The right thing to do
Celtic’s decision to pay compensation to more than twenty
victims of historic child sexual abuse at the former Celtic Boys Club has been
generally greeted with approval though some wondered why it took so long. These
despicable crimes happened at an institution with close ties to Celtic FC and the
club, whilst maintaining the two organisations were separate entities, rightly
recognised that it can’t morally wash its hands of the victims. Celtic said in
an official statement…
‘Celtic Football Club can confirm that a number of legal
claims in the group proceedings against the Club have been resolved. We are
hopeful that settlement can be reached with the remaining group members
shortly. For some time, we have sought to work with the group members’ lawyers
to reach a resolution. The Club acknowledges the strength of the survivors of
abuse who have come forward, and hope that this resolution may help to bring
them some closure. Celtic Football Club is appalled by any form of historic
abuse and has great sympathy for those who suffered abuse and for their
families. The Club is very sorry that these events took place at Celtic Boys’
Club. The Club takes this abuse extremely seriously because of the
historic contacts between the two organisations. The abuse of young
people is an abhorrent crime which has unfortunately affected many areas of
society. The Club continues to work with Scottish football to make it a safe
place for all young people.’
The carefully worded statement is clearly maintaining the ‘separate
entity’ stance, but does express genuine remorse at what went on in those
years. This is not the place to argue how closely connected the Boys club was
to the football club, but I am glad Celtic accepted moral responsibility even
if they do still deny legal liability. The old board who ran Celtic in the pre-Fergus
McCann days were clearly negligent and have questions to answer. When you give
permission for a boys’ club to be named in honour of Celtic and to wear the
club colours, there is surely an obligation to carry out due diligence and have
some oversight of who was running the club and how it was being managed.
The period in question here, 1966-1994, saw Celtic happy to
take the best youngsters from the Celtic Boys Club and simultaneously ignore
the rumours which swirled around it. Celtic have at long last lived up to their
moral responsibility. Of course, child protection procedures in the 1960s and
70s were nowhere near as stringent as they are today. Abuse occurred in many
organisations where an imbalance of power was present. These predators wormed
their way into many sectors of society where the vulnerable might be preyed
upon. What happened at Celtic Boys club was far from unique. Manchester City
have paid out huge amounts of money to more than 40 victims of Barry Bennell,
one of the UK’s most prolific paedophiles. City’s statement at the time was
similar to Celtic’s and it read in part…
"The club reiterates, however, its heartfelt sympathy to
all victims for the unimaginably traumatic experiences that they endured. All
victims were entitled to expect full protection from the kind of harm they
suffered as a result of their sexual abuse as children."
The SFA’s report into child sexual abuse in Scottish football
is a painful read but one I recommend folk who love our national sport
undertake. They not only take us through the difficult events in the period
concerned, using witness statements, they also take us through their own journey
in the battle to safeguard children involved in football. The report says at
one point…
‘Although we are clear that the direct responsibility for the
alleged abuse of these young people and the consequent harm lies with the men
who perpetrated or are said to have perpetrated these acts, we are also very
aware of the accountability which lies with clubs and organisations in football
since these shared a duty of care to the young people in their charge. Apology
should be made not just because the Review recommends it but more importantly
because it is the right thing to do.’
Everyone in football has a ‘shared duty of care’ towards our
young folk. That is now enshrined in law, in protocols at football clubs and in
clubs where youngsters play the game. The mistakes of the past were painful and
must never be repeated. Historically, many football clubs in the UK were
infiltrated by the abusers and we’d all like to think that’d be impossible now.
The need for diligence still demands that we are vigilant, listen to young
people and act on what they tell us.
In the stands of Scottish football and in the poorly
regulated ‘wild west’ of social media, there are still people who seek to weaponize
child sexual abuse in order to denigrate their sporting opponents. It can be nauseating
to see grown men trading insults when it is patently obvious that they don’t
give a damn about the victims. We have even heard thousands of people chanting
about it in certain fixtures and that is beyond despicable. The NSPCC states
that 1 child in 20 will experience sexual abuse. The chances are that those
misguided fools who chant about child sexual abuse are no more than a few
metres from someone who actually suffered from it. Enough already. It’s
demeaning, it’s inexcusable and it’s just plain wrong.
Celtic have done the right thing this week by compensating
the victims of abuse at the boys’ club. It may have occurred long before anyone
at the club today was even involved in football, but it marks an acceptance of
moral responsibility. Acknowledging this can only help the victims heal and
perhaps bring some closure to a hugely painful episode.
Our thoughts go out to those who were the victims of this
despicable crime. They’re the ones who really matter.
