|
The West Lothian club's prospective owner, Pearse Flynn, has asked the SPL and the SFA to allow him to transfer Livingston's membership of both bodies to his Lionheart consortium, which would free the new company from the £3 million-plus debt the club currently owe to creditors.
However, many Scottish Football League chairmen see that course of action as giving Livingston an unfair advantage. They are worried that Flynn's proposal may be accepted by the other two governing bodies and are adamant that if a new company are formed and Gough's team are demoted then they must apply for membership to the SFL.
However, should their application be accepted they would be expected to start from scratch in the Third Division.
When debt-ridden Airdrieonians folded after finishing second in the First Division three years ago they were refused permission to carry on as a new company. New owner Jimmy Ballantyne had to assume control of the defunct Clydebank and begin again as Airdrie United in Clydebank's Second Division berth.
"It's fair to say many reservations have been expressed by our members," SFL secretary Peter Donald admitted. "Going down the new company route is not something we have permitted previously: in 2002 we admitted Gretna rather than allow Airdrieonians to retain their membership.
"If Livingston are relegated and manage to achieve the transfer of ownership they're seeking then we, as a body, would seek legal guidance if there was a clamour against it from our members.
"The transfer of membership to another company with no football pedigree is something which concerns us. It may be that they will need to re-apply to join the Scottish League."
St Johnstone chairman Geoff Brown, who has been in charge of the Perth club since 1987, said: "Livingston's position is quite clear. If they are relegated then either they go bust or they form this new company and apply to join the Third Division.
"What the heck would happen to our game if we allowed any club who had run up millions of pounds in debt to just walk away from that and start life again as a new business?
"The Price Waterhouse report proved that most SPL clubs are insolvent but we in the SFL are attempting to run our clubs to the best of our endeavours. I would hate to see a relegated Livingston stepping into our league with no debt because that would give them an unfair and undeserved advantage."
Meanwhile, Donald reve-aled that if Livingston are relegated while still in administration then they can expect to face a points deduction next season. "The League Management Committee have sufficient powers to act as they see fit," he said.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2005/02/23/sfnliv23.xml