Tv programme about Torbett - new allegations.

[RANGERRAB 3,272]

what we now know is abuse took place within Celtic's Boys club during the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. Over quite a long period of time I'd suggest.

 

And no one knew anything about it & never reported it. Spare me the nonsense also that their BC is a separate entity from the club itself.

 

If there are further criminal convictions will the SFA continue to bury its head in the sand & pretend nothing's happened or it can't do anything?

how much longer can this non-action continue ?

 

And last night's BBC programme was nothing more than an attempt by Daly to try & fool everyone that it wasn't just his club, Celtc, who were affected and that other clubs were affected too.

Unlucky Mark. Your club has by far the biggest problem here. It will be a national scandal if Celtc aren't handed out some of the severest punishments ever handed out to a football club.

[Walterbear 557]

First priority is to ensure full investigation supported by the Scottish govt and police takes place and gets all the facts onto the table. Once the police have finished their work an independent inquiry should establish the thoroughness of the police work and ensure that all relevant facts, motives, individuals etc have been examined.

 

The time for deciding penalties is a bit down the road for me but should include all those who covered up as well as those who committed sexual crimes against children. Separating individual liability from corporate responsibility in this case may be confused with having agendas for or against particular clubs which may deflect from pursuit of the truth. It is good that we can now talk about this quite openly with the rest of society and the hiding places are being uncovered.

 

I would strongly recommend that anyone who cares sends an email to their MSP and to leaders of the holyrood parties demanding to know what pressure they are going to apply to ensure a full public inquiry. Don't let these paedophiles and those complicit off the hook now that they are on it. It's up to all fans from all football clubs to take responsibility to ensure this is not swept back under the carpet.

 

I will be sending my emails this week.

[boabie 230]

" THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE

Scotland on Sunday 18/08/1996

 

 

Celtic Boys' Club appealed to the dreams of a generation of football hopefuls, but they have only made the tabloids in a seamy tale of manipulation and abuse, report AUDREY GILLAN and RON McKAY

 

IT ALL begins in a shrine, the walls adorned with artefacts and relics, all carefully arranged and devoutly displayed, past which the faithful shuffled and nourished their own dreams of immortality.

 

Here, paradise seemed tangible, just a short trip away. But the changing faces who gaped in awe at this display of devotion were

gullible young boys who worshipped a team. They stared at the display of shirts and photographs, testimonials and autographs and

believed the man who told them that they could look down from the window, across the city to the football ground in the East End and

take all that lay before them.

 

Jim Torbett was 20 when he set up Celtic Boys' Club in 1966, seeking permission from the then manager Jock Stein to use the team's

name. He was only a few years older than the lads who trooped through his living room. Boys who left believing, as he did, in dreams,

certain that they were special, marked out for fame. Now 30 years on, those dreams have become nightmares for some, grown men

marked forever by the shy but enthusiastic man who took them to the heights and then the depths.

 

John McCluskey is, in the unimpeachable judgment of former Celtic star Charlie Nicholas, the best young player he ever saw. Last

week, McCluskey -who has fought drink, addiction and his own demons - was sitting in an upmarket Glasgow hotel, sipping cappuccino

and waiting to make a statement to police that Torbett had sexually assaulted him. He had been so badly affected by the Dunblane

massacre, he said, that he felt he had to make a stand.

 

Just two days before, the Daily Record had spread across five pages allegations that the boys' club founder had abused him. His

allegation was supported by Ally Brazil, the former Ipswich and Spurs striker, another graduate of the Celtic academy, who claimed that

Torbett kissed and fondled him when he was only 14. Within hours of the story hitting the streets, and the newspaper setting up its

abuse hotline, dozens of calls had come in and another man - Frank Cairney, the man who had been brought in by Jock Stein to get rid

of the smears and innuendoes which for years had hung around the boys' club - was also being named as an abuser.

 

Whispers that something was not quite right with Celtic Boys' Club had been around since its inception. Some boys passed through the

ranks unscathed, ducking slaps on the bum and over-enthusiastic spongings when they lay injured on the pitch. But others are alleged

to have suffered at the hands of a man who abused his position in pursuit of paedophile perversions. It seemed some of the weaker

boys, those with less skill, less certain of a place on the first team, those with less parental guidance, became easy prey. They would be

enticed back to Torbett's house with promises of meals and ice cream and sometimes less innocent pursuits would follow.

 

When Fergus McCann finally arrived in the halo of television lights at Parkhead in 1994 he knew that he faced a formidable task:

rebuilding a stadium, a team and the belief of a support which had seen years of failed promises and dismal performance. What he did

not expect -by way of an anonymous letter sent to him almost as soon as he was through the door - was a disturbing report of years of

abuse at the boys' club. Officially, the club was entirely separate from Celtic but McCann appreciated that it was inextricably bound to

Parkhead in the minds of the public, and indeed in the hearts of some of the players and former players - like Peter Grant, Paul McStay

and Tommy Burns - who had graduated from it to the big time of professional football.

 

McCann quickly went about trying to establish the truth, or not, of the accusations. He called in Jim Torbett and asked him to meet

Celtic's lawyers and confirm or deny, in an affidavit which could be passed to the police, the accusations. Torbett repeatedly refused.

He asked Ally Brazil and John McCluskey to make their allegations formal. Brazil refused at that stage. McCluskey agreed, but only if

his statement was not passed to the police.

 

Ironically, McCann was playing out, more than three years on, a sad little tableau which had occurred at Parkhead under the old

regime, ruled over by the Kelly and White families. In 1991 the boys' club had been to Kearney, New Jersey - an annual tour to the Irish

part of the state with players staying at the homes of Catholic families -and one boy, no longer at Celtic but now a professional player in

Scotland, had alleged to his hosts and to his own family that he had been assaulted by the team's general manager, Frank Cairney.

The boy's father took him to Celtic Park to have it out with Liam Brady who was then only months in the job as team manager. The

club's chief scout John Kelman was also present.

 

It was Brady's first serious and most affecting problem in a troubled time at Parkhead which did not last long. He listened to the boy,

believed him, and insisted to the board that Cairney had to be removed, not only from the boys' club but from any association with the

main football club. So, overnight, the man who was used to having his run of the place and the ear of the management, was cast out.

It was agreed, by Brady, the boy and his parents and the then Celtic board, that the police would not be informed. The young player

was assured that the alleged incident would have no effect on his future career at the club. However, signed statements were taken by

Celtic's lawyers from the four adults who had been on the New Jersey trip. All were sworn to silence.Cairney was now away from the football club and its nursery - business commitments was the given reason - but Jim Torbett was backplaying a major role, first as a fund-raiser then back with the boys' club. Torbett had maintained his connections with Celtic. Pre-

McCann board member Kevin Kelly, still honorary president of the boys' club, is a fellow director of Torbett's company The Trophy

Centre, and current board member Jack McGinn is an employee.

 

It is not clear why a man widely regarded as a child abuser was allowed back into a position of responsibility at the boys' club. Torbett

had been kicked out in 1976 after being confronted by the committee and, according to Frank Cairney's account of the meeting, had

broken down in tears and confessed. He was then summoned to a meeting with Jock Stein, at the end of which the big man physically

kicked him out of the door. And just to ensure that the boys' club stayed clean the legendary Celtic manager brought in another man,

Hugh Birt, as chairman of its committee.

 

Birt claims he was concerned about the behaviour of both Cairney and Torbett - who wheedled his way back in after Stein's death - and

raised the matter with the club. Before he knew it Birt was asked to resign. When he stood his ground and refused, he says, Celtic

withdrew his ticket to the directors' box and he had no option but to get out.

 

In spite of all these troubles, the boys' club, from humble beginnings in a hall in Maryhill, had become a great success and was now

seen as a crucial feeder of players for the senior club. It used Celtic's training ground at Barrowfield for coaching and matches and

became one of the country's most successful nurseries: its more famous graduates include current manager Tommy Burns, George

McCluskey, Roy Aitken, Charlie Nicholas, Paul McStay, and of the present side Peter Grant and Simon Donnelly.

 

But although the boys' club was hugely successful, rumours still continued to surround it. Former players began to talk to the press,

although none would go on record or make a formal complaint to the police. The New Jersey incident in 1991 was successfully

managed by the club and it seemed that nothing tangible would ever be proved. And then, in 1994, the new regime swept into Celtic

Park and the rumours flared up again. This time, the chairman was determined that nothing should be kicked under the carpet.

 

As McCann's investigation got under way, a lone Celtic fanatic Gerry McSherry, who resented the arrival of the new board, appeared

on a radio programme to question the transfer of a young player. Within days he had received a number of calls suggesting untoward

behaviour in the boys club. After months of investigation, McSherry began touting what he called the Paedo Files round various

newspapers and television companies and claims now to be under contract to the Record.

 

Last week, as the story developed from allegations against Torbett - who was suspended from the boys' club six days ago - to claims

that Cairney fondled boys as they sat in the front seat of his car, many men with long associations with the club began to grow uneasy.

Former players backed Big Frank whom they knew as a "father figure" and Burns rushed out to Cairney's terraced home in Viewpark,

Lanarkshire, after receiving a call from the man he considers a close friend. Leaving his house the manager was reported to have said:

"He [Cairney] has the whole of my backing and that of Celtic Football Club to a man."

 

The following morning Burns must have been wishing he had bitten his tongue. Incandescent at his manager's assumption that the club

would back Cairney, McCann issued a statement. "While I sympathise with Tommy Burns' personal position as a friend of Mr Cairney,

the club cannot condone or defend or take sides in a matter which involves a criminal complaint," he said.

 

Burns himself claimed that he had been misquoted and what he had in fact said was: "He has my backing and I'm sure he will have the

backing of several members of the first team who played for Frank at under-16 level."

 

Meanwhile, the allegations against Torbett went unchallenged. After hiding out at the east end home of William and Andrew Gilbert -

two young men who had played for the boys' club - he is said to have left the country. Yesterday, their mother Susan said that Torbett

was a close family friend - they sometimes travelled abroad with him and the boys' club - and that the allegations made against him

were rubbish.

 

DCI John Boyd at London Road police station, who has four officers investigating the allegations, said that his team had been taking

calls from a number of people who had not gone through the Daily Record. He added that the inquiry was at an early stage and that no

arrests were imminent.

 

At Celtic Park, the management is trying to keep its head down and stop the scandal interfering with play. Footballers like Peter Grant

and Tosh McKinlay - who came through the boys' club route - have nothing to say on the record. And the boy who made the complaint

against Cairney? He's playing his cards close to his chest. The chants from the terraces and jibes from his opponents would no doubt

be too much to take.

 

 

------------------------

Edited April 11, 2017 by boabie

[Walterbear 557]

It's just staggering Boabie how much evidence has been out there for so long and how little our media and authorities have done about it. One thing is crystal clear from that article and from the programme last night and that is is how much pressure the club put on families and youngsters to kerp quiet and protect the club before the children. The Hibs issue is just about as incredible.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

First priority is to ensure full investigation supported by the Scottish govt and police takes place and gets all the facts onto the table. Once the police have finished their work an independent inquiry should establish the thoroughness of the police work and ensure that all relevant facts, motives, individuals etc have been examined.

 

The time for deciding penalties is a bit down the road for me but should include all those who covered up as well as those who committed sexual crimes against children. Separating individual liability from corporate responsibility in this case may be confused with having agendas for or against particular clubs which may deflect from pursuit of the truth. It is good that we can now talk about this quite openly with the rest of society and the hiding places are being uncovered.

 

I would strongly recommend that anyone who cares sends an email to their MSP and to leaders of the holyrood parties demanding to know what pressure they are going to apply to ensure a full public inquiry. Don't let these paedophiles and those complicit off the hook now that they are on it. It's up to all fans from all football clubs to take responsibility to ensure this is not swept back under the carpet.

 

I will be sending my emails this week.

I dont see how covering it uf for your gain is much different to doing it yourself.

 

 

[Uilleam 5,451]

I dont see how covering it uf for your gain is much different to doing it yourself.

 

Like driving the getaway car.

[compo 6,174]

Its not to late to have an investigation like operation yewtree into the beast in Scottish football , leave no stone unturned and no club not fully investigated , jail all the beasts

[ian1964 10,429]

The Sun front page today!

 

[SteveC 150]

That front cover is just extraordinary, even for Scotland in 2017.

 

Nicky Clark....brings nightmarish shudders. His last act in the Cup Final summed the disaster that he was up very aptly, alas.

Edited April 11, 2017 by SteveC

[Walterbear 557]

I dont see how covering it uf for your gain is much different to doing it yourself.

 

I didn't say it was.