From the 2023/24 season, Swiss football will definitely not be played in the play-off process, but according to the Scottish model. Interventions by the approving authorities and a campaign by football fans were decisive for the compromise.
The fans’ protest against the introduction of the play-offs brought the clubs to reason.
In the end, the Latin faction remained almost united on the play-off course, only Xamax swerved. On the other hand, the Grasshopper Club remained the only German-speaking Swiss representative at the general assembly of the Swiss Football League who did not turn away from the play-offs introduced in May 2022. So: The Ticino and the western Swiss against the German-speaking part of Switzerland and Xamax as well as GC in reversed roles: 8:12.
Thus, the play-offs are done, from the 2023/24 season the Super League, which was then increased to twelve clubs, will be based on the Scottish game form, which divides the table into two halves in the last quarter of the championship. The top six clubs play for the title and European Cup places, the bottom six against relegation.
In 2020 the Scottish mode had no chance
The Scotland mode was rejected by the assembly two years ago by a vote of 10:10. Now it is the last resort so that the unpredictable play-offs can be avoided. Or “the good Swiss compromise”, as the league CEO Claudius Schäfer said to the media on Friday in Bern.
➡️ 57,407 signatures against playoffs at the @News_SFL in Bern!
➡️ Maintenant, it’s between the presidents of the club!
➡️ Ascoltare la base e vote per il calcio e #PlayoffsNo #PlayoffsNo #PlayoffsNon! pic.twitter.com/k1cHiP8itv
— PLAYOFFS – NO NO NON (@PlayoffsNo) November 10, 2022
Even if the final decision is understandable, its confused consultation leaves a stale aftertaste. In the future, it is advisable to involve the approval authorities responsible for football games before and not only after the changes have been decided. According to Schäfer, the authorities in St. Gallen and Zurich have reported in recent weeks and made it clear that they would “most likely or explicitly” not allow play-off games. So there could never be a cup final or any other top game in Zurich or St. Gallen.
There is no optimal mode for twelve teams
In an emergency, the Scottish model should bring cooling and less tickling. “That works pretty well in Scotland,” the CEO of the local league said Schäfer these days. It’s been like this for a few years. The Swiss back and forth can also be explained by the fact that no optimal mode can be created for twelve teams. You can twist and turn everything as you want.
The league is well advised to involve the base more in the future. That means: the football fans. In other words, those clientele who have a reputation among politicians for dancing on the noses of the clubs and the league, as they usually say behind closed doors. More than 57,000 signatures were collected in the anti-play-off movement. That’s quite a lot. Thus, common sense and sporting criteria eliminated the playoffs. But also the fans and the police. The combination is not devoid of irony.