A senior judge has set a date for a former Celtic Boys Club manager to appeal against his conviction for sexual abuse.
Judge Lord Menzies told lawyers acting for Frank Cairney,84, that the Court of Criminal Appeal will consider the case in November 2019.
Lord Menzies told the lawyers that colleagues will consider the matter on November 14. The announcement came at the end of a short procedural hearing at the appeal court on Thursday. Cairney, of Viewpark, Lanarkshire wasn’t present in court to hear the news.
The former coach was jailed for four years after being convicted at Hamilton Sheriff Court last February on nine charges of sexually abusing young footballers during the 1980s.
READ MORE: Jailed ex-Celtic Boys Club manager Frank Cairney loses bail application
It is the third time that Cairney’s legal team have appeared before appeal judges.
His lawyers have tried on two separate occasions to have Cairney released from prison ahead of the appeal because of his apparent poor health.
However, judges have refused to grant the requests. Both Lord Turnbull and Lord Drummond Young concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to justify Cairney being granted interim liberation.
READ MORE: Victim of ex-Celtic Boys Club coach Frank Cairney speaks out
During proceedings at Hamilton Sheriff Court last December, jurors heard how Cairney’s victims suffered badly from the abuse.
Sheriff Daniel Kelly described Cairney as being a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.
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