In the clear "@BraidenHT: NEW: European Commission dismiss allegations of 'state aid' by Glasgow City Council towards Celtic FC. More very soon."
Allegations that Scotland's largest local authority broke the law in historic land deals involving Celtic Football Club have been officially dismissed. Glasgow City Council, Celtic and the Scottish Government have been told in the past 24 hours by the European Commission that it would not be proceeding any further with complaints that the club had benefitted from "state aid". It comes almost a year after the original complaints were made. The commission did not take the complaint as far as opening a formal investigation, even though council officers were summoned to its Brussels headquarters on at least one occasion to answer questions on the claims. Detailed detailed information was also demanded of the Scottish Premiership club. In a letter to the complainants, officials from the commission state: "You allege that the Celtic Glasgow Football Club (sic) has benefitted from unlawful State Aid, mainly in the form of advantageous land transfers. "The commission has raised the issue with UK authorities. Based on the observations received from them, the services of the commission have not been able to identify any issue regarding unlawful State Aid. "In light of that assessment the commission services do not envisage to pursue the matter any further." The complaints focused on a series of land purchases around the east end of Glasgow by Celtic from the city council, primarily during the last decade, with the accusation the Scottish champions secured the plots at a knock-down rate. Last year, the council agreed to sell land valued at more than £750,000 to Celtic. The claim was that this had put Celtic at a competitive advantage over other clubs. The club's Lennoxtown training centre, built on the grounds of the former Lennox Castle Hospital in East Dunbartonshire and formally owned by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, was not part of the complaint to the Commission. Celtic had always claimed the allegations were "baseless", adding that suggestions it had been the beneficiary of state aid were "preposterous". It had also insisted the land deals were negotiated with the council on commercial terms at market rates. It is understood the complaint was brought to Europe by individual supporters of Celtic's city rivals Rangers. Although never a political issue in Scotland, one prominent Northern Ireland MP, the DUP's Gregory Campbell, said he had requested that party colleagues bring it up in Europe "on a number of occasions".
"It is understood the complaint was brought to Europe by individual supporters of Celtic's city rivals Rangers." get a grip ffs
"@Neworleanscsc: Comment on State Aid story (Herald) "A campaign borne of malice, frustration, jealousy & desperation after watching Rangers liquidate" Ooft!"
State aid They are just goin to have to get used to the idea that we are now "the people" ....more popcorn?
interviewed DUP’s Gregory Campbell MP on the allegations of State Aid involving Celtic FC and Glasgow City Council. Campbell said: “If there has been a competitive advantage offered by a Financial Institution or a Local Authority which was not available to others then this should be investigated. The European Commission have now been informed so we await their response. “There needs to be a thorough investigation to establish if there were any breaches. The only way this will be cleared up is if there is a full and transparent account given of what happened, who was responsible and what the outcome was. If a financial advantage was accrued by Celtic FC then the public must be informed of the extent of the advantage, how long it continued and who were the people involved. “I have been in touch with my colleague Diane Dodds MEP who has brought this issue up in Europe on a number of occasions. In 2011 Diane addressed this issue directly with UEFA following sectarian chanting from Celtic supporters during a match against Hearts. Despite assurances from UEFA that they would give an “unconditional commitment to eradicating this from the game of football” the issue has continued to fester. “Late last year Diane also contacted UEFA, FARE and also wrote directly to the European Commission highlighting concerns about the lack of action being taken against Celtic Football Club to eradicate the elements of sectarianism that remain.” When Campbell was asked why Scottish politicians and the media are staying well away from this subject, Campbell added: “Sometimes I think there is a small ‘p’ political issue with these matters in Scotland, with possibly some politicians relying on Celtic minded voters and media coverage to get re-elected. In Ulster this is less of an issue.” Campbell, who is a member of the Westminster Rangers Supporters Club, has raised several issues in Parliament related to both Celtic and Rangers. Significantly he has never called on the house to investigate the dealings between the Bank of Scotland and Sir David Murray on how he obtained huge amounts of loans, yet has called on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to investigate Celtic’s deal with the Cop-operative Banking Group. He asked: “To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will investigate reports that the Co-operative Bank provided exceptionally low-interest rate loans and overdraft facilities to Celtic Football Club.”Sajid Javid, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, corrected Campbell on this issue, saying: “Individual commercial loans are a matter for agreement between the parties concerned.”
