Celtic cleaner sacked for transfer list leak says she's not Lennoxtown mole

Publish date: 2024-05-07

A cleaner sacked by Celtic has denied leaking the club’s apparent transfer plans.

Shocked gran Maureen Quinn, whose security guard son was suspended, says they are being made scapegoats.

Celtic took action during the hunt for the mole who leaked what are alleged to have been documents outlining transfer plans for the summer.

Maureen, 57, was hauled in for a meeting at Parkhead yesterday and told she was being dismissed with immediate effect.

Hours earlier, her son Edward Quinn, 30, was suspended from his security job at the club’s Lennoxtown training centre.

The devoted Hoops fan denies any wrongdoing and faces a meeting next week to learn his fate.

Last night, gran Maureen hit out at club bosses and insisted she and her son had been made “scapegoats”. She denies any involvement and plans to slap her former employer with an unfair dismissal case.

Celtic took action against the Quinns following a hunt to find who leaked the transfer dossier on social media.

The mother and son told the Record how they and other staff members were taken in for a grilling by the head of security and a club lawyer.

Read More

They said CCTV footage at Lennoxtown had been examined in a bid to identify the culprit.

Leaked earlier this month, the document appeared to come from a high-level meeting in April and seemingly pinpointed players Celtic wanted to keep and others they would be willing to offload.

Boss Neil Lennon has previously hit out at leaks from inside Lennoxtown regarding team news.

Maureen, who lives in Glasgow’s Drumchapel with taxi driver husband Eddie said: “It’s a disgrace.

“I’ve done nothing wrong and I’m getting blamed for whatever this is. I know my son would do nothing wrong either. We’re just scapegoats. I want to clear my name.”

She added: “They pulled me in three times for meetings about this.

“In my job at Lennoxtown, I empty bins and take them to the bin room on a trolley. I think they believe I’ve went through the bins and found this paper, gave it to my son and he’s photographed it.

“I support Celtic because my son and husband do but I couldn’t name half their players. I couldn’t care less what’s on a bit of paper.”

Mum of two Maureen has worked at Lennoxtown since September 2017. Of her sacking, she added: “I was in tears. I’m gutted and sick for Edward, too.”

Read More

Edward has been employed by Celtic since 2008, stewarding games then moving on to security work at Lennoxtown.

He said: “About 30 people work at the training centre. Celtic had a club lawyer and head of security question everyone in the building on their own. They got me and my mum back in for second interviews.

“They showed me a photo of a hand holding a piece of paper. My boss said, ‘I think they look like your nails’. I showed them my nails, which aren’t as short as those in the photo.

“They also referred to me going into the football admin office on the morning of the Scottish Cup Final on May 25. I was on shift and have texts to show I was asking people if they had a phone charger. I went in that office looking for one.”

Edward, from Barrhead, near Glasgow, lives with his partner Donna, 32, who is expecting their first child together in six weeks.

Edward added: “It sounds like I’m getting the sack. I love my team and my job. People say I have a dream job and it’s true. I’d never jeopardise that. I’ve got a baby coming and this is the last thing I need.”

A Celtic spokesman said: “This is an internal matter. We are satisfied that the club has acted appropriately.”

Top news stories today

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCrnZOkv6V6wqhlrqNfo7K4v46smqispJ7AqXnNnq6sZ5OaubW1wmaapZ2Ro7KzedKamqSdlGLBs63NrJ2eql2htrTAjGptbmpgaX16

ncG1vNJzZmiuoKvCb63MrGpnnJmctrWty6ianpmeqL2ir8SsZZynnWShs7HNnaCnn1%2BYsq3AyJxknKSVlrumvoysmJyjlZl6p7vRZqurmZ6os6a%2BjKWgrKxdobKit4ysmLKrXai1pnnSZqWorF2hsq%2B6zrGrqK%2BeYrqwuMRmbGloYWV7qcDMpQ%3D%3D