CELTIC BOARD S*N RAT SILENCE UNSUSTAINABLE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 21 minutes ago
- 3 min read
It’s a been a few weeks now since somebody within the upper echelons of Celtic’s leadership choose to brief a national newspaper with a series of unproven and, at this point it seems, largely untrue, allegations about the conduct of Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers himself said he didn’t know who the individual was, but he also added he wasn’t surprised by this conduct. So, one would suspect that he has a reasonable idea who it is.
However, unlike the S*n newspaper, professional organizations have to deal in facts, not speculation when it comes to matters of corporate governance.
And make no mistake, this is a governance issue. We have someone on the executive board actively trying to undermine the manager, and the de-facto public face of the club, since the Celtic Board are about as communicative and outgoing as a mute mouse with severe agoraphobia.
Celtic Board Have Two Choices on How to Proceed Now
I went so far on last Tuesday’s ACSOM Bulletin to call this industrial espionage. Some may have felt that language was a bit hyperbolic, but I stand by my assertion.
When you have someone in a position of power at the board of a company, actively seeking to harm another person in that same company, knowing full well that these actions will also harm the company as a whole, then, for me that’s the textbook definition of industrial espionage.
Anyway, as my headline states, there are two ways for the Celtic Board to deal with this. The third way, maintaining silence will not hold. This is not one of those “ignore it until it goes away” kinds of issue.
The easiest option would be to find out who made that briefing to The S*n and either ask them to quietly resign, or retire, or, if the person refuses to budge, call an EGM and vote to have that person removed. This would of course mean that the “rat” in question would be publicly called out and humiliated. So, it would be in their best interest not to force the rest of the board into this option.
The second, more difficult, though perhaps more likely course of action from the Celtic Board would be to take action against The S*n newspaper. If the paper does not have any evidence to back up what was said in that story, then they have, in effect, defamed the Celtic manager by running the hit piece.
It just stands to reason then, that The S*n newspaper and all their staff should be banned from Celtic Park indefinitely.
This is one of the very few issues where I think the vast majority of the fanbase and The Board would be able to reach full agreement on a course of action.
It wouldn’t stop the current fan protests, nor would it end the Celtic Fans Collective’s push for change, but it would earn the board some goodwill, at least in the short term.
Ultimately, the person who fed that story to The S*n has to go. Whether it’s now or later this season (at a time when the board can frame the departure so it doesn’t look like a capitulation to fan pressure) we cannot allow anyone who puts their own selfish vendettas ahead of the greater good of Celtic to remain in power.