Major twist: Rangers fall on sword as Celtic title plan foiled

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Published on:

16 May 2020, 2:15 am

Rangers have accepted defeat in their bid to stop Celtic being crowned champions.

A video conference of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs on Friday to make a call on terminating the season ended with the final decision delayed until next week.

But a Scottish source has told Football Insider that all clubs accept the current season cannot be played to a finish due to the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Even Rangers and Hearts - the strongest opponents to the SPFL plan for the top flight to follow the lower leagues and be terminated based on current standings - accept that completing the campaign in the current climate is impossible.

It was decided on Friday to postpone the final decision until next week, with an SPFL board meeting scheduled for Monday.

It is expected that Celtic will be declared champions for a record-equalling ninth time in a row, Rangers runners-up and Hearts doomed to relegation to the second tier.

UEFA have imposed a 25 May deadline for individual leagues to decide how they propose to finish their campaigns.

That does not rule out legal challenges from Rangers, who have embarked upon a public civil war with the SPFL over the last two months, and Hearts further down the line.

Nevertheless, it is expected that the SPL clubs will agree to call the season based on the current top 12 league standings, foiling plans to thwart Celtic.

That will pave the way for plans to accelerate for the 2020-21 campaign, which is likely to begin behind closed doors at the end of July.

The SPFL are driven by the bumper new Sky deal, which is worth £125m across five years and comes into effect on 1 August.

The broadcaster will show up to 48 live Premiership matches every season, as well as the Premiership/Championship Play-offs, on its dedicated football channel.

In other Rangers news, Alan Hutton tells Football Insider he is left shocked by the numbers involved as shock Ibrox sale on the cards.

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