Gretna beat Airdrie United to Scottish League place
Gretna have been admitted to the Scottish League in place of Airdrieonians, putting an end to the hopes of Airdrie United and five other teams.
Scottish Football League secretary Peter Donald has admitted that the murky recent past of Airdrieoneans was the major reason why would-be replacement Airdrie United was strangled at birth by rival chairmen.
The club, set up by accountant Jim Ballantyne, existed only on paper but had been the hot favourite to be voted into the SFL's Third Division to fill the void left by Airdrieonians, who were shut down by liquidators KPMG at the end of last season.
A playing staff had been recruited ready to sign on the dotted line, 1,500 fans had pledged to buy season tickets and many were sure also to travel to away games.
But the 27 SFL chairmen eligible to vote turned down the obvious financial benefits to instead welcome Gretna back to Scottish football for the first time since 1947.
Ballantyne had made strenuous efforts to disassociate himself from the financial mismanagement that had seen Airdrieonians disappear under a mountain of debt.
The accountant even offered to pay back some of it as a gesture of goodwill if the application were to be successful.
But the chairmen decided that to allow Airdrie United to emerge from the blackened ashes of Airdrieonians would be setting a dangerous precedent that might see cash-strapped football clubs disappear only to reappear under a different guise.
Donald said: "I think the potential precedent that may have been set may have been a major factor.
"There was certainly concern about that and I think it was certainly one element that went towards it."
Just days before the vote, Airdrie United tried to play a trump card by announcing it had secured an agreement with KPMG to use the vacant New Broomfield Stadium on matchdays.
But Donald revealed that such a deal was not enough to satisfy SLF rules as a five-year agreement was necessary.
He added: "Following the sad demise of Airdrieonians, there was very limited time for Jim Ballantyne and his team to prepare and they were almost victorious.
"I don't know what is going to happen to Airdrie United now but there may be an opportunity for the club to make an application in the future."
That depends, of course, on the willingness of the backers to continue and of securing a place in another league.
But Donald offered Gretna as an example that perseverance does eventually pay off as the club had tried before to be accepted into the SFL.
He said: "Their application proved they had learned from previous experience. They continued to improve facilities and had a reasonable playing record."
The voting went to a second ballot, with Gretna having won the most votes first time round but not enough to secure a majority of 14.
That was achieved in the second ballot, with UniBond League Gretna polling 16 ahead of Airdrie United's 11.
Now Gretna will kick off their new career back in their homeland with a home match with Morton on August 3.
Gretna secretary Ron MacGregor declared: "It is a great day for Gretna Football Club. We can now come back to Scotland."
Airdrie United chairman Jim Ballantyne could not hide his disappointment and questioned whether the SFL chairmen had made the right decision.
He said: "I am adamant that Airdrie had more to offer Scottish Football than our rivals, but the Scottish League chairmen thought otherwise - and I have to accept that."
Ballantyne wished Gretna well as he pondered the future of football in the town. "I am desperately disappointed by this decision, not just for myself and my fellow directors but, most importantly, for the people of Airdrie.
"They wanted to continue the town's 124-year association with senior football, and the whole community - people in the street, politicians and businesses - were 100 per cent behind us.
"Yes, it's hurting but I do congratulate Gretna on their victory today and I genuinely wish them well in the Bell's Third Division."
Gala Fairydean, Preston Athletic, Cove Rangers, Huntly and Edinburgh City were the other disappointed candidates.