UEFA supremo Aleksander Ceferin has warned the SPFL that they ARE jeopardising their teams' spots in next year's European competitions if they cancel the Premiership early and declare the title in Celtic's favour.
The main man at the European governing body has also ordered leagues to play out to a finish, "without supporters if necessary".
Ceferin has sought to set the record straight after the Belgian Pro League broke ranks - pending ratification - to declare their campaign in Club Bruges' favour yesterday.
An official Pro League source said that clear-the-air talks which took place between Uefa and the Belgian authorities this morning had been "constructive", with Pro League chairman Peter Croonen saying "they told me five times that it is not a threat".
But that tone appears to have changed, judging by an interview given by Ceferin to German TV channel ZDF.
In it, he states: 'This is not the way. Solidarity is not a one-way street.
You cannot ask for help and then decide for yourself whether it is convenient.
"That's why I say: Belgium and the other leagues that are thinking of cancelling the season risk participating in European competitions next year.
UEFA requires that the competitions, if justified, be played. Without supporters if necessary.
"Football is absolutely not the same without fans.
"But it's better to have football back on TV without supporters than no football at all. "
A Pro League spokesman insisted a further meeting on the subject was scheduled for next week.
Their statement read: “A remote meeting was held for over an hour this Friday morning between UEFA, the RBFA and the Pro League.
"This constructive meeting allowed Belgian football leaders to explain in detail the health and economic reasons for the recommendation issued yesterday by the Board of Directors and to challenge any approach that would consist in forcing a league to continue competing in the current state of the health crisis on pain of not being able to participate in European competitions next season.
“Favorable for solidarity within European football, our representatives called for a variable approach to this concept which makes it possible to take into account both the specificities of each league. A new interview between the same parties will be scheduled within a week or so."
Developments in Belgium are being closely monitored in Scotland, where the SPFL have scheduled crisis talks for early next week as they ponder whether to declare the Scottish season over due to the coronavirus crisis.
A series of meetings are scheduled to early next week - amid increasing reports that the SPFL could hand a ninth successive top flight title to Celtic, who currently lead rivals Rangers by 13 points having played a game more.
SPFL sources are gloomy about the possibility of getting the league completed by the new provisional Uefa deadline of late July - a week or so earlier than their English Premier League counterparts are required to do.
Like the Belgian example, any decision to call off the league would be a board decision in the first instance, which would then be ratified by the clubs' rank and file.
The main man at the European governing body has also ordered leagues to play out to a finish, "without supporters if necessary".
Ceferin has sought to set the record straight after the Belgian Pro League broke ranks - pending ratification - to declare their campaign in Club Bruges' favour yesterday.
An official Pro League source said that clear-the-air talks which took place between Uefa and the Belgian authorities this morning had been "constructive", with Pro League chairman Peter Croonen saying "they told me five times that it is not a threat".
But that tone appears to have changed, judging by an interview given by Ceferin to German TV channel ZDF.
In it, he states: 'This is not the way. Solidarity is not a one-way street.
You cannot ask for help and then decide for yourself whether it is convenient.
"That's why I say: Belgium and the other leagues that are thinking of cancelling the season risk participating in European competitions next year.
UEFA requires that the competitions, if justified, be played. Without supporters if necessary.
"Football is absolutely not the same without fans.
"But it's better to have football back on TV without supporters than no football at all. "
A Pro League spokesman insisted a further meeting on the subject was scheduled for next week.
Their statement read: “A remote meeting was held for over an hour this Friday morning between UEFA, the RBFA and the Pro League.
"This constructive meeting allowed Belgian football leaders to explain in detail the health and economic reasons for the recommendation issued yesterday by the Board of Directors and to challenge any approach that would consist in forcing a league to continue competing in the current state of the health crisis on pain of not being able to participate in European competitions next season.
“Favorable for solidarity within European football, our representatives called for a variable approach to this concept which makes it possible to take into account both the specificities of each league. A new interview between the same parties will be scheduled within a week or so."
Developments in Belgium are being closely monitored in Scotland, where the SPFL have scheduled crisis talks for early next week as they ponder whether to declare the Scottish season over due to the coronavirus crisis.
A series of meetings are scheduled to early next week - amid increasing reports that the SPFL could hand a ninth successive top flight title to Celtic, who currently lead rivals Rangers by 13 points having played a game more.
SPFL sources are gloomy about the possibility of getting the league completed by the new provisional Uefa deadline of late July - a week or so earlier than their English Premier League counterparts are required to do.
Like the Belgian example, any decision to call off the league would be a board decision in the first instance, which would then be ratified by the clubs' rank and file.
