SPFL clubs that go into administration could be relegated Since 2001 Motherwell, Hearts, Livingston (twice), Morton, Dundee (twice) and Dunfermline have, at some point, been in administration while Gretna, Clydebank, Airdrieonians and Rangers fatally descended into liquidation. Prior to the SPL taking over the SFL this summer, the two bodies had their own rules when it came to punishing clubs who were unable or unwilling to live within their means. Following Rangers" demise last year, the SPL introduced a set penalty which saw offenders deducted a third of the points they had won the previous season as well as being placed under a signing embargo. Hearts were the first club to be affected by that change, beginning this season with minus 15 points after entering administration in June. In November, 2010 First Division Dundee received a 25-point penalty by the SFL board - who had no limit to the sanctions they could impose - because they had failed to live within their means for the second time in a decade. However, now that the league bodies have merged, the SPFL board - chief executive Neil Doncaster, Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen), Stephen Thompson (Dundee United), Eric Riley (Celtic), Les Gray (Hamilton Accies), Mike Mulraney (Alloa Athletic) and Bill Darroch (Stenhousemuir) - are drafting the rules for the new organisation. "That's where the prospect of relegation comes in," said a Hampden source. In the past the SPL's hands were tied when it came to punishing clubs which had suffered an insolvency event because they had authority over just the 12 members. Consequently, they couldn't impose a relegated club on the SFL. Now, though, there is the opportunity to provide a 42-club solution and relegation is a punishment which has been discussed.