Celtic have finally spoken out about the wave of attacks on the club- with statements to two of the newspapers carrying most of the attacks.
Kris Boyd led the firing line on Sky Sports as he went to town on the ‘stonewall offside’ that the hoops benefitted on to score against Hearts through Kyogo Furuhashi.
Throughout Friday there was commentary from other ‘experts’ on how lucky Celtic had been ignoring other decisions throughout the match that had gone against the club.
SFA Referee Chief Crawford Allan then turned up on BBC Scotland Sportsound to discuss the marginal decision which continued the ‘lucky Celtic’ narrative into the weekend.
Against Dundee United Don Robertson appeared fearful of ordering off Calum Butcher, allowing the defender away with just a yellow card for a brutal attack on David Turnbull that is now the subject of an SFA hearing.
On Tuesday former Hearts chairman Leslie Deans surfaced to demand a replay of last week’s match due to a plastic bottle striking Barrie Mackay on the back. A decade ago Hearts escaped any punishment for allowing a fan to attack Neil Lennon in the dugout at Tynecastle.
Celtic have said nothing but in a co-ordinated action an un-named spokesperson has provided their favourite newspapers with further fuel for the story.
The Sun reports:
SunSport understands Celtic chiefs are astonished at Deans’ replay outburst, especially given events at Tynecastle in the past. Hoops boss Neil Lennon was attacked in the dugout during a game against Hearts in May 2011.
A spokesperson said: “His comments are inaccurate. He is clearly unaware that we have already made comment and that we were in contact with Hearts immediately after the incident, which is being handled appropriately.”
It follows the former Tynecastle chairman’s attack on Hoops chief Ian Bankier for criticising referees at last month’s AGM.
Over at the Daily Record they report:
Parkhead chiefs have been left ‘astonished’ by the ex-Jambo man’s claim Celts had dismissed the flashpoint after the Tynecastle star was hit by a missile – and his call for the match to be replayed or the points to be awarded to the Jambos.
Celts made a statement and launched an investigation in the aftermath of McKay being struck by a bottle in the 1-0 win last Thursday.
But they have been left stunned by the blast from the former Tynecastle chief – especially after a number of high profile incidents in Gorgie in recent years, including the infamous assault on former Hoops boss Neil Lennon.
A spokesperson for Celtic said: “His comments are inaccurate. He is clearly unaware that we have already made comment and that we were in contact with Hearts immediately after the incident, which is being handled appropriately.”
With a website and multiple social media platforms Celtic could easily have informed their own fans of their displeasure at the turn of events, instead they chose to send comments out from an unnamed club employee.
This board are not fit for purpose – the biggest club in Scotland yet they cower from media + clubs alike – oh for the time of Fergus McCann, someone with a bit of fire in his belly – like the common celtic fan on the street – im ashamed of this board have been since 2012
The fact that they continue to choose a toilet roll paper like the daily record to release information just emphasizes further how out of touch they really are.
I think the person who should make a statement. Is the current hearts chairman do they agree with Mr Deans. A so called “negative” story about CELTIC opinions galore given and sought narrative runs and runs. Then a true negative story about”the rangers” no opinions given or sought story dies. The money they owe as an example
The Celtic board have said nothing about any of the assaults on our players and match decisions that have been overlooked by the media.
Yet one marginal offside decision has everyone shouting from the rooftops and even wanting the game replayed, did anyone from the media have such a fit when rangers had their offside goal against motherwell, or the dodgy penalties or even the refusal to send their players off?
Remember the bottles and batteries thrown from rangers supporters at celtic players? No outcry about that.
Spineless is the only way to describe the Celtic board. Especially when there is a concerted effort by some people in the Scottish game to do anything this season to get Sevco the title and consequently the big money.
Those comments are a pathetic response to days of negative and more importantly inaccurate headlines by people with an agenda.
The club should also have requested why such a horrendous challenge went essentially unpunished yet now United’s next two opponents will now face a weakened team. Make that statement public and clearly add that they expect Crawford Alan to be on the radio with an explanation. Oh and while he’s about it he can explain why Celtic’s good goal was disallowed in the corresponding fixture against Hearts in the opening weekend of the season.
Our response is weak beyond belief.