Half of Scottish Premiership clubs, including Rangers and Aberdeen, have questioned the autonomy of an independent review into the SPFL's governance.
A joint statement, also signed by St Johnstone, Motherwell, St Mirren and Livingstone, expressed “serious concerns” about the report and the league's “overall governance”.
The club said it was seeking “full clarification on a number of issues” to “determine whether further action is required”.
An independent review of the league's operations was commissioned in July after SPFL chairman Murdoch McLennan apologized to Rangers following the conclusion of the sponsorship dispute.
On 22 January, the governing body announced that a draft report had shown compliance with “key elements of the UK Code of Corporate Governance”, with Mr McLennan saying: “We are relieved but not satisfied. ” he said.
The six clubs now claim the statement was issued without the “approval or knowledge” of league members, adding that it “does not fully reflect” the report's findings.
“The SPFL Board of Directors will meet at a later date to discuss the contents of the draft report and it would be highly inappropriate for the SPFL President to issue any public comments prior to that meeting,” the co-signers said. The complaint adds:
“As for the report itself, clubs and other bodies are deeply concerned about its independence, given that SPFL executives received the first draft of the report and made amendments to it before sending it to SPFL board members.
“Of the 42 member clubs, only one club other than a current or former SPFL director had the opportunity to take part in the report's investigation.
“Despite several requests from the club, this report has not yet been made available to any member club, even though the club is paying for its production.
“The handling of the independent governance report has brought to the fore concerns about the club’s governance, and now the SPFL board and executive have confirmed that these clear and It is incumbent on us to provide clarity on deep issues.'' The alarming concerns are urgent. ”
BBC Scotland has contacted SPFL for comment on this matter.