TV personality Frank Skinner has revealed he was a big fan of Celtic's legendary Lisbon Lions - even keeping a model of footballer Jimmy Johnstone in his childhood bedroom.
The 62-year-old was just 10 when the famous Hoops squad lifted the European Cup in 1967.
Jimmy Johnstone
Frank, who is a West Bromwich Albion fan, told The Daily Record: "Celtic was a big deal in my childhood as I come from a Catholic family. My older brother used to get the coach up to Glasgow and watch the Hoops play.
"He went to the Scottish Cup final in 1969 when Celtic beat Rangers 4-0 and he brought me back a little model of Jinky Johnstone which I adored. Being a Lisbon Lion is as good as it gets football-wise.”
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Billy McNeill
The comic also admitted he was a fan of captain Billy McNeill who died in April after a long battle with dementia.
He explained dementia also claimed the life of his friend and West Brom legend Jeff Astle who died aged 59 in 2002 and he feared there may be a link between the beautiful game and the condition.
He said: "What happened with footballing greats like Jeff and Billy McNeill is absolutely tragic. So many players are suffering from the disease that experts are investigating the link between heading heavy old-fashioned footballs and the condition.
“I saw the scans of Jeff’s brain and even as a layman I could see that the front of his brain was distinctly different to the rest of it.
“For players like Billy McNeill who was a central defender and headed balls coming from great heights, the danger increased tenfold.
“The dilemma is would these footballing legends have stopped playing if they knew the dangers? Probably not. They loved the game too much.”
Frank returns to the Edinburgh Fringe next month.
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