The year 2012 was epochal in Scottish football and the broader civil society.
Quite simply, the feud between two clubs that started in 1888 was over.
Celtic had won.
They were the last club standing.
The football authorities and the local media had dismissed the scenario as fantasy and were stunned when it actually happened.
Frankly, the reality of the situation for those who had follow followed the dead club was too much to take.
Consequently, they had to form a constitutive story about what had happened.
Somehow, their beloved Rangers had been the victims of a vast conspiracy.
Various Machiavellian types had worked diligently in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
Their best brains (bless) started to construct a dignified Dolchstoßlegende.
The reality was much more prosaic. As the strapline in my book Downfall states, “Rangers FC self-destructed.”
In the years since, feedback from readers has been gratifying as they’ve related how my book has become something of a vade mecum for them.
It’s proved highly useful when discussing the death of the original Rangers with Ibrox chaps who are still in denial.
It all pointed to a mindset that disbelieved the evidence of their eyes.
Traumatised and bereft, the Ibrox klanbase then started to harbour a revenge fantasy about the club across the city.
They held onto the desperate belief that an equivalent of the Big Tax Case was about to drop onto the Parkhead club.
As regular readers will know, there were various attempts.
First up was the State Aid fantasy.
Then a complete misreading of Celtic’s credit facility with the Co-operative Bank.
Of course,none of these apocalyptic scenarios ever came to pass.
All of that was relatively harmless and, indeed, amusing to observe.
What wasn’t in that category was how the legacy issues around the Celtic Boys Club were gleefully weaponised online.
This piece of mine from 2019 lays out what I thought was Celtic FC’s moral duty to the victims.
My view hasn’t changed in the years since.
All available public data would strongly suggest that this matter is an insured loss for Celtic.
Any listed company of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) would have to have published the existence of such a contingent liability in their annual accounts.
However, there has never been any mention of this case in Celtic’s.
Nor was there any meaningful announcement to the LSE on the day of the club statement.
For example, the club had to report the substantial transfer fee for Jota when he was signed for Al-Ittihad in July 2023.
When the accounts for the year up to June 30th are published towards the end of 2025, it would not be surprising to see an increase in the club’s insurance premiums.
In financial terms, that is it.
Consequently, the ghoulish weaponising of this awful case has come to naught.
The hope was it would be Celtic’s Big Tax Case, an unpayable bill that would put the Parkhead club into an insolvency event.
The reaction online since the official statement has shown this to be the case.
Shamefully, the victims were only ever extras in this squalid revenge fantasy.
I reached out to a couple of senior legal heads after the club statement.
First off, litigation in these cases is an amoral world.
Apparently, there is a market value placed on pain and suffering.
I know, I know.
They both told me that Celtic’s insurers and their legal team would have parsed, re-drafted, and approved the club statement.
Moreover, it would almost certainly have been agreed with the other side.
As with the 2012 events, the local media were found wanting on almost every aspect of competent journalism.
This is from Graham Spiers.
Oh dear.
For the record, I’ve met Graham, and he’s essentially a decent person who tries to see the best in people.
He certainly would have no truck with the online ghouls who have weaponised the suffering of others.
For the avoidance of doubt, in an out-of-court settlement, no side “wins the case”.
Moreover, I would love to know what well-placed sources gave him the £30m figure.
The legal case is settled, but the lifelong psychological injuries of the victims remain.
They deserved better than to be bit part actors in someone else’s revenge fantasy.
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Regarding 2012,What baffles me is what part of liquidation the klan fail to grasp, it happened,simple as that and I will never forget the day the sky sports ticker tape ran for hours saying they had been liquidated it was there for all to see, so as they would want you to believe they weren’t “put down the divisions” they weren’t “demoted” or “relegated” and there was no mention at the time of this being the company or “engine room subsidiary” the fact that the Scottish sports hacks and the previously mentioned Sky sports broadcasting team avoid mentioning it at all costs won’t make us forget.
Comfortably Numb above cited Pat Nevin as unaware of the scandal despite playing for the Boys’ Club. This is not as surprising as it may seem. For abusers secrecy is paramount. Their lives are dedicated to dishonesty and dissembling and they are past masters at covering their traces. Whenever the truth about a predator emerges , how often do you hear someone blameless say, ‘I’d never have believed that of him’? That’s how skilled they are.
Spot on with everything you’ve said , I’ve said for years abuse is yards away from you by that I mean no one knows who has been a victim of this disgusting behaviour
I myself was a victim at the hands of a family member
Ultimately this was badly handled by Celtic fc
Know this Joe ,You have my deepest sympathy and upmost respect for meeting it head on pal.
I am and have been very close to someone who has suffered the same as you.
PTSD as you full well know doesn’t take a day off let alone 90 minutes or so at the fitba.
God bless I very sincerely hope and pray that you find peace and solace at the football one day my friend.
Joe please know that you will never walk alone among Celtic Supporters.
Never.
Referring to child abuse is all the hun can do to feel he is somehow better than us. They have nothing to shout about in football matters on or off the pitch. It’s the only thing they had left !
Obviously they choose to ignore the child abuse that went on at their previous club inside ibrox prior to
their demise in 2012. Like liquidation in 2012 it is conveniently forgotten by them and the Scottish media.
Shamefully yet unsurprisingly they have treated the ibrox victims in the same manner as the face painter, local newspaper shop etc. by referring them to the administrators.
The Scottish media as always have played along in the denial game. They haven’t mentioned the original ibrox club in any recent reports about abuse victims.
They are indeed Scotland’s Shame.
When claims like these arrive at an organisation which is insured for public liability then it is the isnsurers and their lawers who act on the matter. The timeline whilst unfortunate is driven by the lawers for the insurance and the insured have little or no say in how the case is handled. Anyone who has a large claim against their insurance will know how difficult it is to have a speedy resolution. The exact same is relevant to this situation and we should be glad it is coming to an end. As Phil points out the sum involved will be paid by the insurer, and Celtic’s annual premium will increase because of the claim.
The weaponisation of child abuse at Celtic Boys Club by opposing fans has been one of the darkest periods yet of my 5 decades or so following g Celtic.
Absolutely no regard was given to any of the victims involved in this case or indeed any other victims of a child abuse who watched from afar or even still attend games in order to escape their traumas for 90 minutes or so a week.
Only to be reminded at every opportunity of course by the pea brained ,knuckledraggers who chant and sing gleefully about such things in a vain attempt to point score or one up their bitter and I mean bitter rivals.
The decision to let these cretins back into Celtic Park was frankly beyond my comprehension.
I get the fact they want a better “atmosphere “ in order to make it more exiting for the TV Audience etc but the fact is the atmosphere is toxic at best and horrendous at worst.
Sorry but anyone who has the slightest clue about these things knows fine well that if you attend an event (any event ) where there are 10’s of thousands of people in attendance statistically you will be stood or sat 30 foot from a victim of abuse.
Anyone who thinks this societal issue is particular to one group of people or one institution is either thick as school custard or a pure ignoramus of the highest order.
I don’t know one single Celtic fan who didn’t want this issue resolved years ago and I do know plenty who unreservedly back these victims going forward in life.
God bless them all.
Any right thinking Celtic fan will have a lot of sympathy for the victims and their families.
The fact that it went on for so long will never make sense to me. All my sympathy lies with the innocent victims and their nearest and dearest. I have no time for those spouting their bile on so called social media.
It was absolutely horrendous what went on at Celtic Boys Club during this period. Did those at Celtic FC know what was going on? Should they have known what was going on? Should they have done something about it? Most certainly! I have recently read Pat Nevin’s latest book, The Accidental Footballer. Nevin refers to the scandal in his book but says that he was at Celtic Boys Club during this time but was totally unaware of this nefarious activity. Nevin is a bright guy so if he didn’t pick up on it then it’s pretty likely that the guys at Celtic Park were also in the dark. Nevertheless, Celtic FC are doing the right thing by compensating the victims. Hopefully, this will now stop the vile chanting from the other side of the city and the constant references on social media. However, somehow I don’t it will!
“Contact the Liquidators!”
Nuff said!!
Exactly
I had a lot of close friends who played for Celtic boys club, had a trial myself. This was the 80s and I hope that no one i knew was exposed to this kind of depraved actions. As for them across the other side, I find it hard to talk about something I have know idea about, never mind making up songs.
They hate Everything/Anyone, and as for their vile songs they should die with the club/organization/clumpany/ that they support
Seán🇮🇪🍀🇮🇪
Season Ticket holder at Parkhead, I didn’t attend the recent game V the huns as I’ve heard their vile racist and weaponizing of child abuse and I can’t stomach it. In the 80/90’s I worked trying to help the victims of child abuse, some as young as 2 years old, later I worked with the Schedule 1 sex offenders trying to stop them re offending, sadly without much success. Child abuse is present in all areas of society and the perpetrators are from all religions. The huns have no compassion or empathy for the victims and hell mend them, they truly are Scotlands Shame.