Stenhousemuir's Iain McMenemy says lower-league clubs 'martyrs for mistakes'
- Published
With Stenhousemuir away to Albion Rovers on the opening day of League Two, league football will not return to Ochilview until 24 October
Scottish lower-league clubs are "paying the price" for the Covid-related indiscretions of top-flight players, says Stenhousemuir chair Iain McMenemy.
Scottish football's Joint Response Group (JRG) announced on Thursday that clubs outside the Premiership cannot train before 24 August at the earliest.
Clubs in the Championship and Leagues One and Two will start their campaigns in the League Cup in early October.
"They have made us martyrs for mistakes made elsewhere," said McMenemy.
The Premiership season started on 1 August, with twice-weekly testing and other protocols in place.
However, eight Aberdeen players, Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli, and the two clubs have been charged for breaching those guidelines.
In June, philanthropist James Anderson donated £3m to help ease the effects of the pandemic on Scottish clubs, with all SPFL sides receiving £50,000.
But with the need testing likely to continue, McMenemy wonders how clubs like his can pay for it for a sustained period of time.
"There are a number of clubs who will be able to afford testing for two or three months, maybe a few months beyond that. But there are very few who could afford that until the end of the season.
"Clubs will go to the wall because of this."
In addition, the Stenhousemuir chairman is dismayed that the football authorities have not, in his opinion, addressed how part-time players can operate in a Covid-safe "bubble".
"Living in a bubble isn't going to be there for part-time clubs," McMenemy said. "If you're a tradesman you could be in six or seven households a day.
"We've been asking the JRG to come up with a protocol that recognises that but they have failed to bring anything to us. We come under the same conditions as Premiership clubs and that's not possible."