The league have taken action after games were postponed at the Premiership club.
The SPFL has punished Dundee for often having to postpone games at Dens Park due to the state of their surface.
The club was fined £186,000 following a disciplinary hearing; however, £120,000 of that amount is postponed until the end of the 2024–2025 season and will only be due if issues persist.
“At a disciplinary hearing today (18 April 2024), Dundee FC admitted five separate breaches of SPFL Rules relating to their Dens Park pitch,” according to a statement from the SPFL.
This came after crucial Premiership games scheduled for October 7, 2023, December 23, 2023, January 2, 2024, March 17, and April 10, 2024 were postponed.
Consequently, Dundee was fined £186,000, of which £120,000 is postponed until the conclusion of the 2024–2025 season.
“This suspended feature will automatically be activated the next season in the event that there is another violation of SPFL Rules concerning pitch condition.”
“SPFL rules on pitch condition are an integral part of maintaining a fair league competition,” stated a representative for the league.
Dundee has stated that they think the SPFL’s details and communication on the punishment are inaccurate, and they are contemplating filing an appeal against the penalty.
“Following an SPFL disciplinary hearing today, Dundee FC has been advised of the Tribunal’s findings as set out in the below SPFL press release, which in our view is inaccurate,” the club said in a statement posted on their website.
In actuality, Dundee FC has been fined £150,000, of which £120,000 is suspended until the conclusion of the 2024–2025 season. The suspension of this aspect will take effect immediately the first time a pitch is postponed due to flooding the following season.
Furthermore, the SPFL is entitled to reimbursement for the costs of pitch specialists and television, totaling £36,429.60.
“Dundee Football Club is in deep disappointment with the harshness of the penalty and is currently consulting with legal counsel regarding an appeal.”
“While we seek legal advice, the club will not be making any further comments on the outcome.”
After six games were postponed due to the state of the playing field, the Premiership team was held accountable by the league.
On Wednesday, the third attempt at the televised home game against Rangers was successful. The SPFL had prepared a backup plan to relocate the game to McDiarmid Park in St. Johnstone in the event that there were any further problems.
The Ibrox club also chastised the SPFL for their handling of the issue, and Rangers and other clubs had voiced their displeasure with the club’s difficulties in hosting their games.
Following the second postponement, the Ibrox club released the following statement: “The top professional league in the country continues to suffer from the negligence and unprofessionalism displayed by Dundee Football Club, where they have repeatedly breached SPFL rules.”
“Rangers will continue to make the strongest possible representations to the SPFL, and the club expects them to act in a proportionate and decisive manner in accordance with its rules.”
At this point, we would want to express our sincere sympathies to all of our fans—roughly 4,000 of them had planned to attend tonight’s game. The initial postponement last month caused Dundee FC much trouble and financial loss, thus it is completely inappropriate and insulting of them to have allowed this to happen again.
Manager Stuart Kettlewell of Motherwell had attacked the team, claiming that they had benefited from spending money on their playing roster when it should have been allocated to bettering the surface and infrastructure.
Dundee has acknowledged that their pitch requires immediate attention, but club secretary Eric Drysdale came under fire—and some jeers—when he suggested that the club’s issues were related to climate change.
He said to Sky Sports, “I can understand people are annoyed at this and are looking at it as Dundee’s fault.”
“What I would say is that, according to studies we have recently conducted, the rainfall this year is 35% more than the 10-year normal. This indicates the effects of climate change on it and highlights the urgent need for work on the Dens Park pitch.
The pitch is excellent, but there have been several times when home games have coincided with inclement weather, including the storms in October of last year, which resulted in the most rainfall ever recorded in Scotland, and the match against St Johnstone between Christmas and New Year’s Day after Storm Babette.
“The situation clearly needs to be corrected, and we fully acknowledge the difficulties we face. The club will take the necessary action.”
Although there has been much more rain than usual in the area these last several months, Dundee United’s ground has not suffered any serious issues despite being only 200 yards away.
