Rather than properly professionally with the multiple issues that appeared at Ibrox on Sunday Celtic have taken the usual easy opt-out.
Every aspect of the decision making from John Beaton and Nick Walsh deserves investigating followed by explanations but the last thing that the Celtic board want to do is confront the SFA. It has been that way since 27 July 2012.
A much easier and cynical approach is to brief their favourite media outlets about how really upset they are by two issues in the full knowledge that they won’t follow up on anything raised with the SFA.
At best they’ll get a reply about striving for the highest standards and lessons to be learned going forward. A reminder of Michael Nicholson’s side-splitting gags at the Celtic AGM last November is also likely.
There are easily a dozen points that could be raised about Sunday’s match, starting with the booking of Nicolas Kuhn and the head injury to YanhHyun-jun through to the penalty u-turn and theatrics of Fabio Silva.
A detailed statement on 12 issues on the Celtic website with the promise to publish the full answers from Crawford Allan would have brought a change in attitude.
Instead, locked inside the Timewarp of Communications Manager Iain Jamieson, Celtic have leaked to two of their favourite newspapers to take the heat off Michael Nicholson and Peter Lawwell as they prepare to press the button on Season Ticket renewals to the #celticfamily.
This is at a time when Brendan Rodgers has ditched the long serving arrangement of providing daily and Sunday newspapers with their own exclusive conferences.
First up Jamieson told The Sun about the horrors of the bottle thrown at Matt O’Riley, the day before the same publisher was given a statement on the coins thrown at John Kennedy.
At 1.26 on Monday The Sun reported:
A Celtic spokesperson said: “It has been confirmed today that a glass bottle was thrown at Matt O’Riley at yesterday’s match.
“The repeated targeting of our players and staff with missiles is quite appalling and completely unacceptable.
“We have already raised our serious concerns with Rangers and understand that police are investigating the matter.”
The Daily Record obviously weren’t to be left out of the loop, despite a day of backing up every decision from Beaton and Walsh, at 6.58pm they were handed as weak a statement as you could imagine:
The club has been in correspondence with the Scottish FA regarding the VAR process throughout the season, and has also played an active part in the SPFL working group which is seeking to work with the Scottish FA to improve standards for all clubs. We have raised our further concerns regarding the VAR process in the match with the Scottish FA and await a response.
That followed a big build up around the Silva simulation, not that you’d know with nothing specific in the Celtic statement.
There is no reference to either of these comments/statements on the Celtic website.
This month print sales of the Daily Record are expected to dip below 50,000 despite the best efforts of Celtic’s Communications Manager to provide them with content.
In January 2019 Celtic issued the following statement, to the surprise of no-one there was no follow up
Celtic Football Club is surprised that there will be no disciplinary action taken by the Scottish FA regarding the incidents during the match on December 29, which have been widely addressed in the media.
It is reported that no action was taken because the match referee saw all of the incidents in question.
Given that the referee took no action at the time, this tends to suggest that such conduct, which in one instance led to a Celtic player, Anthony Ralston, being injured, is acceptable in Scottish football. That cannot be right.
On the day, Celtic did not play well enough to win the match, something we accept. However, this issue goes beyond the result of the match.
Celtic is not the only club this season to raise concerns regarding the standard of officiating at matches in Scotland, concerns which have also been shared by many commentators on the game.
In order to fully understand what is going on, Celtic, our supporters, Scottish clubs and the general Scottish football public need transparency in these matters, and we therefore call on the Scottish FA to allow the referee, John Beaton, to explain these decisions publicly as well as any match officials involved in other similar circumstances.
In the meantime, we have requested a meeting with Scottish FA Chief Executive, Ian Maxwell, and the Association’s Head of Refereeing.
November 2019, from the Celtic AGM
? “Penalty Rangers”
Celtic chief Michael Nicholson’s cutting reply when quizzed on referees and VAR at AGMhttps://t.co/6vJYJ8p66Ihttps://t.co/6vJYJ8p66I
— Scottish Sun Sport (@scotsunsport) November 22, 2023
Spineless pricks everyone of them, what the fuck is dermot desmond thinking about employing these fuckin imposters. HH
Never did I ever ever think I’d say this…
But it’s actually a really good feeling now NOT paying to see Celtic and the farce these yellow directors allow on a weekly basis…
Sevco are MILES and MILES ahead in sticking up for their fans than our spineless yellow men will ever be !
If you tolerate this, then your children will be next…. oh wait, that’s what they actually want.
The collection of unimaginative old white men that comprise the Celtic board think being stuck in this self-defeating timewarp is the main thing drives the support and will sell tickets and merch in perpetuity. I don’t think that is true any longer.
I dislike the past and present iBrox clubs intensely but I wish our own club would be ambitious, push on towards meaningful progress in Europe and leave the embarrassing redneck neighbours behind, residing in an Alf Garnett netherworld of their own creation.
GET THESE RATS OUT OF PARADISE NOW DIRTY SHOWER OF SCUMBAGS BUT THATS THE TORIES FOR YOU MONEY MONEY MONEY FUCK THE FANS AND PLAYERS THEY CAN STICK THEIR SEASON TICKETS RIGHT UP THERE HOLE FED UP WITH THE LAWWELLS AND NICHOLSON GET THEM OUT THE RATS.
It’s now gone too far, look at the return years. Physio bottled, broken glass in Joe’s goal (unseen ?), erosion of away support, Sutton’s safety , weapons find, George Square, monkey impression to Scott Sinclair, Scott Brown being confronted by a rangers fan on the pitch, the Sunday bottle thrown is one of many objects thrown batteries and bottle throws many times. I bet I can’t even recall a quarter of their behaviours and that’s before the anti catholic singing shouting and banners and the cheating. How in god’s name is this allowed to continue?? I do often wonder if I should have left Scotland when younger? In what other civilised western country would this be allowed to be and to continue??? And as Joe rightly points out here our clubs pathetic response to all of this is shameful maybe a question next AGM listing all the stuff against our club and support and asking why we never go beyond a statement to fix things
lawwell and bisgrove are two cheeks of the same arse. Both working in tandem to fleece the fans and keep the Old Fir# nonsense going.
The Celtic fans need to get rid of Desmond and Lawwell to move the club on to better things. The huns would be a backwater irrelevance if the club was run properly.
Dermot Desmond is the most spineless bastard in the Celtic boardroom.
Most pond life are better defenders of their interests than he is of things more important than his own life.
The man reeks of cowardice leeching down to the belly crawlers and scum we have supporting his fat carcase, and the sooner he and them all leave or are forced out the better our club will be for it.
Oh for the days of the bunnet.
Do what I did…Give up your Season Ticket in protest at the way our Board refuses to handle Sevco issues…It’s the only thing they will understand…So COYBIG do the right thing… and DON’T renew.
and they give further license to cheaton and the whelk to continue their cheating of celtic as there is no sanction against them , why should they stop ? whats to deter them ? the dice is loaded against the club the team , the manager and the fans !! the Fn system is wide open to abuse and if we aint being abused and cheated i don’t know what you call it !!
“…but the last thing that the Celtic board want to do is confront the SFA.
It has been that way since 27 July 2012…”
That Friday was the day the SFA granted a unique, “conditional membership” to
Sevco Scotland Ltd. – to enable the ‘Rangers’ v. Brechin game on the Sunday.
On the same day, McCoist is quoted in the media – raging about a lack of a
“line being drawn in the sand”, with regards to EBT titles won by Rangers FC.
I have no idea if this conditional membership was dodgy,
if the sevco players were improperly registered [Ha!],
or even if the players were insured?
I also fon’t know if an agreement was made with our club NOT to pursue
the invalidation of Rangers’ EBT titles?
[We then had the Lord Nimmo Smith inquiry,
with its deliberately, tweaked Terms of Reference – to produce the desired result.]
IF our Board was corrupt – or complicit – back in 2012,
then we’ve all been routinely deceived for over a decade,
and no – our club can’t complain about corruption in the game?
Taking a hiatus – until the Board and DD have finally moved on –
is looking increasingly appealing. 🙁
Editor: The Six Way Agreement is a more accurate description.
Shitebags r’us
Our so called directors don’t care about our players, backroom staff, or fans being subject to these types of assaults at that cesspit as they are nowhere near these incidents all this pish about asking why these types of assaults keep going on they could not care a jot . Time they were causing as much bother as possible with the spfl , police Scotland , sfa ( Sevco football association )but they just yes sir no sir spineless shower that wants decent fans HARD EARNED CASH.
Been that way since 2012 joe think ur kidding urself on there been this way since 1888 apart fae the bunnets time we re watching a rigged game mate
Editor: Robert Kelly wasn’t much of a judge of footballers but he knew what Celtic were up against and stood his ground. Seventy years of ‘progress’ and Nicholson prefers the cosy seats at the back of the bus.
Do the Celtic board not have an obligation to protect their workers in the workplace.
Someone is going to get a sore one then the shite will hit the fan.
Cowards..cowards cowards cowards cowards cowards cowards cowards cowards cowards get them out our dont buy season tickets if we lose this title to they cheating scumbags at cheating liebrox lets see it happening if this happens get them out of paradise..