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As a "separate legal entity", the club accepts no responsibility for the actions of Torbett, McCafferty, King or anyone else. Lawyers pursuing the civil action on behalf of the 21 say they are determined to "knock down the defensive wall" that the parent club have erected in order to protect its reputation.
作為“獨立法人”，俱樂部對托貝特、麥考夫迪、金或其他任何人的行為概不負責。代表這21人提起民事訴訟的律師們表示，他們決心“推倒”俱樂部為保護其聲譽而豎起的“防御墻”。
On the walls of the main meeting room at Thompsons Solicitors in Glasgow's Bath Street are framed photographs of trade union banners from the glory days of the Scottish labour movement. They are a reminder that much of the law firm's work concerns industrial injury: they have sought compensation for retired workers from shipyards, docks and building industries whose lives were blighted by asbestosis. In recent years, Thompsons has taken up the fight for the survivors of child sexual abuse.
在格拉斯哥巴斯街的湯姆森律師事務所，主會議室的墻上掛著鑲有鏡框的蘇格蘭勞工運動輝煌時期工會橫幅的照片。它們提醒人們該律師事務所的大部分工作都與工傷有關：他們曾為造船廠、碼頭和建筑行業的那些生活受到石棉肺影響的退休工人尋求賠償。近年來，湯普森開始為兒童性虐待的幸存者們而戰。
Patrick McGuire, a veteran of industrial injury cases, is the senior lawyer in the Boys Club case. "When you look in the archives at The Celtic View, you see regular processions of Boys Club players on the field in front of crowds at Celtic Park," McGuire said. "It is obvious there was no distinction whatsoever. The club's in-house newspaper talks about the Boys Club being 'part of the Celtic family' and one former manager described the youth side as the 'base of the pyramid' of the entire club."
帕特里克·麥圭爾是處理工傷案件的老手，也是男孩俱樂部一案的高級律師。麥圭爾說：“在‘凱爾特觀點’查看檔案時，你會發現男孩俱樂部的球員會定期在凱爾特公園人群前的球場上列隊。很明顯兩者之間沒有任何區別。俱樂部的內部報紙稱男孩俱樂部是‘凱爾特人家庭的一部分’，一位前經理形容青年隊是整個俱樂部的‘金字塔的底部’。”
For the survivors and their families, the long fight for justice has been punishing. Michelle Gray and her mother, Helen, say they have been subject to a campaign of intimidation over the last two years for daring to speak out against the club. The threats started when they attended Torbett's second trial in 2018. "One big man among Torbett's supporters outside the courtroom even said out loud that my mother and me were 'dirty lying bastards.' This was in October 2018," she recalled. "This was Torbett's second conviction and there were still people turning up to support him. We were stared at and heard them say that Andy was a 'dirty lying bastard' even though my brother was already dead."
對于幸存者和他們的家人來說，為正義而進行的長期斗爭是一種懲罰。米歇爾·格雷和她的母親海倫說，在過去的兩年里，他們因為敢于公開反對俱樂部而受到威脅。這些威脅始于2018年他們參加托貝特的第二次審判。“托貝特支持者里的一個大個子甚至在法庭外大聲說我和母親是‘骯臟的撒謊的混蛋’。那是2018年10月，”她回憶說。“那是托貝特第二次被定罪，但仍有人站出來支持他。我們被盯著看，聽到他們說安迪是個‘骯臟的撒謊的混蛋’，雖然我的弟弟已經死了。”
The trolling and social ostracisation of the Gray family has continued. Michelle's car has been vandalised. "When we went public and said we were joining the civil action against Celtic, I received a death threat on the phone. The level of abuse on social media over the last few months has also been appalling. People have even blanked my mother, who is in her 70s, on the street."
對格雷家族的挑釁和社會排斥仍在繼續。米歇爾的車被破壞了。“當我們公開宣布我們將加入對凱爾特的民事訴訟時，我接到了一個死亡威脅電話。過去幾個月社交媒體上的虐待程度也令人震驚，甚至在街上有人對我70多歲的母親視而不見。”
For Gordon Woods, the toll of this battle for justice has been enormous. "Since this all began in September 2019 with me contacting Thompsons, I have gone from weighing 75 kilos to 55 kilos. I went to the doctors, got all kinds of tests and the results came back, there was nothing physically wrong with me. The GP agreed it could only be one thing – pure stress. But the stresses and pressures are not going to stop me. I have been quiet for 50 years, so I am not going to stop now. I am not going to be silenced by anyone any more."
對戈登·伍茲來說這場正義之戰的代價是巨大的。“自2019年9月我聯系湯普森開始這一切以來，我的體重從75公斤減到了55公斤。我去看了醫生，做了各種檢查，結果出來了，我的身體沒有任何問題。全科醫生認為這可能只有一個原因——純粹的壓力。但是壓力也阻止不了我。我已經沉默了50年，現在我不會放棄，沒有人能夠讓我再次沉默。”
