REST IN PEACE 

Celtic pay tribute after death of former player Chris Shevlane who joined weeks after 1967 European Cup win

CELTIC have announced the passing of former player Chris Shevlane.

The former right-back, who was 80, made three appearances as part of Jock Stein’s European Cup winning squad in the 1967-68 season.

Shevlane, who signed for the Hoops from Hearts just weeks after the Lisbon glory, left for Hibs in 1969, then later played for Morton before retiring in the mid-70s.

A Celts statement said: “The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with Chris’ family and friends at this extremely sad time.”

Shevlane only signed for Celtic after being released by Hearts due to concerns over an arthritic ankle, with doctors advising him to give up playing altogether.

He ignored that advice and took up swimming to work on his fitness before the legendary Stein offered him a new start at Parkhead and he acted as cover for Lisbon Lion Jim Craig.

Shevlane had played over 100 times for Hearts before his move to Glasgow and when he returned to Edinburgh he made 66 league appearances for Hibs.

He was named the Easter Road club’s Player of the Year in 1970.

He also picked up four caps for Scotland’s Under-23s, and played for the old Scottish League XI once in 1964, in a 2-2 draw with League of Ireland XI.

Elsewhere, former Celtic captain Scott Brown has revealed why Kyogo was the perfect man to take on his number 8 jersey.

It’s because he’s so NICE.

Kyogo, who has once again been surprisngly snubbed by Japan for their next round of games, is the Premiership’s top scorer this season.

Hoops hero Brown, who left Parkhead two years ago and is now manager at Fleetwood Town, said: “You can see wee Kyogo has a smile on his face everywhere he goes. He helps people up after he tackles them!

“He’s picking up litter after games and stuff like that. He’s just a really lovely lad.

“To be honest, there is no better person that could steal my number from me. It goes from one way to another. I certainly wouldn’t have helped anyone up!

“Kyogo’s willing to do it, which shows you there is no right or wrong way to play football and win.”

 

 

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Frank McGarvey: Former Celtic, St Mirren and Scotland striker dies aged 66 following cancer diagnosis

Former Celtic, Scotland and St Mirren striker Frank McGarvey has died aged 66; McGarvey was previously diagnosed with cancer and spoke about his illness at Parkhead in October of last year; the forward was capped seven times by Scotland

Celtic have announced the death of former player Frank McGarvey at the age of 66.

The former Celtic, St Mirren and Scotland striker was diagnosed with cancer in October and passed away on New Year’s Day morning.

McGarvey won the Scottish Cup with St Mirren and Celtic, while he also won two top-flight titles and the League Cup at Parkhead, as well as being capped seven times by his country.

McGarvey made 499 career appearances between 1975 and 1996, 168 of which were for Celtic, whom he scored 100 goals for.

Before joining Celtic, he played for Liverpool after making a £270,000 move from St Mirren, but his career there lasted just 10 months.

A Celtic statement read: “Everyone at Celtic is extremely saddened to hear of the death of former striker, Frank McGarvey, who passed away earlier this morning (January 1) at the age of 66.

“Frank spoke to supporters at Celtic Park ahead of the game against Hibernian back in October to thank them for all their support over the years, and in particular, more recently following the news that he was battling cancer.

“The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Celtic are with Frank’s family at this extremely sad time.

“Rest in peace, Frank. You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

His son, Sean, tweeted on Sunday morning: “Our much loved Dad sadly passed away this morning with his family by his side.

“We are so thankful for all the support we have received over the past few months.”