Celtic FC was said to be inextricably linked to the Celtic Boys Club

The Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football has concluded that big clubs cannot distance themselves from abuse that took place within affiliated feeder clubs.

Celtic Boys Club is not mentioned by name in the report, but its authors are satisfied that it was “inextricably” linked with Celtic FC when widespread sexual abuse, which has resulted in a series of recent convictions, took place.

The Times understands that senior figures in the review team have made this clear, in explicit terms, to Celtic FC.

The Parkhead club maintains that the boys’ club was a separate entity and, as such, it has no legal culpability. That stance is undermined in the interim report of the Independent Review of Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football, which was