Man denies chasing and punching Celtic star Scott Brown

By Michael MacLeod

A MAN has appeared in court charged with attacking Celtic midfielder Scott Brown.

Mark Richardson, 22, is said to have chased after the 24 year-old in Edinburgh on Saturday and punched him “repeatedly” on the head.

Mr Richardson, of Edinburgh, appeared from custody at the capital’s Sheriff Court today (Mon) and denied beach of the peace and assault charges.

He also denied that he had breached a bail condition imposed on October 19.

The Scotland football international is said to have been chased and hit in the city’s Grindlay Street.

Big Jock’s first medal for sale

By Paul Thornton

CELTIC legend Jock Stein’s first ever medal for the club is to be auctioned next month.

The 1953-54 Scottish Cup medal was Stein’s first major honour during his five-year playing career with the Parkhead club.

The gold medal – which was presented following Celtic’s two-nil win over Aberdeen – is expected to fetch as much as £5,500 when it is sold in an auction in London.

It was displayed during a showing of the auction lots at The Highland Centre at Ingliston, near Edinburgh.

It is also available for public viewing today and has a guide price of between £3,500 and £5,500.

The medal is being auctioned by Convery Auction Limited and will be sold at an auction at Lords Cricket Ground on November 16.

Tragic Phil’s mercy-man escapes medic ban

By Rory Reynolds

A PARAMEDIC who was among the first to treat tragic Motherwell FC legend Phil O’Donnell on the day he collapsed and died has avoided being struck-off despite refusing to respond to emergency calls.

William Munro faced being banned from work after he refused to respond to separate mercy pleas from two OAPs in April 2006.

He said that he was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder after twice being confronted by blade wielding patients who he was trying to help – including one with a Samurai – and was “anxious” at responding to calls while on a single-man shift.

Following the refusal Munro was suspended by the Scottish Ambulance Service before he joined a private paramedic firm that attends sporting events – including the tragic match which saw the former Celtic idol pass-away.

Own goal as Celtic ‘keeper gets speeding penalty

By Michael MacLeod

CELTIC goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska has been hit with a fine for speeding near Edinburgh Zoo.
A speed camera caught the 27 year-old Poland international hitting 41mph in a 30mph zone on the capital’s Corstorphine Road on January 21 this year.

This week he admitted that he had been driving a car over the speed limit.

The Parkhead number two managed to keep a clean sheet in his side’s 4-0 win over Falkirk in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Wednesday night.

But yesterday (Thurs) he got three penalty points on his licence at Edinburgh’s Justice of the Peace Court.

Ex-Livi chief moves out of plush New Town des res

By Alexander Lawrie

DISGRACED former Livingston boss Angelo Massone has finally left the building.

The Italian businessman, who only sold his shares in the West Lothian club last week, has moved out of his plush flat in the exclusive New Town area of Edinburgh.

Mr Massone was paying a whopping rent of £1950 per month for the three-floor Georgian townhouse.

He also had to shell out the added expense of a monthly council tax bill and a £140 parking permit for the up-market area.

A source confirmed the furnished house was, until very recently, rented by the former football chairman.

Globetrotting Scot dies in Vietnam

By ALEXANDER LAWRIE

TRIBUTES have been paid to a globetrotting Scot who has died after a fall in Vietnam.

Charlie Gallagher, 39, from Inverkeithing, Fife, is thought to have tripped and fallen while at home in Ho Chi Min City on June 7.

He was rushed to the city’s main hospital but died the following day after failing to regain consciousness.

Mr Gallagher had lived in the city, also known as Saigon, for around four years and had built up a large group of local and ex-pat friends.

His family has paid tribute to the adventurous Scot, while friends have set up a Facebook remembrance page which has been inundated with heartfelt messages.

Rod Stewart calls for manager with Hoops roots

By Michael MacLeod

CELTIC-DAFT Rod Stewart phoned the club Board to tell them the ex-Hoops star HE thinks they should hire to take over as next team boss at Parkhead.

The wrinkly rocker called up chairman John Reid and co in a bid to convince them to land the mystery former player on Monday.

A string of names have been linked with the Hoops since Gordon Strachan’s departure, only for them to rule themselves out of the job.

Now frustrated chief executive Peter Lawwell’s Board are getting tips from the 64-year-old Maggie May singer who once let Celtic play in his garden.

Senior Scottish minister blasts Old Firm thugs as “barbaric”

By Michael MacLeod

OLD Firm football thugs who beat their wives have been slated as “barbaric” by a senior Government minister ahead of Saturday’s potentially explosive SPL title deciding clash at Ibrox.

Communities Minister Alex Neil revealed yesterday that an advertising campaign will be run on TV before, during and after the Rangers v Celtic match being shown live on Setanta specifically targeted to highlight a proven rise in complaints of domestic abuse centred around the Glasgow derby.

Electronic advertising hoardings around the perimeter of the pitch at Rangers ground Ibrox hosting the match will also carry the message: ‘There’s no excuse for domestic abuse’.

MSP Neil revealed that shameful domestic abuse attacks jumped by a staggering 88 per-cent to 231 cases on the last Old Firm matchday in March, sparking demands from police to the Scottish Government that ‘something has to be done.’

CAMPAIGN: Alex Neil, Communities Minister

And Mr Neil, unveiling a new report yesterday, admitted he worries for the wives and partners of drunken football yobs.

Evidence

He said: “We are doing extra this weekend around the Old Firm game because we have very clear evidence that around the game there is an increase in domestic abuse, particularly in the West coast.

“We are deliberately segmenting the message to men and women before and after the game. There’s absolutely nothing worse than for a woman to live in fear of her partner and we take a zero tolerance approach to violence against women, especially drunken violence.

“This is the 21st Century, Scotland is a modern nation and it is absolutely barbaric to engage in domestic abuse, which is one of the worst forms of violence in our society.”

Super-fit Scot battles back to full fitness

By Alexander Lawrie

A SUPER-FIT Scot who collapsed on the football pitch five years ago with a rare heart condition has battled his way back to full fitness to climb Africa’s highest mountain all in the name of charity.

Scott Fleming, 31, from Armadale, West Lothian, has been in two comas, flat-lined an amazing seven times and had to overcome two life-threatening illnesses as he slipped closer to death.

Scott preceded the current crop of celebs trying to climb Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief, and raised thousands of pounds for charity as he scaled the 19,330ft peak,

His strenuous efforts on the arduous trek were his way of showing the world he is back to full health.

The design technician is now hoping to complete bagging all of Scotland’s 284 Munros over the next few years and has already made plans about embarking on his next dangerous charity expedition.

Scott first fell ill in December 2004 when he collapsed on the football pitch while playing in a local amateur match.

Paramedics rushed to the scene and battled to save Scott’s life after the midfielder suddenly fell into a coma while out on the pitch.

Scott was rushed to hospital where he underwent a lifesaving operation.

After undergoing life-threatening heart surgery, Scott was diagnosed with the extremely rare heart condition Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

Incredibly, just a couple of months later as Scott was still recuperating at home he was struck down with another serious health problem.

The staunch Celtic supporter had had a tube placed down his throat after the heart operation but the inside of his throat was damaged and became infected.

Scott’s throat then started to close up and he was forced to have a tracheotomy which resulted in him losing his voice for over a year.

He then had to endure another dangerous operation to stretch his windpipe back into its proper shape.

Scott was then placed in a coma for the next five days so the medical team could carry out check-ups and make sure his throat was healing properly.

He said: “When I was ill and had my heart operation, I had a tube down my throat and as a result of that the inside of my throat got scratched, became infected and my throat began to close over.

“I had to have a tracheotomy which meant I lost my voice for 14 months, and then they operated to stretch my windpipe back into shape.

“I was in a coma for five days after that so they could do check-ups and make sure it was healing properly.”

But in just a few years, Scott has forced his way back to full fitness, and is using his newfound strength to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Scott travelled out to Tanzania in February to attempt the climb of a lifetime, and was delighted to be one of only seven people out of the original 25-strong team to complete the challenge.

The Armadale man’s efforts raised over £3200 for the cerebral palsy charity Scope.

He said: “I am now 100 per cent healthy and I thought, since I’d fancied doing the Kilimanjaro climb before I became ill, it would be a good way for me to prove to myself and everybody else that I’m fully fit again.

“It took us four-and-a-half days to get to the top and only seven of us made it all the way up.

“A lot of people were badly affected by the altitude, but I was lucky enough that I was ok and reached the top.

“I even managed to phone my fiancée Sarah about half way up the mountain to tell her everything was alright.

“It was all an amazing experience.”

And Scott says he is giving serious thought to his next fundraising challenge.

“I’d like to do another challenge in the future,” he said.

“I’ve got the travel bug now and knowing that you’re doing something that’s helping someone else is definitely a bonus.”

Aspiring model killed in horror road smash

By Alexander Lawrie

AN ASPIRING young male model has been killed in a horror road smash.

Matthew De Busk, 17, who recently travelled to London to appear in a professional modeling shoot, lost control of his Volkswagen Polo and careered into a tree near Aberlady, East Lothian.

His 17-year-old passenger was rushed to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary after the crash on Friday evening, but is thought to be not seriously injured.

The road between Gullane and Aberlady was closed for around four hours as accident investigators examined the scene.

Within hours of his death friends inundated his Bebo site with messages of love and support for his family.

One friend, Pinkie, wrote: “RIP Matt, you will be truly missed by all & loved always forever.”

While another simply states: “Why do the best die young? It’s so unfair. You’re going to be missed dearly, dude.”

A keen music fan, Matt was a regular at the music festival T in the Park and loved bands such as ACDC, Metallica and Nirvana.

The wannabe model also enjoyed playing online poker with his friends.

A police spokesperson said: “We would be keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed this collision.”

The accident came just hours before another fatality on Scotland’s roads when 16-year-old sports student Danny McQueen perished in a crash in Dumfries.

The black Honda Civic he was travelling in smashed into a tree around 12.40 on Saturday morning.

The youngster was on a night out with four friends when the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle.

Two of his pals were left fighting for their lives after the smash which left debris on the road for over 50 metres.  Accident investigators examining the remains of the vehicle said they were amazed only one person was killed.

The Celtic fan had just returned from a skiing holiday in Bulgaria.

The four survivors were taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and the road was closed for over 12 hours as investigators carried their enquiries.