It has been a point of contention for over 6 years as many shareholders want answers as to why the SFA granted a European licence to a failing football business back in 2011.
The Res12 site describes the motion as:
‘In simple terms it requested that Celtic ask UEFA to review the SFA’s licensing processes to establish if they fully complied with the then current Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.
‘The resolution does not mention Rangers, but the sentiment behind it came from a belief that there were serious doubts about the Club’s submissions and the SFA’s actions during the 2011/12 licensing round. If Rangers was only granted a UEFA Licence to play in the Champions League through their deliberate submission of inaccurate information, then Celtic , having finished second in the league, had effectively been denied a place in UEFA’s premier competition and any rewards that might have accrued from their participation.’
With the board and Dermot Desmond voting against the motion every year for Celtic to take the matter up with UEFA, today is no different with Celtic Chairman asking the shareholders to vote against the res 12 bill.
One shareholder in the AGM said as cited by RecordSport: “It’s an administrative and judicial mess from the SFA.
“We have been waiting for answers in years and this board maintains we should leave this in SFA hands.
“Is the board crazy?”
Ian Bankier’s response to this was:
“Peter (Lawwell) raised the core issue in 2011 and 2012 before the original Resolution 12 in 2013.
“The club has communicated with shareholders on a regular basis, and has communicated with UEFA and the SFA over our shareholders’ concerns. UEFA confirmed that there was no basis to investigate further.
“The club called on the SFA in 2017 to hold a review into all licensing processes. Regrettably the SFA declined hold such a review.
“Understand the long and complex investigation into the licensing issue remains ongoing.
“The shareholders thoughts come first and foremost but this has been a matter for the football authorities.
“Celtic’s best bet is to focus on Celtic.”
This will rumble on for years with the Res 12 shareholders not taking no for an answer.
It hasn’t been a very eventful AGM so far with the club doing so well on the field, there’s little to argue over.
Neil Lennon got a great applause when he entered the room to begin the AGM this morning.
The other notable thing was Dermot actually sending a family proxy to the meeting with his son filling in for him. Desmond hasn’t been at an AGM since 2006 and continues to let the day to day running of the club be managed by the chief executive.
Still to come during the AGM would be the Green Brigades ban and potential further sanctions, we’ll bring this to you when it’s brought up.
