A YEAR ago Celtic briefed a selection of supporters’ representatives that they would be issuing a Statement about what had become known as Resolution 12. This related to a motion at the Celtic AGM in 2013 when Celtic shareholders wanted the club to seek answers from the SFA regarding the decision made by the governing body in Scottish football to grant Craig Whyte’s Rangers a licence to play in Europe despite the old club having overdue social taxes.
If Rangers did have overdue social taxes then they quite simply should not have been allowed a licence to play in Europe.
Regan at the SFA did all he could not to answer the question, but he did take to social media one night to suggest that if you received a bill but didn’t agree with it, the it wasn’t overdue, it was disputed.
Evidence in the HMA v Craig Whyte in the High Court over recent weeks has shown that contention up to be the nonsense it is. Rangers’ former owner David Murray in selling the club to Whyte for £1 had as a condition of the sale, the settling of the so called Wee Tax Case bill, by the purchaser.
Regan misrepresentation was exposed, and frankly not for the first time.
Anyway, it’s a Sunday morning, what is he going on about you are asking yourself?
Celtic never did issue that statement a year ago.
They wrote it. It’s the ready to be issued. At the time they told the small group of Celtic supporters that they were going to issue it, they did so in good faith. But despite all of that they held back.
There were good reasons for issuing that Res 12 Statement; what is said, they had said they would be doing it; to get the intense heat they were feeling from within their own support reduced, it was the easiest course of action.
But while Celtic were active on this behind the scenes, they choose not to issue the statement. Overly cautious could have been the charge against them and there was some merit in that.
So when yesterday mid morning Celtic issued a statement on the Cup Final ticketing arrangements we knew that they were mad. Very mad indeed. Read CQN on yesterday’s events HERE re the initial news and then Brendan Rodgers’ take in it after the match HERE, to catch up.
The SFA, who you will remember were also very reluctant to speak or give straight forward answers to the Celtic shareholders’ questions, responded after yesterday’s match in which Celtic defeated St Johnstone 4-1.
Last June CQN placed an advertisement in the Swiss newspaper of choice for senior UEFA executives, the Tribune de Geneve, on the very morning of the SFA AGM and this forced Regan to open his month about Resolution 12. A few weeks later UEFA wrote to the solicitor of the Celtic shareholders, something that they did because Celtic organised behind the scenes.
That letter, among other things, exposed the SFA/SPL 5Way Agreement Myth of Continuity. It said UEFA regarded them as a new club/company, therefore couldn’t do much about the old, dead club.
So yesterday a reluctant Celtic issued a statement against the SFA and Regan responded on the one day. The Res 12 guys have spent years trying to get this sort of thing to happen!
Here is what Regan said yesterday regarding his organisation’s decision to allocate hundreds more tickets to Aberdeen fans for the Cup Final – which could be an historic day for Celtic – than to our supporters.
“The allocation of tickets has been handled in full consultation with both participating clubs and the available seating at Hampden Park will be split on a 50/50 basis, as has been standard practice in previous cup finals where a sell-out crowd is anticipated.
“It should also be noted that one of the reasons Celtic will potentially receive fewer tickets than Aberdeen is that the East Stand, Celtic’s preferred stand for Scottish Cup matches at the National Stadium, contains fewer seats than the West Stand.
“In addition, the ‘football family’, made up of Scottish FA members, commercial partners, other recognised football organisations and staff, have the right to buy match tickets for the final.”
That bit in the middle!
STOP!
RIGHT!
THERE!
REGAN!
SAY THAT AGAIN…
“It should also be noted that one of the reasons Celtic will potentially receive fewer tickets than Aberdeen is that the East Stand, Celtic’s preferred stand for Scottish Cup matches at the National Stadium, contains fewer seats than the West Stand.”
YOU ARE TELLING US THAT THE PURPOSE BUILT NEW STADIUM, WHICH WAS BUILT USING MILLIONS FROM THE PUBLIC PURSE, HAS FROM THE VERY START, AN INBUILT AND UNTIL NOW SECRETIVE, ADVANTAGE FOR THE TEAM OCCUPYING THE TRADITIONAL RANGERS END AT HAMPDEN?
In your own statement, released yesterday, you say that for sell-out matches at Hampden you have a 50/50 ticket policy but then contract yourself by saying that one ‘half” of the ground has more seats than the other ‘half” of Hampden.
So in the Scottish Cup semi Final a few weeks ago, when Hampden looked like it was split down the middle with green and blue there were actually MORE Sevco Rangers supporters there than Celtic fans and this has been the case on the four occasions we have played them at Hampden and on the countless times we played the old Rangers there since Hampden was modernised?
AND YOU NEVER THOUGHT TO TELL ANYONE UNTIL YESTERDAY?
Celtic put forward a number of proposals at an operations meeting at Hampden.
“These included – a review of segregation arrangements; reconfiguration of the Upper South Stand; the creation of a neutral area to best accommodate supporters through the ‘football family’.
“However, these positive suggestions have not been accepted and this will mean a number of our supporters will miss out.”
