St. Mirren chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick has slammed former Glasgow Rangers right-back Maurice Ross' comments on the current coronavirus regulations.

Ross slammed by SPFL chief

Fitzpatrick was responding to comments made by Ross on BBC Sportsound on October 17th. The 39-year-old, who is now the reserve manager at Motherwell, explained after his club's match against St. Mirren was postponed:

"There needs to be a rule change in the league so if you can’t fulfil a fixture then it’s, ‘Tough, three points’

"I’m not saying that St Mirren were doing this but people can be opportunistic with how this goes.

"Hypothetically at Motherwell if we got two injuries before we play Celtic we can say that the kitman’s wife has Covid and we need to self-isolate till all our good players are back.

"I think the rules can allow for it."

This did not go down well at all with Fitzpatrick, who released a scathing statement against the ex-Gers man. He said:

"I am writing to express my disappointment at the comments of Maurice Ross on the above Podcast following the postponement of the fixture between our respective clubs on Saturday 17 October,”

"In particular I deprecate any suggestion that we or any other football club would take advantage of this pandemic for personal gain.

"Any notion that we have been “opportunistic” in seeking to discharge our public health responsibilities is a fallacy.

"I cannot fathom why Mr Ross would seek to publicly call into question the integrity of a fellow SPFL member club for adhering to the agreed protocols which are in place to protect players, officials and clubs.

"As we, and all football clubs in Scotland, try to navigate our way through these difficult times the comments of Mr Ross are both unfortunate and unhelpful.

"With respect I would suggest Mr Ross might want to reflect on the comments which he broadcast to the nation and I am sure he will support your fellow clubs in being hyper vigilant as we work together to tackle this virus.

"I would be grateful if he could avoid such derisory language in future."

Both sides have a point

This, of course, is a very delicate situation. The coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the planet, and football is not immune. Given the strengthening lockdown measures being brought in across the United Kingdom, it is somewhat miraculous that the sport is still being played at all.

As with anything in football, teams will try to take advantage of every situation, and will always be looking for a loophole to work things their way. Ross has been in the game long enough to know this. However, it does appear that he is directly targetting St. Mirren, which gives Fitzpatrick every right to be angry - there is no proof that his side have bent the rules.

The SPFL, though, do need to find a clear solution to this situation - it is not something that anyone wants to see too regularly this term.

Let us know what you think below!