Fancy none of you spotting or falling for the obvious April fool story in the diary yesterday.
UEFA have not mentioned anything about a league of leagues, it was all the product of my own fertile imagination.
Then again, perhaps you are all so used to us making stuff up on this site it simply didn’t merit comment.
UEFA haven’t got a clue what to do yet, and probably rightly so. Their statement yesterday more or less kicked the can down the road until such tome as they are forced to make a decision…
Following a video conference meeting with the general secretaries of all 55 UEFA member associations and recommendations made by the working groups created on 17 March, the UEFA Executive Committee has taken a series of decisions.
On competition matters:
- All national team matches for men and women due to be played in June 2020 are postponed until further notice. This includes the play-off matches for UEFA EURO 2020 and qualifying matches for UEFA Women’s EURO 2021
- All other UEFA competition matches, including the centralised international friendly matches, remain postponed until further notice.
- Youth national team competitions:
(i) the UEFA European Under-17 Championship final tournament scheduled for May 2020 is cancelled;
(ii) the UEFA European Women’s Under-19 Championship final tournament scheduled for July 2020 is cancelled;
(iii) the UEFA European Women’s Under-17 Championship final tournament scheduled for May 2020 is postponed until further notice (as it is a qualifying competition for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup);
(iv) the UEFA European Under-19 Championship final tournament scheduled for July 2020 is postponed until further notice (as it is a qualifying competition for the FIFA U-20 World Cup)
- The UEFA Futsal Champions League finals scheduled for April 2020 are postponed until further notice.
- The deadlines related to all 2020/21 UEFA club competitions are postponed until further notice, in particular as regards the admission process and the registration of players. UEFA will set new deadlines in due course.
On club licensing and financial fair play matters:
The Executive Committee reiterated its full commitment to club licensing and Financial Fair Play and agreed that the current exceptional circumstances necessitate some specific interventions to facilitate the work of member associations and clubs.
It supports the proposal to give member associations more time to complete the club licensing process, until the admission process for next season’s UEFA club competitions has been redefined.
As a result of the increasing uncertainty generated by the ongoing extraordinary events, the Executive Committee also decided to suspend the club licensing provisions that relate to the preparation and assessment of clubs’ future financial information. This decision applies exclusively for participation in the 2020/21 UEFA club competitions.
Ian Maxwell, of the SFA responded by saying;
“The update from UEFA was well-received and unsurprising under the circumstances we find ourselves in locally and internationally as a result of COVID-19.
“We have communicated the competition updates to the national teams department and they will plan accordingly, or as best they can with the information available.
“Given the ever-changing landscape it is understandable that UEFA cannot be definitive on when these rescheduled matches will take place but we will continue to liaise and input at the appropriate time. However during the presentation a number of viable and common-sense options were discussed, particularly with respect to the Nations League and Play-Off fixtures, that we look forward to receiving further information on.
“We will update our members when more details are received.”
The latter part of the UEFA statement is interesting, and explains the absence of any published accounts from Ibrox. They don;t need to say they are not in trouble just yet.
Although their season books are going on sale..with a hidden warning for any fan who doesn’t fancy parting with their hard to come by cash when they don’t actually know what they are paying for.
Gary Ralston in the Record wrote;
Rangers season tickets to go on sale next week as club prepare new membership scheme
Notice the word “new ” is in the wrong place in that headline…
The Ibrox club are sticking to their traditional renewal timetable despite Scottish football’s ongoing shutdown amid the coronavirus crisis.
Rangers are bidding to ease corona cash concerns by selling season tickets from next week.
The Ibrox club are sticking to their traditional timetable for renewals, even with the Scottish game in a state of chaos over Covid-19.
Rangers are also ready to launch their new membership scheme, the brainchild of commercial boss James Bisgrove, offering a range of club-related goods and services.
Rangers are one of few top clubs yet to be formally drawn on their financial position in light of the worldwide pandemic but are forging ahead with ticket sales, even with so many doubts remaining around the new SPFL season.
It is not yet known when it will start, how many games will be played and even if clubs will move for some kind of short term reconstruction over the next 12 months.
Of course, it’s not the coronavirus that has caused their cash concerns, not entirely anyway, but it’s a handy get out clause for them.
However, they are clearly looking to bolster the books, with season ticket revenues bringing in around £20 million to the club each year.
It’s anticipated season ticket renewals may go out on Monday, midweek by the latest, although it remains to be seen if Rangers can match last season’s record total of 46,000 sales, with so many fans currently financially stricken.
Rangers also have a waiting list for season tickets of 14,000 and they may be given the chance to snap up season briefs.
However, club bosses are expected to be sympathetic to existing season ticket holders who cannot commit to a purchase immediately, perhaps by extending the date for renewals.
That says to me that anyone not committing will lose out to someone who is prepared to committ, or at least they are telling them they will.
Remarkably, the £20m sum mentioned is exactly the same as the rumoured investment from the far east, so it may be that they have got a little cond=fused and counted the expected season book money in the overall fixture.
Season book renewals are also available at Celtic, a little earlier than usual, with a May 1 deadline, which at least allows fans another month to see if its worth the investment.
The way the wond is blowing now seems to suggest the season will be finished, as clubs throughout Europe find that the tv companies don’t want to pay up for no football…
The AFP report this evening that Qatari-owned French sports channel beIN Sports have decided to join fellow French football broadcasters Canal + in refusing to pay the governing body, the LFP, the due TV money for the month of April.
Both channels have adopted this stance owing to the fact that no football is being played due to the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc.
It is currently unclear whether or not both broadcasters are on sound legal footing to take this measure, it will depend on the nature of the “Act of God” clauses currently included in their contracts with the LFP.
Football itself, especially in england, is facing a bit of an image problem as billionaire owners try to access taxpayer money…it’s all taxpayer money, the government doesn’t have any of its own…whilst honouring the contracts of layers on five figure weekly wages.
The average wage of an EPL player is around £60,000 a week, and with non playing staff being furloughed-no, I don’t know exactly what that means either- the taxpayer os expected to pick up the bill.
Clubs should simply tell players that they are being placed on a percentage of their earnings. They cannot expect a fanbase to pay such salaries when they themselves are struggling to pay bills.
Though it seems they haven’t yet realised that… and continue to act as though they are entitled to it .
Thats from the Daily Mail, and it is probably the most ill advised article ever, with players appearing to demand their money, and the top ones probably wouldn’t even notice if they skipped a month or two.
Thats not to excuse the clubs, but they should be wary of paying out such sums and then asking for the taxpayer to bail them out.
Players and clubs need to remember they are part of a community, and that community is struggling just now.
A failure to do so will lead to resentment, and it may even be the straw that breaks the camels back where the surreal world of football wages is concerned.
According to Sky News, some MPs are already up in arms….
…..senior politicians have told clubs they should have first sought a deal with their on-pitch stars before cutting the salaries of their non-playing staff and seeking government help.
Conservative MP Julian Knight, chair of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “Furloughing staff is essential for smaller clubs but the big boys of the Premier League should be looking to come to a fair arrangement with their stars before they go cap in hand to the taxpayer.”
He also accused English football of operating in a “moral vacuum”.
Fellow Conservative MP Steve Brine, another member of the committee and a Tottenham fan, called on clubs and players to “show moral responsibility” through the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Wealthy football clubs MUST NOT be allowed to take public funds to furlough staff while still paying players big bucks,” he said.
Club owners cannot be expected to escape the wrath of the public becuase they are acting in exactly the same way as the Richard Bransons and Tim Martins of this world.
Incidentally, one way to sort out the demands of companies claiming bailouts would be to offer them a sum proportionate to the tax they have paid.
If they need someone to tell Branson that I’ll happily make that call.
The coronavirus is now beginning to claim higher numbers of lives as we enter a difficult period. It perhaps shouldn;t have been this difficult, as Johnson and his crew have been fully aware of the situations in spain and Italy, with those infected curled up on hosptial floors due to the high numbers being admitted.
In Britain, it’s becoming increasingly clear that we are being lied to in a daily basis, with no one at the helm capable of steering the ship towards calmer waters.
Even the fuckwitted US president Donald Trump is starting to listen to people who actually know what they are on about, whilst our lot simply stick to the ” tell them what they want to hear in sentences of four words or less ” mantra that got them elected in the first place.
At one point, I thought the journalists were colluding in a sort of lamb munching way, but Eddie Mair of LBC claims that the hacks have their mics muted after they have asked their question, thus making follow ups impossible.
It will take all of the hacks to agree on one point to be driven home and one answer dragged from whoever is on the podium to change any of that, and in the meantime the body count rises and the risk of civil unrest due to mounting debt and shortages of essentials grows ever nearer.
Those of us who follow Celtic in the media are used to this misinformation tactic, and its why we can probably see it for what it is more than most.
Internationally, and there’s something that has slipped under the radar, which will be as world changing as the virus itself…
The eight-member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including China, Russia, and Pakistan, have made the principle decision to conduct bilateral trade and investment and issue bonds in local and national currencies instead of US dollars.
As per details, a road map will be finalized and signed at SCO’s Finance Ministers’ meeting in Moscow on March 18th.
Russia, as chairman of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, has called for suggestions from all member states for trade and investment in local currencies. After a detailed review of these proposals in Moscow’s meeting, a system of mutual settlement of national currencies will be introduced for the member countries of the SCO.
All member states will sign a roadmap for trade and investment in national currencies between member states. Russia has issued the agenda for the SCO’s Finance Ministers’ meeting summoned in Moscow on March 18.
The significance of this cannot be underestimated, and if Colonel Ghaddafi was still around he’d tell you why, as it was his effort to stop trading in dollars and suggest that others do the same that was a significant factor in why he didn’t get a trail before he was executed…
All of this is of major importance of course, and it’s why the question of whether or not the league is suspended or annulled kind of becomes a secondary issue.
Fans of new club/company “rangers ” reckon it should be annulled because there is still a chance they could win it, without considering that if theres a chance they could still win it, they should be allowed to take that chance.
A bizarre contradiction, but of course thats not their motive at all.
They know it’s virtually impossible for them to win it, so they don’t want to play any more, but as far as I’m concerned , we should take them at their word, they feel they could still win it, so let’s play it out whenever it is safe to do so, even if that means not having a season 20-21 .
If need be we could finish this season off before, say, October, and have a shorter, sixteen team SPL from then until May.
Seems fair to me, unless all clubs agree to abandon it now, with current positions becoming the final ones.
Yesterday, we had this…
Today…
Caption: The bear necessities.
Surely (don’t call me Shirley )that should be “the bear necessettees
It would have been if I could spell:)
It took me three goes with auto correct
Sadly Ralph the good points you make about furloughing now apply to our club. A billionaire owner, a team of millionaire players, we are always being told we are in a good position cash wise and yet we are expecting the taxpayer to bail out the non-playing staff. Why have the players not come out like others in clubs like Borussia Dortmund and say they will take a pay cut, or even accept no wages so the non-playing staff get paid by the club. They should all hang their heads in shame. Not a ingle one of them knows what Celtic means and what we stand for. By our failings we have become a club like many others.
Any player,coach or Staff who are on more than 5 grand a week should do the right thing and take a pay cut.
If they don’t then they should be punted.
Lenny and Broony should lead by example and be first to do so.
Seriously Bhoys how much money do you need to live off?
SET A F-KIN EXAMPLE
Absolutely, what are they waiting on?
You know at a time like this, it would be nice & dare i say it, professional, to hear from Dermot Desmond & Lawwell, the cuts should be starting with those two!
LEAD FOR FUCK SAKE!
liftedinmoscow – while I agree with your view Celtic PLC has a duty of care to protect shareholders financial interests so would be failing if they didn’t claim financial assistance the Government has offered to all companies no matter the size and even some our large airline companies are looking for massive loans after taking advantage of the employees assistance so I wouldn’t judge them too harshly
Total corporate bullshit Patrick. The same crap Liewell has fed us for years and which nearly every supporter(and many shareholders including myself) who really understands our club saw through a long time ago. I’m happy to explain why you are wrong in everything single thing you say, but in a nutshell when you have less sympathy for the poorer paid than a Tory MP and try to argue Celtic plc is more important than Celtic Football Club and the values we all cherish and try to live our lives by then you are following the wrong club.
Liftedinmoscow,
Not only that, we are constantly told we are ” World class in everything we do “
There are at least 20 clubs in U K who have far greater annual turnover than us every season . We may be rich in Scotland , due to good Financial decisions over the yrs but we want to compete in Europe as well & need as much money as we can get. It would be totally wrong for Celtic not to avail of a scheme that the Government has made available for all compliant Companies that are up to date with their tax payments . Maybe those of us who think Celtic shouldn’t avail of Government aid , may want to contribute towards shortfall themselves . A bit of organization by these financial geniuses & between them they could raise the amount the Government are happy to contribute
Damian , I don’t think anyone is suggesting that Celtic , like many other ‘companies’ doesn’t take advantage of the available government aid.
This is about recognising that if you earn significantly more in wages and bonuses than the ‘average’ worker then it is surely incumbent on these people to take massive , short term cuts to their wage.
It wont force these people hardship , and is the morally correct way to proceed.
Also it would save ‘the club’ money
And I am no ‘financial genius’ but the money the government is using is all our money.
So far I am pretty disappointed with the Celtic PLC response and the lack of leadership from our management and playing staff.
What other clubs and players , especially those in the bloated EPL , are of no interest to me.
I am a Celtic fan , and want Celtic to do the right thing quickly , in the most modest and understated manner possible.
HH.
Actually people who go to the games and are taxpayers, by the way that’s everybody unless you ensure every single thing you ever buy is VAT free are contributing to any ‘shortfall’. Let me explain why Celtic Football Club was formed and why we are unique as clearly you don’t understand. Brother Walfrid established what is now a world famous sporting club to feed the poor in the East End of Glasgow. That means those who are able to contribute, no matter how little or how much do so. It’s called wealth distribution. The Celtic management and players are shaming Brother Walfrid keeping their own wealth to themselves rather than asking that they are given less and the money saved paid to the non-playing staff. Such a move would have no effect on the clubs net month expenditure.
Caption : ‘Aye I’ll have a beer. F**k me Barney is it no time ye had a bit of clean-up in here’.
Caption..
Rupert has no trouble self isolating as no fecker ever goes near him..
Caption
Attention all Zombies:
No need to argue bears we’re fucked’
First Sevco fan takes up his new season ticket loyalty bonus of using the exclusive season ticket lounge area before home games at £1brox.
The April fool was a cracker as it was so believable.
Caption: ‘and tonight on the latest gers podcast, on the sofa a true bear, Mr Black’
Whits coronavirus
What exactly Liewell is playing at furlowing the peasants when his bonus would cover for three months easily.
There is an attitude that stinks at Parkhead and is an embarrassment to the ethics of the club.
Lenny and the players should lead by example, not the peasants.
Caption: Larkhall bear looks amused as his cooker is finally removed from his front garden.
I don’t know about anyone else but i’m starting to struggle with this staying in pish!
Seriously it’s getting on my nerves.
Are you for real nobody is losing any wages . Gov pays 80% & Celtic contribute 20% voluntarily
The Bear Neces-settees
Spot on Ralph about Gaddafi he wanted to trade outside the American dollar and get the African nations to follow suit.
Of course Saddam had the same ideals also he wanted to trade oil away from the us dollar. The west wouldnt let that happen and the lies of Hillary Clinton etc would soon down the men who kept Al Queda at bay, and more importantly were a threat to the us dollar. Also where did the huge reserve of gold and silver go 170 billion of each?
The Celtic players and board members must take the pay cuts first this sends out the message we care. Failure to do so will note bode well with our supporters. Do it and do it now.
Caption : fuck you Christopher Robbins, I can make it without you.
Caption: As COVID-19 hits, British institutions topple, Wimbledon, The Edinburgh Festival, the sale at DFS.
Hopefully the Sooside Sectarians roll up and buy STs when they haven’t a clue when/if a season will start.It just means that the money they bring in will pay off some debt and the rest will be rapidly gone,like Dave.No spending sprees to try to derail the Celts and Glasgow will be Green and White for many more years…..Stay Safe Tims….
Q. What cuts are their royal family taking during this crisis?
How many beds/rooms in their many palatial homes have they made available?
Surely they could give millions of tax payers money to the NHS for example?
I’d rather be fucked by a virus than a self-isolating Duke of York, cause when he is up he is up.
Congratulations to Puggy.The most successful caption winner in the World.He will definitely reach 55 before even Celtic.Definitely before the Govan delusional dossers who haven’t even reached one and think that 55 follows(sorry) 1.That’s why we keep the RC schools open,Nicola…..
I do some shite ones now and again, give CS a wee shot.
You’re definitely the mhan though.Mind you,it means I can’t even get odds on a Puggy win these days.Even the we had to employ some Huns at work think it’s a fix,mind you,they’ve had rather a lot of practice over the years….
🙂
Broxi, the first known coronavirus victim at rangers*, self isolates in the Ibrox trophy-room.
Roll up,roll up,Sooside Sectarians and buy your STs although you dafties don’t know when/if there will be a season.Money will pay off debt,be frittered away on salaries for existing diddy players and none left for sensational signings.The future is Green and White……Stay Safe Tims.
Caption
Broxi Bear begins to question wisdom of going all-in on Sevco’s new debenture scheme
Larkhall Phd student reflects on how his attempt to throw his telly oot the windae after Jullien’s cup final winner has gone so badly wrong.
Caption.
First, they took their strips, then they took the cookers, finally taking the stadium. Even after its all gone, Broxi Bear refuses to get aff his debenture seat!
Winner
Oh Willy Maley was his name he brought some great names to the game when he was the boss at Celtic park. He taught them how to play football he made the greatest of them all Gallagher and Quinn have left their mark.
On this day in 1958 the great man departed us. We wouldnt be who we are if it wasnt for great men like him at our club.
Here are some quotes
The club has been my life and I feel without it my existence would be empty indeed,” Willie Maley.
“It’s not the creed nor his nationality that counts. It’s the man himself,” Willie Maley.
“A man must be a Celt on and off the field, otherwise he is of no value to this club,” Willie Maley.
“My love for Celtic has been a craze,” Willie Maley
“Much has been made in certain quarters about our religion, but for forty-eight years we have played a mixed team, and some of the greatest Celts we have had did not agree with us in our religious beliefs, although we have never at any time hidden what these are. Men of the type of McNair, Hay, Lyon, Buchan, Cringan, the Thomspons, or Paterson soon found out that broadmindedness which is the real stamp of the good Christian existed to its fullest at Celtic Park, where a man was judged by his football alone.” Willie Maley from “The Story of The Celtic” 1939.
I am the last survivor of the little band that set out heroically to launch the Celtic ship.” Willie Maley during his speech in 1938 at the Celtic 50 year Jubilee dinner at the Grosvenor Hotel in Glasgow.
He was also presented with 2,500 guineas – 50 for every year he had served Celtic.
And most of the football greats have passed through the gallowgate just to play football the Glasgow Celtic way.
God Bless you Mr Maley RIP.
https://youtu.be/azghP1daq6s
No talk yet of what to do with the remaining games on the season ticket although just waiting on PL asking for it to be donated to the workers. A refund (no chance) or reduction in the cost of next years, whenever that would be, is incomparable to seeing Celts clinch nine in a row either away, but especially, at home. Luckily I’ve seen this once in my lifetime but thousands deserve the chance to witness this in some form. Maybe something at the Celtic Festival, should it go ahead, but I’m not hopeful.
Celtic are a charitable organization away from football , just as Bro. Walfrid wanted . He founded Celtic football to help to raise money for the poor . We still do that
Force top earning players to take a cut in wages ,would probably mean these players would prefer to play for another club , who wouldn’t go back on their wages promises by strongly encouraging pay reductions towards charities that players may have no interest .
No problem with trophy days after enforced salary cut for charitable purposes
Should it end here could the people who are the club, we the fans, not arrange for remaining ST monies to be given to deserving workers at the Club and to the Foundation ?
…and the Provisionals!
broxi bear wonders where did it all go wrong
…time’s the game on? Am bursting furra shite and the woods are a helluva trek fae here.
caption broxi sais this is wit happens wen ye gie the big hoose as security tae a glib and shameless liar ……allegedely
Caption: Well whatever was in them sticks with TNT oan it sure made a fucking bang.
CAPTION
Douglas Park surveys Ayebrokes after Close Brothers have visited
Caption: I’m furloughed but their threatening to take away my cash because I’ve been electrocuting my own testicles.
With the Belgian fa leading the way it’s time to declare Celtic as champions. No relegation promote the 2 teams from the championship and play each other twice. No stupid split and let’s get it back to basics. Simple if sky dont like it tough.
Caption
Prentice Syme Wallace Argyll MacDouglas is the lucky first entrant of the new Sevco fan zone
Caption: It’s what the site of Ibrox stadium will look like in 2021 for this bear
It’s great looking at old clips.
Wee Bertie
In the tunnel and John Greig is across from him. What’s her win bonus the day Bertie 3 quid the wee man says Och were oan 6 replies Greig
Aye but I’m guaranteed mines says Bertie fuckin brilliant
HH the Lions 🙂 🙂
As I sit here gazing at my ever expanding navel three things come to mind.
1) the Chinese have an old curse which goes “may you live in interesting times.” Well I think that applies to all of us.
2) There was a boy who complained to his parents that he had no shoes. Then he met a boy with no feet.
3) I have a drawer full of socks that Father Ted has described as “clerical black” that I don’t seem to have a need for. I intend to auction them on EBay. Offers please.
Apologies if you are a priest (Father) but if you are a lay person you will find that while your socks look black they are actually a very, very, dark shade of blue.
Caption………
Camp bear camps out.
Posts going missing again. No links no swearies….?
“Conservative MP Julian Knight, chair of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: “Furloughing staff is essential for smaller clubs but the big boys of the Premier League should be looking to come to a fair arrangement with their stars before they go cap in hand to the taxpayer.”
He also accused English football of operating in a “moral vacuum”.”
Julian Knight:
1. MP’s salary £81,932
2. MP’s expenses £170,382.52
3. Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability
4. Consistently voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
5. Authored a book on tax avoidance
6. Probably got his snout in plenty of other troughs
Despite their exorbitant pay, football players are largely from working class backgrounds, so just “scum” for Tories.
They won’t be proposing cuts on themselves nor shareholder dividends or their buddies exorbitant pay, sometimes in the hundreds of million, because they’re of the right sort.
Don’t fall into the trap of focussing on just players wages and make sure the focus is from the top, the “captains of industry etc, down.
Caption: Monti can’t bear this staying in pish much more…..
Caption Dave King proves his house was robbed to the bear bones and now he’s left with suite fuckall
Caption: Bear- ” Coronavirus? PISH “
Anyone thinking that next season has a hope in hell starting in july or august is on cuckoo land. There is no way even with an end in sight to the death rate or those infected with the virus showing signs of slowing down will social gatherings still be considered.
This I can see will last way into the autumn at the very least.Its going to be a long haul back from this.
Caption: “Deja vu never gets old.”
The Dougie Donnelly Clyde Supporters Club
Caption: A ‘bear’ disguised as a bear, follow-following his ‘traditions and cultures’ of getting round the law finds a novel approach to the illegal “badger baiting”.