In spite of a recent period of what could be mistaken for silence, the team who call themselves The Requisitioners – the Celtic shareholders who are responsible for what we call Resolution 12 – are not done with their campaign yet.
Indeed, if you are a fellow Celtic shareholder the chances are you’ve already been in contact with them over the next phase of their plans.
This matter has not gone away and nor will it.
Indeed, quite the opposite.
What you have to realise is that these guys have invested a ton of time – and even money – in the pursuit of this, and what they have uncovered since they began more than convinces them that they were right to have pursued this course in the first place.
That they are still fighting angers them.
They really did believe that this issue would have been resolved by now, and that justice would be done.
The Requisitioners have been busy, and things are about to get interesting again.
The difference is, this time they aren’t taking no for an answer.
Having submitted their findings to the club at various points down through the years, they are frustrated with the inaction.
There are some – even amongst The Requisitioners themselves – who believe that Celtic has failed to properly address their concerns.
They fear that unless Celtic begin to do this in a meaningful way, understandable by and acceptable to shareholders, the spotlight will inevitably change from shining on issues regarding how the SFA handles its accountability to a member club to the accountability of the Celtic board itself towards their wider body of shareholders.
In other words; if the club is not prepared to hold the SFA accountable for the way it deals with us, the Celtic shareholders may have to hold the club accountable for the way it deals with them. The Requisitioners maintain that they and the other shareholders were effectively robbed by the licensing decision in 2011.
It is Celtic’s duty alone to establish if this is true and act accordingly, the SFA apparently having lost its justiciability under the 5 Way Agreement.
The Requisitioners were initially happy to pursue this through the club itself.
What they cannot understand is why the club appears reluctant to do so in an aggressive manner.
This is an issue involving lucrative Champions League revenue.
This is about making sure that every club was treated the same, and that the governing body was following its own rules.
The Requisitioners have maintained, right from the start, this is not a “Rangers issue.”
This is about the SFA itself. This is about whether or not they allowed a fraud, either knowingly or not.
It is the firm belief of these shareholders that “fraud” is exactly what took place.
What started out with bafflement at the club’s seemingly relaxed attitude towards this has grown, over time, into a swelling anger.
The Requisitioners do not want to hold Celtic accountable for this, as the club itself did nothing wrong, but the focus of their campaign is shifting towards a place where they may have to go around – or over – Celtic if that’s what it’s going to take.
If it comes, the responsibility for that change of focus will lie entirely with the Celtic board and not with the shareholders who have been pursuing the matter since 2013. The club said “find us the smoking gun” and this writer believes – having seen the evidence which you can review at this link – that these shareholders have done exactly that.
Whether Celtic uses it to get justice is another matter, but the club cannot believe that it can fail to discharge that responsibility and get away with it.
The time for talking this out is over with, and when we look across the city and see another Ibrox club blatantly circumventing UEFA financial fair play there’s a very real concern that if this matter is allowed to drop there’s nothing to prevent the new club over there from behaving exactly the same way.
That’s why this campaign is important.
It’s why The Requisitioners have to win.
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