Glasgow's Green & White

Don't mistake this for a second he is furious and it is vented in the expedited statement from Celtic PLC. If only they were as quick with issues involving injustices against the club and it's supporters. The length of this statement, its furious tone and the speed with which it appeared late in the day tell their own story. Someone clearly wanted this dealt with immediately. Where was that urgency when Celtic supporters needed the club to speak up over serious incidents affecting them? Why does this protest warrant such a lengthy denunciation when other matters have met with silence? You can disagree with what happened at St Andrews and still question this response. The statement repeatedly invokes shame, intimidation and coercion. Those are serious accusations. Explain what conduct supports them. The language is also depressingly familiar from previous statements attacking supporters. To my reading, it sounds like the anger of the Desmond family being delivered through Celtic’s official channels. If that is the case, it raises a serious question about the use of shareholder influence: the club’s voice should serve Celtic’s interests, not settle a powerful shareholder’s personal grievances. And look at the optics. A protest at a golf tournament has now become a much bigger public story, amplified by the club’s own response. People who might never have noticed it are now asking: what is going wrong at Celtic? Who thought this statement would improve that situation? Who decided that indefinite bans and ending engagement would resolve the underlying dispute? Celtic’s reputation belongs to the entire Celtic family. It is not the personal property of the Board or the Desmond family. “The reputation of Celtic Football Club is non negotiable.” So is accountability. That applies to those running the club as well as those supporting it.