Scotland Remain Unbeaten After Sweeping Aside Belarus
Scotland maintained their unbeaten start in their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after a workmanlike 2-0 victory over Belarus. Despite it being an away match, Belarus are under a UEFA sanction which forbids them hosting any games, as well as playing any in front of fans. This meant that the game was held in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, in front of a crowd of 0. Goals from Che Adams and an own goal from Belarusian defender Zakhar Volkov were all that was needed for Scotland, in what was a very convincing performance as they picked up all the points in their second qualifier of the campaign. Scotland lived up to their tags as favourites and imposed themselves in the opening quarter of an hour. It looked like Billy Gilmour may have won a penalty 15 minutes in, but the referee and VAR correctly awarded a Belarus goal kick. Just two minutes later, the Napoli midfielder chested down a cross from Ben Gannon Doak and fired a half volley goal wards from the edge of the box, but this was saved by Fedor Lapoukhov. Gilmour’s club teammate and Ballon D’Or nominee Scott McTominay came even closer just on the half hour mark, where he got onto the end of Max Johnston’s first time lobbed cross, but his stabbed effort went wide of the mark. Gilmour again nearly gave Scotland the lead with a low bullet being saved onto the post just minutes before the half time break, but from this the ball broke to John McGinn, who curled a cross in from wide right, which was met by McTominay who headed it across the six yard box for Torino forward Che Adams to slide on to as the two Serie A players linked up to put the Scots ahead just before half time. The workmanlike performance continued from Scotland as they continued to impose themselves on the game, with McTominay putting a trademark leaping header straight down the Belarus keeper’s throat eight minutes after the restart. But the two goal cushion came 25 minutes from time, with Gilmour and Adams playing a neat one-two, finalised with a Gilmour header being knocked into the Belarus net by Volkov. Che Adams could’ve had a double on the 81st minute. The striker, who scored his 10th goal for his national side tonight, opted to round the goalkeeper after a zipped ball into his feet from captain Andy Robertson, with the resulting effort cleared off the line by Pavel Zabelin. Scotland now have 4 points from their opening two matches, tonight and a resolute 0-0 draw away to Denmark, and have a great opportunity in the October international break to stamp their authority on the shaping of the group with a Hampden double header against Greece and Belarus respectively. SCOTLAND: Gunn 6, Robertson 7, McKenna 7, Souttar 6, Johnston 6 (Hickey 2), Ferguson 6, Gilmour 8 (McLean 1), McGinn 7, McTominay 7 (Miller 1), Doak 8 (Christie 2), Adams 7 (Dykes 1) BELARUS: Lapoukhov 6, Pechenin 5 (Malkevich 2), Zabelin 6, Volkov 4 (Demchenko 2), Parkhomenko 5, Karpovich 4 (Pigas 5), Ebong 5, Kalinin 6, Myakish 5 (Gromyko 3), Barkovskiy 5, Malashevich 4 (Melnichenko 4)
‘My situation at the club is complicated’ – Nico Raskin breaks silence on Rangers future
Nico Raskin breaks his silence on his Rangers future as he vows to fight for a place in Russell Martin’s team. It’s been a rocky start to the season at Ibrox for Raskin as he was bombed out of the squad for the Light Blues’ Old Firm clash. The 24-year-old wasn’t training with the first team before the derby but the Rangers boss has denied there has been a breakdown in their relationship. The midfielder was able to put his issues at the Govan club behind him, as he scored his first goal for Belgium in their 6-0 victory against Kazakhstan. Raskin is set for showdown talks with Martin and Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell after the international break. The former Standard Liege man told Belgian media outlet Voetbalkrant that his situation at the Ibrox club is complicated but doesn’t want to leave anytime soon: “My situation at the club is complicated. I will return, work hard, and try to get playing time again. “But it’s not just up to me. I know this is an important year, and I absolutely want to be part of this campaign with Belgium. “Football is simply a game of ups and downs. I absolutely love Rangers. “I’ve had some great moments there and have a strong bond with the fans. I always try to give my all. “A transfer? No, that’s out of the question. I want to continue to resolve this at the club.” Martin’s side have a huge week ahead of them, as they have an all important league fixture coming up against Hearts at Ibrox as they seek to get their first league win of the season.
Celtic Football Club Statement
Following constructive meetings yesterday (Friday) with representatives of the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters’ Clubs and the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters’ Clubs, the Club thanks them for conveying the concerns of their members, and Celtic supporters more widely. The Club takes Celtic supporters’ views extremely seriously, and the Club understands the concerns and frustrations which have arisen. We are listening to the views expressed by our supporters, welcome dialogue and we are always willing to learn lessons. The Club is committed to engagement with supporters, and we will work hard to address the concerns and frustrations that have been raised. Achieving success on the field of play underpins everything we do. The Club’s strategy over many years has been dedicated to that objective, and we will always strive to achieve it. Celtic supporters play an integral part in the success of the Club, and we are committed to delivering success for them. Transfer activity attracts enormous attention and speculation, particularly across social media, and the mainstream media has commoditised the transfer window in its relentless search for content. In connection with Celtic, we recognise that debate around this subject reflects the passion of our supporters. Unfortunately, as is often the case in the media and social media, there is inaccurate or misleading information in circulation. It is clear, from our meetings with supporters’ representatives and from feedback from supporters in recent weeks, that supporters seek clarity. We would, therefore, like to address several key points directly. Like every supporter, we are ambitious for Celtic. Our shared objective is football success – to succeed in Scotland and to compete in the Champions League. We are disappointed, this season, not to compete in the Champions League, but we are determined to succeed both domestically and in Europe. However, the Club must adhere to our self-sustaining model: to protect the present and secure the future, ensuring Celtic remains strong for generations to come. The Club’s model has been developed and applied over many years, and during that period the Club has enjoyed a sustained period of success and growth. Further, the Club’s model is not optional – it is now essential as a consequence of the UEFA Sustainability Regulations, with which the Club must comply. Wages and transfer spending are strictly governed by UEFA’s regulations, which effectively cap wages and transfer spending as a proportion of our revenues. Importantly, the Club’s cash reserves are not relevant to the assessment of this de facto spending cap for the purposes of the UEFA regulations. Therefore, all investment decisions must be, and are, guided by responsible forecasts of future revenues and cash flow, which by their nature are volatile. We can never compromise the financial integrity of the Club. In short, throwing money at transfers and contracts is not a sustainable route to success, as many other clubs have found to the detriment of their supporters. Over many years, careful management of the Club’s model has allowed the Club to remain debt-free and to build strong cash reserves. It is important to remain disciplined in our approach. The cash reserves reflected in our accounts exist for the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club and to manage the inherent volatility within football. These funds are used in a measured fashion for investment in recruitment, infrastructure, and long-term development. We will always listen to our supporters, who have the Club’s interests at heart, in how we can continue to develop the Club within these parameters. The Club plans our recruitment and player trading strategy responsibly and consistently, ensuring the squad can be strengthened for the short, medium and long term, while also seeking to ensure the development and progression of our Academy players. Our objective is to create Champions League players. The recruitment process includes the identification of players, and the conclusion of the transfer. Ultimately, once a player has been identified, confirmed by the football manager and it is then supported by the Board in line with the Club’s financial model, the Club will pursue that target to seek to conclude the transfer within our agreed parameters. Importantly, our ability to progress transfers is not conditional on Champions League qualification. We recognise the importance of timing. Our clear goal is to secure new signings as early in each transfer window as possible, so that players can integrate quickly and contribute from the outset of the season. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to conclude transfers, either within the timescales that we target, or at all. There are many factors and challenges at play in the global transfer market, many of which are outwith the Club’s control, including selling clubs seeking fees beyond our valuation or waiting until the end of the transfer window to seek the maximum price, and players choosing to join another club or requesting contractual terms we cannot responsibly meet within our financial model. It is not always possible to achieve all of the objectives set within a transfer window, and that is regrettable. We share our supporters’ disappointment, and we will always continue to review and seek to improve our strategy and execution. Successful transfers can only be negotiated privately. It would be impossible to secure players if every stage were conducted in public. From time to time, other parties may also seek to create pressure by leaking information to the media. The Club’s position is clear: transfer business will remain confidential until agreements are concluded and announced by the club. It follows, therefore, that much of what is written in the media or online about our transfer dealings is inaccurate. We also understand that this leads to frustration among supporters. While we cannot comment during ongoing negotiations, we are exploring ways to seek to address the gap between speculation and reality once each transfer window closes, in order to improve clarity for our supporters. We thank Celtic supporters for their unmatched passion and commitment. We all share the same ambition: to see Celtic succeed on the pitch while remaining strong and secure off it. We hope this statement provides clarity about our transfer policy and reassurance of
