2019–20 in Scottish football explained

The 2019–20 season was the 123rd season of competitive football in Scotland. The domestic season began on 12 July 2019, with the first round of matches in the 2019–20 Scottish League Cup. The 2019–20 Scottish Professional Football League season started on 2 August 2019.^[2]

All competitive matches affiliated with the Scottish Football Association were postponed indefinitely on 13 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]

Transfer deals

See main article: List of Scottish football transfers summer 2019 and List of Scottish football transfers winter 2019–20.

Celtic transfer defender Kieran Tierney to Arsenal for £25 million, a record fee for both a player sold by a Scottish club and for a deal involving a Scottish player.^[4]

League competitions

On 15 April 2020, all divisions in the SPFL below the Scottish Premiership were concluded, and all play-off matches were cancelled, as clubs chose to curtail the season due to the pandemic. On 18 May, the Premiership was curtailed and Celtic declared champions. Final league standings across the four SPFL leagues were determined by the average number of points per game.

Other leagues in Scotland were decided on a points per games basis, or declared null and void.

Scottish Premiership

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish Premiership.

Scottish Championship

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish Championship.

Scottish League One

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish League One.

Scottish League Two

See main article: 2019–20 Scottish League Two.

Non-league football

Level 5

See main article: 2019–20 Highland Football League and 2019–20 Lowland Football League.

Level 6

See main article: 2019–20 East of Scotland Football League and 2019–20 South of Scotland Football League.

Honours

Cup honours

width=180	Competition	width=140	Winner	width=80	Score	width=140	Runner-up	Match report
2019–20 Scottish Cup	Celtic	3–3 (4–3 pens.)	Heart of Midlothian	BBC Sport
2019–20 League Cup	Celtic	1–0	Rangers	BBC Sport
2019–20 Challenge Cup	Inverness CT and Raith Rovers (trophy shared); Final cancelled.[5]
2019–20 Youth Cup	Competition unfinished. Final never played. (Killie v Aberdeen).
2019–20 Junior Cup	Competition scrapped Cancelled at the semi-final stage.[6]
	Dunipace	3–1	Broomhill
2019–20 Amateur Cup	Tollcross Thistle	4–4 (3–2 pens.)	Drumchapel Amateurs	Edinburgh News

Non-league honours

Senior

Level	width=180	Competition	width=150	Winner
5	Highland League	Brora Rangers[7]
	Lowland League	Kelty Hearts[8]
6		Bo'ness United[9]
	South of Scotland League	Null and void
7

Junior

West Region

width=230	Division	width=150	Winner
West Premiership	Auchinleck Talbot
West Championship	Blantyre Victoria / Darvel (joint winners)
West League One	Shettleston
West League Two	Johnstone Burgh

East Region

width=230	Division	width=150	Winner
East Super League North	Null and void[10]
East Super League South
East Premier League North
East Premier League South

North Region

width=230	Division	width=150	Winner
North Superleague	Null and void[11]
North First Division
North Second Division

Individual honours

PFA Scotland awards

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, PFA Scotland cancelled their awards for the 2019 - 20 season.^[12]

SFWA awards

width=210	Award	width=150	Winner	width=140	Team
Footballer of the Year	Odsonne Edouard[13]	Celtic
Young Player of the Year	Lewis Ferguson[14]	Aberdeen
Manager of the Year	Neil Lennon[15]	Celtic
International Player of the Year	John McGinn[16]	Aston Villa

Scottish clubs in Europe

See main article: 2019–20 UEFA Champions League and 2019–20 UEFA Europa League.

Summary

Club	Competitions	Started round	Final round	Coef.
Celtic	UEFA Champions League	First qualifying round	Third qualifying round	16.5
	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	Round of 32
Rangers	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Round of 16	18.0
Aberdeen	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	Third qualifying round	3.5
Kilmarnock	UEFA Europa League	First qualifying round	1.0
Total				39.0
Average				9.750

Celtic

UEFA Champions League

UEFA Europa LeagueHaving lost in Champions League qualifying to CFR Cluj, Celtic dropped into the Europa League playoff round.^[17]

Group Stage

Knockout Stage

Rangers

UEFA Europa League

Group Stage

Knockout Stage

Kilmarnock

UEFA Europa League

Aberdeen

UEFA Europa League

Scotland national team

See main article: Scotland national football team 2000–19 results and Scotland national football team 2020–39 results.

Women's football

Glasgow City won their 13th consecutive Scottish national title in the 2019 season, which was completed on 24 November with the Scottish Women's Cup final.

2019 was officially the last season of the SWFL First Division and SWFL Second Division, after 20 years (replaced by the SWF Championship and SWFL regional divisions).

League and Cup honours

width=245	Division	width=150	Winner
2019 SWPL 1	Glasgow City[18]
2019 SWPL 2	Heart of Midlothian[19]
2019 SWFL First Division (North)	Aberdeen F.C. Women[20]
2019 SWFL First Division (South)	Glasgow City Development[21]
2019 SWFL Second Division (North/East)	Dundee City
2019 SWFL Second Division (West/South West)	Morton[22]
2019 SWFL Second Division (West/Central)	Bishopton
2019 SWFL Second Division (South East/Central)	Edinburgh Caledonia[23]

width=245	Competition	width=150	Winner	width=80	Score	width=150	Runner-up	Match report
2019 Scottish Women's Cup	Glasgow City	4–3	Hibernian	BBC Sport
2019 Scottish Women's Premier League Cup	Hibernian	(p) 0–0	Glasgow City	BBC Sport
2019 SWFL First Division Cup	Celtic Academy	6–0	Renfrew	She Kicks
2019 SWFL Second Division Cup	Morton	3–2	Dryburgh Athletic	She Kicks

Individual honours

SWPL awards

width=200	Award	width=140	Winner	width=140	Team
Players' Player of the Year
Player of the Year
Manager of the Year
Young Player of the Year

Scottish Women's Premier League

See main article: 2019 Scottish Women's Premier League.

SWPL 2

UEFA Women's Champions League

Glasgow City

Glasgow City entered the Champions League in the round of 32,^[24] and were seeded at that stage.^[25] City eliminated Russian side Chertanovo to progress to the last 16, where they defeated Danish club Brøndby after a penalty shootout.^[26] This meant that City progressed to the quarter-finals, which were originally scheduled for March 2020 but were rescheduled and reformatted due to the coronavirus pandemic.^[27]

Hibernian

Hibernian entered the Champions League in the qualifying group phase.^[24] They progressed to the last 32, where they were unseeded, by winning their group.^[25]

Scotland women's national team

See main article: Scotland women's national football team 2010–19 results and Scotland women's national football team 2020–29 results.

Deaths

• August: Jimmy Fleming, 90, Stirling Albion and Berwick Rangers full back.^[28]
• 22 August: Junior Agogo, 40, Hibernian forward.^[29]
• 4 September: Kenny Mitchell, 62, Greenock Morton defender.^[30]
• 16 September: Bobby Prentice, 65, Heart of Midlothian winger.^[31]
• 18 September: Fernando Ricksen, 43, Rangers defender.^[32]
• 23 October: John Fleming, 62, referee and SFA official.^[33]
• 11 November: Bill Barr, Ayr United chairman.^[34]
• 25 November: Martin Harvey, 78, Raith Rovers assistant manager.^[35]
• 11 December: Ian Young, 76, Celtic and St Mirren defender.^[36]
• 18 December: Tom White, 80, Raith Rovers, St Mirren, Hearts and Aberdeen forward.^[37]
• 20 December: Billy Hughes, 70, Scotland forward.^[38]
• 22 December: Duncan MacKay, 82, Celtic, Third Lanark and Scotland defender.^[39]
• 6 January: Danny Masterton, 65, Ayr United, Clyde and Queen of the South forward.^[40]
• 15 January: Bobby Brown, 96, Queen's Park, Rangers, Falkirk and Scotland goalkeeper; St Johnstone and Scotland manager.^[41]
• March: Dave Souter, 79, Dundee United, Arbroath, Berwick Rangers, East Fife, Clyde and Dundee winger and defender.^[42]
• 30 March: Alex Forsyth, 91, Albion Rovers and East Stirlingshire outside right.^[43]
• 11 April: Peter Bonetti, 78, Dundee United goalkeeper.^[44]
• 23 April: John Murphy, 77, Ayr United defender.^[45]
• April: John Freebairn, Partick Thistle and Montrose goalkeeper.^[46]
• 2 May: John Ogilvie, 91, Hibernian defender.^[47]
• 26 May: Christian Mbulu, 23, Motherwell defender.^[48]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Dundee Utd, Raith & Cove win titles & reconstruction talks start after Dundee vote . BBC Sport . 15 April 2020 . 15 April 2020.
2. Web site: SPFL announce key dates for 2019/20 and confirm retention of winter break . Sky Sports . 17 April 2019 . 17 April 2019.
3. Web site: Coronavirus: Scottish football postponed until further notice . BBC Sport . 13 March 2020 . 13 March 2020.
4. Web site: Kieran Tierney: Celtic defender completes £25m Arsenal move . BBC Sport . 8 August 2019 . 8 August 2019.
5. News: Inverness Caledonian Thistle And Raith Rovers Announced As Joint Winners of Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Cup . . 30 April 2021 . 24 April 2021.
6. Web site: Best of the West: COVID-19 blow to Scottish Junior Cup. 2021-03-12. Glasgow Times. 7 March 2021 .
7. Web site: Highland League brought to an early end with Brora Rangers awarded title . Tyrone . Smith . BBC Sport . 21 March 2020 . 21 March 2020.
8. Web site: Kelty Hearts named champions as Lowland League called early . BBC Sport . 13 April 2020 . 13 April 2020.
9. News: Bo'ness, Tynecastle and Lothian Thistle HV named champions as East of Scotland clubs vote to end season . Craig . Goldthorp . 24 April 2020 . 24 April 2020 . Edinburgh Evening News .
10. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/phil-mcguire-bewildered-null-void-21885797 Phil McGuire bewildered by null and void decision that has cost Carnoustie Juniors title despite leading table since day one
11. Web site: North junior football season is declared null and void as season over for Nairn St Ninian. Clark. Will. 2020-05-02. Inverness Courier. 2020-05-04.
12. News: Celtic and Rangers stars in line for end of season gongs as SFWA awards go ahead as planned . Gabriel . McKay . Daily Record . 19 May 2020 . 21 May 2020.
13. Web site: King Eddy is our top man . SFWA . 13 June 2020 . 13 June 2020.
14. Web site: Lewis is young player of the year . www.scottishfwa.com . SFWA . 11 June 2020 . 11 June 2020.
15. Web site: Neil Lennon is manager of the year . . 6 June 2020 . 6 June 2020.
16. Web site: International bright young thing . . 6 June 2020 . 6 June 2020.
17. Web site: Celtic to face AIK in Europa League play-off round . BBC Sport . 15 August 2019 . 15 August 2019.
18. Web site: Glasgow City wrap up 13th SWPL title in a row . BBC Sport . 23 October 2019 . 23 October 2019.
19. Web site: SWPL: Hearts promoted in front of record home crowd . Andrew . Southwick . BBC Sport . 17 November 2019 . 18 November 2019.
20. Web site: #SWFL: Titles won by Aberdeen Women, Bishopton and Dundee City . She Kicks . https://web.archive.org/web/20200922042222/https://shekicks.net/swfl-titles-won-by-aberdeen-women-bishopton-and-dundee-city/ . 22 Sep 2020 . 7 Oct 2019.
21. Web site: Summary - Women's Championship [SWFL1] South 2019 - Scotland ]. Soccerway.
22. Web site: Morton Women complete double-winning season . She Kicks . 1 Oct 2019.
23. Web site: #SWFL2: Edinburgh Caledonia champions . She Kicks . https://web.archive.org/web/20210416031145/https://shekicks.net/swfl2-edinburgh-caledonia-champions/ . 16 Apr 2021 . 24 Sep 2019.
24. Web site: Hibernian: Women's Champions League draw offers tough start . Andrew . Southwick . BBC Sport . 21 June 2019 . 23 June 2019.
25. Web site: Women's Champions League: Hibernian join Glasgow City in last 32 . BBC Sport . 13 August 2019 . 13 August 2019.
26. Web site: Women's Champions League: Glasgow drawn against Brondby in last 16 . BBC Sport . 30 September 2019 . 30 September 2019.
27. Web site: Women's Champions League: Glasgow City and Arsenal Women to resume quarter-finals . BBC Sport . 26 June 2020 . 26 June 2020.
28. http://www.stirlingalbionfc.co.uk/jimmy-fleming/ Jimmy Fleming
29. Web site: Junior Agogo is dead. www.ghanaweb.com. en. 2019-08-22.
30. https://www.nufc.co.uk/news/latest-news/kenny-mitchell-1957-2019/ Kenny Mitchell (1957–2019)
31. News: Bobby Prentice, Hearts legend who played over 200 games, dies at 65 . Edinburgh Evening News . Joel . Sked . 17 September 2019 . 17 September 2019 . 28 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200828170619/https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/latest-hearts-news/a-real-personality-player-hearts-mourn-passing-of-cult-hero-bobby-prentice-1-5005584/amp . dead .
32. Web site: Fernando Ricksen . 18 September 2019 . 18 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190918105044/https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/fernando-ricksen/ . dead .
33. Web site: Scottish FA head of refereeing operations John Fleming dies at 62 . BBC Sport . 23 October 2019 . 23 October 2019.
34. Web site: Bill Barr: Ayr United pay tribute as former chairman dies . BBC Sport . 11 November 2019 . 11 November 2019.
35. Web site: Martin Harvey: Former NI and Sunderland player dies aged 78 . BBC Sport . 26 November 2019 . 26 November 2019.
36. Web site: Ian Young, former Celtic defender, dies aged 76 . Sky Sports . 11 December 2019 . 22 December 2019.
37. News: Tommy White, former Hearts forward, dies at age of 80 . Patrick . McPartlin . 18 December 2019 . 18 December 2019 . Edinburgh Evening News .
38. Web site: Billy Hughes: Sunderland FA Cup winner dies at age of 70 . BBC Sport . 20 December 2019 . 22 December 2019.
39. Web site: Former Celtic captain Duncan Mackay dies, aged 82. Sky Sports . 26 December 2019 . 28 December 2019.
40. http://m.clydefc.co.uk/news/2020/01/06/6303/#.XhYZTHd2ucw Danny Masterton
41. Web site: Bobby Brown: Former Scotland goalkeeper and manager dies aged 96 . BBC Sport . 15 January 2020 . 15 January 2020.
42. Web site: Dave Souter . dundeefc.co.uk . Dundee FC . 14 March 2020 . 18 March 2020.
43. Web site: Obituary – Alex Forsyth . East Stirlingshire FC . 30 March 2020 . 1 April 2020 . 5 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200405122707/https://eaststirlingshirefc.co.uk/archives/7537 . dead .
44. Web site: Peter Bonetti: Former Chelsea and England goalkeeper dies aged 78 . BBC Sport . 12 April 2020 . 12 April 2020.
45. News: Ayr United mourn the death of club's greatest servant John 'Spud' Murphy . Ayr Advertiser . 2 May 2020 .
46. https://ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/john-freebairn/ John Freebairn
47. News: Popular Leicester City veteran defender dies after contracting coronavirus . Dave . Owen . Leicester Mercury . 4 May 2020 . 5 May 2020.
48. Web site: Christian Mbulu: Morecambe and ex-Motherwell defender dies, aged 23 . BBC Sport . BBC . 26 May 2020 . 26 May 2020.