CELTIC chief executive Michael Nicholson told fans during their meeting with the board on Monday that they “didn’t speak for all supporters”, official minutes have revealed.
The Celtic Fans Collective formed last month and stated its aim was to challenge the club’s hierarchy in the wake of what they saw as poor summer transfer dealings and a lack of communication from the top.
It came after Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League in the play-off round by Kazakh minnows Kairat Almaty.
After weeks of anti-board chants and banners both home and away – escalating to silent protests by the Green Brigade – pressure increased on the Parkhead leadership and they agreed to hold a meeting with the fans group this week.
That took place on Monday but those who attended left underwhelmed at best and even more angry at worst.
The Celtic Fans Collective blasted the board for lacking humility, awareness and accountability in a statement released the following night.
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Now the club itself has unveiled the official minutes of the meeting and one section describes how Nicholson tried to defend the board’s actions.
They were asked about the club’s now-infamous 1,000-word statement defending their transfer policy and taking aim at ‘inaccurate’ media reports, one which angered many fans.
According to the minutes, Nicholson “reminded CFC that they do not speak for all supporters”.
And in a further defence of the board, he claimed “some supporters defended the statement”.
As fans grew frustrated during the meeting, one representative said “responses to almost all queries were unsatisfactory”.
The minutes also note that: “Discussions were candid and wide-ranging but ultimately failed to produce any concrete outcomes or commitments from the club.”
Nicholson was joined by Chris McKay (chief football officer), John Paul Taylor (supporter liaison officer), Mark Hargreaves (head of safety and operations), Kevin McQuillan (head of commercial operations) and George Campbell (head of legal and governance) at the meeting.
The club have offered to have more meetings with the fans groups going forward.
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