SO much for the brave new dawn that Aleksander Ceferin’s election as UEFA president back in 2016 was supposed to herald for the much-maligned organisation.

There may not have been any whiff of the corruption, dishonesty and financial irregularities which plagued Michel Platini’s troubled reign on Ceferin’s four year watch.

Yet, the handling of the coronavirus crisis in the last few weeks by the Slovenian lawyer and his assorted associates in Nyon has been nothing short of criminal at times.

UEFA’s member associations have looked to the European game’s governing body for guidance, leadership and inspiration – all of which they surely have a moral, if not legal, obligation to provide in the circumstances - since football across the world was suspended last month.

Alas, delusion, obfuscation and self-interest are all that have been forthcoming.

Administrators in many countries, including Scotland, who are rightly alarmed at the potential impact not having any competitive matches, or income, will have on their clubs in the weeks and months ahead have been left confused, disillusioned and frustrated.

Nobody involved in the conference calls UEFA have held since the outbreak has been left in any doubt about where their priorities lie –the Champions League, Europa League and Euro 2020.

Protecting the interests of the powerful “Big Five” leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, whose teams are by far the biggest box office attractions in their continental competitions, is clearly also a consideration.

UEFA’s reaction to the Belgian Pro League’s decision to declare Club Brugge champions last week – they threatened that any league not played to a finish on the field of play would risk being banned from their competitions – didn’t stem from any idealistic desire to preserve sporting integrity.

The financial implications of not completing the Champions League and Europa League, as well as the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, Premier League and Serie A, this summer were very much to the fore.

Having to abandon those tournaments will leave the respective authorities facing substantial compensation payments to advertisers, broadcasting rights’ holders and sponsors.

It is possible that UEFA have to illustrate that every possible attempt was made to reach a conclusion to avoid such costly litigation. Who knows? Perhaps the current situation will improve to an extent that games can take place and trophies won on the pitch. But it seems improbable given the medical experts’ predictions.

Epidemiologists anticipate the Covid-19 outbreak won’t peak in the United Kingdom until the end of May or middle of June. Could fixtures even be fulfilled behind closed doors, something which Ceferin suggested once again this weekend, within the allotted timeframe if that is the case? It is doubtful governments will give the go-ahead for any kind of public gathering soon.

The Belgian Pro League highlighted some of the complex issues they face restarting play in their statement last week. “The current situation does not allow us to know if and when a resumption of collective training can be planned,” they said.

“A resumption of competition could not exclude the risks to the health of players, employees and all those involved in the organisation of matches and in maintaining order. In addition, the possible contamination of a player or a core of players risks influencing the sporting development of the rest of the competition in an unacceptable manner.

“Even if closed matches were theoretically possible, the additional pressure that the organisation of such matches would place on health services and law enforcement should be avoided. In addition, the decisions of the local authorities threaten to make it impossible to run the championship days simultaneously.”

UEFA, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1, the Premier League and Serie A should perhaps consider the public condemnation there has been of companies who haven’t grasped the devastating effect this unprecedented crisis has had on the world at large and adopt a more hardline approach.

If football fans see the game they love, their own clubs in particular, struggling because television companies and multinational corporations are attempting to recoup their money they will turn their ire on them in large numbers and their business will suffer as a result.

“What are the broadcasters and the sponsors going to do?” said Kieran Maguire, a football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool last month. “A lot will depend on whether they are going to take a short or a long-term view of their relationships.

“But if they don’t want to jeopardise them they won’t demand money back. They are living in exceptional times at the moment. I don’t think they have got any alternative. If they took a harsher line and that leaks out then the backlash against the broadcasters from the fan bases would be very, very severe.”

Allowing the SPFL, who have a series of meetings scheduled this week, to decide their own fate without having to worry about future sanctions would enable them to free up much-needed cash to give to clubs struggling to stay afloat and then move forward.