The fact that the Wee Oscar 4 Life campaign inspired hundreds from the Celtic community to raise money for the treatment of Oscar Knox will surprise no one, but the stunning amount of money raised by the bucket collection outside Celtic Park on Saturday, £31,918.05, is breathtaking.
I know those who decided something had to be done to help Oscar have no interest in our congratulations or respect, but they have it nonetheless. Well done to all who helped on Saturday and to those behind the campaign. You are a credit to our community. Again.
The team released the following statement:
At last Saturday’s Celtic game against Dundee at Celtic Park over 200 volunteers collected money on behalf of the ‘Wee Oscar 4 Life’ campaign as part of the Oscar Knox Appeal. Wee Oscar’s Green Bucket Army raised an astonishing £31,918.05 in just two hours between 13.00 pm and 3.00pm before the Scottish Premier League game.
This campaign was launched by supporters of Celtic Football Club (the Celtic family) to raise money for Oscar Knox, a four year old boy who has recently been diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma- a rare form of cancer which mainly affects children. All funds raised on the day through the bucket collection will go directly towards helping to fund immunotherapy treatment abroad for Wee Oscar to help him beat cancer for good.
On the day, the campaign team and family were also joined by four supporters of Rangers and one supporter of Hearts. Oscar’s dad Stephen flew over from Northern Ireland and he also brought along some of Oscar’s family. Also taking part were the partners of Celtic players, Lisa Hague (Partner of Kris Commons), Alana Roe (Girlfriend of Charlie Mulgrew) and Debbie Lawlor (Girlfriend of Tony Stokes). Lisa Hague has just been appointed Patron of the Wee Oscar 4 Life campaign and commented on the day: “It was fantastic to take part and get involved on Saturday. I was overwhelmed to be asked and amazed at the support offered by the fans. I jumped at the chance to be Patron, even though I am 7 months pregnant, because this charity really stood out to me, not only because of wee Oscar but the level of support from Celtic fans. I’m determined to do as much as I can to get wee Oscar the treatment that he so desperately needs”.
Oscar’s family are from Belfast and Stephen Knox commented: “We are totally blown away with what happened on Saturday, I flew over myself with a couple of friends and I am so pleased that I witnessed the generosity of the fans first hand. In particular I want to thank the entire Wee Oscar 4 Life team who led this campaign and made it happen. I would also like to thank each of the 200 strong bucket volunteers who are playing a huge part in helping to save our little boy’s life.”
Oscar is fighting stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive childhood cancer which affects 1 in every 100,000 children. He is currently responding very well to treatment but unfortunately neuroblastoma has a very high relapse rate and so to give him the best chance of survival he needs immunotherapy. This helps to stimulate the immune system, so that if the neuroblastoma was to return, his own body can recognise and attack it. The treatment is not currently available to Oscar in the UK and so the family needs to take him abroad to get it. The treatment is likely to cost up to £250,000. Sadly Oscar was also born with Jacobsen Syndrome, an extremely rare chromosome disorder. There are little over 250 confirmed cases in the world, and as far as we are aware, Oscar is the only child in the world ever to have Jacobsen Syndrome and then be diagnosed with neuroblastoma. The odds of this are about TEN BILLION TO ONE.
Future planned events include:
Wee Oscar 4 Life Celtic Quiz Night
This will be held on Saturday 29th September in The Phoenix Bar (X Eastenders Bar) Gallowgate Glasgow from 19.00 pm onwards. Tickets cost £5 (over 18’s only). Teams will comprise of 4 or 5 players but the organisers are happy to take individual bookings and for these people to be placed in a team.
To book tickets for this event, please email weeoscar4life@gmail.com quoting ‘Quiz’ in the subject field.
Wee Oscar 4 Life Race and Auction Evening
This event will be held on the Saturday 17th November in the Kerrydale Suite at Celtic Park from 19.00 onwards. Tickets cost £5 (over 18’s only). To book tickets for this event please email weeoscar4life@gmail.com quoting ‘Race’ in the subject field.
Glasgow to Belfast Cycle Ride
Wee Oscar 4 Life organisers are planning a cycle from Glasgow to Belfast for St Patrick’s weekend in March 2013 and will be looking for cyclist to take part in this event. Interested parties should email weeoscar4life@gmail.com quoting ‘Cycle’ in the subject field and the organisers will get back to you with more details.
For more information please contact the Wee Oscar 4 Life campaign team by emailing WeeOscar4Life@gmail.com.
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67Heaven … I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors
22:46 on 24 September, 2012
petec
22:00 on
24 September, 2012
I honestly believe the SFA / SPL are beginning to see the zombies for what they really were…. won’t be long now before the FF brigade get a wee taste of reality ….. you reap what you sow …ll
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The people in these places of power have all been corrupted because of Rangers demise. The fact none of them have gave up and come clean suggests a sinister secret society underpinning the whole corruption.
This is a massive corruption being exposed and it will take time for them to be totally exposed.
They charge if anyone complains: fans, refs, journos, police, anyone who can provide ‘evidence’.
The home club has to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to make sure things that might offend anybody to any degree don’t get into the ground or, if they do, don’t get displayed or, if they do, get removed.
CRC
You do know that SMB is a mental case.
CRC
Well done boss, magnificent effort and you deserved your celebration drink.
HT
It looks like they have jumped the gun, they obviously took the photoshopped pic seriously, then realised their mistake, hence the displayed twice bullcrap.
Saving face, tis what they are all about.
crc
Might get a mention on the Iain Anderson show soon.Just sent him an email re Saturday. Well done BTW re the bucket collection went brill thanks to you. Hail Hail.
ps Iains on Radio Scotland btw. Thats 2 BTW’s btw malts kickin in btw.
Gordon64
23:04 on
24 September, 2012
He was in restraints :-)
HH
CRC
celticrollercoaster,
A lot of work put in by yourself & the other organisers – it certainly paid off big-style.
930 fm btw
Hamtim
You returned those Becks to their rightful owner yet?
TET
I think there’s a couple of comments which more accurately identify the problem.
Firstly, what the heck are our national football authority doing conducting business by Twitter.
Also as pointed out by C1st, if instructions were given to remove the banner and it was deliberately put back up despite this then could Celtic be held responsible?
Don’t know but it seems madness that this is highlighted whilst the actions of others go unpunished.
Statement from Alastair Johnston tonight – does this end up as a plea in mitigation? Apologies if already posted…
In light of the recent statement issued by the SPL citing the terms of reference of the Commission appointed to explore the activities of Rangers Football Club, let me, at the outset, emphasize that I am not concerned about the impartiality of the learned gentlemen who will adjudicate on this matter.
I am, however, more wary as to the directives that have been provided to them by the SPL which in itself is constituted by competitors of the Club who have a vested interest in the outcome of the proceedings.
By convening a Commission composed of eminent members of the legal profession, it is no surprise that formalities are being expounded upon which would make the eyes of the average Rangers stakeholder glaze over. The ponderous tone alternating the focus between “Oldco” and “Newco” are, in my opinion, a distraction from what really matters.
“Rangers” are “Rangers” notwithstanding the legal nuances caused by the application of various bankruptcy laws. The heritage and records of the Club rest with the institution that is “Rangers,” and no amount of self-serving diatribe to the contrary, no matter how relentlessly pursued, can rewrite history.
However, I still remain bothered by the fact that the focus and isolation of Rangers and its adoption of EBT’s conveniently avoids exposing and evaluating a much broader principle embraced by the SPL rules and regulations. If the fundamental issue is a deficiency in furnishing information about overall player compensation, the Commission’s mandate should allow it to investigate and extract testimony under oath as to the utilization by all clubs of the concept of multi-contracts separating wages for playing football from other services. Compensation in a variety of forms whereby players participate financially in the license of their image rights to the club should especially be investigated as “image rights” come in a variety of guises. For example, a player can be given proceeds from the sale of the club top featuring his name, often under a separate negotiation with the kit supplier, or be provided with a car by a sponsor for appearing in an advertisement. Anyone with any knowledge of the process would testify to the fact that agents representing a foreign player joining a club in the UK will usually introduce the possibility of this segregation which is designed to mitigate the income tax liability of his client. The dilemma in these circumstances replicates that of the adoption of EBT’s. If the club files notification of this arrangement to the SPL, then it strongly suggests that it directly relates to signing with the club in order to play football for its team, thereby nullifying to a greater extent the theory behind an “image rights” contract designed to avoid standard taxes. If it doesn’t supply this information to the authorities, it finds itself in the predicament that has befallen Rangers because of its use of EBT’s. The principle is the same.
I also remain apprehensive that the guidance with respect to the penalties that could be applied on Rangers will be imposed on the Commission by vested interests in the SPL. Transparency here is fundamental. Justice must be served, but the punishment must fit the crime. Use of EBT schemes were broadly adopted by a variety of businesses during the era prior to them being specifically outlawed by designated legislation introduced only a couple of years ago. Also, as has been widely reported, Rangers made absolutely no attempt to disguise or deny their adoption, and they were fully disclosed in the annual reports and independently certified financial statements. What is galling, however, is the fact that it was not unusual for representatives of Rangers to openly discuss activation of EBT’s with their opposite numbers at other clubs during the era under investigation. I suspect that the Commission will not pursue this avenue of investigation, but it would be interesting whether or not “selective amnesia” would be exhibited by those Executives/Directors called to testify under oath about their ongoing familiarity with the Rangers scheme. It is ironic to reflect on the fact that the longer they maintained strategic silence on these conversations, the more extensive the number of titles that could be stripped if and when the opportunity arose subsequently to neutralize the successes that were earned by Rangers on the pitch.
At the end of the day, whatever misdemeanor could be validly charged to Rangers, surely it was a breach of procedure, not “cheating” or financial doping. The eminent members of the Commission must ask themselves – what were the real, not fabricated, consequences of Rangers not registering the information on EBT’s directly with the SPL. On the contrary, what actions would have been taken by the SPL at the time if all the detail of the EBTS, the total of which was reported annually in public accounts, had been submitted in a timely form. I genuinely suspect that the compliance officer would have reviewed the documents, ticked the important boxes that dealt with the players status and then routinely filed them for posterity. The Commission hearing this case must consider the real impact of any default. A verdict that Rangers essentially did not in fact adhere to stipulated procedures, does not warrant capital punishment.
Jude
I aim to swap them for Jon Daly.
W C
The zombies are begging to appear.
CRC It was an honour to be apart of something so special. A BIG thank you to you Bundoran Bhoy and Minx1888 for the time and effort that you all put in. I would also like to thank HT and MWD for all their effort too.
Every bucketeer should be proud tonight when that sum was announced, it took my breath away. What a family we are part of. In the immortal words of Labi ” there’s something inside so strong “.
Roll on Saturday night to continue this great campaign GO TEAM OSCAR.
HH
CRC
Only kiddin.
SMB is a fine upstanding citizen.
When he is standing.
Ham
Ouch that wiz sare.
Mighty Tim
First round’s on you big fella!!! ;-)
Jude
Meant to say to you a fantastic effort getting the bucket collection mentioned in the DR on Saturday.
A result for sheer persistence mate!! :-)
Mighty Tim
I was hoping for abt 20k. That nearly 32k is awesome!!
Hamiltontim
Just sent Chris Roberts an email to update him and thank him btw. He’s english and untainted lol.
What Johnston is failing to recognise is that by the EBT’s and the “side contracts” RFC(IA) conned the entire country out of £m’s. Everything will fall into place when the BTC is announced. They are dead dog pie and they know it.
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
23:24 on 24 September, 2012
Mighty Tim
I was hoping for abt 20k. That nearly 32k is awesome!!
more than £1,500 for each collector…even that alone is some statistic…..that is a lot of money in a couple of hours
HT that will be a pleasure my friend. I will also bring along something for the raffle mate. Really cannot wait.like a wean at Christmas.
Jude I thought 15k would be realistic if we got 20k I would be stunned, but 32k just so incredible and in only 2 hours.
What a tribe we are ( HT did you see what I done there).
HH
Jude
Good on you, battles are fought and won on many fronts!!
Night all….
winning captains
My reading of that statement from Alistair Johnston boils down to 3 messages:-
1. We know we are guilty but you better go easy and present this as an administrative oversight
2. We will muddy the waters around off-salary payments so that Celtic’s use of image rights payments (presumably to such as Larsson, Naka and Ki) will look just as dodgy to the angry mob.
3. Are you confident that the rest of Scotland would not like to bring Celtic down along with us?
Peter Lawwell has just been called out by Alistair Johnston. This could get interesting.
Magnificentseven
23:27 on 24 September, 2012
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/
23:24 on 24 September, 2012
Mighty Tim
I was hoping for abt 20k. That nearly 32k is awesome!!
more than £1,500 for each collector…even that alone is some statistic…..that is a lot of money in a couple of hours
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Not quite, it worked out at roughly £150 for each collector which is still a magnificent amount for each collector in such a short period of time.
Suppose we all know why this guy survived :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBwUwM5obPE
Teuchter ár lá
MT
Nope the first one’s on me my friend.
See you Saturday should be good fun for such a worthwhile cause.
Mag7
Was a joy to be there. And a 2 nil was the cream on the cookie!! btw
petec
ha ha ….my counting is rubbish tonight
Hamilton
Did you know that you shook the hand of the man that shook the hand of wee Jinky the morning he came back from Lisbon?
<o))
tim
petec
23:30 on
24 September, 2012
Thanks for your help on Saturday and nice to meet up with you. Stats for you
Approx 200 in the Army, including 14 team leaders, 70 females, 40ish kids…..
149 buckets out in action, including repeat buckets for overloaded buckets.
Staggering was the collection breakdown..
£9k in notes
Over £20k in coins, including over 12,500 £1 coins donated
Oscarfantastic!!
HH
CRC
Winning Captains
In short. Had we kent then wit we ken noo, we widnae have done it.
They should have kent, they should have asked themselves “why are we the only ebt users” and they should have decided, as Celtic did, that ebts were dodgy.
Not only that, but when presented with the first bill in 2008 they should have made contingency to pay it. They did not, instead they spent millions to build the team that won 3 titles from 2009 including offering ebt contracts to Davis and Mendez.
They are as guilty as sin and no amount of passing the buck will change that. Remember that in 2008 they had the opportunity to change course but decided against.
Now they try to blame everyone but themselves for running aground.
jude I hope you have not washed it since :)
HH
Johnston is becoming more and more desperate
“I also remain apprehensive that the guidance with respect to the penalties that could be applied on Rangers will be imposed on the Commission by vested interests in the SPL.”
Nimmo Smith has made it abundantly clear that there will be NO influence from ANYONE outside of the 3 man panel
Johnston just basically called a Law Lord a liar.
next up
“However, I still remain bothered by the fact that the focus and isolation of Rangers and its adoption of EBT’s conveniently avoids exposing and evaluating a much broader principle embraced by the SPL rules and regulations”
Johnston muddies the water and at the same time manages to appear as obtuse as his MSM pals.
The key here is contractual information was deliberately concealed by Johnston’s board amongst other RFC boards. He also conveniently ignores the fact HMRC have already passed judgement to the tune of £49 million
No other club has an HMRC problem
petec
Thanks for that £150 per bucket clarification.