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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cardiffbhoy
09:34 on 28 February, 2013
…or even season ticket money…!!
Is it ironic that Pope Benedict starts his final day as Pope today on the same day as the Lord Nimmo Smith ruling?
Is he leaving his post as he he has inside knowledge that he knows his job is done? ;-)
#fingerscrossed
The Battered Bunnet
09:29 on 28 February, 2013
‘The eminent make up of the Commission is such – a Law Lord (Scots), a High Court Judge (English), and a QC of long standing in Sports Law and Arbitration (English) – that their impatiality must be accepted as beyond question.
To think otherwise would inevitably lead to giving up the day job and getting into a life outside of the constraints of the law.’
#########
You’ve obviously never read this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Politics-Judiciary-J-A-Griffith/dp/0006863817
Have to say, Paul67, one of the finest posts I’ve ever read on here. HH
jimmci
09:32 on 28 February, 2013
We were playing a bunch of cluggers, in a sandpit
UEFA does something ——
UEFA has ordered Lazio to play their next 2 European home games in a closed stadium . Lazio have also been fined 40 K euros. Reason ? —— expressions of racism and fascism during the recent game v Borussia Moenchengladbach. UEFA have stated that Lazio have been warned /warned and warned again and now it’s time for action..
Off to Napoli soon [ a long arranged jolly centered round tomorrow night’s Napoli v Juve game ]. I love Naples . Weekend in Napoli and then a trip to Torino ..
Should be in Napoli by late afternoon ——- hoping to hear good news when I get there.. I always believed that they were cheats / I want that belief to become knowledge .
Lovely day but feels cold in the shade -way down south
Paul 67 –
It’s a big day in the north.
I’m fairly confident of a guilty verdict – not confident of appropriate punishment.
My brother, a lifelong Celtic supporter, bought a Season Book every year for decades even through the lean years. Why? Because he supports Celtic F.C., HIS team.
HH!
One of my laugh out loud moments from this saga …………
I remember when CYoung argued that the old Rangers should not be criticised because they had only done what any self respecting gun-runners and drug smugglers had done.
67Heaven, Ernie
There is a sense abroad that that is exactly what will happen. Serial rules breaches confirmed, but a contrived or ill-fitting set of sanctions.
Folk expecting to celebrate lost titles recovered might by somewhat disappointed.
67heaven,
You may be right but I still think Neil needs a long, hard look at himself. His comments were dreadful, petty and, to my mind,very immature.
Not good management IMO.
Can someone explain to me why the Commission decide on the punishment. Surely the SPL or SFA should do that by applying their own rules. Have they just chickened out of it?
Time for some appropriate words from Bob Dylan.
Oh the time will come up
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin’
Like the stillness in the wind
‘Fore the hurricane begins
The hours when the ship comes in.
And the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking.
Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they’ll be smiling
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand
The hour that the ship comes in.
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they’re spoken
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck
The hour that the ship comes in.
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin’
And the ship’s wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin’.
Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep in their eyes
And they’ll jerk from their beds and think they’re dreamin’
But they’ll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it’s for real
The hour that the ship comes in.
Then they’ll raise their hands
Sayin’ we’ll meet all your demands
But we’ll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh’s tribe
They’ll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they’ll be conquered.
Your fathers, their fathers, and their fathers before them, have walked away from football grounds KNOWING the game in Scotland was skewed in favour of another team.
Pedantcfc
As much as I’d like to believe that titles will be stripped I just don’t think anything like that will happen – guilty verdict or not. It would be one of the biggest punishments ever sanctioned in European football and I don’t think there is an appetite in this country to punish Rangers for what they have done.
Call me a pessimist but I have no confidence that they will ever be punished for what they have done. The biggest tax scam in Scottish history, the purchasing of trophies with bad debt and tax avoidance, the raising of two fingers to countless creditors, and all for what?
A few seasons in lower divisions, purchase the history of the liquidated club, and we all pretend it’s Rangers back from the dead and everything continues as it was. Press sycophants now fawn over the new club as they did the old club, fans of the new club sing the same bigoted bile as fans of the old club and everything continues as it was.
Sorry for the prophecy of doom but I feel a punch is about to be pulled at noon today.
Craiginho
Sammi – “Who are the ‘In the Know’ Names to Follow on Twitter..”
R.C. Ogilvie….
T4
Sammi – “Who are the ‘In the Know’ Names to Follow on Twitter..”
@cqn
The verdict can only be guilty – the question is the scale of the guilt. They have already admitted that in some cases payments were made to players that were not registered with the proper authorities. The question is whether this is also found proven in relation to many other players.
I’m struggling to see how the loss of titles can be avoided. Fielding an ineligible player results in a 3 – 0 defeat. Always. What possible reason could there be for ignoring this basic rule?
I hope the high noon deadline is met – or I’m going to be late for my 1pm meeting today.
I am still highly suspicious of how Chuckles knew the date when the verdict would be published….
Strong words Paul
I hope you are correct.
Morning all
Excellent piece Paul. Nail hit on head.
The downfall of Rangers as Was has been long and tortuous. Whatever the outcome this is the end of it being relevant to me. I shall no doubt follow the future appeal by HMRC and may snigger ( or not) at future revelations but this is about the football and possible ( probable?) cheating on a grand scale.
When the verdict is issued I hope that justice is seen to have been done .
Jimbo
Craiginho
Keep the faith!!
Surely the stripping of titles is not the punishment, but the consequence of any wrongdoing by RFC.
Cheat Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal, and received a suspension as his punishment.
Cheat Lance Armstrong was stripped of Tour De France titles, and received a lifetime ban as his punishment.
Only in Scotland is the stripping of titles seen as a punishment.
Wonderful article Paul and i hope today proves to be a memorable and historic onr for Scottish football.
However, i can’t help but feel that this will be fudged in such a way that Rangers are proved to be guilty but the focus is on “ensuring this can’t happen again”
ernie lynch
09:36 on 28 February, 2013
Hahahahahahahahahaha…… Some man…..!!!!!!!!
cardiffbhoy
09:51 on
28 February, 2013
Correct……should be an interesting ‘verdict’…../ ‘punishment’
On Radio Shortbread this morning, they said that Chuckles and the SPL would get a heads up in the morning prior to the lunchtime announcement.
Hopefully, the rage will be evident on the Orc sites very soon!
T4
ernie lynch
I feel your words of caution will not reach the ears of most of this desperate audience 0:-)
JJ
Cardiffbhoy, exactly.
If I rob a bank of £1m, is the punishment me giving the money back? No that is the consequence. The punishment is jail.
SffS
Paul67
Excellent post! And excellent efforts through this week to focus attention back on the subject
Expect the usual MSM smoke, mirrors and moonbeams to go into overdrive again, if the result goes against them. They will want to know why the LNS found them guilty, while the taxman found them innocent etc? It looks like another popcorn moment if the result goes our way we can sit back and enjoy the MSM out themselves again one by one. They can’t all get jobs at Ibrox, can they?
Not logged on to post for a long time. Not even been on to read much these last couple of months as work has been mad but just to say…..
That gave me goosebumps! Thank you Paul. May all of us be raising a glass remembering those who never had this opportunity. In their memories may justice be done.
Nimmo looks relaxed as he arrives for the verdict http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR688BZ2WtoobQuZhHkOYwsdM2E5V5cW–Bc3Kn5JCbf6GDAhSzoQ
Something inside me says it will be a guilty verdict with a “they have been very naughty boys!” statement..alongwith well known phrases and sayings like” they have been punished enough”..”lets all move on for the good of the game “..blah blah blah.
Need a precedent look here…….
http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/youth-football-club-thrown-out-of-cup-over-error-1-2811747
Saw bits of the game last and disappointed we lost the game. However, even Barcelona lose games as did the Lisbon Lions and it makes the race for 2nd place and the SPL more interesting. Assuming we don’t throw away the league, of course. Who says the SPL is missing a plucky cash strapped team from the South side?
My heart says that Rangers (not the Rangers) will be found guilty but my experience of Scottish football and organisations full of cronyism sorry the negative aspects of “networking” tells me the punishment won’t be as it should be.
I believe the purpose of privilege has become the protection and maintenance of that privilege. No more “noblesse oblige”
Roll on noon to put is out of our misery.
St Martin’s Bhoy
Glad to see you back.
Yeah I got the same reaction, trying not to get too excited yet.
I may need to go shop for some jelly
Amidst all this understandable preoccupation with a verdict which is only two hours away, let me say that I do not think Beram Kayal is good enough for Celtic. He runs around a lot but so did Kenny Miller.
JJ
ttlt : Ha! I’m old enough to remember that show! :-)
T4