Former chief executive of the SPL Roger Mitchell has claimed SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan must resign after concerned clubs demanded answers over the governance report.
Mitchell - who was the inaugural CEO - has stated MacLennan "needs to go this afternoon" as he reacted to the letter sent to the SPFL by six Scottish Premiership clubs.
The group of clubs - Aberdeen, Livingston, Motherwell, St Johnstone, St Mirren and Rangers - expressed concerns over "independence and transparency" in the recent corporate governance report.
Clubs questioned why the SPFL executive was able to amend the original draft of the report before it was presented to the board.
It's understood clubs were blindsided by a statement released by MacLennan following receipt of the report. It's further thought that the statement was not seen by the rest of the SPFL board or member clubs before it was made public.
Clubs also demanded answers from the SPFL on MacLennan's statement with concerns it was not an accurate representation of the findings of the report.
It's further understood that concerns remain that only one club, Aberdeen, was allowed any input into the auditing and that the full report is yet to be released to any member clubs who paid for it.
Mitchell - who stepped down after SPLTV initiative did not receive backing - claimed on Twitter that if he were MacLennan he would resign "out of pride" after the letter from clubs.
On X, formerly Twitter, Mitchell commented: "I wrote a book whose main theme is about the appalling governance/leadership in much of sport's governing bodies.
"If I personally received a letter like today's, as SPFL chairman, I'd resign before the day was out. Out of pride.
"Like I did when SPLTV didn't get 11 votes.
"You need to look macro and not on micro incidents.
"The Cinch stuff, losing that case, is bad.
"But being accused of altering evidence is dramatic for a chairperson of any kind.
"Murdoch needs to go this afternoon."
READ MORE: Concerned clubs demand answers on SPFL governance report
A joint statement released by the clubs read: "On behalf of SPFL Premiership clubs Aberdeen, Motherwell, Livingston, Rangers, St Johnstone and St. Mirren, a letter was today issued to the SPFL executive in response to the handling of the recent Independent Governance report.
"The clubs hold serious concerns regarding the report's independence, transparency, and the overall governance of the SPFL.
"The letter seeks full clarity on numerous issues so that the clubs, as shareholders of the SPFL, can determine if further action is necessary.
"In conjunction with a draft report being made available to the SPFL Board, SPFL Chairman Murdoch MacLennan hastily released a statement that did not reflect the full findings of the report.
"Additionally, the statement was issued without the approval or knowledge of members of the SPFL Board or SPFL member clubs.
"The SPFL Board is to meet at a future date to discuss the draft report's contents, making it highly inappropriate for the SPFL Chairman to have made any public comment ahead of that meeting.
"Regarding the report itself, the clubs and others are deeply concerned about its independence, given that the SPFL Executive received the first draft of the report and made changes to it prior to sending it to SPFL Board members.
"Of the 42 member clubs, only one had the opportunity to input into the report’s investigation, outside of current or previous SPFL Board members.
"Despite several requests from the clubs, the report has yet to be released to any of the member clubs despite the clubs footing the bill for its creation.
"The handling of the Independent Governance report has brought the clubs governance concerns to a head, and it is now incumbent on the SPFL Board and Executive, for the sake of trust in those running
our game, to provide clarity over these clear and deeply troubling concerns as a matter of urgency."
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