Guardian - lengthy article on Celtic Boys Club abuse

A harrowing read. No surprise to see Kelly and McGinn's names in there either.

McGinn's denial is disgusting given his role at The Celtic View in 1986.

I hope those responsible for the failure to protect children have action taken against them before they die as they're getting very old now.

I firmly believe a now deceased ex-Celtic manager and defender of at least one of the abusers has escaped already from answering questions.
I cannot believe they knew nothing
 
Way beyond football rivalry, way beyond religious divide.
This national scandal is about human decency, how a sporting institution had recurring paedophiles operating within the organisation and decided to protect the name and brand rather than the victims.
Still the deflect and deny stance is adopted, let's hope the victims receive the justice they deserve.
 
Those poor boys, it's absolutely heartbreaking and to hear of the recent social media and real life abuse and blanking of people standing up for justice really exposes the Celtic family for what they really are.

My main thoughts are always with the victims, I don't really care so much what happens to them from a footballing perspective but when a large institution has actively covered up such awful crimes then that institution should cease to exist.

If the court determines the parent club as having known what was happening and did nothing for the express reason of protecting the club's reputation then every single trophy they have won since 1978 is fraudulent. Had the allegations come to light the club's reputation would have suffered and its entirely likely they'd have ended up like Third Lanark. They would absolutely have not survived the 90s.

My direct hope is for the club to accept their responsibility, admit to the world that they knew what was going on and provide huge compensation for the families whilst acknowledging it won't make it right. Following on from that, I hope their club is ground into the filthy dirt from whence it came.

I've politely challenged their fans in the past to acknowledge the club's responsibility and asked if they would consider boycotting the club in pursuit of justice (since they care so much about justice). Unfortunately they don't care one bit. They're a huge part of the problem.

This may be a bit far out of an opinion but I believe that every single person who puts on one of their tops or defends the club is completely culpable. You can't talk about the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people or take the knee (both things I support) and ignore possibly the biggest scandal in Scottish history. Not sporting history, but history full stop. No other institution in the country has had the decades long protection of a society despite being so overwhelmingly guilty. It's not just the club who should hang their heads, every journalist and politican who protected them should be ashamed and held to account.
Great post mate and I couldn't agree more with the last part.

You're either for it or against it, and since this story broke in 1994 I have never heard one single fan of the filth even suggest their club answers for its crimes.

It might not sit well with us to say so, but every single supporter of that rancid organisation is fine with what happened.
 
Those poor boys, it's absolutely heartbreaking and to hear of the recent social media and real life abuse and blanking of people standing up for justice really exposes the Celtic family for what they really are.

My main thoughts are always with the victims, I don't really care so much what happens to them from a footballing perspective but when a large institution has actively covered up such awful crimes then that institution should cease to exist.

If the court determines the parent club as having known what was happening and did nothing for the express reason of protecting the club's reputation then every single trophy they have won since 1978 is fraudulent. Had the allegations come to light the club's reputation would have suffered and its entirely likely they'd have ended up like Third Lanark. They would absolutely have not survived the 90s.

My direct hope is for the club to accept their responsibility, admit to the world that they knew what was going on and provide huge compensation for the families whilst acknowledging it won't make it right. Following on from that, I hope their club is ground into the filthy dirt from whence it came.

I've politely challenged their fans in the past to acknowledge the club's responsibility and asked if they would consider boycotting the club in pursuit of justice (since they care so much about justice). Unfortunately they don't care one bit. They're a huge part of the problem.

This may be a bit far out of an opinion but I believe that every single person who puts on one of their tops or defends the club is completely culpable. You can't talk about the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people or take the knee (both things I support) and ignore possibly the biggest scandal in Scottish history. Not sporting history, but history full stop. No other institution in the country has had the decades long protection of a society despite being so overwhelmingly guilty. It's not just the club who should hang their heads, every journalist and politican who protected them should be ashamed and held to account.

Outstanding post.
 
The lack of action from Holyrood and the SFA together with the mainstream Scottish media is appaling.

They're terrified of the truth coming out about their favourite team and the abhorrent cover-up that continues to this day.

Guys like Magnus Llewellyn and Marc Horne at The Times, and now Henry McDonald at The Guardian, deserve enormous credit for keeping this in the public domain.
 
Posted this before, I worked with a guy who had a brother on the books with celtic and he was sexually abused as a teen there in the sixties. The poor guy gave it up and started a new life in the US to get away from it all.
 
They don’t get the problem here.
In a nutshell here, these people can be everywhere and anywhere.
You just don’t know.
It’s what you do when you find out that is the issue.
Doing nothing is not an option.
Hiding it worse.

And these two are only the tip of the iceberg as far as Celtic is concerned.

They certainly didn't do nothing - they held an internal "investigation" in 1986 to declare scurrilous rumours.
Then allowed further abuse to occur WITHIN THE WALLS OF THIER MIDDEN with the threat from the "investigation" that legal action would be taken if the matter was raised again. Separate entity?... Anyone?
 
They don’t get the problem here.
In a nutshell here, these people can be everywhere and anywhere.
You just don’t know.
It’s what you do when you find out that is the issue.
Doing nothing is not an option.
Hiding it worse.

And these two are only the tip of the iceberg as far as Celtic is concerned.

They certainly didn't do nothing - they held an internal "investigation" in 1986 to declare scurrilous rumours.
Then allowed further abuse to occur WITHIN THE WALLS OF THIER MIDDEN with the threat from the "investigation" that legal action would be taken if the matter was raised again. Separate entity?... Anyone?

Exactly Jim.

They did a lot more than ignore it.
 
Firstly, my heart goes out to the victims and their families. What they suffered is beyond comprehension, and what they continue to suffer is possibly worse still. Michelle Gray & her family in particular are worthy of all our admiration, respect and support. What she is doing for her late brother is truly humbling - I hope she gets what passes for justice for him as soon as possible.

What is concerning is that we have so many people i Scotland who take a tribal position on this. It doesn't matter what club this took place at - it is the fact that it took place at all and has been covered up for over half a century which is sickening. I think I can safely speak for all of us on this board when I say that if anyone at Rangers had been aware of anything of this nature going on at Ibrox and had done nothing, then I would want them to be exposed and vilified. It is staggering that anyone would want to protect the perpetrators or those who covered up for them, simply because they were part of the football club they support.

There should be a full public enquiry, free from any interference from the Scottish Government, which should seek to identify who knew what, when and who did what (& nothing). It is the least the victims and their families deserve. It is also the least that children in the present deserve, to ensure that nothing like this could ever happen again.
 
That was a grim read. This absolutely transcends football rivalries but they along with their stinking church are the vilest of the vile.
The lack of action from Holyrood and the SFA together with the mainstream Scottish media is appaling.
Totally agree a grim read , the silence from the powers to be is deafening in my opinion if you had nothing to hide you would be shouting your innocence from the rooftops .The is obviously a lot of people with lots to hide a hope every one of these vile human beings if you can call them that are brought to justice and made to pay for ruining these kids life’s
 
Did a lot more than hide it too. Brazen enablers.

If someone brought you a story of abuse and your " investigation" found "nothing" would you not keep an eye on the scene for further checks?

Yes, and that was 1986 Jim.

All of these convictions came pretty much from abusers who were in their organisation at the time of the scurrilous claim.
 
You wonder what people like Hugh Keevin’s think when (and if) they read that article. Do they reflect on what they could have done to stop it by speaking out. Sure their careers may have been threatened but their silence was bought. All of the keevins’ and journalists with close ties to that rancid organisation chose to turn a blind eye and young kids suffered as a result.

how do they sleep at night, knowing they could have spoken up and stopped all this.
 
Any club can have a peadophile working for them but its what you do when you find out that is the disgusting part. To hide it is to accept it. Unfortunately Celtic are a club who like their church have decided that the good word of the club is more important than justice. I sincerely hope Celtic are punished massively for this but I have a feeling they will win
 
I can remember being a teenager in the early 80's in Wishaw, not even Glasgow, and being well aware of the rumours about CBC and the sordid goings on. If the rumours were absolutely prevalent to reach a spotty faced youth in deepest darkest Lanarkshire, surely the rumours, whispering and even allegations were very strong amongst football people in and around the club and all journalists hanging off the grubby coat-tails of the club.They have got to have known.
On the subject of Keevins, it has been mentioned on here several times that he has told Clyde1 that he will quit the station if the subject is allowed to be debated on SSB. Just think about that for a second. He's not saying if false allegations, rumour or potential slander is thrown around on the subject, he is saying even if the subject is discussed in any way. I'm just throwing it out there that Hugh is acting the same way now, as he did all those years ago when he was was very much aware that kids were getting abused at CBC. I'm sorry, that is unforgivable.
 
Soon after arriving in Australia, Gray had a diving accident at a swimming pool. His sister flew to be at his bedside in a Perth hospital. Before he slipped into unconsciousness and died on 13 October 2017, his sister says, his last words to her were: “Fight for me and the other wee boys.”

Welling up at this.....
 
Soon after arriving in Australia, Gray had a diving accident at a swimming pool. His sister flew to be at his bedside in a Perth hospital. Before he slipped into unconsciousness and died on 13 October 2017, his sister says, his last words to her were: “Fight for me and the other wee boys.”

Welling up at this.....

Yes, absolutely.

His mum & his sister have done him proud.
 
Just read the entire article...

Absolutely heart breaking what these people went through, not just the boys but their direct families and friends as well.

I sincerely hope they get justice, but somehow I am skeptical :(
 
That is a truly brutal read.

The fact that it takes a newspaper outside of Scotland is a damning indictment of the Scottish media. There are people in the SMSM that have heard all these rumours (and more) and know far more detail than those south of the border. They chose to ignore.

That also includes the SFA and Scottish government btw.

The club? Let’s be honest, you’d expect nothing less than their “not us, separate entity Guv” stance and try to cover their tracks. Deceit, bullying and intimidation towards the suffering victims and families. Unbelievable in a so called civil society. Words can’t adequately describe how disgusting this is - but again, it’s unsurprising.

And all this under the auspices of the biggest paedophile ring in history - the Catholic Church.

Let’s hope this is the start of the closure and justice process for the poor victims in all this and that it goes on to protect the future generations from these beasts.
 
Any club can have a peadophile working for them but its what you do when you find out that is the disgusting part. To hide it is to accept it. Unfortunately Celtic are a club who like their church have decided that the good word of the club is more important than justice. I sincerely hope Celtic are punished massively for this but I have a feeling they will win
They won't win in that they won't come out with shining colours. Name has been dragged through the mud, at least in Scotland not so much down south where I am. I've popped this story in a few whatsapp chats today though mainly fantasy football ones.

Think you're right in that they won't be "punished" in the way we want or that we think they should though. Just can't see it. Had a look and can't see any other cases involving football clubs where the club or "parent club" has had a points deduction or similar. Chelsea probably the closest story to Celtic in that they tried to cover it up too with at least one secret payment and NDA until an external enquiry forced them to admit their failings. But they weren't punished in a football sense either. Heath apparently had more than 25 victims but not sure if they were all at Chelsea.
 
Did a lot more than hide it too. Brazen enablers.

If someone brought you a story of abuse and your " investigation" found "nothing" would you not keep an eye on the scene for further checks?
See mate here’s the thing now , we all know a small portion or more correctly a very small portion of what occurred , for how long and the role many regimes and politicians and co-organisations and associates have in the gigantic cover up . It’s truly exhaustive . That is the present .

That leads us to ask ourselves - were this to be happening right now how would these same people , same directors , same organisations , same politicians handle it . The same way - cover it up ? Well given it’s a matter of conscience and standards what else is likely ? that is deeply disturbing

looking in on that club I can genuinely say they have to be seen as the worst fan base there is . Has any other organisations followers gotten so silent , so passive on a critical matter while declaring righteous support for all sorts of other causes ? I know many fans , I know many who side with them while supporting other clubs ( perhaps nominally ) but that just one solitary fan of there’s I know has accepted this and tbf to the guy said years back there has to be an investigation/ inquiry then I’m happy to say I believe the vast vast majority fans are the lowest type imaginable .
 
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