Time for Celtic to do the right thing
THERE’S no way for Celtic to undo the scars inflicted on victims of child abuse. They can’t reverse the sleepless nights. They can’t turn back the clock on the mental torment. Or change the fact lives were ruined by the monstrous behaviour of Jim Torbett.
What they can do is treat the victims with respect, compassion and contrition.
If that means setting up an independent investigation to get answers, so be it.
If it means club representatives travelling around the country offering personal apologies and counselling to each and every one of them, it’s a small price to pay.
If it means scrapping the party line that Celtic Boys Club had nothing to do with the football club and negotiating proper compensation with victims, it’s only right.
The genie is out of the bottle and it can’t be put back.
To prevent the issue becoming an immovable stain on the reputation of the club, the needs of victims have to come first, corporate interests second.
A full apology would be a start. A statement expressing sympathy for the victims and ‘deep regret’ was a clear step in the right direction, but conspicuous by its absence was a five-letter word. Sorry.
Speak to victims pursuing personal injury claims and they’ll tell you the money is not why they’re doing it. To portray them as gold diggers egged on by ambulance-chasing lawyers is plain wrong.
They want Celtic to acknowledge the wrongdoing. They want someone to say ‘sorry’ — and to say it like they mean it.
They want an acknowledgement that the club failed in their duty of care to vulnerable teenage footballers.
And they want an end to the legal boulders being dropped on their head by a plc in danger of looking more concerned by the share price and compensation bill than righting the wrongs of the past.
To be clear, the current Celtic board are no more responsible for the evil of Torbett than anyone else. But they can’t have it both ways.
There was a time when Celtic were proud of the benefits reaped from the Boys Club tie-up.
There was nothing to beat home-reared players like Tommy Burns, Paul McStay, Charlie Nicholas and Tom Boyd scaling the heights. Now they have to take ownership of the bad bits, as well. To accept that a devious predator should never have been allowed to return to the club’s training ground after Jock Stein removed him from the premises.
The Scottish champions maintain that Torbett was part of ‘an entirely separate organisation’. That line might stand up legally. Morally, it doesn’t bear up to close scrutiny.
Players with Celtic Boys Club trained at Barrowfield, the club’s old training base.
There’s BBC footage showing Stein and Billy McNeill at a prize-giving ceremony as Torbett acted as master of ceremonies, suggesting the two organisations were inextricably linked.
At the very time when Celtic should be placing an arm around the shoulders of victims and offering comfort, they are turning them away at the door.
Taking refuge behind what victims’ lawyer Patrick
McGuire brands a ‘flawed legal smokescreen’.
Not every case is the same, of course.
Sportsmail reported this week on the ex-player pursuing a claim for damages in the Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh in May next year.
His case differs from most others because it has nothing to do with Celtic Boys Club.
Alleging he was abused after signing professional terms and joining the Parkhead ground staff, the victim is no agitator. A lifelong Celtic fan, all he wants is his day in court; a chance to shine a light on what happened.
It’s not easy for men with children and grandchildren to stand up and speak publicly about their deepest shame. It takes incredible bravery. And it deserves more than a statement of sympathy and regret. Since Brendan Rodgers arrived at Parkhead, fans have sung a catchy ditty called: ‘This is how it feels to be Celtic’.
When it comes to the football, thrilling nights like Thursday’s win over RB Leipzig make them feel very good, indeed.
When it comes to the abuse issue, some feel uncomfortable and uneasy.
This issue gets to the kind of football club Celtic want to be.
Are they still a charitable football operation founded on compassionate grounds to help the disadvantaged?
Or a hard-nosed corporate entity whose sympathy extends no further than a ten-paragraph statement on the club website?
This issue is not going away. It’s time for Celtic to do the right thing.