Albion Rovers have hit out at some of their Lowland League rivals after a majority voted to continue allowing B teams in the division.
Clubs voted 8-7 in favour of the continuation of B teams in the fifth tier of Scottish football for another two seasons with the option of a third.
Celtic and Hearts currently have B teams in the division after Rangers withdrew their team in the summer.
Rovers, who were relegated into the Lowland League last season, declared they were “deeply disappointed” with the outcome after encouraging others to “join us in putting supporters and common sense first”.
A statement added: “This was a chance for the Lowland League to regain its sporting integrity within the pyramid, ensuring that the fifth tier next year and beyond would be made up of clubs who have earned their places on merit, and are all competing on a similar field and for the same purpose – to win promotion to the SPFL.
“Instead, we, and our fellow member clubs, are now once again at odds with the majority of our supporters, who have no or little interest in watching their club play competitive fixtures against B teams.
“We voted for the fans, not against them. We voted for sporting integrity before (minimal) financial gain. We voted to not compromise the Lowland League’s reputation, again. We voted to boost the Lowland League’s perceived image and standing. We voted to put smaller clubs first over the biggest in the country.
“If the question of promotion to the SPFL from tier 5 comes up again, how can the Lowland League be taken seriously when it complains about the lack of a sufficient and fair trapdoor when we haven’t put sporting integrity first ourselves?”
Plans to introduce a new fifth tier of the SPFL involving top-flight B teams were shelved in June this year ahead of the Scottish Football Association annual general meeting after a wave of opposition from member clubs.
