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Celtic Diary Monday December 26: Going Our Own Way

Hello..just one hello, obviously, it’s been a while.

 

From us all here at Etims, as seen recently on Countdown…

 

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we wish you all the best during the holiday period.

 

 

Well, nearly all .

 

 

The SFA, for instance, can take the proverbial flying fuck at a rolling doughnut,

 

 

Even though there has been some recognition that persistence finally did beat resistance, with Celtic starting to leak details about how they used the smoking gun of evidence handed to Peter Lawwell all those years go, which it seems, has ultimately led to the new financial fair play rules and fledgling new club Rangers being placed on a watchlist for dodgy bastards.

 

 

The old club may have gotten away with it, but the new guys won’t.

 

 

Which, given the possible legal ramifications of title stripping and any other penalties brought on the soon to be finally liquidated entity is about the best we could hope for, practically speaking.

 

 

Had UEFA gone after Rangers , other clubs and associations would have sought compensation, and the whole mess would realistically only have profited the legal profession.

 

And as Anders Traverso, the then head of club licensing said in his letter, they are dead so what’s the point ?

 

 

Their removal from football via liquidation was punishment enough, and although the media and the SFA treat the new club like it’s the old club, deep down they know it isn’t, and their shouts of 55 and all the other guff is simply hiding from reality.

 

Which, now that they have to adhere to the same rules as everyone else, and are being actively examined in all of their moves, means that they will soon find themselves back in the doo doo again.

 

It’s only a matter of time.

 

 

Celtic took time out to recognise the part played by the original requisitioners, the shareholders who initially brought everyones attention to the collusion between the SFA and the old club, which allowed the rules to be ignored about overdue tax payables, which should have prevented Rangers from obtaining a UEFA licence to compete in the Champions League.

 

 

That was evident in this statement from the Celtic Foundation…..

 

 

Celtic FC Foundation are delighted to announce that we received a wonderful donation of £11,266 earlier this week thanks to the Club and a group of Celtic plc shareholders.

The group, who had come together a number of years ago to seek to address certain governance issues in Scottish football, engaged with the Club and worked independently over a number of years, with the objective of highlighting the value of continuing to evolve the governance rules underpinning Scottish Football and European Cub Competition.

The group of shareholders also privately funded legal costs in the process and the Club agreed in principle to make a contribution to these costs in recognition of the effort and funds that were committed.

Thankfully for Celtic FC Foundation, with the agreement of the Club, the shareholders have directed this contribution to Celtic FC Foundation’s 2022 Christmas Appeal. We would therefore like to express our sincere thanks to all of those involved. We are exceptionally grateful for your wonderful support in helping us to ‘Share the Magic’ this festive season.

 

 

One of those rare instances where everyone is happy.

 

 

 

Well, nearly everyone.

 

 

What I can say is those who fought the fight are happy with the outcome, and it’s clear that the incidences of collusion and corruption cannot happen again, which is probably the best we could all hope for.

 

 

As Auldheid, one of those who fought the noble battle,  says over on Sentinel Celts…..

 

 

We all can give anything any meaning we want in the absence of actually knowing.

What if The Board to whom MN reports thought although our shareholders have been annoying pests, their activity was actually helpful in seeking FSR changes and shareholders can do things Celtic cannot for fear of being ridiculed or sanctioned or simply do not have the time to work on?

One of the lessons I learned from the St Mary’s Open Meeting resolution by supporters in 2010 was that supporters can say and do things the Board simply cannot because the SFA or SPFL Articles of Association forbid it. That is one of the reasons I think The Board should be more open to quietly using the support as a means of change. A point I’ve made during the year when meeting on The Foundation subject.

On the PLC I have formed the view that if the truth about Rangers behaviour had come out it would have been impossible to allow them to continue to play in Scottish football and the financial consequences for the game not just Celtic would be disastrous for all clubs.

In a parallel situation in Greek football where the UEFA Club Financial Control Body paid a visit to inspect the books of Giannina FC re an overdue payable they found five private wage agreements not covered in the clubs accounts. The CFCB deemed that a separate breach of their “fair presentation” of accounts rule . Giannina appealed but CAS upheld the decision to refuse licence on the overdue tax issue but no ruling was made on the private agreements.

However if the dots are joined and private wage agreements not fairly declared are equivalent of side letters to ebts not fairly declared then we are talking about every club who lost to a Rangers EBT scheme fuelled player since 2000 having a compensation claim along with the right to award a licence taken from the SFA. UEFA knew in 2012 about Rangers use of side letters.

I speculate but it has to be something really big to cause the secrecy and cover up and fear of the wider consequences from UEFA might have played its part in Celtic’s reluctance to take Res12 to UEFA and why the PLC remain silent still.

At the end of the day we just do not know the full story over the Res12 years, Rumsfelds unknowns being a factor.

However on events leading up to the decision to channel the legal cost reimbursement to the Foundation here is an account from another shareholder involved how it all happened:
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Basically, the club agreed to reimburse the financial contributions that private shareholders made towards the legal fees paid to the solicitors who took their Res 12 concerns directly to the SFA and UEFA.

You might recall that the SFA ultimately brought charges against RFC but decided not to pursue those charges with the Court of Arbitration for sport because “It was not expedient to do so”.

You might also recall that in the midst of a flurry of correspondence the SFA attempted to direct shareholders to take matters up with a UEFA employee who might have been able to answer our enquiries?

Without warning anyone, the shareholders decided to ignore that advice and through their solicitors went straight to a chap by the name of Andrea Traverso instead.

He was, at the time, the head of UEFA Club Licensing and is now the Managing Director of Financial Sustainability Regulations and as such it is he who is in charge of the new FSR regulations and monitoring scheme which has been implemented by UEFA to oversee the activities of clubs AND ENSURE THAT COMPLIANCE IS ASSURED VIA/WITH NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS.

Traverso has implemented a quiet revolution at UEFA and has set up a new innovation unit to steer things for the future.

To engage at the right level with both the SFA and UEFA, shareholders had to engage a national firm of solicitors with no conflict of interest (not an easy task at the time by any means) to carry out their instructions and conduct the necessary research and communications.

This came at a cost (£11,266 to be precise) and was funded by a number of shareholders (though I suspect that the legal bill could have been far higher but was heavily discounted by the partner in charge – who incidentally was a fan of another club).

It had always been mooted with Celtic that any such verified and documented expense could be reimbursed by the club notwithstanding that, at times, the club itself might prefer to follow a different route, or be forced to take a different path as a result of being bound by SFA committee voting where the club have but one vote (Ref the expediency decision referred to above).

Accordingly, yesterday’s announcement and the donation made to The Foundation is the culmination of almost 14 months of negotiations and discussions between shareholders and the current board representatives..

The principal of reimbursement was established and agreed very quickly with shareholders representatives followed by a longer period to obtain agreement that any reimbursement should be donated to the Foundation rather come back to individuals.

Further, The Foundation wanted to ensure that any such donation was used at a time and in a manner which did the most good and so the sum concerned was rolled into the Christmas Appeal and to help others during the cost of living crisis.

These things take time, a lot of discussion, a fair amount of document drafting and detailed consideration of exactly how to implement a plan that everyone agrees on.

Most of all it takes persistence, persistence and then some dogged persistence.

But you get there in the end and the true spirit of Celtic sees the most needy benefitting.

That is the Celtic Way in action.
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On that final note and in the hours just before Christmas Day itself, for all the misgivings some understandably have , a meaning we can choose to give the whole saga is that the spirit of Christ that led to Celtic’s creation has never left.

A joy filled Christmas to everyone.

 

 

 

The good guys won, and whilst the bad guys are still around, they know they are being watched.

 

 

 

Which may, if I were to put my tin foil hat back on for a moment, have led to the increasingly noivel and refreshing interpretations of the Laws of the Game, which do appear to be suffering a lack of clarity and consistency of late.

 

 

As we feared here at the Etims, the introduction of VAR has not made the game simpler to understand, or made the referees job easier, it has merely allowed for more debate about the preception of bias among the Scottish refereeing community.

 

 

In short, there are now more of them able to influence the outcome of a game which suits their motive, which is, of course, the continuation of a successful club-or company-at Ibrox.

 

 

It can no longer be done at boardroom level, since as we have seen, UEFA have placed them on a watchlist which means their unique accounting system can no longer function, and limits them to spending pretty much only what they earn, other ways to guarantee access to the pots of cash available in the Champions League must be found.

 

 

Under the guise of improving the game, VAR was introduced to, er, improve things.

 

 

As we feared, however, it’s backfired spectacularly, and raises one or two issues.

 

 

The first is that the perception of bias has become more than a perception.

 

It seems those off the pitch are far enough away from events to make their judgments completely without fear, and it would be interesting to hear their conversations, which must surely be the next step if VAR is to retain any credibity.

 

 

So, in a nutshell, if one team needs a hand, the guys with the monitor can spend as long as they want looking for a possible rule breach to give them that hand…and if they look like they are in trouble, then the referees can simply ignore it.

 

 

Since it’s introduction, “rangers ” have yet to concede a penalty, despite several convincing claims against them.

 

 

Celtic have been denied a few, as have opponents of “rangers “, which points to an agenda.

 

 

All of which fits the bigger picture, that Scottish football apparently needs some form of a club playing out of Ibrox, which itself should have been sold at the market price to pay bqck the creditors of the original club.

 

 

Yes, it’s still a mess, but if we are to move away from the old firm tag then we have to disassociate ouselves from them at every opportunity.

 

 

Whilst the Resolution 12 campaign has changed things for the future, the past still clings on to our coat tails,

 

However, the long term effects have yet to unfold, and I don’t think we’ll be disappointed.

 

 

 

On the field, things are coming along nicely, thank you. Three wins out of three during the traditionally unpredictable Christmas period so far mean that the hoops are still nine clear at the top of the league.

 

16 wins out of 17 games…the only loss coming to St mirren when it’s fair to say Celts simply had an off day, is truly relentless form.

 

 

Some supporters will never be happy, and in a way are contributing to the media campaign to stir up unrest at the ranch.

 

 

One or two players might want out, remember they are not like supporters in that when someone offers you several times your wage to move, it’s quite easy for them to up sticks and change their loyalties.

 

 

If someone offered me several times my salary to become a Crystal Palace or Brighton fan, and throw together a Diary for them most mornings, then off I’d go….and anyone who says different is a bloody liar.

 

 

However, there is an emotional tie to the club within me, and within pretty much all of us, that would mean we;d at least think about it for a while…..and you know what they say about never truly leaving your first love…

 

 

 

Juranovic has had a move on his kind for a while, and here’s something else worht thinking about.

 

 

Ange Postecoglou is quite a ruthless manager, and he’s fully aware that it could be said the forwards let us down in Europe.

 

 

IOt;s certainly not unthinkable that he has pointed this out to them, and whilst Kyogo Fuhruhashi seems to have taken this on board…13 in 16 starts now…Giorgios giakoumakis may not have.

 

 

As the manager says he sees the players every day and picks the team accordingly, and he has no favourites.

 

 

As his time with Celtic continues, we may see a revolving door fitted as those who don’t meet his standards leave, although the ones who replace them tend to come in before they’re gone.

 

 

It’s still not January yet, and Celtic have already moved on to their third …it might be four by the time you read this… signing of the window.

 

 

Times they are a changing indeed..it seems the imminent arrival of Peter Lawwell has made no difference to Ange Postecoglou’s method of work, despite our fears.

 

 

Then again, if he’s buying low and selling high, with domestic success guaranteeing European money, Lawwell..or anyone else will have little to moan about.

 

 

And if the club do the sensible thing and cut him a commission for developing these players from their eventual sale porice, then the bigger salaries of the south won’t tempt him away, and that in itself removes a distraction and allows him a free hand to build a team to realise his own ambitions,

 

 

We’ll see.

 

 

Most of us are fairly sure that Josip Juranovic will be the first to leave, but if you look at Transfermarkt,com, which somehow has gained a bit of credibility for their work, the Croatian is valued at £9m…..considerable less than one or two others, who at best could be described as journeymen…

 

 

 

 

Player Club Market value Difference
Josip Juranovic
Right-Back
Celtic FC €2.50m
Daizen Maeda
Left Winger
Celtic FC €1.00m
Kye Rowles
Centre-Back
Heart of Midlothian FC €400k
Ryan Kent
Left Winger
Rangers FC €-3.50m
Jota
Left Winger
Celtic FC €3.50m
Alfredo Morelos
Centre-Forward
Rangers FC €-3.00m
James Tavernier
Right-Back
Rangers FC
Connor Goldson
Centre-Back
Rangers FC
Callum McGregor
Central Midfield
Celtic FC
Glen Kamara
Central Midfield
Rangers FC
John Lundstram
Central Midfield
Rangers FC
Ianis Hagi
Attacking Midfield
Rangers FC
Liel Abada
Right Winger
Celtic FC €-500k
Carl Starfelt
Centre-Back
Celtic FC
Ridvan Yilmaz
Left-Back
Rangers FC €-500k
Kyogo Furuhashi
Centre-Forward
Celtic FC
Antonio Colak
Centre-Forward
Rangers FC €2.50m
Kemar Roofe
Centre-Forward
Rangers FC
Sead Haksabanovic
Left Winger
Celtic FC
David Turnbull
Central Midfield
Celtic FC €-1.00m
Matt O'Riley
Central Midfield
Celtic FC €2.70m
Tom Lawrence
Left Winger
Rangers FC
Georgios Giakoumakis
Centre-Forward
Celtic FC €1.00m
Oliver Abildgaard
Defensive Midfield
Celtic FC €-2.00m
Fashion Sakala
Centre-Forward
Rangers FC

 

 

 

Juranovic is valued at less than James Tavernier, which makes you wonder how these things are worked out, and why anyone takes any notice of them, as their work seems to make quite a few outlets, mainstream included..

 

 

 

Well, it seems despite looking quite credible, the man who puts it together is a familiar face…..

 

 

Image

 

 

 

And he still thinks Rangers are the same club, which kind of shoots his credibility down somewhat, although it does explain the somewhat inflated values of his heroes.

 

 

 

Maybe Transfermarkt.com will be checking his work in future now he’s reduced them to a laughing stock…. imagine if some club used that info to bid for one of the donkeys at Ibrox and ended up paying over the odds……

 

 

Which might also explain a few things.

 

 

 

 

Anyhoo, John Beaton has got the January Glasgow Derby, and no doubt he’ll do his bit as a staunch fan, trying his best to disrupt play and award as many fouls as he cam to his favourites.

 

 

Sooner or later someone from the club is going to have to ask questions, and as a heavy defeat for the Ibrox club/company could signal a collapse in their season, meaning even a place in the UCL qualifiers is at risk, you can be sure there will be plenty to ask questions about.

 

 

Maybe having worked wonders at UEFA, new chaiman Lawwell can take on the SFA next, a task I’m certain he’ll relish…. and it’ll give him something to do, away from the training ground and the actual football.

 

 

 

Next up for Celtic are a troubled side, at Easter Road on Wednesday night.

 

 

Just keep winning, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop another title.

 

 

Meanwhile, here’s some advice from the New York Post to make you think, and to remind you that there are some strange people out there… and we know where most of them are every fortnight or so….

 

 

Here’s one way to ensure you have a happy and healthy XXXmas.

A United Kingdom doctor is raising eyebrows across social media by warning people of the dangers of masturbating with ornaments come Christmastime — which is apparently an actual trend.

“It is not advisable to masturbate with Christmas ornaments,” Dr. Sarah Welsh, a gynecologist, told NeedToKnow.Online. She was listing the dildo’s and don’ts of the scandalous Yuletide tradition, which sees people hospitalized after getting frisky with everything from glass baubles to candy canes.

Indeed, trying to make Christmas come early with ornaments is apparently hazardous to one’s health.

“Christmas ornaments can have sharp aspects or pieces that can break during masturbation, which can cause soreness, the risk of trauma and are just generally unsuitable for your vagina,” warned Welsh, who co-founded the condom brand Hanx. In other words, leave your elf on the shelf come Christmastime.

 

 

 

Meanwhile…penny for his thoughts ….

 

 

 

Boss Ange Postecoglou admits defeat to Preston 'wasn't a great game' for  Celtic | FourFourTwo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the real Anton Rogan
1 year ago

“Jaysus, yerman on the Etims site has.just said he does a diary MOST MORNINGS”

Peter L
1 year ago

Caption; “ ffs, somebody needs to tell me when it’s the last jumper “.

Schrodinger’s Cat
1 year ago

Don’t know if it’s a competition but will start it anyway

FFS, Ralph thinks this pish he (now) infrequently writes is Premiership standard. Get a grip mate, wouldn’t even make in the Juniors

Dziekanowski's nightclub child
1 year ago

Caption: Barkas is coming back!

Bognorbhoy
1 year ago

Caption …
So according to transfer market for the price of Maeda and giakoumakis I can have morelos… Jesus mate …

Woof Charlie
1 year ago

Is it too much of a stretch to think that if one man may gain job satisfaction by legitimately receiving a cut of transfer fees another may be artificially inflating estimated transfer values for a kickback from agents and/or others….and where do the soft loans come from, what spin cycle do they use, Christ or Tierney, who would you have back first, why has the question mark disappeared on my phone, merry Christmas.

Uibh fhaili
1 year ago

Ffs it’s a Glasgow derby on jan 2 , the old firm died in 2012

Cartvale88
1 year ago

Caption
Not another Christmas video mate!

Good article, was having withdrawal symptoms. Love the Video Assist Rankers performance by the the Men in Black, the game on Saturday should have had an extra fourteen minutes added on. They were obviously looking for a way to disallow the goals. A bit like Turnbull red card, on Friday the Tavernier did exactly the same, nothing to be seen and no penalty against the Rankers.
If you do no5 reappear from your dug out have a great 2023 Ralphie, also the same to everyone as we continue to be the the best team/ supporters with a fantastic manager
As for Tfrmarket they appeared locked in the past in a dank dark place

BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
1 year ago

Morning,and Happy St Stephen’s Day to you all from Sentinel Celts. Nice to see Ralph having time to post an article,as I know from experience how time-consuming that is.

Not to mention the difficulty of trying to keep the agenda fresh!

I have to agree with him about VAR-I’ve got an article for Friday half-completed on the subject-that it is being used as the referees see fit. And we know how that works! Also there is no doubting that they are following the lay back as far as possible,trying to find any infringement (see the comment from Cartvale88). I’ve been saying even from before it’s introduction that the club needs to speak out LOUDLY about every bad turn done to us by VAR,but the silence is deafening.

Anyway,Happy New Year to you all-and it will be when we win this league,despite every obstacle,every dark art,being used to prevent it.

HH

An Occasional Contributor
1 year ago

UEFA have placed them on a watchlist which means their unique accounting system can no longer function, and limits them to spending pretty much only what they earn…

Of course this comes a bit late as that horse had already bolted as late in the day as the 22nd February of this year ( £4,323,286.33) when the last of the “Share Issues” that have seen around £74m in Equity Confetti swaps in 22 separate tranches *1 fund the Steven Gerrard Revolution at Ayebrokes hit their Accounts.
This at a time where scrutiny was at its lowest due mostly in part to the regulations that govern such actions being relaxed during Covid.
The Investor’s at Ayebrokes knew this was the only opportunity to get away with it and went all in as a result.
When you take into Account the losses posted in this period *2 added to the injection of cash then they were effectively looking at a black hole in their Accounts in excess of £140m in 4 years.
Which in turn transformed an also ran in Scotland into Major European Finalists in 2021.
Their Gamble paid off.

Is it really a victory for the good guys?
Im not so sure Ralph because UEFA aren’t really in the business of batting for the good guys after all.

You cannot question the effort and persistence though.
Bravo to them.

Meanwhile the decommissioned smoking gun sits in a Cabinet pride of place in a posh house with a heated driveway.

*1 £74m
*2 £67m

Una
1 year ago

Caption

Ange can’t believe what hes just seen in the sky sports studio,kris boyd masturbating Into a munster munch bag

An Occasional Contributor
1 year ago

Callum McGregor for €8m ?

Thats the best laugh I’ve had all year Ralph and that included the Cha’s input on the tactical side of soccerball at Celtic and Green Machines views on a flat Earth.

Keep them coming

Benjamin
1 year ago

I know I’m in the minority on this, but I think VAR has been a smashing success. It’s forced the referees to take a second look at many obvious errors and correct them. And while there have also been some truly bewildering decisions to say the least, the introduction of VAR has taken away any excuse the referees once had. They have no place to hide now. The issue is and always was with the men in black, and VAR has served its purpose in exposing them.

If we want real reform from the SFA on referees, it’s going to take a consensus among all the teams in the league. If this is viewed outside Glasgow as a Celtic v Rangers issue it won’t gain any traction. But I strongly suspect momentum will build this summer, or at a minimum some clubs will come on board with real reform efforts. Right now 2 points separate 3rd through 8th, and 5 point separate 9th through 12th. European places – including guaranteed group stage participation in the Conference League – is up for grabs. The race for top 6 will come down to the 33rd week, and relegation battles will likely go down to the wire as well. When the dust settles, there’s going to be some unhappy teams that miss out and who have also been the victim of some dubious refereeing this season. Those clubs should, in theory, be open to any sensible reform agenda.

Lastly, one thing that would go a long way to appeasing those clubs outside of Glasgow – those who see Celtic & Rangers through the same lens and think the two Glasgow giants get the benefit of all the calls – is to have referees from outside Scotland brought in for any match involving one of those two clubs. That would be 72 matches a year where every other club in the league would be confident that the referees aren’t biased against them or any of the other 11 clubs in the league.

fun
1 year ago
Reply to  Benjamin

Sorry Benjamin, you obviously haven’t acquainted yourself with the definitions of bigotry and bias and how blatantly the referees practice them. Have you watched closely the way VAR is being used and other times ignored by the allegedly impartial referees? Almost identical handball incidents in different matches are being “interpreted” by them depending on who their decision will benefit or damage. Oops we had the camera pointing in the wrong direction, but here’s a dark blurry photo that
shows that Jota was offside….don’t worry, you can trust us.FFS.
The supposed allegation that referees are biased towards the two Glasgow clubs is a sleekit smokescreen to try and stop the spotlight from shining too brightly on the Ibrox club who 99% of the time benefit from these corrupt officials. “Penalty to *rangers” is now something of a catchphrase due to the frequency with which they get them awarded, especially when they are a goal down and in need of one.
The thing that sickens me most about all this is the fact that their fans know the refs are helping them yet when they win something they celebrate as if it was won fairly and honestly….they have no shame whatsoever. So take your head out of the sand and you’ll see better.

auldheid
1 year ago
Reply to  Benjamin

You are spot on that it is going to require a consensus and the only supporter organisation that covers all Scottish clubs is the Scottish Football Supporters Association (SFSA).

They have been working on a kind of white paper on the need for reform of Scottish football and have connections to MSP’s who share that view and have taken away the suggestion for a referee service to include in that work.

Celtic also take the same view on the need to make it a general football issue and not just a Celtic one and I’m hoping that at some point in New Year they will make contact with SFSA rep to establish areas of mutual concern.
————————
Here is what A Referee Service entails.

2021. Updated Version of an Article on a Refereeing Service first published in 2010 on line.
Given the recent heightened focus on the refereeing standards in Scotland, I was asked to update a previous article from 2010 that included suggestions for changing the way refereeing is managed in Scotland .
 
So I’ll just repeat the suggestions made then but with an added comment on the proposed use of VAR
 
The Referee Service
Note the word “service” for this is the way that much of what the SFA do should be viewed. The SFA provide a number of services to the clubs who play in Scotland. They should not be seen as their masters but their servants.
 
Or in modern terms the clubs in their professional leagues are the customers and the SFA the service providers. This change of attitude would allow competition to provide such services to enter the scene and so improve them.
 
The Detail
This approach requires a split of functions with the SFA doing the recruitment, training and match appointments (having taken the nature of the game to be officiated into account). However, the monitoring and evaluation would be the province of the customer, using referees or ex refs from anywhere to mark to a standard set by the customer.
 
This split of responsibilities would prevent any one person being in a position to exert his own influence on referees as a result of being part of the appointment and evaluation process.
 
It would safeguard the SFA from the kind of suspicion that led to the referees’ strike and lead to a higher standard of referee because the customer would be setting the standard not the supplier (as happens everywhere in business but football).
 
If it did not, it would free the SPFL to hire their own referees from wherever they could get them. A bit of competition never did anybody any harm and that includes our referees who, if they reached higher standards, would be in more demand outside Scotland.
 
VAR
VAR is just another service. Use this “here we go again” opportunity to put the VAR service AND the refereeing it watches over out to tender to be run on a normal commercial service supplier basis.
 
A VAR supplier becomes part of the referee monitor service to the leagues and the SFA become trainers and developers at lower levels of professional referees and work with the VAR service under a contract that rewards both parties. 
 
Seed funding a new service could be found in The Solidarity Payments to the SFA that UEFA make whose support for change would be required if a case of the benefits were made to them.
 
Future funding could come from same source with a modest adjustment between Solidarity Payment and what clubs receive. A good price to pay for referees who have reached an agreed competency standard.
 ——————–
To make it happen folk have to work towards that end by making their views known to their clubs (including Celtic)which is where the SFSA can come in. Celtic are already aware of the idea and whilst it may be a bridge too far it contains sound business principles that would improve matters if supporters want it enough.

The Cha
1 year ago

Res12 has pretty much ended as I and, I suspect, others would’ve expected ie no admission/adjudication of guilt, no punishment etc and merely pretty meaningless platitudes about how it’s all going to be simply spiffing in the future and all of that simply noise on the Timternet, with not even a small ripple outside our bubble.

What was unexpected and kudos to the scriptwriters, was that the chief resister would turn out to be the chief persister and hero of the hour, well decade, to get to this.

I suppose its the season of fairytales, so you may swallow that but I’ll stick to the humbug.

Notwithstanding a private letter unseen by the vast majority, UEFA record the Huns as having a 150 year history, 55 titles, 1 ECWC, blah, blah, blah.

Not the local Hun friendly media but UEFA official site.

That’s reality, whether you want to spin an alternative one.

The new FSR regs have come about because the humiliation of legal defeats UEFA suffered at the hands of the likes of Chelsea, Man City and PSG.

Will they be any more successful?

The only grown-up answer to that is we don’t know and will only be known when the inevitable breaches, sanctions and legal challenges happen.

To prejudge that this will be better is simply to place hope above expectation and we know what that usually means.

The likes of Ajax, Warsaw and others were hated by the big clubs because they agitated for small and medium clubs and not the inexorable march of more and more to the big clubs and less and less to everyone else.

Lawwell, on the other hand, was approved by these big clubs, as he did nothing to challenge their malignant growth and would accept any thin gruel they would offer us.

So, the guy that has done nothing to hold Scottish or European football to account is now the hope for the future.

That might be the hope of the grownups in the room but I’m happy to be just a naughty bhoy when it comes to admiring the emperor’s new clothes.

TicToc
1 year ago
Reply to  The Cha

Cha, after being sickened and bewildered by most of the Diary, including how Res 12 was really a success etc., I was ready to just close my laptop on all of it. Truth, it was inferred, was an unfortunate failure and Rangers was too big to fail and that’s spun as a positive? Fortunately I read on to the end and all the comments. But for your comment, I was feeling something akin to despair, so many thanks for calling much of it out.
Hail! Hail! to those who earn it, shame on the rest of you.

fun
1 year ago
Reply to  The Cha

One word Cha….. EXCELLENT

Auldheid
1 year ago
Reply to  The Cha

One of the main reasons Res12 ended without admissions of guilt etc is that in spite of a mountain of evidence that Rangers had cheated and Celtic had not pursued because of the consequences for Scottish football as a whole, supporters at large did nothing.

If Res12 failed you. Look in the mirror.

Same will go with VAR if all you do is complain but dont act.

The reason for PLs return is unknown but it is highly unlikely it is to return to the past, not without Ange and two high placed executives who in the absence of Lawwell made the donation of legal costs to Foundation possible with permission of those who put their hands in their pockets to do so, even though some wanted more but accepted 9 years down the line we are where we are.
If you want the guilt of the past that most would be unaware of until exposed by efforts of Res12 and 5WA overturned as it should be, get the Celtic supporters , who now know how bent Scottish football is but still pay to watch it behind that objective and good luck in that endeavour.

auldheid
1 year ago
Reply to  Auldheid

Tic Toc

The problem is the expectations folk had for Res12. Of itself it was not going to bring about SFA reform, the intent was to give Celtic enough leverage to get reform but specifically in the area where shareholders had locus to push for it and the means to do so via AGMs.

Celtic did not see it in the company’s interest for a number of years to do so but one value of persisting is time changes circumstances and FSR which would be under development for a couple of years at least before this year provided a vehicle for Celtic to do what they undertook at the 2020 AGM.
 
Something lost in discussions is that as the result of a shareholder statement under Resolution 11 at 2020 AGM Celtic undertook to engage with SFA and UEFA re SFA’s failure to apply their own judicial process. I know for a fact this undertaking was given by the current CEO.

 The SFA would resist as it meant investigating themselves but UEFA would have to look considering the amount of evidence uncovered at that time and FSR provided the opportunity for Celtic to discharge their AGM undertaking in 2020.

Very few believed that would happen in 2020 and are still having to come to terms with what has happened now.

Understandable after years of mistrust but there ya go.

PL’s return to Celtic in as yet unknown capacity has soured matters generally but I believe there is no way the refund of legal costs would have been possible had he still been in charge or carried influence He was replaced by D McKay then Michael Nicholson who 6 weeks after taking up post started the ball rolling on what became The Foundation announcement. I saw that as an olive branch in that it was a sign that the kind of values going all the way back to Brother Walfrid had not been lost in a sea of commercialism. I of course have the advantage of meeting and falling out with MN during the Res12 years but he was not in charge, PL was. The advantage of face to face is you can sense another’s discomfort.

Implicit in that Foundation announcement (which is the best we are going to get) is that Res12 was right, Rangers did get a licence in 2011 by what turned out to be unlawful means and Celtic knew it, but for reasons that are an unwelcome reality Scottish football could not afford to lose them. That is the moral hazard they have over Scottish football ie they do what they want, others have to clean up the mess. FSR (which Celtic played a part in) is a move in the direction of addressing that issue by harnessing SFA/Rangers with rules they will both find it difficult to circumnavigate given UEFA will do the monitoring not the SFA.

Some of the benefits of Res12 have yet to be realised and they are part of this response to a question posed on CQN.
————————
Phil Mac’s latest on Resolution 12 is interesting more for the comments section (which is a bit of a Q&A with Auldheid) than the article itself not a criticism BTW – simple articles as stimulants for intelligent discussion are routinely undervalued IMHO)

 Anyway … Can someone in the know tell me

… Have the requisitioners and the club board totally made up now?

Genuine question
=============

 Response (with a wee add on in brackets)

All the shareholders who backed Res12 over the years and supported the various Resolutions put forward over those years whose e mail addresses have not changed were contacted to provide information already on social media. I’d say around 100. Most were grateful and speaking for them and only them they accepted it was time for closure. The first responsibility of requistioners was to that group of shareholders and in general terms, having been kept in the picture on a regular basis (I’ve not had the time to get back to you personally since Foundation announcement) they have accepted Res12 met its aims if not in a way anyone expected.)
 

Some on social media were looking for more in terms of a denouncement of Rangers (an expectation that Celtic subject to SFA and SPFL rules could not make) or of 5WA that was never an aim of Res12

 I would not call it making up but to quote Churchill ” “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

 In terms of building the degree of trust necessary to have a dialogue between Celtic and the support at large, never mind shareholders and build a better mechanism for doing so than the annual AGM bun fight it is a step in the right direction.

 
Comments on social media are generally accepting although some claims that it has all been a waste of time and they knew it all along have been refuted as follows:

 1.Res12 has demonstrated that if supporters want answers the only way to prevent the binning of serious complaints is via Resolutions to the AGM, that the CST controlled and indeed hindered in the case of Res12 to last AGM and wanted dumped after a previous AGM. That is an issue that needs addressed and Celtic recognised it in the run up to last AGM but it needs more work and publicity.

 2. It made it clear to anyone paying attention including Celtic and UEFA that they were dealing with a mindset in Scotland at club and national association level that Scottish football was operating outside football law which UEFA not Celtic had the authority to fix and they have with Celtic’s input, but as usual some folk find that hard to believe because it challenges their long held narrative of The Board.

 3. Whether Celtic or SFA/SPFL appreciate it or not Res12 brought a degree of transparency that they never had to consider before the arrival of social media, into play and because transparency leads to accountability secret 5WAs will have to be less secret in future which will be good for Scottish football and Celtic.

 4. Would it have been wise to spurn the olive branch Celtic offered last year (legal costs to Foundation) for that is what it was, not at all possible had PL been around in Nov 2021 with everything going so well under Ange? It would only have caused discord and that was never the intent of Res12 whose idea was to remove the causes of discord.

 5 On FSR it will be a case of wait and see the impact of closing down the underhand ways Rangers have found to remain competitive but early signs are that Rangers are having to act in a sustainable fashion in the transfer market, we will see the impact or not over time.

 This is not a benefit but a personal comment in that reply:

6. I struggle to resist what I could have said a long time ago which is what did those complaining in such stark terms do to support challenging the way Scottish football is run other than sit on their arses at a keyboard and let others do the hard work of making change happen?

 I think I deserve to be forgiven for expressing that feeling now.

TicToc
1 year ago
Reply to  auldheid

I’m very grateful, Auldheid, as I stated in other contact with you earlier today, for such a clear and substantive reply. Little in life is perfect and I see that, but I also feel the new FRS in Europe will go some way to forcing ‘that shower’ into at least some form of submission and the rogue SFA likewise. I wont repeat what I said to you earlier as there’s no real point. Where there IS a point it’s to thank you personally (again) for ALL you’ve done, and that is huge. I just hope our supporters have some clue as to what you and the other guys took on here and at least improved things.
If we change ‘their’ name amongst our support from Sevco to 2nd Prize FC a few years down the line I’ll see we’ve achieved more than just a hollow victory.

Eamonn Little
1 year ago

How did we go from chicanery of Sevco and their allies to the risk of using implements during solo sex acts?.Lay off the egg Nog man.

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