Celtic Fc making a shameful claim about seperate entity with the boys club as evidence has been brought forward…
THERE are at least ten smoking guns that blow holes in Celtic’s now-obliterated claims that the pro outfit was a “separate entity” to the scandal-ridden Boys Club.
We’ve compiled a devastating list of links that show the two organisations operated side-by-side for decades — as dozens of kids were abused by paedophiles embedded in the youth set-up.
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Much of the evidence in our dossier was pored over by lawyers working on behalf of 22 men who this week secured a landmark compensation claim against the Glasgow giants.
As well as media reports over the years — including revelations exposed by The Scottish Sun — they were handed reams of info by victims and campaigners convinced the two clubs were intimately connected.
Laura Connor, of Thompsons Solicitors, is in no doubt the clues her team compiled were crucial to the long-awaited outcome.
We told how Parkhead chiefs finally signed off on compensation payments for a combined seven-figure sum thought to amount to several million pounds — without admitting to the link.
READ MORE ON THE SCOTTISH SUN
And there are more claims in the works as Thompsons continue to represent more former young players who were preyed upon by evil Jim Torbett, 77, Frank Cairney, 89, and many others.
Ms Connor said: “Our client’s evidence has been central to these cases.
“That allowed them to progress, it has allowed them to settle and it has allowed them to be compensated for what happened to them and the impacts of that.
“There have been lots of people involved in the media and further afield who have assisted in gathering evidence over the years.
“There have been criminal trials — and the convictions that followed have been very helpful in allowing us to get to this stage as well.”
Other fiends connected to the disgraced Boys Club include ex-chairman Gerry King, 72.
The victims of abuse at Celtic Boys Club deserve genuine remorse from Parkhead club
He got probation for sexually abusing four boys and a girl while coach of a primary school team in the 1980s.
Boys Club kitman James McCafferty pled guilty to 11 charges of “sexual depravity” against ten boys between 1972-96.
He was 76 when he died in jail in November 2022.
Neil Strachan, 57, former secretary of the offshoot Celtic East Boys Club, landed a life sentence for a rape attempt on an 18-month-old boy in 2005.
His minimum term was cut in 2011 to nine years.
One-time Celtic scout Kenneth Divers died in jail this January, aged 80, while serving a five-year term for molesting four lads in Paisley between 1968-92.
The former teacher and football coach had been extradited from Vietnam in 2022.
And ex-Celtic View photographer John Cullen, 70, dodged jail in 2004 for taking pics of naked boys as young as ten.
We told in December how lads playing for the Boys Club were at the mercy of at least seven paedophiles at the same time for a nightmare two-year period.
Torbett, Cairney, McCafferty and Divers were all linked to the Hoops feeder outfit between 1990 and 1991.
And prowling on the touchlines were Strachan, King and Cullen — leaving kids at the highest risk of being targeted by the perverts.
Ex-starlet Gordon Woods, now 70, was 13 when abused by Torbett.
He said last year: “There is always the possibility of one paedophile infiltrating an organisation until they are caught.
“But when you have seven in one place at the same time, that’s not infiltration. It’s a systematic, contrived, paedophile ring.”
CELTIC PYRAMID
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FERGUS McCann, who led a successful takeover of the Hoops in 1994, hailed the role of the Boys Club in remarks made as they celebrated their 29th annual awards.
A report of the celebration was published in the Celtic View in April 1996.
It reveals the bash took place inside Celtic Park with players Malky Mackay and Simon Donnelly in attendance.
Mr McCann, then the Parkhead MD, told the assembled guests: “You are the basis of the entire Celtic pyramid.”
CELTIC FAMILY OFFICIAL
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FRANK Cairney wrote a Celtic View blurb in 1987 hailing the “official connection” between the Boys Club and the Parkhead giants.
Promoting the youth team’s 21st dinner dance, he said: “The late Sir Robert Kelly and Jock Stein have a very special place of honour in the Celtic Boys Club’s short history.
“It was some 20 years back that these two legendary Celts brought the Boys Club into the Celtic family.
“It is 18 years since Jock Stein and John Higgins made the connection official.”
FOREIGN TRIP
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KEVIN Kelly, who was then president of the Boys Club, made it clear that the lads who travelled abroad with the famous Celtic badge on their blazers were representing the Parkhead side.
He said in 1986: “This year must be special in the life of Celtic Boys Club as we are celebrating our 20th anniversary.
“We are justifiably proud of the part we have played in promoting the good name of Celtic at home and abroad.”
Kelly went on to become chairman of Celtic FC in 1991.
JOCK STEIN INVITE
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FRANK Cairney boasted he had been invited to join Celtic Boys Club by none other than legendary Parkhead gaffer Jock Stein.
Cairney told of the offer from the European Cup-winning manager in an article he wrote himself for the Celtic View club newspaper.
In the edition dated January 9, 1985, he said: “It was back in 1970 that Jock Stein and John Higgins brought myself to Celtic Park to help in the running of the Celtic Boys Club.
He went on to note the “very brave” decision by Stein, chief scout Higgins and Jim Torbett to “bring the Celtic Boys Club closer to Celtic”.
CHAIR’S BOYS CLUB ROLE
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FORMER Parkhead chairman Kevin Kelly spent time as president of Celtic Boys Club and penned a welcome note in an article ahead of its annual dinner dance.
He noted the passing of the two of the Boys Club’s “greatest supporters” in Jock Stein and the former Hoops chairman Desmond White.
Kelly added: “I would ask all those concerned with the running of our club to do everything in their power to ensure that the name of Celtic Boys Club is kept as a byword for everything that is good in youth football.”
FEEDER CLUB CONNECTION
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ONE-TIME Hoops player and chief scout John Higgins hailed the connection between the pro side and youth set-up, revealing the steps he took to build the feeder operation.
He explained: “When asked in 1967 to take control of the recruitment of young players at Celtic Park, I was faced with the problem of having to start from scratch to build some sort of organisation.
“One asset which was there at the time was, I felt, the newly formed Celtic Boys Club.”
Higgins told how he and founder Jim Torbett appointed Frank Cairney to “look after” players at a critical age.
MANAGER’S PRAISE
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THE work of “unsung heroes” at Celtic Boys Club was hailed in the mid-1980s by then Hoops boss David Hay.
He praised the set-up for looking after the starlets dreaming of Parkhead glory.
Hay made it clear in his tribute that the hopeful youngsters were playing under the name of the Glasgow giants.
He wrote: “In their work they make sure that the boys in their charge never let down the name of Celtic, either in their efforts on the field or in their conduct on their way to and from matches.
‘ONE AND THE SAME’ TRIBUTE
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COACH Frank Cairney was granted the honour of penning a tribute piece following the deaths of Desmond White and legendary manager Jock Stein in 1985.
The article was included in a Boys Club programme for its annual dinner that year.
He said of late chairman White: “The name of Celtic was our common bond. He charged me with the responsibility of ensuring that all officials were worthy of the name.
“We both agreed that nobody could claim that they were for Celtic and not for Celtic Boys Club, because they were one in the same.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
SENIOR PATHWAY BELIEF
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JOHN Kelman, who took over from Higgins as the pro team’s chief scout, told mums and dads whose sons played for the Boys Club they were in “safe hands”.
He reinforced their belief that their kids were on a pathway to the senior team.
Kelman said at an event: “I can assure every parent here that their boy is in good company and good hands while he is with Celtic Boys Club.
“Whether he goes on to bigger things in football or makes his career elsewhere, I’m sure he will always have fond memories of his days with Celtic Boys Club.”
CHIEF’S STARDOM CLAIM
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THEN chairman Jack McGinn rubber-stamped the link between the pro team and youth outfit in the eyes of supporters when he gave a glowing assessment in 1986.
He noted the club had been set up in 1966 “under the auspices of Jim Torbett”.
McGinn went on to say: “Everyone knows that all boys going through the club will not find that elusive stardom with Celtic.
“Hopefully, however, each and every boy will benefit from their association with the Boys Club and guidance for their future from the disciplined and good habits passed on by their leaders.”
