Celtic ‘must issue full apology’ over paedophile scandal - Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman.

They will apologize, but will be very carefully worded and agreed with the victims lawyers.

It will be something along the lines of

‘Celtic FC would like to apologize unreservedly for the pain and suffering caused to former players at the Celtic boys club as a result of behavior of people responsible in the past.

The modern club regrets what has historically happened and wishes to completely disassociate itself with the actions of of these individuals.

The club has agreed compensation payments to victims of historical abuse, as we believe is the right thing to do.

Celtic completely opposes abuse of power and trust in not only football, but in all walks of life.’

This is the type of thing you’re likely to see uttered although it will be much more careful than what I’m saying.
 
Weetoonblue said:
Sadly cannot see any other media organisation being as truthful or as critical.


Celtic ‘must issue full apology’ over paedophile scandal.

Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, accuses club of compounding the pain of victims with protracted legal battle.

Marc Horne

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Celtic ‘must issue full apology’ over paedophile scandal — The Times and The Sunday Times

Celtic FC must apologise for harbouring a paedophile ring and delaying justice for individuals who suffered “unimaginable horrors” while under their care, a senior MSP has said. The Times disclosed on Monday that the Parkhead club were poised to pay multimillion-pound damages within months after...
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Celtic FC must apologise for harbouring a paedophile ring and delaying justice for individuals who suffered “unimaginable horrors” while under their care, a senior MSP has said.

The Times disclosed on Monday that the Parkhead club were poised to pay multimillion-pound damages within months after agreeing to settle legal claims over systematic child abuse at their feeder club.

More than 20 former players at Celtic Boys Club joined a class-action legal action which has now been put on hold to allow individual compensation packages to be assessed.

Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, has called on the senior club to issue an unequivocal apology over its handling of the scandal. “Youngsters who lived for football suffered unimaginable horrors at the hands of this paedophile ring, yet their pain was cruelly compounded by this protracted legal battle,” he said.



“For far too long, the club shamelessly denied abundant and incontrovertible evidence of deep-rooted connections with these abusers. While this reported settlement will be welcome, it should be accompanied by a sincere and unequivocal apology.”

Child welfare charities have also urged Celtic to accept responsibility.

“An apology or acknowledgement of the harm caused, is the most important action that Celtic Football Club can take to help survivors recover from their horrific experiences of childhood sexual abuse,” said Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st.

“We know from our experience of helping survivors recover from abuse that children are often made to feel they were responsible for the abuse they suffered.

“To fully recover from their horrific ordeal, survivors need a clear and heartfelt apology which acknowledges that what happened to them at Celtic Boys Club was wrong and that they are not to blame for it.”

For years Celtic insisted it was an entirely separate organisation to the boys’ club and, as such, argued it was not legally culpable for the abuse.

While opening negotiations with solicitors representing survivors, Celtic has not admitted any liability, despite four senior figures connected with the feeder club being convicted on multiple sexual offences against children.

The Scottish champions have now apparently abandoned their “separate entity defence”.

It comes after The Times published investigations which contradicted and undermined Celtic’s insistence that it had no formal links to the feeder club.

It found that Fergus McCann, the then managing director of Celtic FC, had declared that the boys’ club was the “basis of the entire Celtic pyramid”. He made the comments in April 1996, days before calling in the police to investigate growing claims of sexual abuse.

A decade earlier an internal Celtic FC investigation cleared the boys’ club staff and concluded the allegations deserved to be “buried once and for all”.

It also emerged that Celtic funded the boys’ club and employed the predatory paedophile Frank Cairney, who ran the feeder team between 1974 and 1991.

Jim Torbett, who was jailed three times for molesting boys after Jock Stein, then the Celtic manager, granted him permission to launch and lead the club in 1966, ran Celtic’s chain of shops selling official merchandise and organised testimonial functions for first team players.

Both Cairney and Torbett have served multiple jail sentences after being found to be prolific paedophiles.

In 2019 Jim McCafferty, a former boys’ club coach and Celtic kit man, was jailed for six years after admitting 12 charges relating to child sexual abuse. He died in prison in 2022, aged 76.

In 2018 Gerald King, a former chairman of the boys’ club, was convicted of abusing four boys and a girl.

Three other men with ties to Celtic and Celtic East Youth Club, a now-defunct feeder team in Edinburgh, have also been found guilty of serious offences against boys.

Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, which is representing the survivors, has been gathering evidence on each of the cases to present Celtic with amounts to pay for each individual.

It now expects that process to be completed by the end of the summer. “We are pleased to confirm that the process of valuing all individual cases has made significant progress in the last six months,” a Thompsons spokesman said.

“We do not yet have all necessary evidence to commence settlement negotiations and so the court has granted a further short sist [pause] of four months to allow opportunities to do so given the complexities of this task.”

Celtic did not respond to requests for comment. Last September the club said: “Celtic’s lawyers continue to investigate and discuss these cases with the lawyers acting for those who suffered abuse at Celtic Boys Club. Those discussions are ongoing.



“It would not be appropriate for Celtic Football Club to comment any further while there are ongoing legal proceedings.”
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Imagine living in a society where an institution guilty of such crimes has to be called for to make an apology for ruining so many young boys lives.
 
DechmontLoyal said:
There’s no way this abuse started with Cairney, Torbett etc - this will have been going on since that vile club was shat into existence.
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With the well documented cases of historic sexual abuse committed by the Roman Catholic clergy it’s not a stretch to think it happened at the shitpit long before Torbett,
The fhilth established by RCs for RCs and continues to be an RC institution.
 
If it matters, if the eventual outcome doesn't sit right with you then It's up to each and every one of us to call for a full public inquiry. Discussion on how that might be achieved should be encouraged.

MP's should be challenged to do their job, media heads need pressured to ensure the biggest sporting scandal this country has ever known gets the coverage those victims deserve.

This cannot be allowed to be just brushed under the carpet as they have done for Decades. That stops now! You, me and anyone with an ounce of common decency has a collective responsibility to make sure they are not allowed to simply airbrush this from history just because they've been forced into paltry payout.
 
Bluethruandthru said:
If it matters, if the eventual outcome doesn't sit right with you then It's up to each and every one of us to call for a full public inquiry. Discussion on how that might be achieved should be encouraged.

MP's should be challenged to do their job, media heads need pressured to ensure the biggest sporting scandal this country has ever known gets the coverage those victims deserve.

This cannot be allowed to be just brushed under the carpet as they have done for Decades. That stops now! You, me and anyone with an ounce of common decency has a collective responsibility to make sure they are not allowed to simply airbrush this from history just because they've been forced into paltry payout.
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A coordinated and sensible approach is what’s needed.
 
FDB1978 said:
An apology is the easy way out and won’t bring back the 40 deaths potentially linked to abuse at Celtic.

What genuinely needs to happen is not for MSPs to call for an apology but a full public enquiry instead and for them to face the sporting and non sporting sanctions Penn state faced in America.

Them paying out several million and saying sorry isn’t good enough.
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Agree mate apologies see way too low on the register of the issues involved in this . Subsequent governments, sports organisations , police forces and Procurators , Judiciary , and of course Media have covered and excused all sorts .

That’s not territory for an apology it demands a Public Inquiry .
 
Papasmurf said:
Just waiting till we forget.

Just like the scum tried to do with their paedos. Hoping dementia kicked in.
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If Rangers carried any power then representations would be made. Perhaps we need to review the actual articles of association and somehow raise it with the sfa. Pretty sure they’ve at the very least failed their duty of care and brought the game into disrepute.
 
That lot have been found fully complicit with their lies and cover up of this heinous crime and for that alone they should lose their football licence and every last one of them should hang their heads in shame!
 
FDB1978 said:
An apology is the easy way out and won’t bring back the 40 deaths potentially linked to abuse at Celtic.

What genuinely needs to happen is not for MSPs to call for an apology but a full public enquiry instead and for them to face the sporting and non sporting sanctions Penn state faced in America.

Them paying out several million and saying sorry isn’t good enough.
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What needs to happen is for them to be shut and closed down.

I despise everything about that club and what they stand for and what they have covered up. From child abuse, to supporting terrorists to cheating, to playing the victims. They are fucking vile from top to bottom.

It really does bewilder me why any of our board, players, staff or fans want these scumbags back in our ground in any shape or form or be associated with them in any way. They aren’t a football club, they are a vile, disgusting, scummy organisation that should be totally shut down
 
I'm sure I've read articles over the last couple of years that have referenced Torbett, Cairney and McCafferty all allegedly abusing kids whilst on boys' club trips to USA, Canada and other countries. If the current litigation relates to 20+ victims of Torbett and Cairney for abusing boys in the UK, surely recent developments must pave the way for similar lawsuits overseas (possibly even in the UK if further victims come forward)?
 
There will be rage just now among their fans that this is getting any attention especially at this timing. They’d much rather focus on trying to make a Rangers player getting kicked, out to be the perpetrator.
 
Lanark Bear in the NE said:
The Fecking SFA are doing SFA
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They've already held and concluded their inquiry.
They found that abuse had happened at the boys club but praised the main club for their set up since.
I think they also mentioned the abuse at Hibs and Falkirk and tried to link Rangers as well despite the fact that Rangers reported inappropriate comments made to a boy to his Police officer dad who took it no further.
The SFA investigator had links either to Torbett and Co. or some group involved with abuse so basically the inquest was determined to find celtc not guilty whilst finding guilt with other clubs.
Hibs have also been protected as they knew abuse was happening, sacked the culprit who then went to Falkirk and did the same.
The fellas that have been working on all this and posting it would give a better description than me but I'm not way off with my description.
 
basiltherat said:
The fact that this is being ignored by almost all the mainstream media in Scotland is shameful and exposes the so called journalists for what they are. Liewell's bought and paid for propaganda wing
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If this demand from Russell Findlay MSP doesn't make the tabloids and Scottish broadcast news tomorrow, then its clear they are all on collective radio silence.

We know that the Scottish media steal stories from here all the time.
 
Weetoonblue said:
More than 20 former players at Celtic Boys Club joined a class-action legal action which has now been put on hold to allow individual compensation packages to be assessed.

Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, has called on the senior club to issue an unequivocal apology over its handling of the scandal. “Youngsters who lived for football suffered unimaginable horrors at the hands of this paedophile ring, yet their pain was cruelly compounded by this protracted legal battle,” he said.



“For far too long, the club shamelessly denied abundant and incontrovertible evidence of deep-rooted connections with these abusers. While this reported settlement will be welcome, it should be accompanied by a sincere and unequivocal apology.”

Child welfare charities have also urged Celtic to accept responsibility.

“An apology or acknowledgement of the harm caused, is the most important action that Celtic Football Club can take to help survivors recover from their horrific experiences of childhood sexual abuse,” said Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st.

“We know from our experience of helping survivors recover from abuse that children are often made to feel they were responsible for the abuse they suffered.

“To fully recover from their horrific ordeal, survivors need a clear and heartfelt apology which acknowledges that what happened to them at Celtic Boys Club was wrong and that they are not to blame for it.”

For years Celtic insisted it was an entirely separate organisation to the boys’ club and, as such, argued it was not legally culpable for the abuse.

While opening negotiations with solicitors representing survivors, Celtic has not admitted any liability, despite four senior figures connected with the feeder club being convicted on multiple sexual offences against children.

The Scottish champions have now apparently abandoned their “separate entity defence”.

It comes after The Times published investigations which contradicted and undermined Celtic’s insistence that it had no formal links to the feeder club.

It found that Fergus McCann, the then managing director of Celtic FC, had declared that the boys’ club was the “basis of the entire Celtic pyramid”. He made the comments in April 1996, days before calling in the police to investigate growing claims of sexual abuse.

A decade earlier an internal Celtic FC investigation cleared the boys’ club staff and concluded the allegations deserved to be “buried once and for all”.

It also emerged that Celtic funded the boys’ club and employed the predatory paedophile Frank Cairney, who ran the feeder team between 1974 and 1991.

Jim Torbett, who was jailed three times for molesting boys after Jock Stein, then the Celtic manager, granted him permission to launch and lead the club in 1966, ran Celtic’s chain of shops selling official merchandise and organised testimonial functions for first team players.

Both Cairney and Torbett have served multiple jail sentences after being found to be prolific paedophiles.

In 2019 Jim McCafferty, a former boys’ club coach and Celtic kit man, was jailed for six years after admitting 12 charges relating to child sexual abuse. He died in prison in 2022, aged 76.

In 2018 Gerald King, a former chairman of the boys’ club, was convicted of abusing four boys and a girl.

Three other men with ties to Celtic and Celtic East Youth Club, a now-defunct feeder team in Edinburgh, have also been found guilty of serious offences against
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Government exists to protect its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable - children. If it cannot do this most fundamental of things it is failing in its most basic duties. Surely the country we live in has some politicians (across the divide) who are willing to do their job, and some journalists willing to hold those who are not doing their jobs accountable. We really need some politicians who are willing to get back to the basics…
 
Government exists to protect its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable - children. If it cannot do this most fundamental of things it is failing in its most basic duties. Surely the country we live in has some politicians (across the divide) who are willing to do their job, and some journalists willing to hold those who are not doing their jobs accountable. We really need some politicians who are willing to get back to the basics…
 
Timardim said:
John Swinney should hang His head in shame. His decision for no further Police investigation and Sporting and Religious organisations be exempt from same , also saying it was a waste of time and money and not in the public interest was abominable.
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I might be wrong, did he not convert to (cough) Catholicism in recent years??.
 
They should get punished, but I'm not holding my breath.

Police prosecution ? Doesn't suit the narrative of the SNP ( Would lose them votes) or the way way Justice is being served at the moment.

SPFL Action ? Fairly obvious Doncaster and Co will be instructed to do feck all.
 
muttley said:
Tbf, its been reported on, but what is conspicuous by their absence is MP /MSP's refusing to go near it. They are a huge part of the problem.
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Not only MPs and MSPs. The Scottish media have largely chosen to ignore this as they are terrified of getting involved in litigation. As soon as there is a settlement or a Court case the media can report fully without fear of reprisals.
 
nasalsinatra said:
Not only MPs and MSPs. The Scottish media have largely chosen to ignore this as they are terrified of getting involved in litigation. As soon as there is a settlement or a Court case the media can report fully without fear of reprisals.
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I'm sure MP's / MSP's have Parliamentary Privilege, mate.

Not one of them have commented either after Torbett and Cairney were convicted.
 
Apparently they have a 'First Ministers Questions' thing on a Thursday.
An open goal for any MSP with any backbone to ask Yousaf if he still harbours his stated ambition to be the Chief Exec of the filth.
Sadly I'm not holding my breath.
The apologists day will come tho' and there will be nowhere left for them to hide.
Truth and justice works to it's own law.
 
Aldo1963 said:
I'm sure I've read articles over the last couple of years that have referenced Torbett, Cairney and McCafferty all allegedly abusing kids whilst on boys' club trips to USA, Canada and other countries. If the current litigation relates to 20+ victims of Torbett and Cairney for abusing boys in the UK, surely recent developments must pave the way for similar lawsuits overseas (possibly even in the UK if further victims come forward)?
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If a Lawyer firm from the USA gets involved in this, it will be the end of cover up fc.
 
imagine supporting a club
BigN said:
Government exists to protect its citizens, particularly its most vulnerable - children. If it cannot do this most fundamental of things it is failing in its most basic duties. Surely the country we live in has some politicians (across the divide) who are willing to do their job, and some journalists willing to hold those who are not doing their jobs accountable. We really need some politicians who are willing to get back to the basics…
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first minister, ex minister of justice is a rabbit tim (and other things). It’s not a coincidence.

It will also go high up in Glasgow council and police scotland (ex Strathclyde police). It has to.

We need Westminster to step in imo.

It’s a corrupt backwater we live in
 
I see the lone post on the upcoming settlements lasted less than overnight on Kerryfail.
They were so close to being human beings, back to being scum.
 
Papasmurf said:
imagine supporting a club

first minister, ex minister of justice is a rabbit tim (and other things). It’s not a coincidence.

It will also go high up in Glasgow council and police scotland (ex Strathclyde police). It has to.

We need Westminster to step in imo.

It’s a corrupt backwater we live in
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I might be wrong mate, but I think for Westminster to become involved, apart from their appetite to do so, there has to be evidence of 'cross-border' abuse? There are articles, including a Scottish Daily Express one, from a couple of years ago, that certainly names McCafferty, specifically him taking players from Glasgow to play down south in tournaments organised by Barry Bennell. One can only imagine what went on during these trips!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sc...ell-abuse-dossier-includes-names-26529791.amp

The information is out there, but is there an appetite for the 'powers that be' to do anything about it.
 
Timardim said:
John Swinney should hang His head in shame. His decision for no further Police investigation and Sporting and Religious organisations be exempt from same , also saying it was a waste of time and money and not in the public interest was
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Timardim said:
John Swinney should hang His head in shame. His decision for no further Police investigation and Sporting and Religious organisations be exempt from same , also saying it was a waste of time and money and not in the public interest was abominable.
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Could be wrong but didn't he at that time change to the catholic church marrying one of them
 
Tom Forsyth's stud said:
They've already held and concluded their inquiry.
They found that abuse had happened at the boys club but praised the main club for their set up since.
I think they also mentioned the abuse at Hibs and Falkirk and tried to link Rangers as well despite the fact that Rangers reported inappropriate comments made to a boy to his Police officer dad who took it no further.
The SFA investigator had links either to Torbett and Co. or some group involved with abuse so basically the inquest was determined to find celtc not guilty whilst finding guilt with other clubs.
Hibs have also been protected as they knew abuse was happening, sacked the culprit who then went to Falkirk and did the same.
The fellas that have been working on all this and posting it would give a better description than me but I'm not way off with my description.
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Is this the report that seltik wouldn’t let be published until they had seen it first ? (And amended accordingly)
 
The SNP and yousless are still masturbating themselves hoping that fake tic toc video about the Rangers players singing a naughty song was actually true.
 
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