BANK of Scotland Premierleague officials last night poured cold water on suggestions that Inverness Caledonian Thistle could be afforded special dispensation to play at their own stadium next season if their promotion to the top flight is eventually approved.
Eddie Thompson, the chairman of Dundee United, who has performed a dramatic U-turn to support the Inverness case after helping to block it at last week’s ballot of SPL clubs, is now proposing the First Division champions are granted an exemption from
the 10,000 all-seater stadium criteria currently in place.
Thompson, who now intends to vote for Inverness on 22 June at the meeting requisitioned by Hearts and Hibs to reconsider the Highland club’s proposal to groundshare with Aberdeen at Pittodrie, believes the SPL should go one step further and allow temporary seating to be installed at the Caledonian Stadium in Inverness, which would bring it to a capacity of 6,000. This is the reduced figure the SPL has proposed as sufficient from season 2005-06, but Thompson now claims the change should be applied immediately to Inverness.
"We are firmly of the opinion that ICT should be allowed a waiver to enable them to play their SPL football in Inverness," said Thompson.
"We believe football clubs hold a special position within their own local community and play an important and integral part of that community. This community role is severely undermined by supporters having to travel a 200-mile round trip to support their club.
"What we are asking is for the fans to be taken into account as an important consideration in the decision-making process on where ICT should play. We would therefore like to give Inverness a waiver to play at Inverness for season 2004-05, requesting them to get to the level of 6,000 seats by the end of August 2004.
"If necessary, they could switch two home games in August to play away as we did for Dunfermline last year when they were laying their pitch. What we are really asking for is some common sense.
"It is now extremely likely that ICT will be voted to be allowed to play in the Premierleague at the 22 June meeting. It does not make any sense that, once in, Inverness should then lose their club from the community and the fans have to endure a 200-mile trip.
"It is our intention to put forward a resolution to this effect to the SPL for discussion at the 22 June meeting. However, we are getting a number of legal hurdles presented to us from the SPL on this proposal due to a precedent being set which would not run in line with past decisions made many years ago with other clubs.
"We would need another club to propose this resolution with us, but with the growing changing opinions among the SPL clubs, this will not be a problem."
Thompson’s proposal appears doomed, however, with the SPL clubs having already voted 10-2 against Inverness being granted such a waiver at the meeting last week.
Iain Blair, the secretary of the SPL, said last night: "Such a proposal, for Inverness to be allowed to play at Caledonian Stadium, was voted on at the last two board meetings, on 30 March and 1 June, and rejected on both occasions."
Blair also warned that Thompson’s proposal would not automatically be considered at the 22 June meeting. "A 14-day notice period is required for any business to be discussed at a general meeting," added Blair. "Unless all 12 clubs agreed to consider the proposal, then it would not be eligible for the next meeting."
Partick Thistle, who will be relegated if Inverness are promoted, have placed the latest developments in the hands of their lawyers and remain grimly determined to ensure the outcome of the original SPL vote is upheld. The Firhill club have withdrawn their offer to the SPL to accept relegation in return for £1million compensation.
Alan Dick, Partick’s chief executive, said: "We will be guided by our lawyers before making any further statements and may not do so now until next week. There remain a lot of imponderables about this issue and it may well run into July before it is resolved."
The crux of Partick Thistle’s case, which they believe the SPL is duty bound to argue in their favour at the Inverness appeal to the SFA which is likely to be held at the end of June, is that the 31 March deadline for stadium criteria was not met.
According to Thompson, however, SPL lawyer Rod McKenzie has already decided the deadline did not apply to the groundshare proposal outlined by Inverness.
Thompson said: "We have received confirmation from the SPL lawyer that the deadline of 31 March does not apply to groundsharing where the ground to be shared is already compliant with the SPL stadium criteria. This could be construed by some people as flying in the face of precedents already set, but we have no wish to return any further to that question. We would like to move on."
