A second official from an SPFL club has spoken out over the governing body’s failure to act on Hamilton Accies’ unpaid pension contributions.
The anonymous official described the situation as an “absolute scandal” and accused the SPFL of allowing Hamilton to gain a sporting advantage over rivals.
Lanarkshire Live Sport has reported for months on pension contributions going unpaid at the club under its current ownership.
In May of this year, the new ownership also failed to pay some players on time, with others receiving less than they were owed.
A former Hamilton player is still waiting on a full season’s worth of pension contributions, with the club having been reported to the Pensions Regulator.
The SPFL has been contacted on several occasions about the matter but has refused to comment or offer any explanation to reporters.
There are now claims the governing body is willing to overlook current rule breaches because Hamilton has “suffered enough under the previous ownership.”
In the last two seasons, the SPFL has deducted 37 points from Accies over incidents related to the previous regime, with the most recent punishment coming in February of this year.
That six-point deduction followed the club’s failure to pay players’ wages on time and in full on 31 December 2025, with the club also admitting to defaulting on tax obligations to HMRC.
Hamilton survived in League One last season after winning their play-off final with Clyde, while Kelty Hearts finished just five points behind and were relegated during a period when Accies was still failing to meet its obligations.
Rob Edwards took over as owner in January after Seref Zengin was deemed not fit and proper by the SFA for his mismanagement of the club.
The anonymous official said: “I think it is an absolute disgrace what is going on. We have heard some of the wages they are paying and it is just not a level playing field.”
The official added: “We have been speaking to other clubs and the feeling being given from the SPFL is that they believe Hamilton has been punished enough, that they can’t do it anymore and they want to give the new owners a chance, almost just sweep this under the carpet.”
Rival clubs were further frustrated this week by images of Hamilton flying the team to Wales for a friendly while players and businesses continue to chase the club for money owed.
The official said: “You can’t be flying the team away to Wales, posting it all over social media and then there are letters going out telling players they can’t pay their pension contributions or they can’t pay debts.”
The official was unambiguous in their assessment, stating: “It is an absolute scandal. What you could say is they are using pension money to pay their players. It just doesn’t seem right.”
The official called on continued public pressure to force the SPFL’s hand, saying: “Hamilton have a sporting advantage and we hope the more people keep putting the pressure on, they might actually act.”
With the new SPFL league season set to begin on August 1, rival clubs are growing increasingly frustrated that no action appears imminent from the governing body.
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