In the tribal world of Scottish football, it is a rare day when Celtic fans find themselves nodding in total agreement with a Rangers legend.
However, Barry Ferguson’s brief comments on the Champions League are so undeniably spot on that it probably hints that UEFA are doing something wrong.
Ferguson has joined the likes of Andy Walker in demanding more respect from the powers that be in European football, arguing that the current system is designed to protect the elite at the expense of storied clubs like the Scottish champions.
“I always believe that if you are the champion of your country, you should automatically be straight into the Champions League,” stated Ferguson.
After Brendan Rodgers guided Celtic to the title last season, with Ferguson in the Ibrox dugout, the champions of Scotland had to enter a qualifying stage rather than being given the golden ticket straight alongside the elite, and we all remember how that panned out!
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UEFA urged to give the Champions of Scotland an automatic place in the Champions League
This decline is made even more frustrating by the current state of the Scottish coefficient, which has taken a significant hit following a horrific European season from all.
Scotland has plummeted to 18th in the rankings, a tumble that strips the nation of its guaranteed group-stage spot.
But former Celtic Walker wants the money in Europe ‘spread’ out, so the competition is far more even, as he told Go Radio.
Andy Walker: “I love my English football, but you are getting what five or six English teams in the Champions League?
“Real Madrid are going to be playing Manchester City, and I think it’s going to be for the fifth year in a row.
“I would love it if they could just spread the money out a bit more and get the Scottish champions, the Dutch champions, the Portuguese champions, just get them bigger and stronger. Give them a bit of the money.”
Barry Ferguson: “I always believe that if you are the champion of your country, you should automatically be straight into the Champions League.”
Scottish Premiership title race deserves a better ending
Despite the intense and high-stakes title race unfolding at the top of the Premiership, this season’s champions will not receive an automatic pass to the league phase.
Instead, they face a treacherous qualifying route, likely entering at the play-off stage, meaning the winner of this hard-fought campaign still has one final, massive hurdle to clear.
Celtic felt that at the start of the season, when they were handed a dose of reality as Kairat Almaty booted them out of the Champions League, and since then, chaos has unfolded in Glasgow.
But you sense that the crazy title race unfolding this season in Scotland deserves a better ending, for whoever lifts the title, than having to start at the qualifiers.
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