In resigning as chairman of struggling Scottish powerhouse Glasgow Celtic, Peter Lawwell cited “insults and threats” from the team’s supporters.
Lawwell said on Wednesday he would leave Celtic, where he had been chairman and chief operating officer for 18 years, at the end of the month. Hours later, Celtic’s crisis deepened with a fourth straight defeat for new head coach Wilfried Nancy, a former CF Montreal head coach who was recruited from the Columbus Crew.
Lawwell said Wednesday that he and his family were the targets of “abuse and threats” of an “intolerable” level.
Celtic supporters have criticized the Lawwell board for failing to invest enough in recruiting players during the off-season and then failing to qualify for the Champions League in August by losing to Kairat Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Head coach Brendan Rodgers then resigned in October due to apparent tensions with the board.
Celtic, who have won 13 of the last 14 Scottish Championship titles, were trounced by Hearts and are in danger of failing to qualify for the knockout stage of the Europa League, Europe’s second biggest club competition.
He also left an influential position in the organization of the Champions League.
The European Football Clubs (EFC) group, recently renamed from the European Club Association, said on Thursday it was “working with Peter to arrange a smooth transition of his roles and responsibilities within the EFC”.
Lawwell was one of four vice-presidents working with EFC leader Nasser Al-Khelaïfi and also sat on the board of UC3, an investment company bringing together clubs and UEFA which decides the multi-billion dollar commercial strategy for the Champions League and other competitions.
