As Another Court Case Pops Up, Ibrox’s Reputation Takes Another Commercial Hit.

You could not make this up, could you? Not even the most demented Celtic fan writer of fiction (that would be me) could have invented Peepul like these, or an organisation that seems to so thirst for litigation. News like that which broke tonight – Ibrox club to be sued by X – is as regular as the Glasgow rain. You wonder what possesses them.

There is a decent movie version of John Grisham’s The Rainmaker, starring Matt Damon, John Voight, Danny DeVito and a wonderfully sleazy Mickey Rourke; it’s about a young kid fresh out of law school, trying to find his way in the profession, who gets handed a case against a giant insurance company. As he uncovers secrets, he gets closer to the company MO.

He uncovers that when he has a key witness on the stand. She tells the stunned jury that the company policy was to deny every single claim which came across their desks. Every one. No exceptions. “They were playing the odds,” she said. And which particular odds were those? “That the insured would not consult an attorney …”

And maybe it’s just that simple.

Maybe Ibrox is running some giant scam just like that, to sign any commercial contract they can, to pocket the initial money or utilise the initial service and then find a reason not to pay their share or do their bit, and hope that the person or organisation on the other side balks at the idea of taking the matter to court.

How many times have you seen it?

They did it with the Ashley deal. They did it with their agreement with Puma and then again with Hummel. They did it with the “memorial garden” idea at Ibrox – “visit your uncle’s ashes, charge your IPhone” – they did it with a company supplying them the internet. They did it with the Australian tour … and on and on and on.

Now it’s the company that provides them with the technology to scan your bankcard at the concession stands. And this one is also about a failure to comply with a sponsorship deal. Those at the SFA will find that achingly familiar ground.

What is this disrespect for signed agreements? Are they the unluckiest club in the world, that they keep on running into these issues?

When was the last time Celtic got involved in a spat over contract work or kit quality or merchandising? Do you know of any other club in the country which spends this much time in the courts on such matters?

Ibrox’s legal department must work 24 hours a day, on a brutal shift pattern. No wonder their club is skint. In-house legal must be billing them more than their medical department, and they’re busier than Central Station at rush hour.

These people even got hauled into court for operating a price fixing cartel to keep costs high for their own fans. They are absolutely outrageous.

This time the bare minimum they’ll be charged is £383,000. There will, of course, be costs and all if the case is settled against them. Who knows what the final bill is going to be, but there goes their much touted “bonus” for the Ross McCrorie deal, eah?

Not that the media will put it in quite those terms though.

That club is unbelievable. If they’re not making the back pages they’re appearing in the True Crime supplements.

They should get their own issue of The Digger.