PARKHEAD PARANOIA

PARANOIA, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a mental derangement, which, especially in chronic forms, is characterised by delusions.

I thought it would be useful to clarify the exact meaning of the word before exploring examples of paranoia raging around various websites in the last few days.

It would seem Celtic supporters are deluding themselves into believing the club they support has always been treated badly by the Scottish Football Association.

Indeed, the Celtic Underground site went so far as to say that the SFA has always been governed by people with an anti-Celtic bias.

That is a serious allegation. It is also  the delusion of chronic paranoia.

For a start, of all the people who are both employed by the SFA , and who make up the reprepresentation from clubs and other bodies, who would appear to be the best paid.?

That might well prove to be Eric Riley, who is the Celtic executive director of finance, and who earned, according to accounts in the public domain, £222, 765 last year. That's more than new SFA chief executive Stewart Regan has signed up for.

Riley has been the Glasgow Association's member on the SFA for many years, and sits on two of its most powerful bodies. He is vice chairman of the Disciplinary Committee and a member of the Appeals Committee, and has previously been the vice chairman of the General Purposes Committee, which has a wide range of powers..

There is of course nothing wrong, or in any way improper, about that. In fact, it is both right and proper that a club such as Celtic should be represented and have its voice heard at the highest level of the game.

Celtic supporters though, blinded by their delusions, cannot see the influence Riley has at that rarified level.

They also seem to be suffering from amnesia. For instance, though the latter half of the 1990s and into the 21st Century,  a Celtic director - indeed a one time Celtic chairman - Jack McGinn, sat at the pinnacle of Scottish football's power structure as the President of the Scottish Football Association.

Such was his power that his reign extended even beyond the normal two terms in office. A sort of SFA FDR is you like.

McGinn was therefore one of the most powerful and influential figures in Scottish football....ever!

The Scottish Football Association, over which former Celtic chairman McGinn ruled for longer than other presidents, and where Celtic's highly paid director of finance, Riley, sits on one powerful committee, is the vice chairman of another, and has occupied that position on a third, can therefore not be said, by any rational person, to be governed now, or in the past, by people with an anti-Celtic bias.

To go even further back, probably the most influential of all Scottish Football Association presidents I can recall was that towering figure from Celtic's history, Bob Kelly, whose trenchant statements in the 1960s were viewed as the authentic voice of Scottish football.

In fact, both then and now, it could be claimed that of all of Scotland's major clubs, Celtic have been the most influential .

And yet the Parkhead paranoia continues, with a letter from Joe O'Rourke of the Celtic Supporters Association on that group's behalf, and also speaking for the Celtic Trust, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters Clubs and the North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs, having been sent to Celtic saying that they are all 100per cent behind Celtic's campaign.

What campaign would that be? For we have heard nothing - open and above board and on the record - from either Celtic chairman Lord Reid, or chief executive Peter Lawwell, about any Celtic campaign.

It was a point well made in his Monday column in the Record by Jim Traynor when he called for these two powerbrokers to make a statement.

Celtic's fans have shown no such reticence, and the Celtic Supporters Association went on to reveal that a number of organisations of Celtic supporters hope to meet in the next few days to discuss and decide on the way forward.

As for Celtic Football Club, it will be represented at Hampden later this week as part of a previously arranged meeting between the clubs and the SFA.

It is not known if Celtic director and SFA member Eric Riley will ride the two horses at the meeting, or if Reid or Lawwell will attend.

Hampden is also the venue for some wild calls out there in cyberspace for Celtic supporters to descend upon and stage a protest  on Saturday.

There is though one website point which  deserves careful attention and thought. The Huddleboard claims  Celtic supporters have been denied an independent investigation into refereeing in Scotland.

Actually I think such an independent probe would be a good thing, as I am sure its findings would once again reveal the true level of paranoia.

It would have to be conducted by someone with impeccable refereeing credentials, who understood written and spoken English, in order that there could be no misunderstandings. England therefore appears to be the obvious place to look for a likely candidate.

Maybe someone like....Jeff Winter?