2/24/2003

Scottish Cup Quarter-final draw

Stranraer v Motherwell Dunfermine or Hibs v Rangers Inverness CT v Celtic Falkirk v Dundee Ties to be played March 22/23

2/17/2003

Registered as a bhoy.

The SFA has today received the International Registration Transfer Certificate for defender Stanislav Varga, who signed for Celtic last week.

2/16/2003

UEFA CUP OPPONENTS LOSE

Celtic's UEFA Cup opponents VFB Stuttgart lost on Saturday by 2-0 away to FC Schalke it brought to an end their run of 4 wins in a row.

2/15/2003

Celtic game postponed, manager's reaction.

FROM THE CELTIC'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Martin O’Neill has expressed his disappointment at Celtic’s free weekend after Fir Park was deemed unplayable following a Saturday morning pitch inspection.

Current stipulations are in place to avoid Premierleague games being postponed because of frost and adverse weather conditions, but Motherwell appear to have had a problem in dealing adequately with last night’s temperatures.

O’Neill was obviously frustrated at the postponement, and as of yet no rescheduled date has been put in place.

Said O’Neill: "We had prepared ourselves mentally and physically for the game and for it to be called off this morning was quite frustrating for us.

"The reason being is that we sensed yesterday that there could have been a problem with the pitch, but I was hoping that any problems Motherwell might have had would be rectified.

"John Robertson and I went to the ground and met George Adams and one of the Motherwell directors who himself was every bit as disappointed because of a commercial aspect, as what we were that the game was off.

"We have to forget about this now and focus on the Stuttgart game. Some of the players who weren’t away on international duty will have gone a 12-day spell without a game, but there is little we can do about that.

"Stuttgart will play this weekend, but we just have to get on with it.

"Whatever disappointment we had will not be as large a disappointment to the crowd, because I am sure that there were fans who would have travelled substantial distances from Scotland and Ireland to make a 12.30pm kick-off."

2/10/2003

Varga To Sign For Celtic

Released Sunderland defender Stanislav Varga is set to go across the border - and join Celtic on a free transfer.

Varga left Sunderland last month after his contract was terminated, and he will join the Scottish Premier League champions until the end of the season, pending a medical and Scottish FA clearance.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill said: "The situation is that, subject to everything being right, we hope to take Stan on until the end of the season.

"Obviously we're concerned about injuries, and Varga is an experienced international player who's played at the top level in the Premiership.

"The rest is up to him. He knows what he has to do, and also the calibre of player he's competing against. But he's hopeful of making an impact."

2/10/2003

Celtic reject Rapaic

After careful consideration, Celtic have decided not to proceed with the signing of Milan Rapaic, who has been training with the club over the past week.

2/6/2003

Bolton back off Celtic triallist

Celtic's chances of signing Croatia international Milan Rapaic have increased following the news that Bolton have dropped their interest in the midfielder.

The 29-year-old is currently on trial at Parkhead and is a free agent after being released by Fenerbahce.

The player's representatives had also been in talks with the Trotters but now boss Sam Allardyce has cooled his interest.

He told bwfc.co.uk: "I think it will be very difficult to get international clearance for him at this moment in time but it is an avenue we may go down again in the summer."

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill was in no hurry to seal the deal however and the same applied to fellow triallist Stanislav Varga, the ex-Sunderland centre-back.

He said: "Rapaic has proven qualities and a good pedigree.

"He played in the World Cup and he was obviously good enough to be in the Fenerbahce side for a while.

"Whatever happened there, whether something materialised politically or on the playing side I'm not sure because I haven't asked him.

"I've watched him and I know he's a bit short of fitness as he has not played for four or five weeks, but I'm pleased he has made the effort to come over.

"At the end of the week or early next week we might have a better idea about them and whether they want to be with us as well. I wouldn't let them stay forever and a day."

2/3/2003

Bhoycott beginning to bite.

A boycott of the biggest selling newspaper in Scotland by Old Firm football fans threatens to unseat an editor who is struggling to arrest plunging sales and staff rebellions.

Supporters of Celtic and Rangers football clubs are snubbing the Daily Record following controversial editorial decisions. The implications for circulation are clear and, in football-mad Glasgow, businesses have withdrawn millions of pounds of advertising.

Celtic Football Club is attempting to sever all links with the Trinity Mirror-owned tabloid. Its magazine, the Celtic View, is published by a subsidiary of the newspaper group but lawyers for the club are said to be exploring how to end the deal.

Relations with the Record were frozen over the festive period, following an alleged fracas in Newcastle involving Celtic players and a photographer from the newspaper who had been sent to take pictures of their Christmas night out.

Three of the Celtic squad, Joos Valgaeren and midfielders Johan Mjallby and Bobby Petta were taken into custody by police after it was claimed a camera was stolen and part of it thrown into the Tyne.

Record editor Peter Cox chose to cover the incident on the front page with pictures of the players and the club crest beneath the headline 'Thugs and Thieves'. Insiders have indicated that a number of senior members of staff advised against the potentially libellous move.

Sources suggest Northumberland police officers are to end their investigation into the fracas this week, and charges are unlikely. Detectives have described the matter as a 'storm in a teacup'.

Celtic Supporters Association general secretary Eddie Toner said: 'We believe that, even by its own guttersnipe standards, the Daily Record fell to an all-time low in the reporting of events surrounding the Christmas night out. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

'The association called for Celtic fans to boycott the Daily Record and I'm pleased many fans have stopped buying the paper.'

According to a senior source at Parkhead, lawyers acting for the Record have been in touch suggesting the situation could be defused with a deal. The source added that Celtic would decide what to do when police announced the results of their investigation. He said: 'They called them "thieves and thugs" and put the club crest next to that. We would have no hesitation in bringing an action on behalf of the club.'

Two major car sales companies are understood to have ditched lucrative advertising deals. Phoenix Honda has pulled advertisements worth a rumoured £2 million a year, while another prominent dealership is said to be considering a similar move. A spokesman for the Honda dealership maintains the decision was taken on commercial grounds.

Rangers and Celtic supporters have been outraged by the paper's coverage of a campaign by the Scottish Executive to clamp down on sectarianism, which they say has portrayed both sets of fans as mindless bigots.

Rangers fans' websites also sport the Daily Record masthead alongside words encouraging the team's followers to shun the publication.

Glasgow is the Record's heartland and any further circulation drop there could have disastrous implications for a paper that a few years ago sold more than 700,000 copies in Scotland. The downward trend has accelerated since Cox became editor in September 2000.

The Record remains the dominant title north of the border - officially selling 525,148 copies a day last month - but the Scottish edition of the Sun is edging up towards the 400,000 mark, from 350,000 in the 1990s.

One senior member of staff at the Record 's Clydeside headquarters said: 'The only question is who will reach the half million mark first - the Sun on the way up or the Record on the way down?'

Another added: 'It's like the last days of the Roman Empire in here just now. Everyone is worried about the future of a paper that plays a key role in shaping the politics and culture of Scotland.'

It has been a torrid month for Cox, who would not comment on the boycott when his office was contacted by The Observer. His staff voted to take industrial action over the threatened sacking of a senior production journalist two weeks ago. The strike was called off when the individual was moved to a new position.

Londoner Cox's style has never washed well with hardened Glasgow journalists and a series of editorial calls have embarrassed the paper. Legendary 'Cox-ups' include publishing a picture said to be of Prince William covered in foam only to discover the following day another St Andrews undergraduate had posed as the heir to the throne.

The paper was accused of inflaming racial tensions in Glasgow when it ran a story claiming murdered asylum-seeker Firsat Dag was an economic migrant.

There has also been an ongoing campaign against Scottish Socialist politician Tommy Sheridan - a former Record columnist - who has taken legal advice regarding articles about him.

A Mirror spokesman insisted Cox's job was not at risk, but rumours persist that the axe is about to fall. Craig McKenzie, brother of former Sun editor Kelvin, who edits the regional editions of the Mirror, is talked of as a potential replacement, but the frontrunner is the boss of the Record's sister publication, the Sunday Mail.

2/1/2003

UEFA Cup opponents win 3-1 at home.

Celtic's UEFA Cup opponents VfB Stuttgart beat Hertha Berlin today 3-1, the home sides goals came from Amanatidis 28,Hleb 68 & Ganea 90.

Beriln replied through a goal by Marcelinho on 80 minutes.

2/1/2003

Celtic's UEFA CUP opponents take lead in today's Bundesliga match.

VfB Stuttgart 1 Hertha Berlin 0 Amanatidis 28

2/1/2003

Hoops boss awaits UEFA hearing.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has called on UEFA to give him a fair hearing when he makes a personal appeal against a two-match touchline ban in Switzerland next week.

European football's governing body punished him after being sent to the stand by French referee Claude Colombo against Celta Vigo, but he was reinstated to the dug-out for the second leg of the tie in Spain.

O'Neill would miss both legs of the UEFA Cup tie against Stuttgart if his appeal fails but he is in confident mood and said: "I'm going to give them a good case.