Following the death of Celtic Boys Club victim Andrew Gray, his family have very bravely fought in his name for justice, only to be ignored by the SNP in Scotland, and attacked en masse via social media every day.

Their bravery and tenacity is astonishing, and how they have managed to put up with what they have been through is beyond me.

It shouldn’t need to be done, but in the absence of the kind of support the family need from politicians and the media, VB has once again dug in to the archives, to ensure that there can be no revisionism of facts, and that the wider public are left in no doubt that Celtic Football Club are indeed one and the same as Celtic Boys Club, and that the attempted revisionism currently taking place across Scottish Media is seen for what it is – a cynical and disgusting effort to “protect the name of the club”.


We should all find strength from the fact that two of the leading journalists who covered this story were Celtic supporters, in Anna Smith covering the initial story in the 1990s and Mark Daly who tracked down James Torbett last year and has been very supportive of families. They did the right thing by putting victims and justice first. They have shown that it is possible to do so, and that this is actually the most positive thing they could do for their club. Had this approach been replicated inside the Celtic Boardroom, it may have been possible for Celtic to take ownership of the issue, and to make it right.


They could have led from the front, tackled the issue, won respect and thanks from victims’ families and even turned the most negative of PR in to something positive. All it needed was some moral integrity and sensitivity.


It seems that this is beyond the current board, who have hid behind a risible and weak lie that the Celtic Boys Club was a separate entity. As you will see from various articles on this site carrying court reports and news reports, this wafer thin defence presents the current Celtic board in the worst possible light.


When Celtic employed Hollicom to act as PR (when they already have a PR Department), they were at a crossroads. After having used the separate entity line via their own PR department headed by Gerry McCulloch (formerly of Radio Clyde), the newly contracted PR company could have elected to turn the story in the club’s favour as much as possible by starting to do the right thing, but have instead doubled down and continued the separate entity line.

 
This didn’t stop The Times from reporting earlier this week that Celtic Boys Club and Celtic Football Club shared the exact same child protection policy document.


The continuation of this approach and the separate entity line is unsustainable.
 

Hollicom themselves are simply throwing their weight around trying to silence reports on this scandal, which in all honesty is futile. They may be able to silence Radio Clyde, or the Scottish Sun, but the issue is not going to go away.

 
In fact, this morning, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has now asked that there be a public enquiry, along with Labour & the Liberals.

 
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/celtic-boys-club-abuse-davidson-joins-calls-for-inquiry-256hw2kn6

 
It’s astonishing that Celtic and Hollicom have taken the approach they have, and one can only hope that they see the light. With pressure mounting, its time they took inspiration from Mark Daly or Anna Smith, and do the right thing by the victims irrespective of the consequences and ensure that any and all individuals who enabled abuse to take place are appropriately punished.

 
Can they do the right thing without being forced to do it?