The goalposts are changing
Erin Grieve on whether Scottish football needs a regulator to stop more clubs going into administration
As the new football season gathers pace, there has been significant discussion in relation to off-pitch matters, attributable in part to the introduction of the Independent Football Regulator in England.
The Regulator ultimately stemmed from fan-backed proposals and the legislation sets out three primary objectives of the Regulator– to protect and promote financial sustainability of regulated clubs, to protect and promote the financial resilience of English football as a whole, and to safeguard the traditional features of English football that matter most to the fans and local communities.
In a time of increasing investment and changes in ownership of football clubs, there has been much support for protective measures to ensure clubs are able to create, and more importantly maintain, financial security - given what seems to be a worrying trend of clubs at various levels encountering difficulties and growing concerns that these were not isolated issues.
Inverness Caledonian Thistle entered administration in October 2024 following reported losses of £1,200,000 the previous season, with further costs anticipated as the club were relegated from the Championship to League One. They have recently announced that they are to exit administration after agreements were reached with creditors. While a positive outcome has been reached with the goal having been to save the club, they suffered a 15-point deduction and started the new season with a five-point penalty.
One of Scotland’s oldest clubs, Dumbarton FC, also found themselves in financial difficulty and appointed administrators in 2024. Although a sale to a Canadian investor was eventually agreed the same points deductions were imposed. The rules relating to points deductions for insolvency events were, with the support of clubs, changed in 2015 to make the punishments more severe.
Prior to this, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Hearts, Livingston and Rangers had all entered administration in the five years preceding the change. Airdrieonians, Clydebank, Greenock Morton, Gretna and Motherwell had also suffered financial problems and both Dundee and Livingston had been in administration twice.
The stricter rules are designed to ensure that clubs are aware of the necessity to ensure they are financially secure and operating in a manner that promotes this. The rule states that “where a club takes, suffers or is subject to a deductible insolvency event that club shall be deducted 15 points and five points in the league in consecutive seasons." The question of what constitutes an insolvency event is a matter which raises much dispute. Sporting sanctions imposed for off-pitch conduct have been sufficiently common to encourage more backing for a Scottish equivalent to the new Regulator in England. There has been, in recent years, a more widespread acceptance that further scrutiny and changes to the overall governance structure of Scottish football are required. With more clubs facing insolvency events, sanctions being imposed regularly for matters related to the running of clubs and fans becoming more concerned about their team’s security it may only be a matter of time before Holyrood considers the introduction of a Regulator of our own.
Addleshaw Goddard is hosting an event for all legal professionals involved in the sports sector, covering safety, strategy and sustainability in sport, at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow, on 4 September 2025 and the issue of restructuring, recovery and revival will be front and centre. Full details at this link.
Erin Grieve is a Managing Associate and Solicitor Advocate, Addleshaw Goddard