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The bruised Neil Doncaster extended an olive branch to the Rangers by urging them to help protect Scottish football from the catastrophic impact of the cornavirus crisis.
Doncaster spoke after surviving an attempt by the Ibrox club to remove him from his post as CEO of SPFL during Tuesday’s extraordinary general meeting of the country’s 42 clubs.
Rangers needed 75% support for Doncaster and his board to be subject to an independent QC-led investigation into their handling of the Covid-19 blockade, which has seen civil war sweeping the game in this country.
But the request fell short of just 13 clubs, less than 31 percent, prepared to back up the demands of an investigation.
The Rangers were backed by three of their top 12 flight rivals: Hearts, Aberdeen, and Livingston. But, of the 10 clubs in the Championship, only Inverness Caley Thistle voted in their favor.
Eight more than 20 clubs in League One and League Two, including recently relegated Partick Thistle and Stranraer also backed the Rangers’ request.
But the numbers fell well below what some feared within Hampden’s sixth floor.
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And shortly after the vote was announced, Doncaster called for peace to break out, insisting that he hopes to bury the ax once and for all with the clubs they wanted to get him on the job.
He said: “It has been a forceful few weeks not just for me but for everyone involved in Scottish football.” No one has enjoyed the entire division that has occurred in the past two months.
“But we made it clear that we would respect the democratic process and the result. The clubs gave a very clear message that they want all of our time and energy to be focused on getting the game back to normal, fans to return to the stadiums as soon as possible safely and focus on saving the game. .
“It is vitally important for all of us that we use this resounding result to find reconciliation and save the game we all love.”
When asked if he planned to speak specifically with Rangers President Douglas Park, who had called for Doncaster’s suspension along with league legal counsel Rod McKenzie, he replied: “Yes, I think we should all look for ways in which We can Help heal divisions and bring people together. We live in extraordinary times where you can’t get past the table and meet people face to face.
“We are all locked up and isolated, so we have to use phones, emails and video conferences instead of sitting with people.” That presents its own challenge, but I think it’s important that we all reflect on what we can do to help correct what has happened in the past two months and help the game move forward.
“We are much more capable of making sure the game survives if we all work together.”
Doncaster is adamant that no bridges have been burned despite the trauma that has caused so much damage to the game.
He said: “Time is a great healer. In the past 20 odd years there have been times when the game has been under severe stress.
“But ultimately, when football returns and old rivalries return to the field, we can all focus on what matters most.” Part of the problem has been that there is no soccer, so everyone’s attention has been focused on problems that occur off the field.
“It is really important that we make sure that our language is more respectful. That type of terminology is something that we must try to avoid in order to start the healing process. Printed words can be very easily misinterpreted, so we must be aware of the effect that those words have in the people around us ”.
When asked if he expected the Rangers to take him to court, he said, “I don’t want to speculate on how different people might respond to the vote. Clearly, the membership as a whole has made it very clear what it wants.
“As a board we will respect that and I sincerely hope that everyone else wants to respect the democratic vote and that they want to consider ways to tackle Covid-19 together.
“I don’t see this as a personal claim. I see it as a reflection of all the hard work the entire board has done, spending a great deal of time away from their clubs for the benefit of the 42. I think it is a great credit to the board members who have been clinging to choppy waters with lots of personal criticism. They have done their best for the league as a whole and I am delighted for them.
“The next step is a reflection on the 19/20 season in the Ladbrokes Premier League. The board made it clear that it would consult with the best flight clubs before making any decisions to shorten the season.
“So there must be a very quick engagement with the Scottish government.
“As much as it is vitally important to have games for our streaming relationship, we are also well aware that the lifeblood of Scottish gaming are fans in stadiums.” Our focus should be to get the fans back as soon as possible.
“If we can’t get the games back soon, particularly with fans in stadiums, that will pose huge challenges to the survival of our member clubs. I think that is well understood. “
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