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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Just heading off to work. We have to switch mobiles off except during breaks. Could be a long hard day.
He knows SFA
Rangers: SPL Commission will not strip club of SPL titles
By Chris McLaughlin
Senior Football Reporter, BBC Scotland
The commission appointed by the Scottish Premier League to investigate alleged undisclosed payments by Rangers will not strip the club of any titles.
More detail is expected when the written decision is published at noon.
Lord Nimmo Smith has chaired the commission, which was appointed to decide if the company that formerly ran the club broke league rules.
Should Rangers be found in breach, other sanctions may be applied but there will be no stripping of titles.
The investigation relates to the period during which Rangers operated employee benefits trusts that were also the subject of a long-running tax tribunal.
HM Revenue and Customs had claimed the scheme, which was used to make £47.65m in payments to players and staff in the form of tax-free loans, was illegal.
Rangers disputed this and a First Tier Tax Tribunal ruled the scheme did not breach tax law.
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon
He should have claimed Scottish citizenship a long time ago!
Starry Plough
I am not aware of Kayal being overly criticised this year. I simply don`t rate him.
Yes, he was worse than those others you mentioned but, more importantly, they are good enough therefore could come on to a game. Beram is not good enough.
JJ
Graham Spiers@GrahamSpiers
I’ve not yet seen Nimmo Smith reasons but am glad of bulletin of no title stripping for Rangers. What a ludicrous mess that would have been.
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3 minsGregory Ioannidis@LawTop20
BBC is reporting that Rangers will not be stripped of league titles
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Sounds like my suspicions were right re. punishment. Unless ………….expulsion?
Surely not!!
LIvinginhopeCSC.
Here’s the key bit:
other sanctions may be applied but there will be no stripping of titles.
Estadio,
Excellent!
Hail! Hail!
DarnTheHairWeCare!
Can anyone think of a possible way that LNS and co can state that rules were broken and ineligible players played in games – yet decide not to amend the results of those games??
alex thomson@alextomo
Rangers will not be stripped of titles – unclear what rules (if any) were broken
alex thomson@alextomo
Rangers will not be stripped of titles – unclear what rules (if any) were broken
Game is over for me.
They do what they want and the authorities let them and help them. A total disgrace.
LB
Sevco know the result from 10.00 am so no surprise that journos have already been leaked it. Stripping of titles has been Sevco’s worst case scenario – the one they have insisted could never happen. Any other punishment can be brushed under the carpet. Fines are irrelevant, point deductions irrelevant, sanctions on past directors irrelevant.
McLaughlin is speculating here :
“Should Rangers be found in breach, other sanctions may be applied but there will be no stripping of titles.”
No titles stripped, oh well, clearly the rules don’t matter.
We have already witnessed judgement without fear of showing favouritism.
We are in the throes of witnessing it all again on a larger scale.
Jungle Jim
Fair enough Jim…
He was flavour of the month a year ago or so for a lot of Celtic fans and it seems a little unfair to drop him like a hot rock when the boy struggles but if you feel he is not good enough you are entitled to that opinion, he’s running out of time to get back to his best that’s for sure..
alex thomson@alextomo
This is not confirmed but full Commission Report on SPL website 12.00
Haven’t been on for ages due to many issues including internet and laptop trouble!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I find myself today having to again try and plan a day’s work around waiting for the truth to be revealed about decades of cheating, pure and simple, outright cheating!!!
I don’t expect the now defunct club to be stripped of their ill gotten titles and cups but do expect an independant commission to publish the fact that they failed to properly register players intentionally!! over a sustained period of time and therefor ‘won’ those trophies by cheating.
For them to be forever branded as cheating there way to trophies is what i am hoping for.
Can’t comment on last nights match as i didn’t see it due to other commitments but sincerely hope there have been arses kicked before saturday and we get the right result there! juventus game will look after itself
Disgusted but not in the least surprised if these early reports are true.
The masonic cabal weaves its magic again.
Paul67
Oustanding article ….you may beat it later in the day
The years that 1 team used a secret payment to pay players fully knowing the rules and what it would mean if they were caught and the rules administered as they were meant
The tainted titles
LNS will be well aware that the UTTT
Has still to start and he could be left looking a fool . Lots of the evidence for that was shreddided and concealed .
IMHO I expected a guilty verdict
If not we are off to hell in a hand Cart and the cheats have won
Jam67
Guilty as charged. But no punishment
#onlyinScotland
Gordon_J backing Neil Lennon
10:41 on
28 February, 2013
Can anyone think of a possible way that LNS and co can state that rules were broken and ineligible players played in games – yet decide not to amend the results of those games??
I can…….we are in Scotland and this is Rangers we are talking about.
I feel sick to my stomach.
This sinks.
If they get away with this,that will be me finished with football inScotland,and will be my last day on CQN ,what would be the point of football discussion,when you know you are looked upon as a patsy.HH
Stinks even
Tropical in Tayport
75 mins to go!
.
*Breaking News*
I mins Chris McLaughlin @BBCchrismcluug
#Sorry got earlier Rangers story very wrong. Should read
#Rangers will not be Posthumously be stripped of titles. More to follow… #BBCSport.
Summa of DeathlySilenceCSC
McGlynn leaves Hearts
It was NEVER going to happen. The authorities are scared stiff of them. This is why they got their place in the league last season when it should have gone to Spartans or Cove Rangers. Remember Regan’s comment about social unrest?
Do they even have the right to strip the cup’s from Rangers or was this purely about the league?
If they are guilty and the fact that all of the info flying around is talking about the types of punishment rather then lack of guilt, then how are they going to measure that guilt?
What is the proper sanction for years of financial doping?
Ban all of the directors from ever being involved in football again? (I doubt they’d give a damn).
Ban Rangers from ever joining the SPL? or for a protracted period say 10 years (would probably suit Green as he can continue to play the martyr card)
Fine them an absolute fortune? (Who’d pay?)
If this is indeed the case what do we as a club and as a support do about it , that is my question .
Starry Plough
Good man, Starry. I enjoyed that we football debate amongst the LNS stuff 0:-)
Off oot…
JJ
livibhoy
10:41 on
28 February, 2013
Correct and I’m sorry to hurt my team but I won’t be back to spend my hard earned cash on a corrupt set up.
Scotzine@scotzine
John McGlynn has left Hearts by mutual consent!
A day to bury bad news
fanadpatriot
10:44 on 28 February, 2013
If they get away with this,that will be me finished with football inScotland,and will be my last day on CQN ,what would be the point of football discussion,when you know you are looked upon as a patsy.HH
Ditto
Peter Lawwell ,this is your time.Step forward and show leadership now.IMO This is critical for Celtic supporters who may now turn away from Scottish Football.