Cost of Hearts' legal advice in a case against SPFL revealed

Officials at Tynecastle are considering whether Hearts could take legal action.

Expert legal advice on taking action against the Scottish Professional Football League would cost Hearts just £3000 to £5000.

Leslie Deans, a lawyer and former Tynecastle Park chairman, has revealed the cost of consulting a top QC and stressed that Hearts fans will want their club to fight back if they are relegated.

Deans told the Evening News many supporters are angry with the SPFL, who are likely to call a premature end to this season's Premiership and send Hearts down.

League officials can formally halt the campaign at any time following last month's controversial vote. They have already ended the Championship, League One and League Two following the coronavirus outbreak.

The Premiership remains suspended but is expected to be ended before May is out, leaving Hearts relegated with eight remaining games unplayed. The Edinburgh club's owner Ann Budge is considering all options and has not yet completely ruled out a lawsuit.

Deans believes paying a relatively minimal sum to consult a top legal figure on chances of success against the SPFL would be worthwhile.

"The cost of a top QC giving his opinion on this solely for Hearts would be between £3000 and £5000," he said today. "That's not a significant sum of money and it would get you one of the absolute top men – the best legal advice money can buy.

"That might give the Hearts board the confidence to be able to move forward. Many lawyers I know think there is reasonable chance of success in litigation.

"What is absolutely clear to me is that the rank and file support want to see the club doing something here. There is huge anger. I've been contacted by lots of people and I’ve seen and heard many comments about it."

Were a QC to advise Hearts to pursue legal action, then taking the SPFL to court would cost a great deal more and would be likely to run well into six figures.

The SPFL's decision to publish results of the vote to end the campaign and allow Dundee to change their casting vote from 'no' to 'yes' compromised the entire process. Hearts fans are unhappy at the outcome.

The decision led to Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers winning promotion from their respective divisions, with Partick Thistle and Stranraer relegated. Hearts will suffer the same fate if and when the Premiership is brought to an end, but all play-offs have been scrapped.

That saved several teams the risk of going down at the end of the season, including Brechin City. League Two's bottom club were facing a play-off to preserve their senior place but their chairman, Ken Ferguson, is a member of the SPFL board which proposed the resolution to include cancelling play-offs.

Deans explained the growing discontent in and around Gorgie at how the process was handled.

"In the 60 years I've followed Hearts as a fan, director and chairman, I've never seen anger at this level," he stated. "And, sadly, I've never seen football as divided as it is at the present time. That is where we are, and the blame for that lies firmly at the door of the SPFL.

"They have caused this situation by their lack of even-handedness and the way they run their business. A business which has, according to the Rangers managing director, the worst corporate governance he has ever seen.

"The fans are very keen for Hearts to do something to remedy the wrong which looks like being done to the club here."

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