ANN BUDGE and Dave Cormack have joined forces to echo Rangers’ call for an independent investigation into the SPFL’s bungled ballot to end the campaign.
The Hearts and Aberdeen owners both believe an inquiry is required to examine the voting process if the ill-feeling following a week of anger, accusation and counter-claims is ever going to truly subside.
The resolution to end the season for all divisions below the Premiership ultimately passed on Wednesday after Dundee – who initially intended to submit a No slip – ‘put their foot on the ball’ after seeing partial results and ultimately voted Yes.
Budge and Cormack stopped short of demanding the suspension of chief executive Neil Doncaster and in-house lawyer Rod McKenzie, as the Gers did last weekend, nevertheless they made their feelings clear.
Budge said: “I think there’s been so much negativity and it has reached such a height that without an independent review it’s not ever going to to go away.
“People will be talking about it for a long time to come. It would be the right thing to do.
“I’ve already heard clubs saying that [an internal review] is like marking your own homework. I don’t think it would carry the same weight.
“An independent review would satisfy everybody.
“At least people would at least know that this has been looked at, that problems have been highlighted and maybe – just maybe – we won’t make the same mistakes again in the future.”
Meanwhile, Pittodrie supremo Cormack voted for for the proposals, albeit he told BBC Scotland’s Sportsound programme that he cast the club’s ballot after Doncaster had informed him the SPFL already had sufficient support from the top-flight.
He noted: “At 4.40pm we were effectively told we had got their nine votes and they didn’t need ours. I didn’t have a problem with Neil getting involved, he didn’t push us either way.”
Cormack, who confirmed that Aberdeen will ‘burn through £1 million’ every month there is no football, is adamant Doncaster should so ‘contrition’ for the way the farce unfolded.
He would also like to see an investigation in order to restore ‘creditability’ to the Scottish game.
Cormack said: “I’ve said to Neil [Doncaster]: ‘If I were in your position – and I wouldn’t want to be – then I would show some contrition for what has happened’.
“It clearly was a vote that was forced down our throats in many ways, and that’s obvious.
CREDIBILITY
“I could almost repeat what Ann has said. We owe it to ourselves and the fans to right this situation and bring back credibility.
“We would like to see an independent investigation.
“Someone independent has to chair it because if we don’t I’m not sure anyone will believe it.”
Cormack also claimed that he has sought a verbal agreement with the SPFL to ensure the Premiership campaign cannot be ended without that going to another vote among top-flight clubs, rather than it being a board decision.
