debacle and the evidence we possess raise serious questions concerning the corporate governance of the SPFL.
Mr Park said: “The lack of leadership and responsibility from the SPFL as a members’ organisation has shocked me. If ever there was a time for complete openness and transparency, it is now. Crucial decisions are being made on the issues of promotion and relegation behind closed doors and without proper time for consideration or debate.
“The farcical conduct of this affair seems to me to bring the corporate governance and business operations of the SPFL into sharp focus. It is an example of an undemocratic culture, which has existed within the SPFL for far too long.
“As a member club, we are disturbed by the evidence that has been presented and feel there is no choice but to call for an independent investigation into this entire matter. Each member of the SPFL board has a duty to its members to ensure that such an investigation is instructed without delay.
“All we ask for is equality and respect. In the past few days, we have become alarmed at a seeming lack of even-handedness and fair play from the SPFL. This is surely unacceptable and, if substantiated, must be remedied.
“Other member clubs, who have seen the evidence we hold, share our concerns.
“We call for the suspension of the SPFL’s Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster and its legal adviser, Rod McKenzie while an independent investigation is conducted.”
BBC Scotland has seen a voting slip from the Championship club, signed and dated by managing director John Nelms, which shows they were voting against.
But the SPFL say no vote was received from Dundee, whose decision will determine the success of the resolution.
The league has the necessary backing of 10 of the 12 Premiership clubs, and 16 of the 20 in Leagues One and Two.
As it stands, nine of the 10 second-tier sides have voted 7-2 in favour.
But with eight votes needed for the resolution to pass Dundee will have the decisive say having missed the requested deadline, but it remains unclear if they will stick to their original intention.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Partick Thistle were the clubs in the Championship to reject the proposal.
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According to the league, Dundee emailed them after the deadline saying: "Please do not consider our vote cast at this time."
The club, who are third in the Championship, released a statement on Friday evening criticising the proposal saying it "condemns clubs to be financially worse off than they are already" citing lost revenue of up to £4m.
If passed, the resolution will end the Championship, League One and Two seasons early with the Premiership curtailed only when the SPFL board determines the current campaign cannot be completed.
The league had also committed to dialogue with clubs about possible league reconstruction if the resolution carried.
Rangers and Hearts were the Premiership sides to vote against having both publicly condemned the resolution.
Rangers statement:
WE have been presented with evidence via a whistleblower that raises serious concerns surrounding the SPFL’s processes relating to its stewardship of the voting on the resolution presented to member Clubs.
Rangers’ Interim Chairman, Douglas Park, attempted to discuss this evidence with SPFL chief executive, Neil Doncaster, who initially refused to do so. The SPFL followed up that call with an e-mail, which we believe was a thinly disguised attempt to silence legitimate concerns.
Rangers will not be bullied into silence. We believe it is in the interests of all Scottish clubs and supporters that the evidence, which is alarming, be addressed as quickly as possible.
The voting debacle and the evidence we possess raise serious questions concerning the corporate governance of the SPFL.
Mr Park said: “The lack of leadership and responsibility from the SPFL as a members’ organisation has shocked me. If ever there was a time for complete openness and transparency, it is now. Crucial decisions are being made on the issues of promotion and relegation behind closed doors and without proper time for consideration or debate.
“The farcical conduct of this affair seems to me to bring the corporate governance and business operations of the SPFL into sharp focus. It is an example of an undemocratic culture, which has existed within the SPFL for far too long.
“As a member club, we are disturbed by the evidence that has been presented and feel there is no choice but to call for an independent investigation into this entire matter. Each member of the SPFL board has a duty to its members to ensure that such an investigation is instructed without delay.
“All we ask for is equality and respect. In the past few days, we have become alarmed at a seeming lack of even-handedness and fair play from the SPFL. This is surely unacceptable and, if substantiated, must be remedied.
“Other member clubs, who have seen the evidence we hold, share our concerns.
“We call for the suspension of the SPFL’s Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster and its legal adviser, Rod McKenzie while an independent investigation is conducted.”
