A land sale which "sparked complaints to Europe that Scotland's biggest council had broken the law" over favorable deals with Scottish Premiership side Celtic "actually saw the club pay three times over the market odds, it has emerged," according to Gerry Braiden of the HERALD SCOTLAND. In a "highly unusual move," Glasgow City Council has published details of the transaction with Celtic "as well as the findings from independent evaluators." It states that the plot of land on Glasgow's London Road had a market value of £200,000 ($249,000), "less than a third" of what the club paid. The Westhhorn Recreation Ground, which Celtic previously used as a part of its training facilities, was sold to the club for £675,000 in '09. The deal "sparked a wave of accusations" that Celtic had received favorable treatment from the council "at the expenses of footballing rivals," leading to allegations of "State Aid" being made to the European Commission. Despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by Europe, the council said it is "still routinely swamped" with Freedom of Information requests about the deal, with "the original complaint alone" costing the public purse almost £300,000 ($373,000). In a statement posted on its website the council said it was "also publishing the independent evaluation by property specialists Savills," as well as answers to frequently asked questions via FOI (HERALD SCOTLAND, 11/16).
