Come five o’clock Saturday there is the, very real, chance that Inverness Caley Thistle and Motherwell will sit on the same points, with the same goal difference and goals scored. All it would take is a 4:2 win at home for Caley and a 2:0 away defeat for Motherwell.
In any other week, the league compilers would simply revert to alphabetical order. But this is not any other week; this is the week that the SPL splits. One team will be guaranteed at least sixth place, while the other will fight it out for a maximum of seventh.
A top sixth place does not just bring bragging rights. It brings bigger gate receipts and the possibility of more TV appearances as well as the increase in prize money. Money and exposure that neither club would wish to be without.
So, in those circumstances, what will decide that top six place?
That is the question that I have been asking the SPL for the last two days. The truth is that no one seems to know.
There are two trains of thought on this,
1: games against each other and in that case ICT would get the top six place.
2: games won which would result in Motherwell being handed a passport to the top six.
If there were provision for these circumstances within the rules of the SPL, then surely there would be an easy answer. The fact that the no one at the SPL seems able to answer the question would suggest that there is no such provision. Therefore it will be left to the SPL to make an arbitrary decision.
If the losing team then decided to contest that decision, the SPL could find itself back at court, facing injunctions and a delay to the rest of the season.