CELTIC would not be guaranteed the Premiership title if the football season is cut short due to coronavirus, SunSport understands.
There is no specific provision in the SPFL rule book should coronavirus bring an early end to this campaign.
Scott Brown and Callum McGregor with the Premiership trophyCredit: PA:Press Association
The Premier League faces crisis talks to decide if Liverpool will win the Prem title should the killer bug wipe out the end of the season.
And the same could apply north of the border, where Celtic are currently 12 points clear of Rangers at the top having played a game more, and seemingly on course for a ninth title in a row.
The first case of coronavirus in Scotland has been confirmed.
The patient is a resident of the Tayside area, the Scottish Government confirmed.
They had recently travelled back to Scotland from Italy, where 34 people have died from the Covid-19 virus.
So, should enough matches be cancelled to make completing the season impossible, the SPFL would be forced to convene emergency meetings to determine whether results from the matches played to that point are allowed to stand.
The same uncertainty, of course, would apply to relegation spots and the European places.
League organisers have less wriggle room to extend the season because of Euro 2020, assuming it is able to proceed as currently planned.
For now, though, it remains resolutely business as usual in the Scottish league system.
Understandably reluctant to heighten fears or get into hypothetical scenarios, an SPFL spokesman said: “Whilst there have been no specific instructions from the health authorities in relation to SPFL matches, we will take full note of any guidance they provide.
“We are in regular contact with the Scottish Government and with our counterparts in the English Premier League and English Football League.
“We are also in dialogue with the European Leagues and continue to monitor the developing situation carefully.”
Rule C14 in the SPFL rule book says that clubs shall “disregarding any abandoned or postponed matches, play in 38 League Matches in any one Season”, something that every club in the post-SPL era has managed to achieve.
A line from the SPFL rule book which could come into play
To date, the virus has infected more than 85,000 people in no fewer than 50 different countries, being responsible for almost 3,000 fatalities.
Switzerland’s government has taken the decision to cancel all events set to involve 1,000 people or more in their efforts to tackle the disease, including cancelling all football fixtures.
A 22-year-old player for Italian Serie C Group A side Pianese tested positive after feeling unwell at the weekend, with Italy’s Six Nations rugby match against Ireland cancelled.
Inter Milan’s Europa League match against Ludogorets was played behind closed doors at the San Siro, with their Serie A game against Sampdoria one of four Serie A fixtures postponed, with Torino v Parma, Verona v Cagliari and Atalanta v Sassuolo also being suspended.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has revealed that they are putting their own coronavirus strategy in place amid concerns over its spread.
He said: “There’s a meeting in place for this afternoon to discuss things around the coronavirus.
“But the club have prepared a strategy moving forward.
What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is an airborne virus, spread in a similar way to colds and the flu.
The virus attacks the respiratory system, causing lung lesions.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
It is incredibly contagious and is spread through contact with anything the virus is on as well as infected breath, coughs or sneezes.
Symptoms include a runny nose, headache, cough and fever, shortness of breath, chills and body aches.
In most cases, you won’t know whether you have a coronavirus or a different cold-causing virus, such as rhinovirus.
But if a coronavirus infection spreads to the lower respiratory tract (your windpipe and your lungs), it can cause pneumonia, especially in older people, people with heart disease or people with weakened immune systems.
There is no vaccine for coronavirus.
In 2003 an outbreak of a similar virus, SARS, infected more than 8,000 people in 37 countries before it was brought under control, killing 800 of those worldwide.
“We’ll do everything we can on our end to obviously be careful from it.”
Newcastle revealed on Friday that they have banned their players from shaking hands with each other amid fear of the virus spreading.
The Magpies have long since had a training-ground tradition whereby players and staff greet one another with a handshake every morning.
Shock moment Copenhagen star Santos decks policeman in crazy scenes at Celtic Park
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
