I looked into the world of Scottish football betting yesterday. Betting on Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership is less rewarding than putting your money in an interest bearing account, which, I suspect, is an approximation of what bookmakers will do with any such bets. In short, our league is not so much a sport as a secure investment.
Betting gets really interesting if you meander onto what is referred to as the Without Celtic market, or who will win the league if Celtic are taken out of the equation. Favourites are Aberdeen, closely followed by Motherwell and then Dundee United and Hibs (hmm….).
Can you imagine what a league title like this would do for these clubs? Aberdeen, Motherwell and United actually vying to become champions?
Some hold a notion that Celtic are the great benefactors of Scottish football, which is dependent on you and me for the occasional home game and TV money. This is rubbish. Celtic inhibits Scottish football more than we can imagine. We are a competitive poison making it impossible for historically significant football teams to thrive.
Keeping a clean sheet away from home is an achievement for any team. Doing so twice, in Europe, and winning both games, is outstanding for St Johnstone. Well done. I can only imagine their absence from the top of the Without Celtic betting chart is a result of bookmakers anticipating their run to the Europa League final in Turin will hinder their league challenge.
I have to express my sheer delight at yesterday’s pronouncement by the chief executive of Rangers International FC PLC, Craig Mather. We can be confident of this guy’s credentials and that he is worthy of following in the footsteps of Charles Green, Tommy Cooper and other comedic greats.
Mather issued a statement on the club’s web site noting punishments handed out to Hearts and Dunfermline for entering administration were different from the punishment handed out to Rangers International’s predecessor club (the player registrations and current penalties Newco Rangers were allowed to inherit) – for a completely different series of offences.
Those penalties were imposed for a variety of misdemeanours, including failure to declare the club appointed a director who had been struck off, failure to comply with stock market rules and multiple counts of bringing the game into disrepute. The SFA disciplinary panel responsible for the penalties found that “only match fixing in its various forms might be a more serious breach”.
Would you not feel a wee bit embarrassed by this? Mr Mather asks for clarification but I suggest we don’t trouble him by directing him to the aforementioned SFA panel’s ruling. Better that he operates in the version of reality he is most comfortable with, and that he keeps his followers away from looking into the real issues……..
To that effect, our thanks to all the media outlets who unquestioningly reported the Mather comments without hint of irony, apart from those pesky online types at STV, who had the temerity to address the question. Cease and desist immediately.
Flag Day tomorrow, another historic moment in Celtic history. Get in early, or late afternoon, as it happens. Hoping to see some of our new guys make their claim for a start in Sweden.
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Me!
Hello Bobby
Gb
Get your Wits out for the Ghirl..
Celtic Football Club. Open to all. Against all forms of discrimination and renowned for its respect towards people from all races, religions and gender.
Except if you’re a blonde physiotherapist. Then you need your hole, love. Get your tits out.
This was the ‘banter’ dished out to our visitors from Elfsborg on Wednesday night. It seems a juvenile minority of fans just can’t stop themselves screaming sexually explicit statements at women in a football stadium.
It’s a relief to see one of Elfsborg’s doctors tweeted that she enjoyed her experience at Celtic Park – it’s an incredible stadium with incredible fans, and it would have been a great shame if that brief embarrassing display had spoiled it in any way.
Beside me in the Lisbon Lions stand, faces fell among those who didn’t take part in the screams of “YOU NEED YER HOLE” at the sports professionals going about their work. In front of me was a boy of around eight and at the end of my row a girl who couldn’t have been more than six.
It was cringeworthy and extremely uncomfortable to be sitting among men who couldn’t control themselves. You’d have been forgiven for thinking they’d never seen a woman before.
Before the Elfsborg physios took to the pitch, another woman from the Elfsborg staff warmed up not far from my seat along with two of the squad’s players. She was subjected to the same nature of comments from the guys around me. She kept her head turned towards the pitch and never once looked in our fans’ direction as she was goaded.
It was mortifying.
When I came home I switched my computer on and saw a tweet from a Celtic Underground writer who had witnessed the same behaviour. He was appalled by it too. It prompted me to put out a tweet of my own reporting what I had heard.
The response was one of incredible fury that I had dared suggest women may deserve a little more respect – but it wasn’t the first time a tweet about women at Celtic Park had elicited such a response.
In February, after a piece written by the Maley’s Bhoys blog, I responded in a discussion about a stark lack of women anywhere near the Celtic hierarchy. It was a flyaway comment and came from genuine curiosity.
I was met with a hysterical response from Twitter followers. How dare I even raise the question about a woman’s place at Celtic? Obviously, after all these years, there just hadn’t been any women good enough to grace the boardroom.
I guarantee not one of those critics would have accepted that a lack of Catholics at Ibrox in past times was simply because none were good enough.
Nor would they accept racist or sectarian abuse of any player, opposition player, member of staff, fan or visitor to Celtic Park.
So why are women fair game among those who pride themselves on their progressive Celtic values?
In a once male-dominated sport, such treatment of women would once have been commonplace, although the likelihood of finding a woman in a football stadium decades ago would have been minimal to begin with.
Nowadays, women make a substantial part of the Celtic support – as do children – and are an integral part of the Celtic Family.
The majority of fans treat women with the basic respect every human being deserves. They don’t demand they unbutton their cleavage and discuss their sexual habits.
Racism and sectarianism have no place at football grounds – Celtic fans have been very vocal on this subject, particularly about such discrimination at Ibrox –and neither does verbal, sexist abuse aimed at anyone because of their gender.
I’ve had hundreds of tweets in the last 24 hours absolutely incensed that I asked the men at Celtic Park to behave like real Bhoys and behave themselves.
I’m exaggerating, I need to get back in the kitchen, and other predictable and unoriginal stereotypes, have flown in my direction.
But encouragingly, I’ve had a lot of messages and emails from those who agree that discrimination is wrong in all forms at Celtic Park. One man said the ground could have opened up and swallowed him when a rendition of “get your tits out” started in his section. He was attending the game with his granddaughter.
For those who are stamping their feet because people like me want to “take the fun out” of football, I’d suggest therapy for you if indulging in occasional sexual harassment is necessary for you to enjoy yourself.
Celtic Park is a women-friendly place, but a few men in Paradise need to learn manners.
Courtesy Angela Haggerty Journalist, broadcaster and editor
Summa of ShowSexismThePinkCardCSC
Hello, hello
Spare a thought for the decent Coventry city fans, I have no doubt they are not as deluded or protected by the establishment as a certain other club.
@susiebluesky: “I cried at Wembley. I cried at Villa Park & I’m crying today. Thank you for killing my club Coventry City Council & Sisu #pusb #skyblues”
Oooft – least they’re under no illusions!
HH
@cgraham: ” I cried at Parkhead. I cried at Parkhead and I’m crying today. Thank you for killing my club HMRC and Peter Lawwell #UFH #saynotoliquidation”
HH
What happens to other clubs is of no concern to 2nd Rangers.
They live by their own set of rules……..Which they pass to Campbell as the need arises.
From previous article
normanstreet49
All my fitba trophies went on the Telly for a while even a most committed player one which is basically just turning up every week and that trophy didn;t even get put on display. I threw it in a wardrobe.
I was gutted.
LB
Poisoning is the wrong word. Inhibiting maybe, poisoning is what the huns did and continue to do!
HH
Livibhoy
Mines are in the loft somewhere……
I gave them to my young lad as molst dads do…..
He had no interest in football at all…..
My daughter however is football mad…..
Strange world we live in……
HH
socrates
that is a really pathetically sad post.
sniff sniff….ah kin definately smell sh1te !
T4
Paul67
Great shout out for St John’s Town of Perth
Fantastic performance and indication that football in Scotland showing shoots of recovery – now that the Giant Hogweed has been moved to the compost heap –
Beware the return of the Giant Hogweed!! Tho’ hopefully we will be long gone by then :-)
PeterGabrielCSC
Recharge your spiritual batteries with this uplifting tale from Estadio.
http://ntvceltic.wordpress.com/
HH
With regards to Paul’s ‘cease and desist immediately’ comment. Is this a sneaky reference to the possibility of Ibrox being closed?
What is going on there anyway? I thought a cease and desist order would have been issued by now?
For those interested in SFA matters here is a long post from TSFM on how the SFA are failing to meet the standard, the standard they are failing to meet and the cost to the UK taxpayer (so far).
From TSFM
It is fairly obvious that in arguing the “its the same club” case those that do, take the words in any rules or rulings and use the minutae within to justify their stance. I call them the Pharisees of whom a very wise man foretold 2000 years ago of great woes for such folk because the spirit, the ethics and the intent of those rules appeared alien to their thinking.
So following that wise man I argue that it is only in taking the intent into account, that is trying to identify what any rule attempts to achieve or prevent that a proper interpretation can be arrived at.
Thus I e mailed Ed Thomson whom I have had no previous contact via his web site at
http://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/contact-us.php
which suggests he is an expert on UEFA FFP and asked the following question. Note no mention of any club or instances in the question.
_____________________
On Thu, Aug 1, 2013 at 1:38 AM, Yola wrote:
You received a Contact me submission from Financial Fair Play:
Name Auldheid
Email xx@yy.co.uk
Phone 12345678
Message: Have you any idea of the purpose of Article 12 of UEFA FFP 2010/12 and what exactly it is aimed at preventing?
To which I received the following reply:
Auldheid
Hopefully we are a both referring to the same section (see attached below).
It is basically saying:
– Only a member of a UEFA-recognised league can apply to take part in UEFA competitions (this stops, say, Greenland trying to get a team into the Champions League, or someone setting up a rival non-recognised breakaway league trying to take part).
– Clubs need to have been in existence for at least 3 years before they can get a UEFA license.
The 3year rule stops clubs closing and then reforming as a way of getting round their financial liabilities and escaping UEFA punishment. I believe the purpose here is to stop a club benefiting from a “New Co” scenario (i.e like the situation that happened with Rangers). Rangers folded with heavy debts and then reformed. UEFA’s requirements that clubs don’t have ‘overdue payables’ (tax, wages etc) would be a mockery if clubs could keep folding and re-forming and then get into UEFA competitions immediately and without penalty. Hence Rangers have, for UEFA purposes, only been in existence for 1 year (and could not go into the UEFA competitions even if they win the the Scottish Cup).
The deduction of points and relegation of Rangers in the Scottish League are matters decided by the domestic leagues rather than UEFA (it is possible that a club could escape domestic punishment for liquidation).
——————————
Notice he mentioned Rangers not I , and this is how the world outside of Scotland as they become more aware of the full and true narrative will see it too.
Now how UEFA view Rangers cannot be much clearer than that, which is why Article 12 will not be compromised.
But there is more.
In Article 12 and UEFA FFP as a whole, UEFA set out a governance standard, a standard the SFA have signed up to for protecting the competitions UEFA are responsible for.
Note that UEFA allow national associations to decide on domestic matters, but in deciding as they have done the SFA have damaged the integrity of the very game in Scotland they are supposed to be protecting (and themselves) beyond repair.
The Bryson law on registration and ensuing eligibility coming from the LNS enquiry, the idea that sporting advantage needs to be proved when points deductions are handed out without proof to offset the sporting advantage clubs living beyond their means have gained, these are matters the SFA have ruled on or accepted, but they are not domestic matters. The SFA in trying to save Rangers have crossed the line from domestic into international/global football law with interpretations which if adopted more widely would cause chaos.
It can only be a matter of time before the football law anomalies created by the SFA under Regan and Ogilvie come back to bite them on the bum. In fact the RST are already dropping their gnashers into the Steradent on the apparent disparity of treatment between Rangers and Hearts (although prematurely and in ignorance of the difference between administration and liquidation and causes, but much of that ignorance is born of the SFA twisting events to suit their agenda rather than that of integrity and truth.
Left to their own devices the SFA have turned football law pretzel shaped, butthat is not all. They have also failed in their responsibilities to the UK taxpayer. By not insisting CW’s Rangers paid the £2.8m wee tax bill BEFORE they even thought of granting a licence, they have robbed the UK tax payer of £2.8M. (I exclude the later added penalties)
Did the SFA not wonder why CW could not pay the wee tax bill (I mean £2,8M to a bilionaire!! ) Did they try to establish its genesis and why Rangers had accepted it was due (which I set out earlier).By allowing CW to take over Rangers and then assisting in the non payment of that £2.8m, the SFA cost the UK taxpayer that amount.
Instead of then insisting Rangers live within their means and cut costs, they placed no conditions allowing them them to live on the hog and play roulette using the UEFA licence reward potentail as an entry stake into Europe, using tax payers money, and when that gamble failed their failure to act with due diligence cost the taxpayer around £15m in unpaid VAT and NI.
Rangers got told the good news that as result of the information passed to UEFA by the SFA under Article 66 of UEFA FFP after 30th June,, that not only had approval been given, but that as a result of the case made, UEFA did not require future financial forecasts (and I’d love to see what UEFA were told) and all this at a time when HMRC were asking for exactly that kind of information. Instead of working with Rangers to save them, the SFA should have been aware of the potential cost of their decisions to help Rangers to the UK tax payer (and this is without possible additions from the EBT tax avoided.under UTT consideration)
So what you have here is UEFA taking steps to protect tax payers throughout Europe and the SFA circumventing those steps for reasons that should be investigated.
Who guards the guards is always a problem but the UK taxpayer of which many are football fans, must have some assurances from the UK Government that they will demand, by law if necessary, that the national associations recognise their responsibilities to rax payers and that football pays its taxes when due and puts due tax payments above all other considerations.
This is a more than just narrow football skullduggery, it will be of much wider public interest than that when the full story is known, and it is imo in the public interests that the full story gets told using knowedge in most journalists possesion.
Article 12 – Definition of licence applicant 1 A licence applicant may only be a football club, i.e. a legal entity fully responsible for a football team participating in national and international competitions which either: a) is a registered member of a UEFA member association and/or its affiliated league (hereinafter: registered member); or b) has a contractual relationship with a registered member (hereinafter: football company). 2 The membership and the contractual relationship (if any) must have lasted – at the start of the licence season – for at least three consecutive years. Any alteration to the club’s legal form or company structure (including, for example, changing its headquarters, name or club colours, or transferring stakeholdings between different clubs) during this period in order to facilitate its qualification on sporting merit and/or its receipt of a licence to the detriment of the integrity of a competition is deemed as an interruption of membership
19LisbonBhoy67
Must have missed this…
Possibility of Ibrox being closed?
What’s the story there, Bud?
Hi Paul67,
Maybe Mr Mather’s crass interference in other Club’s affairs Will be noted by some who would like Celtic to make statements into other Clubs affairs.
Sure Celtic may be able to point to more legitimate concerns, than Mr Mather’s rather embarrassing, misleading or misinformed bull.
But none the less even going there lacks the professionalism you would expect from a well run organisation.
Hail Hail
Paul67 – I love that there are a set of people in our City who perceive a CEO making a very public sausage of himself as a “fightback”. It is also wonderful that the highly paid PR people are suggesting this ludicrous strategy is the way to get their fans onside.
The depth of their stupidity means they will always be vulnerable to spivs and chancers looking to milk their XXXXL udders.
They will always be chasing now, that is certain.
socrates
12:19 on
2 August, 2013
So you’d be happy for a female relative to receive the same kind of attention those physios got?
It’s not banter, it’s not light-hearted and it’s not a bit of fun.
Oh……….and the death of 2nd Rangers will be even sweeter.
Mad headline from limerick leader!
http://t.co/ap5vbXPmB1
Is Craig Mather bringing the game into disrepute by making the ludicrous suggestion that the former rangers were treated harshly?
Summa of Sammi….
I have been debating with the writer of this, this morning on twitter.
She is alleging hundreds of Celtic fans made crude comments! I sit in the North Stand Upper I never heard one! I heard loads of wolf whistles. I am not saying crude comments where not made, what I did ask her on twitter this morning was, did she challenge the behaviour did she tell them she thought it was unacceptable? Did she report anyone to a steward? Did she take a seat number …. No!!! Instead she go’s home hides behind her keyboard and blogs about it!
She has every right to call out unacceptable behaviour, but challenge it at the time do something positive. But that wouldn’t get you any attention now would it!!!
“only match fixing in its various forms might be a more serious breach”
What was the fine – £50,000? Was it ever paid? Must be a few clubs thinking of match fixing!
Re Sweden Paul – hoping there is only one change – Ledley for Stokes, with Samaras up front on his own.
Malarkey, wee minger, apologies lol, I’m only jesting ;?)
Paul67
Poisoning Scottish Football? Absolute nonsense!
If the glory hunting supporters of Hibs, St Mirren, Kilmarnock, etc supported their team every week and not just for a day out at Hampden and if these teams invested wisely maybe we would have a competitive league.
Could the Coventry supporters not get some red cards made up, and a couple of banners saying “No to Liquidation” and “We Deserve Better”?
It worked for Oldco! Apparently!
HH
socrates
12:39 on
2 August, 2013
That’s one of the problems with print. These things don’t always come across. :)
Socrates, we’re not here to shower abuse on people, least of all other Celtic fans, and certainly not anonymously. Deleted.
saltires en sevilla, aye.
Chairbhoy, it’s all about playing to the gallery. You and I both know this will be lapped up by some, it is easy nonsense to pump out.
RogueLeader, exactly. As Charibhoy suggests, some would have us do the same.
Bawsman, I didn’t say it was our fault….. Please repost without the language violation as it’s coming down in a moment.
asonofdan- that’s entirely the point, when these clubs have a chance of success the fans will turn out, e.g. McDairmid Park last week.
With Celtic around they have no chance of winning the league.
minx1888
I wasn’t at the game- watched on telly – so have no idea what was said, done, heard.
It seems impractical though to bother stewards who would have done nothing or to run about remonstrating with people after the fact whilst a match is ongoing.
Twitter, blogs etc is where debates happen between the fans these days. For instance its because of such a debate that he message got round that bangers/flares were unwanted – and so there were none the other night.
Minx1888- I was in ole Lisbon Lions stand, heard lots of wolf whistles but nothing else coherent.
General consensus of sect114 diehards was that appearance of physio was the highlight of the game
Sorry Socrates, that’s just women doing their job, and going about their daily lives. They shouldn’t have to feel threatened by sexual references any more that I shouldn’t have had to take “Fenian B..” shouts when I was going home from school.
finbar42 is Neil Lennon
12:29 on
2 August, 2013
Finbar…… Thanks for posting the piece from Estadio…..
Great read….
Thats what we are all about……
GB Andrew Kerrins
HH
When are Cov unveiling their lovely new bus?
GlassTwoThirdsfull
Agree with Ledley in for Stokes, but think I’d also have Mulgrew in for Kayal – Charlie is a great alternative to Commons at set-pieces and gives more height to Celtic through the middle, while Beram hasn’t shown enough to suggest he has the quality for these games.