The Green Brigade have blasted a Celtic statement as "condescending and insulting".
Parkhead club chiefs released an unsigned statement on Saturday night responding to fan fury over the summer transfer window.
It stated officials had met with representatives of the Celtic Supporters' Association, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters' Clubs and the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs to discuss fan discontent.
However, a Green Brigade response has insisted the demands of more than 350 fan entities have been completely ignored in the lengthy statement issued at 9pm.
An open letter to the club earlier this week had requested answers to seven key questions, with fan media, supporters groups and fan organisations uniting en masse.
The questions - posed to Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay, Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond - were as follows:
- What is the club's long-term footballing strategy, and when and how will this be communicated to supporters?
- Why has there been no investment in critical positions despite repeated pleas from the manager, obvious weaknesses in the squad and calls from supporters?
- What accountability measures are in place for repeated failures in transfer dealings?
- How do you intend to modernise the club's structure to compete in Europe, and why are we consistently unprepared for qualification stages?
- When will supporters receive the results of the 'fan survey' conducted over a year ago, and why have these not yet been released despite being in the club's possession for several months?
- Why have the results of the Fairhurst Inquiry not been made public, and what action will the club take to protect supporters from unlawful and disproportionate policing in the future?
- Why does the club continue to resist working with supporters to improve matchday atmosphere, supporter experience and consultation on key issues such as ticket pricing and distribution?
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A response posted on the North Curve Celtic account read: "Irrespective of the condescending and insulting content of this statement, 350+ Celtic fan entities representing tens of thousands of Celtic fans around the world have signed an open letter with 7 explicit questions - these questions, and those asking them, have been ignored."
The club statement set out a number of points from the Celtic boardroom over ensuring the club remains self-sustaining and insisting the shared objective is to succeed in Scotland and compete in the Champions League.
It claims the club model is "not optional - it is now essential as a consequence of UEFA Sustainability Regulations".
Regarding transfers, it's said that successful negotiations can "only be negotiated privately" with the position of the club that deals will remain confidential until any agreement is concluded.
The club claimed "inaccurate and misleading information" is often circulated surrounding transfer and suggested "other parties may also seek to create pressure by leaking information to the media".
It's stated that the club are "exploring ways to seek to address the gap between speculation and reality once each transfer window closes" as a means of improving clarity for supporters.
Celtic FC statement in full
Following constructive meetings yesterday (Friday) with representatives of the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters’ Clubs and the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters’ Clubs, the Club thanks them for conveying the concerns of their members, and Celtic supporters more widely.
The Club takes Celtic supporters’ views extremely seriously, and the Club understands the concerns and frustrations which have arisen. We are listening to the views expressed by our supporters, welcome dialogue and we are always willing to learn lessons. The Club is committed to engagement with supporters, and we will work hard to address the concerns and frustrations that have been raised.
Achieving success on the field of play underpins everything we do. The Club’s strategy over many years has been dedicated to that objective, and we will always strive to achieve it. Celtic supporters play an integral part in the success of the Club, and we are committed to delivering success for them.
Transfer activity attracts enormous attention and speculation, particularly across social media, and the mainstream media has commoditised the transfer window in its relentless search for content. In connection with Celtic, we recognise that debate around this subject reflects the passion of our supporters. Unfortunately, as is often the case in the media and social media, there is inaccurate or misleading information in circulation.
It is clear, from our meetings with supporters’ representatives and from feedback from supporters in recent weeks, that supporters seek clarity. We would, therefore, like to address several key points directly.
Like every supporter, we are ambitious for Celtic. Our shared objective is football success - to succeed in Scotland and to compete in the Champions League. We are disappointed, this season, not to compete in the Champions League, but we are determined to succeed both domestically and in Europe.
However, the Club must adhere to our self-sustaining model: to protect the present and secure the future, ensuring Celtic remains strong for generations to come. The Club’s model has been developed and applied over many years, and during that period the Club has enjoyed a sustained period of success and growth.
Further, the Club’s model is not optional – it is now essential as a consequence of the UEFA Sustainability Regulations, with which the Club must comply. Wages and transfer spending are strictly governed by UEFA’s regulations, which effectively cap wages and transfer spending as a proportion of our revenues. Importantly, the Club’s cash reserves are not relevant to the assessment of this de facto spending cap for the purposes of the UEFA regulations.
Therefore, all investment decisions must be, and are, guided by responsible forecasts of future revenues and cash flow, which by their nature are volatile. We can never compromise the financial integrity of the Club. In short, throwing money at transfers and contracts is not a sustainable route to success, as many other clubs have found to the detriment of their supporters.
Over many years, careful management of the Club’s model has allowed the Club to remain debt-free and to build strong cash reserves. It is important to remain disciplined in our approach. The cash reserves reflected in our accounts exist for the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club and to manage the inherent volatility within football. These funds are used in a measured fashion for investment in recruitment, infrastructure, and long-term development. We will always listen to our supporters, who have the Club’s interests at heart, in how we can continue to develop the Club within these parameters.
The Club plans our recruitment and player trading strategy responsibly and consistently, ensuring the squad can be strengthened for the short, medium and long term, while also seeking to ensure the development and progression of our Academy players. Our objective is to create Champions League players.
The recruitment process includes the identification of players, and the conclusion of the transfer. Ultimately, once a player has been identified, confirmed by the football manager and it is then supported by the Board in line with the Club’s financial model, the Club will pursue that target to seek to conclude the transfer within our agreed parameters.
Importantly, our ability to progress transfers is not conditional on Champions League qualification. We recognise the importance of timing. Our clear goal is to secure new signings as early in each transfer window as possible, so that players can integrate quickly and contribute from the outset of the season.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to conclude transfers, either within the timescales that we target, or at all. There are many factors and challenges at play in the global transfer market, many of which are outwith the Club’s control, including selling clubs seeking fees beyond our valuation or waiting until the end of the transfer window to seek the maximum price, and players choosing to join another club or requesting contractual terms we cannot responsibly meet within our financial model.
It is not always possible to achieve all of the objectives set within a transfer window, and that is regrettable. We share our supporters’ disappointment, and we will always continue to review and seek to improve our strategy and execution.
Successful transfers can only be negotiated privately. It would be impossible to secure players if every stage were conducted in public. From time to time, other parties may also seek to create pressure by leaking information to the media. The Club’s position is clear: transfer business will remain confidential until agreements are concluded and announced by the club.
It follows, therefore, that much of what is written in the media or online about our transfer dealings is inaccurate. We also understand that this leads to frustration among supporters. While we cannot comment during ongoing negotiations, we are exploring ways to seek to address the gap between speculation and reality once each transfer window closes, in order to improve clarity for our supporters.
We thank Celtic supporters for their unmatched passion and commitment. We all share the same ambition: to see Celtic succeed on the pitch while remaining strong and secure off it. We hope this statement provides clarity about our transfer policy and reassurance of our unwavering dedication to Celtic’s short, medium and long-term success.
