Breaking the family bond

Reader Alzipratu sends in this submission:

The following is a letter I wrote to Peter Lawwell and the board of Celtic Football Club in April 2013.  I have decided to post it now because I believe we are at the final end-game in the Rangers/Sevco switcheroo; a sham and a conspiracy that was planned several years ago and which has been allowed and, indeed, positively encouraged by the football authorities with the tacit and possibly express acquiescence of clubs including Celtic FC.  We all know the actors, we all know the story and we are all the victims – every Scottish football fan, even Rangers fans

Dear Peter

Please find enclosed my Celtic football scarf that was given to me by my mother in 1976. I am sending it to you and the Board of Celtic as a token of my disgust at the farce that is Scottish football and, Rangers Football Club, in particular.

I grew up in Glasgow within hearing distance of Celtic Park and would, until I was allowed to go to games, stand on European nights on Edinburgh Road watching the lights gleaming in the night sky and listening to the roar of the crowd; the thunder, as our manager so eloquently put it. That little piece of ground was my dreamworld; the home of Jinky, Buzzbomb, Caeser, Bertie, Big Tam and before them Johnny Thompson, Patsy Gallagher, Jimmy McGrory and Charlie Tully. As the 70s progressed, I found new heroes: Johnny Doyle, Kenny Dalglish, Shuggy Edvalson, Roy Aitken, Danny McGrain and then the Maestro, Big Packie, Chicken George, Charlie Nic, through to Henke, Lubo, Big Bobo and Naka.

But these were more than heroes; they were legends, they were icons, they were colossuses who could transport you into a different world like Greek myths of old. And so was their hunting ground; Celtic Park. Because it wasn’t just a football ground. It was a home; and a safe home. Sure we’d lose the odd game but we always knew it was our Paradise. It was a place where we could hope and pray and dream.  And as our old fundamental beliefs and anchorage points – jobs, Church, Ireland – began to disappear in the face of an economic and secular maelstrom, Celtic Park gave our community that rallying point, that safe anchorage. No matter that some of us were spat on and attacked and abused for our religious beliefs or ethnicity or footballing allegiance, Celtic Park was our communal refuge where no one could touch us.

So I grew up dreaming. At first, I dreamt I was Jinky, then King Kenny, then the maestro. I wanted to play for the club so much, I used to walk to Barrowfield to watch the Boys Club train until I finally got a chance. Nobody could ever describe that feeling when you pull on that jersey for the first time. It was electric. It was awe-inspiring. It made me – a daft wee Glasgow boy – the king of the world. I was Samson, I was Hercules, I was Ulysses. Dare I say it, I was Jinky, I was Caeser, I was the Maestro. A gladiator stepping out to do battle for good against evil. A legend. I was one of them. A hero.

No matter that I wasn’t good enough to make a career as a footballer; I had worn that jersey, I had lived the dream.

Time went on and I left Glasgow and Scotland to seek work; thankfully exiled from the painful years. But by God, you should’ve seen the tears and the party on 9th May 1998 in a wee corner of Cornwall listening to a very tinny BBC Radio.

And in those exile years, through houses and jobs and girlfriends, one thing remained constant; my love for Celtic. It may sound like a cliche but it IS more than a football club.  Celtic has been the inspiration for my life and work; it is an expression of my upbringing, culture, society, hopes and aspirations.  The Club’s founding and abiding principles of charity, social enterprise, fair play, equality and social responsibility have inspired and guided my life and career such that my career has been entirely focussed on helping those at greatest disadvantage in society. And I know I am not alone. Brother Walfrid didn’t just start a football club, he galvanised a community and inspired millions.

Now we discover through a multitude of objective evidence that Rangers have cheated for at least 11 years on an unprecedented scale in British, if not world, sport. And worse, the authorities propose to let them off with no more than a slap on the wrist as if they’ve been caught chewing gum in the classroom?

Let’s be honest, this is far greater than Lance Armstrong or Ben Johnson or any other of the cheats who have dragged sport into the gutter.  This was a deliberate and calculated act designed to place one club, and one club alone, at the pinnacle of Scottish football over a sustained 11-year period with ne’er a thought for any other club or, indeed, the collective interests of Scottish football.  The only parallel I can find is the systematic performance-enhancement programme carried out by the former East German athletics.

I watched in disbelief last summer as the authorities tried their best to somehow shoehorn a new club into the SPL in the face of justice, integrity, precedent and the rules. I was reassured then by the club’s stance, believing the club was right to say as little as possible to prevent vested interests turning it into a Celtic-Rangers battleground that would distract from reality.

I won’t go into it in any more detail because you, I, and everyone in Scottish football knows it; Rangers Football Club should have been expelled from the leagues in June 2012 because they were (are in process) liquidated. Good for the fans that a new club has been formed (although disgraceful that they have chosen to continue and even strengthen the sectarianism) however that new club should have applied to join SFL3 and been judged fairly in line with existing SFA/SFL rules in competition with any other applicants such as Spartans, etc.

I now watch in disbelief as the governing bodies decide that 11 years of cheating can be swept under the carpet on the ridiculous notion that over 70 players are not ineligible because their registrations were accepted at the time by the SFA. There is copious dissection of this judgement by some pretty learned people on the internet but we can boil it down to three very simple words: miscarriage of justice.

Yet this is no miscarriage occasioned by mistake or misinterpretation or simple human error.  Like the crime itself this is a deliberate and calculated act designed to appease the mob and one single club.

It has been widely reported by the media, and indeed stated by both Neil Doncaster and Stewart Regan, that Scottish football needs a strong Rangers to survive.  This is, of course, complete and utter tosh.  That several Scottish clubs find themselves on the brink of financial ruin is down to several simple issues:

• The need to spend large amounts of capital on improving and upgrading their stadiums in light of all-seater rules;
• Borrowing said funds from Gavin Masterton at the Bank of Scotland and being ripped off by Masterton and his cronies (including Sir David Murray) with over-priced and over-capacity stadiums;
• The cycle of debt which clubs got into by trying to match or at least keep up with the steroid-bloated Rangers created by David Murray on a mountain of unsustainable debt provided by his friend Masterton;
• The distorted financial distribution model in Scottish football between the SPL and SFL as well as within the SPL itself;
• The financial muscle of the English game since the advent of Sky Sports and the EPL which has driven player salaries across Europe through the roof to unsustainable levels, allied to the implications of the Bosman ruling giving players almost complete power;
• The unfettered promotion of the EPL on our doorstep as the “world’s greatest league” and unfettered access to this on TV without any compensation to Scottish football;
• The often-poor quality of the product and service for the paying customer;
• The ridiculous cost charged by clubs to watch a match coupled with the myriad of alternative ways in which people could spend their money;
• Extremely poor governance and management by a large number of clubs, the SFA, SPL and SFL;
• Scottish football finding its natural equilibrium within European football based upon (a) its population and (b) the level of investment in football coaching and facilities;

Not one of these issues can ever be solved by “a strong Rangers”.  Indeed, given that Rangers were culpable in several of them (I leave others to decide how much of the blame should be laid at their door), it is ridiculous to even begin to suggest that we are all better off with them because it will be worse without them.  I call that the “domestic abuse defence”: it is better to keep the abuser within the family as otherwise the family will be destitute.  Inother words better to be beaten and abused than to be poor.

But please don’t take my word for it.  Look at the emerging figures for attendances at SPL clubs without Rangers this season and then read the annual reports on the state of Scottish football finances by Deloitte LLP; every single one highlights how fans paying at the turnstile are the financial lifeblood of the game in Scotland.  Whilst an important source of revenue, television is a bit-part player for all but Celtic.

A friend of mine carried out some analysis based upon figures produced by clubs themselves and which he posted on social media sites.  This highlighted how small increases in fans attending games at all clubs would mitigate the loss of Rangers; less than 6% for all clubs, with Motherwell and Kilmarnock requiring the largest increase of 5.5%, and Celtic and Hearts requiring the lowest increase of 1.3%.  Those figures are for the entire season not per game.

I think, to be fair, there may be an element of fear at play here: fear of the mob and fear of financial meltdown.  However, fear is no reason to paralyse the game.  Nor is it reason to kill justice and integrity.

Instead, I can only surmise bigotry and bias; that certain people within the authorities have deliberately done what they could to ensure the survival of Rangers FC and, when this was not possible, done everything they could to pretend that the new club are the old club contrary to every rule within the book and even UK and Scots law.  Would they have done the same for any other club?  Absolutely not; one only has to look at Dunfermline, Airdrieonians, Gretna, Livingston, etc or even our own club in 1994 to see the answer.

That the authorities twisted and turned and ignored every rule in the book and the very spirit of the laws have led us to this point where we have a new club pretending to be the old club when and where it suits them and will be given every help required to facilitate their entry to the SPL and avoid punishment.  It is incredible beyond belief that the SFA’s own registration compliance officer gave evidence to the inquiry that because Rangers hadn’t declared their use of dual contracts at the time, the contracts that had been submitted were perfectly valid!  That is a decision and a judgement worthy of the worst banana republic and kangaroo court, made all the more unpalatable because it fundamentally and fatally killed the case against Rangers.

I ask the question, where will it stop?  When they are in the SPL?  Or will they require a helping hand to access Champions League monies?  What if they struggle in the SPL, will they be relegated?  Will they be guaranteed a top six finish to ensure broadcasters and the mob are kept happy?

It needs to stop and it us becoming very clear that only one club has the power and standing to stop it: Celtic.  That the board have not done so and have not publicly reassured the fans is, in my eyes, criminal and a dereliction of your duty as stewards and custodians of our club.  The perception is that the “Old Firm” pound – with all the sectarian bile, violence and hatred that goes with it – is more important to you than justice and integrity.

As of today, I give up on Celtic because I will not participate in this sham.  I have better things to spend my time, emotions and money on.  I will not purchase any merchandise.  I will not renew my season ticket.  I will not attend any games.  I will not encourage my children to watch or support Celtic.  It breaks my heart but the bond is broken.

It may not die today.  It may not die tomorrow.  But Scottish football has signed its own death warrant because it is no longer a competitive sport.

Yours regretfully

Alzipratu