Your fathers, their fathers, and their fathers before them, have walked away from football grounds thinking the game in Scotland was skewed in favour of another team. As a club founded by immigrants, with our historical support drawn largely from some of the poorest sections of society, for decades Celtic-friendly people were underrepresented in the professional classes, the very classes those who administered and refereed our game were, and still are, drawn from.
No one believes more than me that times have changed. That immigrant community gained equal access to all professions years ago – yes, including referees. The prejudices which, perhaps not surprisingly, developed in Scotland when an incessant flood of around 800,000 immigrants poured into the country over a few short decades, have moved on. Our society is not without prejudice, but it’s others who are now targeted most.
Football decisions made by referees are difficult to prove to be deliberately unfair. I have no doubt that Celtic suffered unfairly in this regard for decades, but I see little evidence of it now, and even if there was, it is impossible to tell the difference between incompetence and bias.
Conclusive evidence of what we were up against was established in 1999 when an independent SFA Commission heard a complaint from Celtic that Jim Farry, the Association’s chief executive, deliberately delayed the registration of Jorge Cadete, meaning the player was unable to play for Celtic in a cup game against Rangers. The Commission upheld Celtic’s complaint and Farry was sacked for gross misconduct – even back then holding a torch for due process.
That incident came at the end of a difficult period to be a Celtic fan. Rangers had violated one of our cherished records, Nine-in-a-row, was matched, not by wonderful athletic achievement, as Celtic did, but by the might of the cheque book. Fergus built a stadium, left us a little over £2m in debt and taught the SFA a valuable lesson. In short, he put Celtic on a level playing field with everyone else in the country.
In August 2000 an almighty game of football reset all the dials. Celtic scored six against then champions Rangers. We won the league by 21 points, won the Scottish and League cups, our first treble in 32 years. On and off the park, we were better than a team who only a few years earlier seemed light-years ahead of a sorry looking Celtic.
Rangers responded by flooding more cash into their football squad, this time using Employee Benefit Trusts. In February last year Celtic Quick News was first to raise the question that these EBT payment might not have been registered with the SFA and SPL. Within three weeks the SPL commenced an investigation into the question, which found Rangers had a case to answer. The league set up the Commission which will report at noon today.
This is the most important decision in Scottish football history with implications for past and current directors of the organisations which run our game; people who were legally obliged to ensure rules were applied fairly, thoroughly and evenly.
It has implications for the Rangers group of clubs and for the international reputation of Scottish football, but none of this matters to you and me. We want to know if we were watching a level playing field for 11 years, or if the game was rigged. I can’t think of a more important decision in the history of British sport. There has never been and will never again be a decision which casts a shadow on 14 trophies, ‘won’ allegedly by a team playing by different rules to the rest.
The First Tier Tribunal decision last year and forthcoming Upper Tier Tribunal are sideshows. This is the main event, second only to Lisbon in importance to Scottish football. I am confident the decision will go against the group of clubs. If it doesn’t, we should not demean ourselves by slipping into paranoia. This is an independent commission, anyone who tells you otherwise is deluded.
My only concern is that the scale of punishments which would be appropriate for a guilty verdict are, frankly, so enormous, I expect every available opportunity to mitigate the sanctions to be exploited. This is a black cap verdict, but despite their impartiality, I don’t expect the Commission to dress sombrely when signing the decision.
A bottle of expensive fizzy stuff is in the fridge, in case we need to toast all those generations who, unlike us today, never had the opportunity to nail the truth.
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I bet Lance Armstrong, Ben Johnson and yon big east european hammer throwing woman wish their sporting bodies operated in the manner of the SFA, SFA et al.
Armstrong would probably be a shoe in as head of world cycling if they did.
But that would be totally ridiculous, right?
We need to get tha hell out ASAP.
“no sporting advantage”
and its a goodnight from me.
southside
You need a long long walk!!
FGF I’m not sure if member clubs can challenge this decision.
Celtic must be given time to consider the verdict and to respond. That means at least a week IMO.
Well I urged calm earlier, based on absence of he facts. Seems I was wrong, the facts are actually worse than was being leaked. Despite actually stating that rules have been broken, the sanctions that should routinely be applied are simply disregarded.
There will be far cleverer people than me post on here in the coming hours pointing out a technical aspect of the finding, or an interpretation of words that will allow us to prove various things such as the old club died, the new club is a new entity with no history etc.
However football is a game based on emotion, failure to apply the rules and an institutionalised stance which makes no distinction between old and new Rangers means that your average Rangers fan can quite easily rationalise the events of the last decade as a mere blip on their continuing history.
There will be media campaign which is already underway urging us to move on, LNS has spoken and how can we question his Lordship’s findings…….
However I can’t move on. Cheating is now no longer wrong in our game, so long as you have the lawyers to fight your case, or worse the violent disposition to create an atmosphere of fear of reprisal. So for me it’s done. I’ve watched Celtic for 47 years man and boy. I spent many of the happiest days of my life at the match with my Dad and his brothers. Even now one of the joys of my life is that I get to go to games with my two boys and have seen the club, the stadium and the sheer excitement of Celtic through their eyes.
But some things are more important. Fairness and being able to look oneself in the mirror is more important than football. So for me, although it breaks my heart to say it, it’s over. I can’t go and watch Celtic, no matter their reaction, while cheats are allowed to prosper.
I wish the club and our fans the very best, but anything we do going forward is tainted by being in the context of a crooked game. There’s nothing on earth that’s worth winning in those circumstances.
Thank you Celtic and good bye.
So the onus is on the football authorities to alert clubs to ineligible players. If not, these players are eligible ? Even for Scotland this really stinks to the high heavens.
So Oldco get the 250K fine & Newco keep the titles & counting.
What a joke.The whole world will be laughing their socks off at
Scottish justice.
Well after 60 years of this I´ve had it.
Scottish Fitba.Rotten to the core.
RIP.
Finito.
Ntassoolla
12:37 on 28 February, 2013
‘ernie lynch @12:20 the Hearts steward’s statement was not given immediately and was not corroborated by anyone within earshot i.e. – Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson. Joham Mjallby etc … The statement was not believed.
The prosecution refused a plea of guilty to the lesser charge of assault, went for broke and lost. The prosecution were not competent. And let’s face it. Some of the senior prosecutors in Scotland are not top drawer and hold their places because the politicians prefer Law Officers of a lesser calibre.’
You don’t need corroboration for the aggravation element of a crime.
There was sufficient evidence to support the aggravation.
Whether the aggravation element was proved or not the jury could and should have convicted the accused of assault.
They didn’t do so.
It was the jury that was at fault, not the prosecution.
The way is now clear for Hearts to do a Sevco. Not many sanctions. The other clubs in trouble will follow.
The game is rotten to the core!
LB
Hope Mark Daly has a follow up programme planned and he dissects this “verdict”. I am not legally trained but it doesn’t make any kind of sense to me. They broke the rules. This is acknowledged. They should have informed the authorities of their shady side payments; otherwise, the players were ineligble . This too is acknowledged. Somehow, the independent tribunal say it’s not their fault. They should have informed the authorities of their wrong doing for it to be wrong doing. Alice in Wonderland stuff.
Maybe it’ll be a season ticket for The Wee Roch in August.
Estadio.Your point is a valid one each individual would have his or her own call on it.H.H.
If they come up with the 250k will the creditors get 1st grab?
As anticipated.
The inference drawn by the tribunal is that, despite the fact the rules are designed to promote sporting integrity, and that there were a number of breaches of these rules, no sporting advantage was gained by Oldco.
This is, to put it politely, a somewhat surprising conclusion to draw. The tribunal have looked at this very narrowly. A great deal of weight was placed on the absence of any evidence concerning the other clubs in the SPL. There was no evidence as to whether or not they used EBT’s. Furthermore, there is no evidence to show how a direct sporting advantage was obtained by Oldco. This later point is an interesting one as the tribunal do accept the possibility of an indirect advantage being gained. However, they do not set any parameters as to how to measure such an advantage. It simply gets left on the judicial sideboard.
Another point made in the judgment is that there is no suggestion that Oldco would not have entered into the EBT’s if they had been made aware of the need to disclose the arrangements. This raised an important causation issue, namely that there would have had to be evidence of an aversion to using EBT’s. How exactly one is supposed to produce such evidence will forever remain a mystery. It is also a point I have never seen raised by any of our esteemed posters who have a greater knowledge of the rules than I have. It just goes to show that judges can come up with some extremely surprising ways of delivering a judgment.
There is one final point to all this. Just what is the point of these rules? If as the tribunal state, they are to promote sporting integrity, why do we have the ridiculous situation where a club can flout the rules but remain largely unpunished? And where does this leave clubs who have breached the rules but where there is no evidence of sporting advantage having been gained? I can see a situation where clubs who field ineligible players will use this judgment to interdict the SPL or SFA from imposing any sanction on them other than a fine. In other words the door is now open for cheats to prosper, not in an underhand way but in a most obvious and cynical fashion.
It really is a midden.
Hi Paul
I believe the best response to this folly is to raise a legal test case against the SFA in the small claims court or ordinary court ? for return of monies spent (season ticket X years plus travel expenses) in relation to their product marketed / sold not being as advertised. (evidenced within its own rules & regulations). I am sure some of our legal friends would have a field day with this lot of crooks. Once the case is won we can then all refer to the same test case for refund of losses.
So, if they haven’t done anything wrong, why is OldCo being fined £250,000? And if they have done something wrong then why is the fine so pitiful and not accompanied by expulsion from the competitions in which they participated or scores amended to 0-3.
jude2005 is neil lennon \o/
12:41 on
28 February, 2013
You’re right – I’m off oot!
snake plissken
12:32 on
28 February, 2013
I honestly didn’t see that coming …….. Everyone knows they cheated, and I didn’t realise that corruption had reached this level in Scottish Society…….deary me !!
Well this is indeed a watershed moment in both Scottish Football and Scottish Society.
We do now have final proof that the SFA and the Scottish Establishment in general is corrupt to its core.
This verdict sounds the death knell for professional football in Scotland. I expect Celtic to make a statement but I know I wont be happy with it.
In short ladies and gentlemen – what is the point in propping up a sport and institution that is institutionally bias against us.
I wont go into the stunning duplicity and double of standards of the verdict just now. But the above is the bottom line.
Celtic are in financial trouble Rangers romp the league. Celtic fix financial trouble Rangers romp the league.
They will do anything to win and everyone will let them do it.
It’s as simple as that!
LB
Celtic or any other club cannot contest this decision, oldco or its liquidators could contest the fine, Celtic FC/plc have a huge decision to make and it may lead to the padlocking of the gates if they get this wrong in the eyes of the support.
If Celtic are fortunate enough to reach this seasons Scottish Cup Final and after last nights commitment and performance I have my doubts may I suggest all of you looking for a boycott target this game
Ntassoolla
The member clubs do not need to challenge the decision.
‘Encouraged’ by the fans they simply need to hand in notice of resignation.
The authorities gain their power via the clubs, but that power resides with the cash cow……us.
Hail hail
Estadio
This decision makes no sense at all, why are they being fined if they are the innocent wee goats Nimmo describes??
Uncredible!
How much prize money did they win between 2000/11 a lot more than 250k. This verdict shows you can cheat, get caught, and still win. Disgusting.
It’s also 250 grand that will never be collected.
What is the point?
The goat people strike again.
And they are not finished yet.
neganon2
12:46 on
28 February, 2013
For once (LOL) I fully agree with you …… You have hit the nail on e head…..as per my post also…..CORRUPTION, PURE CORRUPTION
You know, 55 years i’ve been called paranoid.
This time I thought, OK, give them the benefit of the doubt, trust them to judge the case on its merits, simply judge the case on the facts placed before them.
How stupid am I?
It breaks my heart but I have bought my last season ticket, no more.
bob loblaw 12:42
It was hard reading that but well done for a terrific post. I suspect most would have similar emotions and also agree with your position.
Hail Hail!
the baws burst
Never thought I would think this but I doubt whether I’ll ever attend a football match in Scotland ever again.
The reprehensible actions taken by all of our authorities (not just football) to appease/facilitate/pander/doff their cap/run scared of etc etc, with regards to their great institution and fabric of society, has sickened me once and for all.
I hope the clubs custodians are looking at every avenue to get out of the set up here. It also has to be without THEM as well.
I will not stop supporting Celtic. That would mean the cheats winning again. But I hope our club will make an appropriate response within a few days.
lets not be to disgusted …..this last year has been the best year in nearly fifty to be a tim .they are dead,and their tribute act is in the fourth tier,i will always be a celtic man as was my late da and is my son and his son,as i said before its in our genes.what has happened to the oldco has been a great source of pleasure to us all…..they are nowhere,no europe for at least three years,and that is just the tribute act we are currently in the CL last 16 sc1/4S and romping the league the guilty verdict is what was expected,the other punishments have far reaching consequences. they cheated, celtic have a dignity of which i am enormously proud,i shall keep on laughing at rangers,but more importantly i will, for my forefathers sake,always be as proud to call myself A TRUE CELTIC MAN ……Wonderfull and inspiring post paul,i intend to print it and when my grandson weee charliebhoy asks why celtic……theres his answer ynwa
I’d send out the kids this weekend. I really don’t care about the Scottish cup now.
Quite honestly I don’t see the point in even winning the league other than a passport to the CL.
The whole thing has been devalued by this verdict.
When is cheating not cheating? When a club in blue from the South side of Glasgow do it.
Right can we all start talking about our club celtic for a change,lennys comments about certain players not pulling there weight last night against motherwell ,was to me like a man who when things are going well fine, but when the opposite happens the roof caves in, he lenny then trys to shift the blame on to certain players,rather on to himself,I Have said on here a million times he isnt the man for celtic.The only reason he has been tolerated by a section of the support ,was his 2 finger attitude to the Refs, the S F A. Etc Etc..well im not buying into that,never have and never will.i have supported celtic since i have been 9 yrs old , and he lenny in terms of his nature is the worse one of them all. so move on lenny at the end of the season,and by the way im not alone in my thoughts about neil lennon manage celtic. so no more about sevco or whatever there name is on here.celtic first on here ,oh and i will say before anyone else asks me who would you have replace lenny,well for me i would go and for Owen Coyle .he at least knows how to handle the media.oh i forgot the smart alec that come on here ,will be telling me that im in the wrong and im a hun ,well like evey on e lse on on here im entitled to my OPINION.
“Today the truth for you, your fathers and their fathers” No Paul, today was the establishment telling us the way ahead for us, our sons and their sons.
This decision was expected, not surprising. However it doesn’t make me feel less of a Celtic man. In fact it made me think about my father and his father and the defiance they would have shown by being more Celtic than ever.
Page 26 of the Report is key.
The contribution from SFA Head of Registrations ensured the Commission could not hold players as ineligible. The SFA overruled the SPL’s understanding.
It is a disgrace that Campbell Ogilvie has held position at the SFA throughout this.