BILLY BREMNER MEMORIAL JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN
Date: 27th April 2024
I tutor English and spend a great deal of time talking about connotations – the implied meanings of words that are made clear through the context in which they are used. When I saw the headline about the play-off being cancelled, suggesting the Highland League outfit were stunned, between East Kilbride and Buckie Thistle, I was also stunned at the result of a process that saw Buckie Thistle stun Brechin City with a stunning run in to catch them and take the Highland League title.
In the Highland League Brechin City were attempting for the second year in a row to become Highland League champions. With Andy Kirk at the helm and Craig Levein in the background, their first title looked to be an assured beginning as Brechin climbed to the top once more, and looked like they would make it 2 in a row with some ease.
But lurking in the background with many games to spare were Buckie Thistle.
Their tussle with Brechin over the last few months went from being mathematically possible, to impossible, before Brechin faltered, after their dynamic duo of Kirk and Levein left, and Buckie Thistle began the long slow climb. It went to the wire and on the goal difference Brechin City were vanquished. With two hefty wins against Strathspey Thistle Buckie made it…
It was dead exciting.
It was all for nothing.
Buckie Thistle have been denied the opportunity to progress up the pyramid.
Why? Did they field an ineligible player? Have they had their first team come down with a bout of post COVID blues they cannot shake and are therefore unable to field a team? Did their pitch need sawdust and sand to make it playable and forced so many postponements that they got fined and have gone into financial meltdown, falling foul of Financial Fair Play Rules meaning they have copped a points penalty?
No.
They don’t have bronze award.
Now before we all go off into the tailspin of searching for the Duke of Edinburgh award on the dusty shelf that you can offer to Buckie and help them get through the necessary paperwork exercise, this is a bronze award needed for the clubs to get into the SPFL at League Two. There was an SFA licensing committee held recently and after the end of the Lowland and Highland Leagues’ season and both East Kilbride and Buckie Thistle arrived to hear if they had gone bronze.
East Kilbride did; Buckie Thistle did not.
East Kilbride go through to the next round; Buckie Thistle do not pass, do not collect their award and have gone to SFA administrative jail.
They are stunned.
Now, according to the SFA, all clubs got told they needed the bronze award in December to get into the SPFL. Curious I would have thought that everyone should have already known that, but no matter they got tellt. I read it was “an updated criteria.”
Then in March, Buckie failed to apply for a period of grace. Why? Presumably because they did not meet the criteria. But they did get asked, after the deadline, if they wanted one and they said yes, please.
But they turned up in April, to present their case. Should they not have known they were in trouble? Would manager Graeme Stewart not have been fully aware that his incredible feat of getting to win the League was likely to be thrown into the round filing cabinet because of ineptitude by his club?
Such arrogance by Buckie Thistle ought to be called out? Surely?
Unless…
You see, I read and reread the statement by the SFA and not unusually, it does not tell us transparently why it is that Buckie Thistle don’t meet the criteria. The reasons are cleverly, left vague by trying to be precise. They did not meet the criteria, under the new rules, were told in December, and did not apply for an extension, so say the SFA.
So, what new rules? What was the period of grace for? What did they fail on?
Fortunately, in the spirit of openness and dare I say transparency, it would appear that they have failed to find a “doctor in the house.” Buckie Thistle President, Gary Farquhar, in a statement on their website states, amongst many other things, the following: –
“I will state straight away that we did in fact miss the cut off date for the “period of grace “ from the SPFL. We have to accept that and categorise as an error never to be repeated. However earlier this week we were asked to submit a request for this to the SPFL, which we did straight away. Why did they request this ?
On the licencing side ( SFA ) I had a Teams meeting with the SFA Licencing Committee at Hampden on Wednesday to discuss the 4 applications for derogation that we had previously submitted. We were granted 3 of those derogations, the Floodlights, The Safety Officer and the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The Medical Return was deferred to the next meeting due on the 15th of May.
We have been unable to complete / submit our Medical Return because we are still trying to engage the services of a Doctor to attend all of our home games , this is a requirement for Bronze Level. This is currently our stumbling block and I believe the reason for our failure to be granted a Bronze Licence.
I have to stress that during ALL the dialogue between the club, the SPFL and the SFA, there was never any mention of the pending disaster that unfolded last night. I received the e-mail last night at 5 o’clock, informing us that we would not be taking part in the Pyramid Playoffs. The rest, as they say is history.”
And so, on behalf of the fans – why request and receive a request for a period of grace and THEN dismiss it. Why not warn the club of this impending doom? Sporting integrity? Lost on a piece of paper. Stunned at ineptitude does not cover it, surprise at the lack of transparency on one side does not. Once again Scottish football suffers at the pens and not at the feet of those involved in the game. The biggest losers – supporters, who travelled the Highlands to watch what was a tremendous spectacle ruined by quills.
Posted in: Latest News
Tags: Buckie Thistle, SFA