ian1964

Man who gave evidence against Celtic Boys' Club sex beast Frank Cairney dies after being 'crushed' by appeal blow The man bravely spoke out about the abuse carried out by the evil paedophile only to later see his evidence quashed on appeal due to a prosecution blunder. A man who bravely gave evidence against Celtic Boys’ Club beast Frank Cairney only to see his testimony quashed on appeal has tragically died. And the Daily Record can reveal that it was a prosecution blunder that led to evil paedophile Cairney getting a year off his four-year sentence. We are not naming the man at the request of his family. He is thought to have suffered a heart attack at his home after facing the anguish of seeing his evidence against Cairney quashed by the appeal court. He died, aged 60, less than two weeks after the appeal court judgment. His daughter said: “Cairney stole my dad’s childhood, stole my dad’s innocence and sentenced him to a lifetime of silence. “Dad had said he would fight this decision but the decision had left him crushed.” The Daily Record can reveal the Crown failed to ask the man about his previous convictions in England, going back to 1980. Cairney’s defence team seized on the fact the convictions had not been revealed to the jury, leading to the appeal that saw his sentence reduced. The Crown Office has told the Record it is “deeply regrettable” one of Cairney's convictions has been quashed and it is “reviewing its practices”. It means Cairney, 84, could be freed as early as August. Before he died, the man told the Record: “It is an outrage. I did the right thing by coming forward and going through the ordeal of court. “The Crown never even asked me about convictions in England. If they had, I would have told them.” The former Celtic Boys’ Club player spent more than two-and-a-half hours in the witness box at Hamilton Sheriff Court last year. Cairney was jailed for four years but that has now been reduced to three years. Eight men – who did not know each other – gave powerful testimony of the predatory sexual abuse carried out by Cairney from 1965 to 1986. The man thought some kind of justice had finally be done but was left “shattered” by his experience. He said: “There is no justice. This makes me ashamed to be Scottish. “After the trial I was interviewed by the Daily Record. The first question they asked was if I had any previous convictions. I said right away that I did and disclosed them to the Record. “If the Crown had asked me this ahead of the trial I would have told them right away. “I was abused in 1974 and after all these years I don’t know what to do or who to turn to. I’m convinced that if the jury had been told of my previous convictions, my evidence, which was 100 per cent truth, would have been accepted by the jury. “It was extremely difficult to see Cairney’s face in court – one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life.” Cairney’s appeal hinged on the man’s convictions in England for dishonesty. He said: “The reason I was in London was because I couldn’t get out of Glasgow quick enough after what Cairney did to me. The convictions were as a result of my state of mind. I had been sexually abused as a child.” Lord Justice General Lord Carloway, Lord Drummond Young and Lord Turnbull overturned Cairney’s conviction on the specific charge three weeks ago. Eight convictions still stand against him. The appeal court judges’ ruling stated: “The Crown had not accessed the Police National Computer, to which the police had access and which recorded all UK convictions. The Crown could readily have checked the PNC, which regularly provided data on previous convictions for use in prosecutions. “The Crown ought to have disclosed the convictions... “There was a duty on the Crown to disclose the criminal history of complainers if known, but no routine check was carried out to find criminal records in jurisdictions other than Scotland.” In May, the Record revealed that Celtic FC investigated and cleared Celtic Boys’ Club bosses of any wrongdoing in the 80s. This is at odds with Celtic FC’s contention that the two were entirely separate entities. Jim Torbett, 71, the founder of the boys’ club, was jailed for two years in 1998 and for six years last November for a string of sex abuse against children. Another predatory paedophile Jim McCafferty, 73, another CBC coach and Celtic FC kitman, was jailed for six years and nine months in May. Gerald King, 66, a former CBC chairman, was convicted of abusing four boys and one girl at a school in Glasgow but avoided a jail term. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/man-who-gave-evidence-against-21125041

Which has me worried!!!!

Man United and Spurs have entered the transfer race for Rangers starlet Leon King, according to reports. The Athletic claims the 15-year-old is no closer to signing a professional contract with the Light Blues and that the two English Premier League giants are interested in signing him. Last month it emerged highly-rated defender King had rejected a new Gers deal. Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea - as well as RB Leipzig - are said to have been monitoring the teenager’s situation. But it appears Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils and Jose Mourinho’s London side have stolen a march on their rivals. King - who made his U-20s debut aged just 14 in November 2018 - can’t sign a professional contract until he turns 16 in January. Last year development gaffer Graeme Murty said: “He’s someone who is getting a lot of press now because he’s quite young but he’s there on merit. "We don’t hesitate in pushing them forward if we think we can extend their learning and that’s what it’s about. "It’s about making sure that Leon is challenged to the right level. “There will be a time that he drops to his own age and we expect him to be the best player on the pitch, regardless of who else is on it. "And there will be a time when he plays a couple of years up and we expect it to be a struggle for him. “And then if we throw him into a game like this (UEFA Youth League) and really make him struggle, that’s where his development will accelerate the fastest. "We just need to make sure we’re mindful of his age and we do it at the right time.” In 2017, the Light Blues lost Billy Gilmour to Chelsea after the midfield sensation rejected a new contract. The English Premier League side agreed a £500,000 fee with Gers to take Gilmour down south. He’s made four senior appearances for Frank Lampard’s Blues this season. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5081952/rangers-news-leon-king-man-united-spurs/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1576680852

There is a wonderful sequence in the book, and subsequent film, Fight Club in which those who are members of the never-to-be-named association attempt to get into fights with ordinary and unbruised members of the public. Turns out, that’s not so easy to do. The vast majority of folk have no interest in physical violence, even when hugely provoked. As the author Chuck Palahniuk explained many years after his book was published, while humans are capable of almost anything, it is our base nature to keep out of trouble. This is why most of us have never been in a proper fight. How many times have you been physically threatened? How often is abuse screamed in your face? I have walked the streets of Glasgow after closing time, which some claim is as dangerous as popping out for a pint of milk in war-time Dresden, and perhaps once, at the most twice, did I come across trouble. We know how to behave, you see. Well, most of the time. And then we get into a football ground and, well, anything that happened at Fir Park stays at Fir Park. Except there were no secrets about what happened on Sunday. The television cameras clearly caught the hand signal, the sneering, and the lack of control. This, of course, was the Motherwell supporters, at least the section that houses their (really) young team. They targeted Alfredo Morelos with personal abuse. This is fair(ish) enough. It’s football after all. Fans get to shout and swear. That’s the culture. Always has been. Except, these days, the shouty supporters can’t seem to take it when anything is said back to them. Should Morelos have told the Motherwell support to “get it right up them” complete with rude gesture? No, but I didn’t have a problem with it and I’ll bet you said young team, who were to throw all manner of objects at the Rangers player, weren’t traumatised in the slightest. And yet Morelos is the one punished for reacting to constant abuse. This is a serial victim. He’s been racially abused, coins have hit off him and Aberdeen supporters even wrote a banner in Spanish about his mother. Oh, the Scottish banter. If I were going about my business and a group of strangers shouted obscenities at me regarding my family and ethnicity, followed up by a bottle of Buckfast aimed at my head, I would react. If Palahniuk had wanted all of his characters to get into a fight, he should have sent them to a football match. Morelos was shown a second red card because he did break the rules. He was sent off, and will now miss a big game against Hibernian, for being a human being. The Colombian didn’t hit an opponent, dive, spit or go in late on a defender. After scoring, he gave some back to those who had spent a lot of their Sunday afternoon acting like louts. Steven Gerrard said he didn’t disagree with the second caution. I simply don’t believe that. The Rangers manager was playing the PR game. He would be 100 per cent on the side of his player, as he should be. I don’t see why it’s “acceptable” to shout all sorts of stuff at a football player but, when they react, out come the “he could have caused a riot” mob. If you look up the history of rioting, there aren’t any examples of people taking to the street because of a 50/50 penalty decision. Same with Scott Brown after the Celtic Park Old Firm game towards the end of last season. Arms stretched in front of the Rangers fans with a broad smile on his face. I feel sorry for Morelos. He was brilliant at Motherwell. He’s been brilliant all season. If the votes were taken now I’d have him as my player of the year. He’s cleaned up his act, scored goals for fun – apart from in one fixture – and his all-round play has been raised several levels. Plus, he’s got a personality that is hard to dislike. Morelos isn’t perfect, but nobody is. I’m guessing that he gets it when he walks about Glasgow and he chooses not to respond, which is what happens in a book with the word “fight” in it. Could you put up with that on a daily basis? If I were in charge of Scottish football, which sadly is not the case, I would rescind the red card and force those Motherwell supporters so brave with their actions at the weekend to face up to Morelos. My guess is they wouldn’t fancy it and hide away like the weans they are. Morelos has 27 goals to his name this season. That’s impressive enough but, given he takes more flack on and off the pitch than anyone else in the Scottish game, his feats become all the more impressive. I would be astonished if Rangers aren’t forced to fend off bids for their main man in January. Morelos, still only 23, would be cheap in relative terms. I’m not saying Liverpool would be after him but surely the scouts in England now realise that to dismiss talent north of the border is plain stupid. It would be good if Morelos stayed at least until the end of the season. We need as many good players in the Premiership as we can get. But I wouldn’t blame the lad if he once again turned to the Scottish public to “get it right up us” and go somewhere else. https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/18108790.neil-cameron-scottish-fans-deserve-ultimate-snub-alfredo-morelos/

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Hibs 0 Rangers 2 FGS Katic

STEVE MCMANAMAN believes Steven Gerrard doesn't need English Premier League experience to take over at Liverpool. The Rangers boss signed a new deal until 2024 on the same day Jurgen Klopp extended his Anfield stay. Gerrard has been highly tipped to replace the German whenever he decides to leave the Reds. And McManaman believes the Gers man is good enough to make the switch directly from Ibrox to Merseyside. The horseracing.net columnist said: “No I don’t think he would need managerial experience in the Premier League if I’m being honest. As long as he’s got experience as a manager that would suffice. “When every great manager came into the Premier League, they didn’t need Premier League experience, they had experience, that was it. “Jose Mourinho didn’t have experience, Pep Guardiola didn’t have experience, so I don’t think that matters. “I think it only matters that you’ve managed a big club and Rangers are a huge, huge club in the SPL. “The pressure of managing that team is probably as great as any big team across Europe because it’s such a massive club along with Celtic and the expectation is huge, so I think Steven will be really experienced. “It’s easy to say because he’s a very good mate of mine, he was an incredible player for Liverpool, arguably the best player to have ever put on a Liverpool shirt depending on what era you watched the club. “He loves Liverpool, he’s worked with the academy, he knows everybody, he knows the ethos of the club, so of course that will be the job earmarked for him in the future. Whether he wants it, or whether he’s offered it is another question. “If you’re asking me whether I think he’s good enough then I’d certainly say yes.” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5077460/rangers-gerrard-epl-experience-liverpool-boss-mcmanaman/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1576596236

DUNFERMLINE and Partick Thistle are fighting it out to land Rangers kid Jamie Barjonas on loan. The midfielder was given his Gers debut against the Jags by Pedro Caixinha in May 2017 when he was 18. Since then Barjonas – who was nine when he joined Gers – has been farmed out to League One Raith Rovers and former English League Two outfit Bury. Barjonas, 20, has trained with the first-team squad under Steven Gerrard on a daily basis this term. But he now looks set for a switch to the Championship as the Pars and Jags battle for his signature until the end of the season. It’s thought a deal could be finalised ahead of the transfer window opening on January 1. The Ibrox side are keen for Barjonas to remain in Scotland so they can monitor his progress more closely. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5078030/rangers-news-jamie-barjonas-transfer-dunfermline-partick-thistle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1576596339

Is he not allowed to have a different view/opinion to you?

I meant no other player other than a Rangers player, but I'm sure you knew that ?. We get refereed to a different standard for sure and that is what pisses me off, and when I see/hear Rangers fans saying '' that's the rules he shouldn't have done it'' is quite annoying, we all know the rules!!, but the rules aren't applied fairly across the board. The video clip I posted showing Kris Boyd at HT saying ''if it wasn't Morelos doing it then it wouldn't be highlighted'', for a separate incident in the 1st half proves we are treated differently to the rest of Scottish football.

I am damaged goods due to the treatment of Rangers, (club, fans, players) by the SFA, Scottish clubs & Scottish gutter press, our fans are hated, our club is hated and our players are hated by them all, they all tried to kill our club and continue to attack us. I will never forget or forgive them, so for me I do not give a flying fuck about Scottish football or the national team. I am surprised some Rangers fans are easy to forgive them all??.

PEDRO MENDES reckons Braga will be a totally different test for Rangers than Porto. Gers drew with Porto – who sit second in their league - on the road then beat them at home in the group stages. Braga are currently languishing in ninth spot ahead of the sides meeting in the last-32 of the Europa League in February. Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Mendes said: “Braga is a different team to Porto. Porto play and chase and are open. Braga will approach it differently. “They have different types of players and some of them are very good technical players. Porto’s players are stronger. “I’m not sure how Rangers will deal with it. It will be interesting. “There is also a transfer window between now and then so both teams could be a little bit different.” Mendes – at Ibrox from 2008 to 2010 - admits it’s difficult to know what sort of team Gers will be when the sides clash in February. He said: “Before the first game in Porto they played Hearts and from what I read and saw it wasn’t their best game. “Four or five days later they came to Portugal and played really well. “Then I saw the Ibrox game Rangers weren’t so good in the first half but in the second half they were really good and beat Porto.” Ex-Portugal international Mendes, 40, hopes to see some Gers fans travel along the road from Braga to visit his home town while they are there for the second leg. He added: “Braga is a nice town with a historic part. But the good thing is it is only 50 minutes from Guimaraes so all Rangers fans are invited to come to my town. “I would love to see them there. But Braga and Guimaraes also have an old rivalry. It’s a derby in our league.” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/5074953/rangers-braga-europa-league-pedro-mendes-porto-different-test/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1576535624

All very noble and by the letter of the law it is a booking. However no other player would have been sent off for that, in fact every player who scores against us does that and worse and I can't remember the last time a player was booked for it?. If the last few games haven't convinced you we are refereed differently then I don't think you will ever be convinced.

Alfredo Morelos of Rangers has become the first player to score 14 goals before Christmas in a European season. Alfredo Morelos has aleady made history in this season's UEFA Europa League – and the Rangers striker could yet snatch a further record from Colombian compatriot Radamel Falcao. ALL THE UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE STATS Morelos was the top scorer in UEFA Europa League qualifying this season with eight goals, and added a group-stage leading six to take Rangers to the round of 32. The total of 14 is the most ever scored by a player in a UEFA football club competition before Christmas. It is enough to leave Morelos already in joint sixth for the most goals scored in a whole UEFA men's club competition season, and just four off the record of Falcao, set in helping Porto win the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League. In that campaign, Falcao scored in the first leg of the play-off round before claiming 17 in the competition proper, the same tally as Cristiano Ronaldo's total in Real Madrid's 2013/14 UEFA Champions League triumph. The record for the UEFA Women's Champions League is 15 by Lyon's Ada Hegerberg in 2017/18, while the most in any European club competition was André Vanderlei's 19 for Action 21 Charleroi in the 2003/04 UEFA Futsal Cup. Most goals in a single UEFA men's club competition season (including qualifying) 18 Radamel Falcao (Porto, 2010/11 UEFA Europa League)17 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2013/14 UEFA Champions League)16 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League)15 Jürgen Klinsmann (Bayern München, 1995/96 UEFA Cup)15 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 2017/18 UEFA Champions League)14 José Altafini (AC Milan, 1962/63 European Champion Clubs' Cup)14 Lothar Emmerich (Borussia Dortmund, 1965/66 European Cup Winners' Cup)14 Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Schalke, 2011/12 UEFA Europa League)14 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League)14 Alfredo Morelos (Rangers, 2019/20 UEFA Europa League) 14 Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United, 2002/03 UEFA Champions League)14 John Wark (Ipswich Town, 1980/81 UEFA Cup) https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=2637098.html

Rangers star Alfredo Morelos broke the rules but high horse brigade need to calm down - Craig Swan By Craig Swan The Ibrox star was shown a second yellow for aiming a gesture towards Motherwell fans at the weekend. Alfredo Morelos should probably not have done what he did. Rules are rules and, by the letter of the law, he was wrong to make his gesture in front of the Motherwell fans which earned him a second yellow card at Fir Park and a first red card of the campaign. But the high-horse brigade need to calm down about hammering Morelos. The real issue here is what athletes these days are having to put up with from the galleries and the crowds who think that paying for as ticket makes it just fine to hound folk. The lines in the sand have long moved to levels which are unacceptable. We had it last season with punters breaking onto the park having a pop at players, lighters and coins and even whisky bottles being whizzed in the direction of some stars in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Aside from the actual objects, it’s just constant verbal abuse. Chants and obscene gestures are seen as just fair game. This isn’t just in football stadiums. It’s happening in various sports. Even the supposedly calm members of the golfing fraternity are going over the score. Last weekend, the levels of verbal abuse aimed at American Patrick Reed led to his caddy being thrown out of the Presidents Cup. For those unaware of the incident, bagman Kessler Karain shoved a fan after his man Reed had suffered three days of solid barracking as a result of last week’s cheating row at the Hero World Challenge, where he was penalised for improving the lie of his ball in a bunker. Yank skipper Tiger Woods said it was over the top and defended Karain, whilst he urged respect from supporters. On the flip side, his counterpart Ernie Els of the Internationals said it was down to the victims to deal with it. Fair enough, part of being a sporting icon means you are in the public eye. They do have to deal with it. Social media makes sure of that even before you reach a sports ground. Part of collecting massive cheques at the end of the week is that you have to have take the stick and you simply can’t have situations where, as in the case of Reed’s caddy, there is actual physical contact involved. But when it comes to a gesture is response to some guys who have dished stick out to you all day? Well so what? You can’t imagine anyone in the stadium was actually offended by that. Morelos gets dog’s abuse from rival fans everywhere he goes and he’s done it before at places such as Pittodrie and Tynecastle when he’s had to take the stick all day long. Look at the actual images of the moment he makes the gesture. At the exact same time, a trio of Motherwell fans are aiming the w**ker sign straight at him. Morelos didn’t leave the park. He didn’t jump into the crowd Eric Cantona-style and land a drop kick onto anyone. It was the same when Scott Brown had people moaning at him for standing with his arms aloft in the direction of the Rangers fans last season after Celtic won the March Old Firm derby at Parkhead. People getting upset because a guy who was being slaughtered from that very section all day chose to poke a bit of fun back. Of course it’s easy to say Morelos should be above getting taunted into a reaction by a group of teenagers in the corner of Fir Park and should know better, but come on? It was hardly crime of the century. If punters across the sporting world are going to be allowed to scream abuse at athletes whenever they want, what’s so wrong with individuals giving a bit of stick back to them? https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-star-alfredo-morelos-broke-21109117

Anywhere to watch this match again?

https://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/gallery-christmas-hospital-visit-2019/