‘Talented kids lost to game’ because of Celtic Boys Club paedo Frank Cairney
One sex abuse victim - who reported twisted Cairney alongside Parkhead hero Johnny Doyle - claims the 83-year-old's sick 'tampering' with boys made them chuck in training with the youth club
A SEX abuse victim who suffered at the hands of Frank Cairney claims Celtic Boys Club lost out on talented kids because of the twisted paedo.
The former youth player, who we are not naming, was abused when he was 12-years-old and again at the age of 15.
The man – who reported Cairney alongside late Parkhead hero Johnny Doyle - thinks the club stopped producing star players like Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain because Cairney "was tampering with talented boys and they'd chuck it".
It comes as the beast, 83, was jailed for four years yesterday at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
Watch Celtic Boys beast Frank Cairney’s reaction when asked if there was a ‘paedophile ring’ at the club
The victim, a lifelong Hoops fan, told the Scottish Sun he asked Cairney why the Glasgow giants were no longer producing stars as they had done in the past.
He recalled: “I bumped into Frank years later and I asked him what was happening at Celtic Boys’ Club.
“He asked, ‘What do you mean?’
“I said ten years ago you had Danny McGrain, Kenny Dalglish and Lou Macari coming through – all the Quality Street Kids - but there’s nobody coming through now.
“Frank said, ‘That’s because they’re all like you – they all want a fag, a pint and a bird and that’s what we’re up against’.
“I thought to myself - ‘Aye right, Frank.’
“It was more likely he was tampering with them and they would chuck it.
“I’m convinced there were a lot of talented boys wasted to the game because of Frank Cairney.”
The man - now a dad and grandad - had been turning out for St Columba’s Boys Guild in Viewpark, Lanarkshire, in the late 1960s when team boss Cairney targeted him.
But he revealed he is still haunted by memories of the night Cairney said he was quitting.
We told earlier how the monster footie coach joined Celtic Boys Club just two days after a priest was warned he was a child abuser.
The perv’s announcement he was taking charge of nurturing youths for Hoops glory stunned players from his local side — including the lad who had reported his vile sex attacks.
The victim recalled: “At that point I remember thinking, ‘He’s just shut down the shop and opened up a sweetie factory.’”
He’d been turning out for St Columba’s Boys Guild in Viewpark, Lanarkshire, in the late 1960s when team boss Cairney targeted him.
The boy went with tragic Celtic hero Johnny Doyle, who was then a former teammate, to tell another coach, Mick McCormick, that Cairney had molested him.
It’s believed the boys guild’s chaplain, Father Kelly, was then informed of the allegations.
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Despite this, months later Cairney saw his achievements at the club being celebrated at an awards ceremony attended by Fr Kelly, then Celtic manager Jock Stein and several of the Parkhead outfit’s stars.
The events leading up to the star-studded leaving do were yesterday described as “disturbing” by Daniel Kelly QC as he caged Cairney, 83.
The lawman said: “It is disturbing that when some of the boys did have the courage to speak, the matter was addressed by you not having any involvement in the church team — and you were free to move to Celtic Boys Club and even received a send-off.”
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