Rangers legend Arthur Numan urges SPFL to follow Dutch lead and not award Celtic title

Arthur Numan has called on the SPFL to follow Holland’s lead and deny Celtic being crowned champions for the ninth season-in-a-row.

The former Rangers left-back knows the decision by Dutch football to allow Ajax and AZ Alkmaar into the Champions League next season – but not award the Eredivisie title – isn’t perfect.

But he thinks it’s better than the way the SPFL has handled the situation to date.

Numan told The Sunday Post: “I know the situation in Scotland isn’t as clear-cut as in Holland.

“So maybe they should follow the Dutch lead, declare Celtic the No. 1 team in the country and give them entry into the Champions League.

“But, as is the case in Holland, don’t call them champions.

“That would mean Celtic would not have won nine-in-a-row.

“They’d have to start again next season to claim that championship.

“I think maybe this is the right way.

“That kind of scenario would anger and frustrate Celtic players and supporters, and I totally get that.

“I’d feel the same way if Celtic was my team.”

Numan knows there are no perfect solutions, and he thinks UEFA should have showed more decisiveness and leadership – putting strong guidelines in place – when they held their meetings last week.

They have allowed each country to call the shots, based on their interpretation of “sporting merit”.

Numan – who is European Scout for AZ Alkmaar – has suffered as his club were joint-top with Ajax, trailing only on goal difference.

It was a crushing blow for them not to have been able to go all the way to try to claim the Dutch championship for only the third time in their history.

“The decision has been made in Holland and it is very frustrating from an AZ Alkmaar point of view,” said Numan.

“We wanted to be able to push Ajax.

“The pressure would have been on them.

“It means that Ajax have been declared the No.1 team in Holland, but we both get entry into the Champions League, if and when that resumes for the 2020-21 season.

“But they have not been awarded the title. No Championships have been handed out.

“Also FC Utrecht have just missed out on a European place because they have played a game less.

“And the Dutch Cup Final between Feyenoord and FC Utrecht has also been cancelled.

“There has been no relegation and no promotion.

“I think it’s right no teams have been relegated. But at least one team should have been allowed to come up from the First Division.

“But now we need to move on and the focus of the whole country, in terms of football, is to be ready for the new season, hopefully starting around the beginning of September.”

More SPFL meetings are scheduled for this week, and it could well be that Celtic will be crowned Champions and Hearts are relegated.

UEFA would be fine with that, but Numan believes European football’s governing body has come up short during the coronavirus crisis.

“I expected more from UEFA,” Numan continued.

“They are expected to lead the game in Europe, but the conclusions from their meetings last week weren’t satisfactory, in my opinion.

“There should have been clearer messages. It wasn’t decisive enough for me.

“But we all get that no person, or club, will be fully satisfied with decisions that are made in the coming days, weeks and months.

“I suppose that as long as each decision is reached in a democratic way then that is as much as we can ask for.

“The right decision just now is to have no football to allow the efforts of all countries to focus on the health and recovery from the coronavirus.

“We all know that 2020 has been a very strange year, and who knows what the future holds in the next four or five months.

“We just need to all be patient and understanding.”