Hamilton manager, Brian Rice, has received lots of supportive comments since yesterday’s statement admitting to a gambling addiction, as well as breaking rules for betting on football over the last five seasons. The SFA have a duty to discipline him in line with previous offenders when their disciplinary panel meet later this month, but there should be some nervous shuffling in the room, as much of the game’s finances in Scotland are underpinned by the gambling industry. Do as we say, not as we write commercial agreements.
For me, gambling amounts to losing money on every race at my once a year visit to Hamilton Park Racecourse, a sensation that has never once returned an endorphin kick, so will never be addictive, but I go along and bet every year, so I cannot be snooty about others who earn from it.
Football’s rules on the matter are nothing to do with welfare; those who work in the game are subject to a flow of insider information and influence, which could compromise the game. One player was recently disciplined for betting on his own team to lose (they won and he scored). However, the issue has welfare consequence, both for high-earning players and the ordinary punter.
Brian Rice will hopefully overcome his demons, he will certainly have the best of support towards this end. By speaking out so frankly, he has given the game an opening. What can football and the gambling industry do to help the addicted fan? Football has access to people the way few outreach programmes could ever hope for. It has a job here.
189 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- »
21-5-29…are you mr perfect?
AN TEARMANN on 22ND JANUARY 2020 9:12 AM
———————————————————————
That’s life, and it ain’t gonnae change anytime soon.
I have every sympathy with anyone who has an addiction, drink, drugs, gambling.
Certainly not Mr Perfect, I’m going to the pub shortly, and I will put my both to score on, my choice.
21 5 79
You will probably find the guy in chaos won’t be Less in or Gascoigne.itll be the guy beside you,waitin on the 5.30 at Thirsk.
Ps it’s no accident your Ladbrokes is beside witherspoons
HH
Emerson!
AN TEARMANN on 22ND JANUARY 2020 9:12 AM
Powerful stuff .
In Oz , the curse is the pokies ( one arm bandits ) freely available in RSL clubs where many older people ” socialise ” .
Wouldn’t surprise me if PL got someone to relate the 5way agreement to him, so that he could be accurate when saying he has never seen it.
What about your sister or auntie that works in Ladbrokes or Witherspoons, should they be made redundant because some rich football player likes a drink & a bet? Then goes crying to the papers about it.
21 5 79
Remember when the fun stops.stop.
After debt scheduling many a person in debt chaos due to gambling we altered that to
Remember when the fun stops your homeless
Remember when the fun stops your wife has left you and taken the kids
Remember when the fun stops try suicide
Remember there is no such thing as a poor booky
Skanks and sleekitry of the highest order,
HH
Test
Neil Lennon has unequivocally stated Celtic are not in for Tyrese Campbell. If he signs for Sevco no doubt there will be still stories saying they beat Celtic to him. Stevie G will say “Its a big result for us considering Celtic made an offer”
At least that’s what happened with Aribo.
An Tearmann
Unfortunately I recognise all too well your comments. Well written stuff Big D!
Does anybody remember Rekeem Harper? Celtic had him visit Parkhead with a view to signing him.
WBA came out and slated us in the press. Claimed we mistreated Olly Burke and couldn’t be trusted to develop young player.
Rekeem Harper got 6 minutes off the bench in the first game of the season and hasn’t played since. A couple of cup appearances on top of that and that’s it.
Weebobycollins,
Naw that’s me 😁
Strange very few have picked up on the news from the Celtic Star in printing evidence that our very own
PL was fully aware of the 5WA before it was approved – allegedly
Even showing an email requesting PL/ER approve before it is progressed
And many wonder why Celtic did not pursue Res12
9 days of window left. 3 players out… 1 in. meanwhile longterm injuries ElHamed, Bitton, ,, Shorter term injury prone left wingers. Defintely weaker than start of season. we are actively trying to lose the league. As for PL not reading 5 -way agreement. A sacking if true. A sacking if he never tried to look at it!
I don’t get all this sympathy for Brian Rice. He knows he can’t bet on football. Why not just bet on horses/dogs. If this was Gerrard would you be sympathetic? I would ban all gambling sponsorship and advertising. Nothing wrong with small bets on football matches at the grounds. But I would ban ALL non-cash gambling. And those bloody adverts for online bingo saying its fun should be classed as entertainment therefore pay 20% VAT.. Also all ‘fixed betting machines should be banned. it’s in the name FIXED.. so not a gamble for bookies
Canamalar…surprised by your modesty :-)
MARADOMINIC on 22ND JANUARY 2020 9:44 AM
The injuries aren’t as serious as you say.
Mikey Johnston – Back in the squad tonight
Ajer – Back in the squad tonight
Forrest – Back in the squad for Ross County
Christie – Should be available for St Johnston
Elyounoussi – Available early Feb. Possibly Hamilton or Mothewell game.
Bitton – Injury only likely to be a couple of weeks. Possibly Hamilton or Mothewell game.
Elhamed – Injury isn’t as bad as first feared. He’s only out for the short-term.
Fix Fitba: Empty Hampden………….
#backthebhoycott
Don’t demonise those hard working individuals who drink and gamble responsibly.
Yes addicition is a curse, but personal responsibility is key.
Hullo Scotland!
Ask yersels this…..
When’s the last time sumbdy in footballing authority did anything to promote the game, to encourage attendances or to facilitate entertainment for the sake of the ordinary punter (pardon the expression)…….When?
In short order the Scottish game will become as marginalised as the League of Ireland ( and that’s sayin’ a lot given its current predicament ) while the same good ole boys klub of useful eejits are are kept on board the quaint, steam-powered, gravy train……..
…with apologies for the stretched and strangulated metaphors.
My mate was back from Oz in December, a big Motherwell fan so he persuaded me to go to Rugby Park for a game, his brother works for Killie.
Motherwell won 0-1, Kilmarnock were rank rotten. What i witnessed that day was a team who had no direction and absolutely no clue what was going on, that was under the temporary manager who is there now.
O’Donnell at right back was hopeless, I can’t believe we were allegedly interested in him last summer, that surely wasn’t true. The midfield had a headless chicken called McKenzie who their fans slated something awful. It seemed no-one could believe Johnson was in at CH in place of Bruce who is limited anyway. Brophey just tried to batter his way forward.
The only time Kilmarnock looked composed or in control was when 36 year Chris Burke got on the ball.
I will be seriously upset if we don’t win by at least 2 goals tonight. And also a clean sheet.
same old story ,we never build on strength, so sick of it wedont do the nine only one person to blame peter you make me wanna vomit
BBC Scotland, for some unknown reason, has decided that athlete Andrew Butchart should make predictions for the scores in tonight’s fixtures.
He predicts Kilmarnock 4 Celtic 0
He is engaged to Lynsey Sharp.
HRVATSKI JIM
What are the odds on that?
poorjokecsc
Good morning all.
I caught only 5 minutes of Sportsound last night but learned something interesting (probably something everyone else knows except me). They were talking to Ian McColl about signing players on loan and he suggested that there are many things built into loan agreements including a virtual requirement to actually play the player. He suggested that most loan are structured so that the parent club pick up a percentage of the wages with the loaning club paying the balance (I knew that bit). But he went on to suggest that these aren’t fixed amounts but rather are tied into appearances – e.g. the more the loan player plays, the less the loaning club have to pay (as the parent club are actually wanting the player to get game time).
Makes sense to me and helps to explain why we often play our loan players in preference to our permanent signings.
Mikey Johnston – Back in the squad tonight –
Injury prone – cannot rely on him being fit every week. Should only be used sparingly.
Ajer – Back in the squad tonight
– that is good news. at least.
Forrest – Back in the squad for Ross County
Why was ghe injured? was OK before break
Christie – Should be available for St Johnston
I find this hard to believe after an operation. however minor. But gives Rogic chance to play
Elyounoussi – Available early Feb. Possibly Hamilton or Mothewell game.
They said he would only be out for a game or two – A long time ago
Bitton – Injury only likely to be a couple of weeks. Possibly Hamilton or Mothewell game.
To do hamstring at start of game is not good. 4-6 weeks at best
Elhamed – Injury isn’t as bad as first feared. He’s only out for the short-term.
It has been 2 months so far – that is not a short term injury
TIMBHOY2 on 21ST JANUARY 2020 9:00 PM
…that system v Thistle was dire…
—————————————–
Disagree. If the ref had applied the rules of the game we would have had a two goal lead much earlier. But for Mr Muir Celtic could have gone on to win handsomely.
Latest from the Celtic Star regarding the liar Lawwell
Unbelievable – Peter Lawwell, the 5WA and the Celtic PLC AGM 2019
By NIALL J 22 January, 2020 No Comments
It’s right there, in the middle of a brilliant interview on ‘67 in the heat of Felton, between Stateside Celtic blogger Larry Cafiero and longstanding Resolution 12 campaigner Auldheid. It’s the sort of interview that catches your eye at any time when you’re browsing through the world of Celtic fans media. On this occasion it must be said the reader gets a little more than they bargained for.
In the latter stages of a very interesting one to one between a longstanding Celtic campaigner and a relatively new to Celtic blogger, comes a moment that blows you away- there in all its glory is confirmation of Celtic’s own complicity with regards the infamous ‘Five Way Agreement’. It’s a moment in the interview where you stop, read back and then again.
The interviewer asks the respondent a fairly direct question-
“How could Lawwell claim at the AGM that as Celtic CEO, he had never seen the hugely important change to the rule book that is the 5 Way Agreement? Did he mislead the AGM or is he negligent in his duties to shareholders in not having made sure he had seen this document and had a say in what it said before it become part and parcel of the Scottish game”?
The interviewee then responds to the questioner-
“Again, that is for Peter Lawwell to explain. It is simply not credible and would be bordering on total negligence not to have been involved, but the 5 Way Agreement final draft was attached to an email from Neil Doncaster dated 26 July 2012 to then SPL Board members including Celtic Director Eric Riley and to Peter Lawwell. No reply or challenge by next day would be taken as agreement, so even if at that late stage the contents of the attachment were not known, simply by not opening it Celtic gave the SPL their approval to its contents”.
Quite simply it is a stunning paragraph to read. The five way agreement that Celtic’s Chief Executive has previously denied any sight of, and did so in the most public and sacrosanct of Celtic settings – with no room for being misquoted – namely the 2019 Celtic AGM, appears to now have a weight of evidence out there contradicting Peter Lawwell’s claim to the Celtic shareholders assembled en-masse that he had never seen it.
Celtic’s role in Resolution 12 had increasingly become the story especially after Peter Lawwell told the Celtic AGM in November 2019 that the Board did not believe that pursuing the matter any further was in the company’s interest. Now it’s tempting to ask a question in return, was it not in the company’s interest or was it not in your own interests Peter?
Were you by the time of the AGM simply in too deep?
It will be interesting to see if the might of Celtic’s PR Company, Hollicom comes to the fore.
Will the mainstream media run with this story, will they have the guts go to print?
Or will the powers Celtic supporters have asked to be used to defend the supporters from claims or racism, or our players from contradicting versions of justice, or indeed to take the smoking gun of SFA complicity in a myth of continuation and force necessary reform at the heart of our governing body, suddenly see the tanks on the front lawn defending the honour of our chief executive.
You could well argue it would be a dereliction of duty if our Chief Executive hadn’t seen the agreement. Uncomfortable as that may have been you could defend that. To now feel lying to the shareholders about knowledge of it smacks of undiluted arrogance and it smells like the end of the road for Celtic’s Chief Executive.
It also asks the question-How could the SFA, the SPL and apparently Celtic and Rangers pre 2012 and ‘the’ rangers we now have in their place, make up new secret rules just for the Ibrox club without the rest of the member clubs voting on it ?
And then there’s Dermot Desmond. Did he know of this, if he didn’t why on earth not?
Desmond’s involvement smacks of the Jack Nicholson “You Can’t Handle The Truth” moment- a memorable quote from the 1992 military court drama film A Few Good Men-which is often used to deny someone information that has been deemed too sensitive.
In the film Military lawyer Lieutenant Kaffee played by Tom Cruise defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders. A Code Red.
Nicholson playing Jessup, under cross examination states that as front-line troops his men have to obey orders at all times without question. At this moment, Kaffee points out that if Jessup’s orders are always obeyed then there was no reason to blame the Marines standing trial.
Momentarily stunned, Jessup tries to come up with alternative explanations for the Marines transfer which are torpedoed by Kaffee who demands to be told the truth, at which point Jessup explodes: “You can’t handle the truth!”
Because he defends his country in a forward area, Colonel Jessup does not see why Kaffee, who has never been on the front line, should even question his methods from “under the blanket of the very freedom I provide”.
Kaffee should either thank him for protecting his country and his way of life or take up a gun and do it himself. Kaffee suddenly begins a tirade of questioning, demanding that Jessup admit he ordered the ‘Code Red’. In a fury, Jessup yells that he did. He admits to the ultimate responsibility. To not do, would to show he’d lost control.
So is Desmond complicit?
Does he give the orders and did he give the orders for Celtic to be involved in the five way agreement. Did Desmond continue with those orders to lie when Lawwell denied he’d ever had sight of the agreement? Is Desmond ultimately responsible, and if he’s not, has a chief executive bloated in his own self – importance overstepped the mark and acted without authority? Either way someone’s got questions to answer to the Celtic support, from the outside looking in it looks like heads needs to roll.
At the AGM in November Joe McHugh of VideoCelts asked Peter Lawwell the question.
“Was anyone at Celtic involved in 5 way agreement”?
And Lawwell answered with a straight bat.
“No and I’ve never seen it”
When asked a supplementary question as to whether Lawwell thought it would have been useful to see it, it brought another negative reply.
Let’s just look at part of Auldheid’s answer again.
…“the 5 Way Agreement final draft was attached to an email from Neil Doncaster dated 26 July 2012 to then SPL Board members including Celtic Director Eric Riley and to Peter Lawwell. No reply or challenge by next day would be taken as agreement, so even if at that late stage the contents of the attachment were not known, simply by not opening it Celtic gave the SPL their approval to its contents”.
Somewhere between Peter Lawwell, the Celtic Board and Dermot Desmond a decision was made that appears, from Auldheid’s interview with Larry Cafiero, to indicate a disingenuous response at best or at worst a downright lie being issued to every single shareholder present at Celtic Park in November.
Someone from the Celtic Board owes every Celtic shareholder and indeed every single Celtic supporter an explanation.
Or maybe we “can’t handle the truth.”
The interview also appeared on The Celtic Star last night and you can read Memories Few – 26 July 2012, Neil Doncaster emails the 5 Way Agreement to Celtic CEO Peter Lawwell HERE.
Peter Lawwell at the very least owes the Celtic Shareholders and the wider support an explanation.
Niall J
GREENPINATA on 22ND JANUARY 2020 10:22 AM
Don’t demonise those hard working individuals who drink and gamble responsibly.
Yes addicition is a curse, but personal responsibility is key.
And no responsibility from the bookmaker side.The dealer,the trader,the cash recipient.
All things being equal that is wrong
The individual is blown away and the booky
Profits vastly.
Right wing mantras bout personal responsibility does not cut it,hence the advertising budgets from the booky companies
HH
GREENPINATA on 22ND JANUARY 2020 10:22 AM
Don’t demonise those hard working individuals who drink and gamble responsibly.
Yes addicition is a curse, but personal responsibility is key.
_______________________________________-
First sentence – correct. Second – much more ambivalent about it. People with the addict gene are a big revenue stream for the predators who exploit them – until the addict dies. And they often do, well before their time.
If PL, DD and the board lied and connived to save a form of ‘Rangers’ once , what’s to say they wouldn’t do so again? If the present entity were close to going under again (say , by throwing everything everything at stopping 9and 10 and coming up short)?
Lawwell strung out and lied to 4 requisitioners for 6 years.
(The AGM in 2018 when Auldheid pulled him up for lying)
People who spent considerable time on this subject, at no small expense.
And now the latest revelation.
How anyone with any morals or decency can give Lawwell backing after this is beyond me.
Schved not in the matchday squad apparently
HH
I am also somewhat dumbfounded that given the latest ‘alleged’ revelations that Lawell ‘wilfully’ lied to shareholders of Celtic FC during the recent AGM that few if any on here are interested. You do realise that if the allegations are correct and that PL was fully aware of the 5WA, even being sent communications from the SFA on the subject, that this is a ‘striking off’ offence as well as a potentially criminal act.
Now just who do I believe, a life long Celtic supporter who has spent the last few years pursuing justice and doing the morally correct thing for the Club and support -Res 12 or do I believe someone who has deliberately obfuscated, delayed and openly lied to the Res 12 boys?
errrmm tough one isn’t it? No wonder the ‘Old Firm’ is alive and well