A Celtic Boys Club coach has died at the age of 83 following allegations he abused a young player.
Lyness Malley allegedly rubbed oil on a boy on a number of occasions and touched him in private areas at Barrowfield - where Celtic had a training ground - in 1969 and 1970.
Malley denied the claims and said the accusations were motivated by revenge after the accuser was dropped from the team.
He admitted massaging oil on players but claimed there was no sexual motivation behind it.
The Scottish Daily Express has now reported Malley died "suddenly but peacefully" at his home in Glasgow last month.
One of his victims said they considered taking their own life due to the trauma of the incident.
They told The Times : "Malley’s sexual abuse inflicted psychological devastation and emotional torture upon my 11-year-old mind.
“At the age of 12 I pulled all of the hair out of the crown of my head to avoid having to fall asleep and re-experience the abuse in the form of vivid and horrific nightmares.
“I wanted to kill myself to avoid any more suffering.
"I am 61 now and still suffer from terrifying nightmares. Malley’s face frequently appears.”
It comes after survivors were given the go-ahead to pursue a 'class action' lawsuit against Celtic.
Laura Connor, of Thompsons solicitors, which is representing players at the feeder club, told The Times: “The death of this individual will not change the fact that he abused children at Celtic Boys Club, while coaching there under the watch of Celtic FC.
“We will continue to work with and support our clients in their fight to receive the justice they deserve.”
We previously reported that campaign group Spotlight has compiled a dossier containing the names of more than 20 men with links to Celtic FC or Celtic Boys Club, put together from statements given by victims, active court cases, convictions and sources shared with the group.
The group has identified as many as 40 former players who have since died due to suicide, violence or addiction whose names and ages could match former players - thirteen of which are confirmed to have played under paedophiles employed by Celtic FC or Celtic Boys Club.
And last week w e revealed another convicted paedophile was found to have links to Celtic and the Boys Club.
James Brown was convicted in 2018 of sexually abusing three young players in the showers at Fauldhouse Boys Club in West Lothian in the late 1970s.
He moved on from the youth team to work for Celtic as the club's scout for West Lothian.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
