BBC Article

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,686]

Just now, Courtyard Bear said:

Maybe he should be knocking on the door of Hibs, but then that wouldn’t fit the agenda of this story. 

Again I agree or the family of neely but again that doesn't fit the narrative.  Which is to make us look bad.

[TheGovanIniesta 1,000]

7 minutes ago, Bad Robot said:

You’re right that no mention by Daly about hivs knowing and not alerting anyone about it which is a deriluction of duty.

Do you not think any claim of compensation would be from the oldco’s insurers ?

He was the one who asked Dermot about his dodgy finances and started the whole 'are you a Rangers fan?' pish, I didn't know that until not long ago, obviously just after the cash and happy to play the pawn

God knows how it works tbh mate

[cushynumber 25,178]

correct me if i am wrong - but weren't the original allegations re Neely regarding inappropriate speech not sexual abuse? - and thats what he was reported to the police for and sacked?

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,137]

10 minutes ago, Straight-Edge-Loyal said:

I get that and we didn't reemploy Neely.

For why it's worth I am not attacking the club I am saying if neely did abuse the boy he is entitled to something in compensation.

Why didn’t he claim compensation at the time ? (If that’s what he’s after) Why now ?

It seems from the club statement that he is after compensation, that’s why they’ve referred him to the liquidator.

If the boy had been abused by anyone else outside the club would he still be looking for compensation?

The way I see it this is just lawyers seeing a way to make some money.

[TheGovanIniesta 1,000]

3 minutes ago, cushynumber said:

correct me if i am wrong - but weren't the original allegations re Neely regarding inappropriate speech not sexual abuse? - and thats what he was reported to the police for and sacked?

inappropriate behavior, doesn't exactly clear it up, seen a good 5-10 people say it was for saying something though

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,137]

4 minutes ago, cushynumber said:

correct me if i am wrong - but weren't the original allegations re Neely regarding inappropriate speech not sexual abuse? - and thats what he was reported to the police for and sacked?

That’s what I read at the time

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,686]

1 minute ago, ritchieshearercaldow said:

Why didn’t he claim compensation at the time ? (If that’s what he’s after) Why now ?

It seems from the club statement that he is after compensation, that’s why they’ve referred him to the liquidator.

If the boy had been abused by anyone else outside the club would he still be looking for compensation?

The way I see it this is just lawyers seeing a way to make some money.

Yes I would probably say that is the case he is just after money however if he was abused he is entitled to compensation. From the neely estate or hibs for not alerting us to his crimes.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,137]

Just now, Straight-Edge-Loyal said:

Yes I would probably say that is the case he is just after money however if he was abused he is entitled to compensation. From the neely estate or hibs for not alerting us to his crimes.

Yes I agree with that, although I doubt the Neely estate has any cash worth talking about and Hivs will just say, wasn’t our fault.

So the next best thing is the big rich club in the lawyers eyes.

[Straight-Edge-Loyal 6,686]

Just now, ritchieshearercaldow said:

Yes I agree with that, although I doubt the Neely estate has any cash worth talking about and Hivs will just say, wasn’t our fault.

So the next best thing is the big rich club in the lawyers eyes.

I doubt that there is any money for compensation from neely or the junkies.

We are the best thing in the lawyers eyes no matter what as we are an easy target not just that but it suits the SFA's agenda to damage us in every way.

[StaunchLondonGer 1,651]

44 minutes ago, cushynumber said:

However, The statement from the clubs lawyers was terrible. The statement should have said police were contacted - end of. to dismiss it as "new/old company" is a shocking way to go about it - and thats what made the headline. That being said, this is an allegation that now cant be proved or the person brought to trial because the guy is dead. At the moment it is one mans word.

But again, we seem to handle this all so badly and make things worse.

This 100%. Handled terribly. People seem to think that because a solicitor advises something it must be the right way to go. Solicitors make mistakes all the time and cost their clients money, credibility  etc.  To even mention "different legal entity/not our concern legally I'm afraid" makes us look like we're on the defensive/trying to deflect/distance ourselves.

Assuming the facts are as reported then this was a young bear whose life was ruined by a filthy nonce at OUR beloved Rangers football club. I would like to have seen the board do everything in their power to get to the root of what happened and try to provide support to the victim (pay for counselling etc). The board are merely custodians of our club. The proud heritage of Rangers as an institution should dictate that 'new club/old club' is irrelevant to how abhorrent such an incident is to us and the lengths we should go to in order to understand exactly what happened, help the victim and ensure there is never a repeat. We should stand up and fucking own any situation, good or bad, and respond with integrity and class. THAT is what differentiates us from celtic.

I'm not saying we shouldn't have obtained legal advice. I think this was correct. But to respond with a clumsy, formal and unfeeling statement that effectively says "not our problem" is NOT what a Rangers board should be doing imo.

How about:

"We are deeply upset by the incident that took place at Ibrox when you were on our books as a boy. We have looked into the incident and found that the individual in question, Mr Neely (formerly with Hibernian FC), was dismissed from the club and the police were immediately informed of his actions. It is abhorrent to Rangers Football Club that an incident like this could happen at the club and that a man like Mr Neely could be employed by the club. Today, we have extremely strict vetting procedures in place to ensure that this scenario can never be repeated at this football club.

We are deeply sorry for the distress and lasting damage caused to you by this experience and we would like to invite you to come in to see us at your convenience to discuss any ways that we might be able to offer you support and to help you, even in any small way, ease the suffering you clearly still feel over this incident. Although an historic matter, we have contacted Hibernian Football Club to ask for full details of their knowledge of and experience with Mr Neely and whether they were aware of any wrongdoing on Mr Neely's part prior to him moving to Glasgow to join the staff of Rangers. Rest assured that, should it become apparent that Hibernian FC had prior knowledge of Mr Neely's inappropriate behaviour, then we will be demanding a full explanation as to why Rangers were not forewarned. With  your permission we would also like to contact the police in relation to this incident to ensure that all appropriate action was taken by the authorities at the time in relation to this and the many other incidents of abuse affecting other Scottish football clubs. We are aware of other situations with other clubs where attempts have allegedly been made to "cover up" or "keep quiet" incidents of abuse involving children in their care. We wish to stress that such an approach has never and will never be adopted by Rangers Football Club. Rather, we will always seek to fully expose and bring the full force of the law down upon any perpetrators of abuse that come to our attention.

Regarding the matter of compensation: We feel strongly that you should receive compensation although we appreciate that this is not going to in any way make up for the instance of abuse you experienced as a boy. Unfortunately, from a legal standpoint, the responsibility lies with the previous entity The Rangers Football Club PLC and not with the new entity RFC 2012 Limited. We would therefore advise you to contact the former entity in relation to your official claim for compensation and you will find the contact details enclosed separately. However, we feel a strong moral obligation to help you in any way we can as the new entity (RFC 2012 Limited) obviously represents Rangers and its proud history since 1872. As mentioned, we would like to invite you to come in and meet with us so we can discuss avenues open to us whereby we can support you. Without prejudice we would also like to include a financial offer to you as a gesture of support and this we can  discuss when you visit us. It is important to make clear that RFC 2012 Limited has no legal liability in relation to your claim and that such a payment will be made with no conditions attached and will not represent any admission of liability. It will also not affect your right to pursue compensation from the previous entity as discussed.

In closing, we would like to reiterate how sorry we are that you had this experience whilst at the club. We are pleased you have contacted us and given us the opportunity to provide support to you to the best of our ability. We are committed to revisiting this incident and to participating in any further investigation that the police may deem appropriate. Fortunately, given the prevalence of historic abuse within youth football in the UK that has now come to light, Rangers has been far less affected than many other clubs. This doesn't make it any less upsetting to hear of your own experience and we hope that, working together, we can move forward and help alleviate any negative feelings that you may still have towards Rangers. As a Rangers fan and season ticket holder you will be fully aware that we consider ourselves a family and, as the custodians of our great club, we the board are committed to standing by all members of that family."

 

That would have been far more difficult for Timmy Journo to twist into a hate-filled article attacking Rangers.

 

[AGM_72 3,633]

27 minutes ago, ritchieshearercaldow said:

So let’s say the club agrees to take full responsibility, what does this guy want ?

Saying on the radio that victims want dialogue and recognition of their abuse,( no mention of money yet) I believe the club have recognised that, they have offered councilling and co-operation with authorities (scum did the same) if they agreed compensation then they admit guilt, but what are they guilty of ?

I would say the same for the scum but the difference is they chose to hide it and that is a crime

Yeah, look there is no comparison between this and what happened across the city.

Just going off the back of psb's post though, the incident occurred at our club, so ultimately it has to carry some culpability. I'm not saying we didn't do anything/everything by the book once the situation was brought to light. I doubt money etc would be discussed in public anyway, personally I think that telling the guy to chase the liquidators because it's a different company that's liable is a pretty crass thing to do. 

[BlueVanguard 6,622]

Cunts on facebook saying the club is new so they cant act upon it? Its a new company with new staff since the 80s, For the victim (If true) Should be giving the right justice and the club should do everything in there power to help him. Unlike them they would rather cover it up

[cascadeshrimp 1,455]

Sorry to sound insensitive  to the guy but

This is 1 guy and it's all over the news (if Neely had buggered a whole team nothing would be said)

Also it couldn't have distressed him that much as he got a season ticket 

Glad the police were involved from the earliest they could have been,wish the guy well even if I don't understand where the problem is.

*edit bear in mind that the club CAN'T apologise to him cause if they do then they are accepting liability legally.

[Wil198 17]

3 hours ago, psb07158 said:

Strictly speaking, no it doesn’t. A company is responsible for sufficient oversight of its employees. If Neely abused a child and it was allowed to happen by virtue of the club not having strong enough safeguards for the protection of children and/or sufficient oversight of the coach’s activities and/or didn’t run proper background checks including referencing from other Football clubs etc etc then Rangers are on the hook too. Sacking the guy after the event doesn’t end it I’m afraid. 

In this instance though we’ve obviously lawyered up and told him the correct legal position - his claim lies with the liquidators. It’s a non story other than the fact the guy has gone to the press because he has realised he won’t get a penny out of the liquidation proceeds. Which is a real shame if he was abused, because he deserves some form of compensation for what it has done to his life. I’m almost tempted to suggest the club should agree a negotiation with him on a good faith basis. 

Your talking about this case as if it has happened in the modern era. The lack of the technology we have today meant there was no electronic means to do background checks. The only way to check someone was on a personal level and as Jimmy Saville has proved peado's can be capable of hiding their true nature. The safeguards that are required today were non existent in the eighties.

[KingKirk 25,643]

Here's something I find strange the media have been reporting these cases of cover ups for a while now. Are the bbc trying to suggest we covered this up? 

[plymouthranger 3,872]

I'm sorry, but how the fuck are we getting our name dragged through the mud? Is everyone just THAT scared of celtic and the RC Church, that they're not even going to mention that the taigs abused children for years?

We shouldn't be paying compensation to someone who was allgedly abused 30 years ago, we shouldn't be paying compensation to someone who was abused nowadays. It's a criminal matter, providing we did our due diligence at the time to the standards expected of the day, it's certainly not the fault of the club. Firing and then re-hiring the persons involved and then ultimately covering up child abuse should be grounds for compensation,  this is not

 

 

[ger4life_1872 29,498]

4 hours ago, big blue Fin said:

I don't know, maybe It's just me but this story feels wrong somehow. I know we employed this paedo creep thanks to the Leith tarriers not warning anyone he was a nonce but was this "David" ever on our books? Did this actually happen? I'm pretty sure that a youngster getting fucked up the arse for the first time is going to scream the fucking place down and attract attention. I certainly know that at age 11 if a guy had told me drop the shorts and bend over I'd have been like "aye that'll be right!", and walked out.

The one thing I don't understand is why the fuck he would have a season ticket after that. 

No the thing stinks in my opinion.

Obviously this is an allegation and none of us know the truth but if the story is correct are you blaming a child for being abused ? Because it reads like you are 

[magic8ball 27,901]

4 hours ago, Courtyard Bear said:

This is so blatantly being banged out there so the taigs can scream “aye but what about Rangers” 

When the difference between the way the 2 clubs handled things is night and day, not to mention the fact the taigs had an organised peado ring operating inside their club for decades and did nothing about it, in fact went to great lengths to cover it up and let the abuse continue. 

how the club's handle it makes no difference in the grand scheme of what's at play here .

if mainstream media tell everybody about a case people get to here about it .if they ignore something and don't report it nobody hears about it 

so the minor offence is exaggerated. even though it's old news .

saw a meme the other day .it was the 6oclock news .it's message was .this is the 6 o'clock news and here is what we want you to think 

[StirlingBear72 476]

You'll be lucky if Torbett makes the news at all. Disgusting considering it's something larger than football.

[KeyserSoze 14,541]

4 hours ago, big blue Fin said:

I don't know, maybe It's just me but this story feels wrong somehow. I know we employed this paedo creep thanks to the Leith tarriers not warning anyone he was a nonce but was this "David" ever on our books? Did this actually happen? I'm pretty sure that a youngster getting fucked up the arse for the first time is going to scream the fucking place down and attract attention. I certainly know that at age 11 if a guy had told me drop the shorts and bend over I'd have been like "aye that'll be right!", and walked out.

The one thing I don't understand is why the fuck he would have a season ticket after that. 

No the thing stinks in my opinion.

Reign it in for fuck sake. Have a bit of dignity about yourself eh?

[the goal machine 7,802]

32 minutes ago, ger4life_1872 said:

Obviously this is an allegation and none of us know the truth but if the story is correct are you blaming a child for being abused ? Because it reads like you are 

Some Rangers fans are only against child abuse when it concerns celtic and/or the Catholic church.

[Sparkle 53,587]

45 minutes ago, KingKirk said:

Here's something I find strange the media have been reporting these cases of cover ups for a while now. Are the bbc trying to suggest we covered this up? 

Not specifically. They are publishing this stuff in a way that encourages their audience to join this story to the 'celtic covered up child abuse' story - and additionally that we are deflecting it onto the liquidators to deal with.  

Double negative whammy. Insidious snakes.

 

[Inigo 32,526]

Agree wholeheartedly that there's no coincidence in the timings here. It's rotten, but it's been well covered in this thread. 

What I'd also say re O'H is that, in this time when we're such a target, the folk on here and elsewhere abusing him should have a fucking word with themselves and remember days like this.

It IS a fucking propaganda war and folk abusing MOH the way he was are a small part of why we lose. It all matters though. Maybe remember that when you're indulging yourself with some childish wee 'fenian' rant at the least opportunity. Maybe think about the good of the club before satisfying your personal need to vent shit?

[cushynumber 25,178]

38 minutes ago, StirlingBear72 said:

You'll be lucky if Torbett makes the news at all. Disgusting considering it's something larger than football.

if and when he does, you can bet our name will be placed in there and this mentioned. It is, after all, the whole point of the entire exercise.

[Sweetheart 8,458]

5 hours ago, Sportingintegritymyarse said:

Horrific if true.

Let's not play whataboutery.

Police informed, check.

Now let's ensure this and every instance at every club are probed fully and the findings of police investigations about the bastards who commit such acts and the worse bastards and scum at clubs who concealed or facilitated such acts are highlighted. And hammered.

If anyone at Rangers was guilty they deserve punished. As do Rangers if they didn't report it, retained the abuser in employment, or paid off victims / families and allowed such conduct to continue.

Let's get this all out there rather than be Scotland's shame. For every club in Scotland. Every detail whilst protecting the identity of the complainer. 

5 hours ago, Sportingintegritymyarse said:

Previously reported....

 

***** A statement from the Ibrox club said: "Rangers is now aware of an alleged incident involving an individual who worked very briefly for the club more than 25 years ago.

“It’s understood the individual was dismissed immediately and that the police were informed.

"Rangers wishes to stress that all employees adhere to the strictest codes of conducts, especially when dealing with children and young people" ****

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.BOYCOTT THIS LINK/news/scottish-news/Rangers-axed-90s-talent-spotter-9389494.amp&ved=2ahUKEwjw-MWH0onbAhWUbMAKHYcPB9sQFjABegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw2kkFSuI-0tAvae5QhGvkB6

An old DR article with Rangers response to what could be the same individual.