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.
All competitive matches affiliated with the Scottish Football Association were postponed indefinitely on 13 March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transfer deals
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.
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
Scottish Championship
Scottish League One
Scottish League Two
Non-league football Level 5
Level 6
Honours Cup honours CompetitionWinnerScoreRunner-upMatch report2019–20 Scottish CupCeltic3–3 (4–3 pens.)Heart of MidlothianBBC Sport2019–20 League CupCeltic1–0RangersBBC Sport2019–20 Challenge Cup Inverness CT and Raith Rovers(trophy shared); Final cancelled. 2019–20 Youth Cup Competition unfinished.Final never played. (Killie v Aberdeen).2019–20 Junior CupCompetition scrappedCancelled at the semi-final stage.Dunipace3–1 Broomhill2019–20 Amateur Cup Tollcross Thistle 4–4 (3–2 pens.) Drumchapel Amateurs Edinburgh News
Non-league honours Senior LevelCompetitionWinner5 Highland League Brora Rangers Lowland League Kelty Hearts6 Bo'ness United South of Scotland League Null and void7
Junior West Region
DivisionWinnerWest PremiershipAuchinleck TalbotWest ChampionshipBlantyre Victoria /Darvel (joint winners)West League OneShettlestonWest League TwoJohnstone Burgh
East Region DivisionWinnerEast Super League NorthNull and voidPhil McGuire bewildered by null and void decision that has cost Carnoustie Juniors title despite leading table since day one, Daily Record, 18 April 2020East Super League SouthEast Premier League NorthEast Premier League South
North Region DivisionWinnerNorth SuperleagueNull and voidNorth First DivisionNorth Second Division
Individual honours PFA Scotland awards Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PFA Scotland cancelled their awards for the 2019–20 season.
SFWA awards AwardWinnerTeam Footballer of the Year Odsonne Edouard Celtic Young Player of the Year Lewis Ferguson Aberdeen Manager of the Year Neil Lennon Celtic International Player of the Year John McGinn Aston Villa
Scottish clubs in Europe
Summary ClubCompetitionsStarted roundFinal roundCoef.CelticUEFA Champions LeagueFirst qualifying roundThird qualifying round16.5UEFA Europa LeaguePlay-off roundRound of 32RangersUEFA Europa LeagueFirst qualifying roundRound of 1618.0AberdeenUEFA Europa LeagueFirst qualifying roundThird qualifying round3.5KilmarnockUEFA Europa LeagueFirst qualifying round1.0Total39.0Average9.750
Celtic UEFA Champions League
UEFA Europa League Having lost in Champions League qualifying to CFR Cluj, Celtic dropped into the Europa League playoff round.
Group Stage
Knockout Stage
Rangers UEFA Europa League
Group Stage
Knockout Stage
Kilmarnock UEFA Europa League
Aberdeen UEFA Europa League
Scotland national team
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 DivisionWinner2019 SWPL 1Glasgow City2019 SWPL 2Heart of Midlothian2019 SWFL First Division (North)Aberdeen F.C. Women2019 SWFL First Division (South)Glasgow City Development2019 SWFL Second Division (North/East)Dundee City2019 SWFL Second Division (West/South West)Morton2019 SWFL Second Division (West/Central)Bishopton2019 SWFL Second Division (South East/Central)Edinburgh Caledonia
CompetitionWinnerScoreRunner-upMatch report2019 Scottish Women's CupGlasgow City4–3HibernianBBC Sport2019 Scottish Women's Premier League CupHibernian(p) 0–0Glasgow CityBBC Sport2019 SWFL First Division CupCeltic Academy6–0RenfrewShe Kicks2019 SWFL Second Division CupMorton3–2 Dryburgh AthleticShe Kicks
Individual honours SWPL awards
AwardWinnerTeam Players' Player of the Year Player of the Year Manager of the Year Young Player of the Year
Scottish Women's Premier League
SWPL 1
SWPL 2
UEFA Women's Champions League Glasgow City Glasgow City entered the Champions League in the round of 32, and were seeded at that stage. City eliminated Russian side Chertanovo to progress to the last 16, where they defeated Danish club Brøndby after a penalty shootout. 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.
Hibernian Hibernian entered the Champions League in the qualifying group phase. They progressed to the last 32, where they were unseeded, by winning their group.
Scotland women's national team
Deaths
August: Jimmy Fleming, 90, Stirling Albion and Berwick Rangers full back. 22 August: Junior Agogo, 40, Hibernian forward. 4 September: Kenny Mitchell, 62, Greenock Morton defender.Kenny Mitchell (1957–2019) 16 September: Bobby Prentice, 65, Heart of Midlothian winger. 18 September: Fernando Ricksen, 43, Rangers defender. 23 October: John Fleming, 62, referee and SFA official. 11 November: Bill Barr, Ayr United chairman. 25 November: Martin Harvey, 78, Raith Rovers assistant manager. 11 December: Ian Young, 76, Celtic and St Mirren defender. 18 December: Tom White, 80, Raith Rovers, St Mirren, Hearts and Aberdeen forward. 20 December: Billy Hughes, 70, Scotland forward. 22 December: Duncan MacKay, 82, Celtic, Third Lanark and Scotland defender. 6 January: Danny Masterton, 65, Ayr United, Clyde and Queen of the South forward. 15 January: Bobby Brown, 96, Queen's Park, Rangers, Falkirk and Scotland goalkeeper; St Johnstone and Scotland manager. March: Dave Souter, 79, Dundee United, Arbroath, Berwick Rangers, East Fife, Clyde and Dundee winger and defender. 30 March: Alex Forsyth, 91, Albion Rovers and East Stirlingshire outside right. 11 April: Peter Bonetti, 78, Dundee United goalkeeper. 23 April: John Murphy, 77, Ayr United defender. April: John Freebairn, Partick Thistle and Montrose goalkeeper.John Freebairn 2 May: John Ogilvie, 91, Hibernian defender. 26 May: Christian Mbulu, 23, Motherwell defender.
Notes and references