DAvid Murray would have stayed with BBC Scotland

A subscription-driven deal, worth �35m has been agreed with the Irish company starting next season.

Murray told the Sunday Herald: "I'd have done the BBC deal without a shadow of a doubt. It's safe, it's secure.

"What the SPL have done is like buying a house without doing a survey first. My fear is that we end up in a Nationwide League situation."

Murray is not alone in his fears that accepting the Setanta offer is far more risky than sticking with the BBC.

Celtic and Dundee United also voted against the deal amid fears of a repeat of the collapse of ITV Digital.