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A Tribute, Turkish Delight & More Police Harrassment

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On Sunday, Celtic triumphed at Perth with a workmanlike footballing display that was notable for three things; Izzy playing to honour his fallen friend, Arnold Peralta, tragically murdered in his homeland; Nadir Ciftci scoring two goals in a Celtic shirt and another scandalous example of Police Scotland over-reach.

In the first instance, what Izzy did was excellent.

The manager was right to praise him for his mental toughness and dedication, but it was more than that.

Peralta was Izzy’s good friend, indeed he called him a brother.

The last few days must have been appalling for him, as it was appalling for everyone who knew the Honduran footballer.

It was a truly shocking event, and I can’t even imagine how his people must feel.

Momentarily, everyone in the Scottish football community forgot their animosities and rivalries and came together to pay tribute to him.

A tragedy like this always does that.

For a whole day Twitter and Facebook were filled with tributes, many of them really heartfelt.

It shows our country and its people in a very good light.

These kind of tragedies are, thankfully, very rare but you sometimes wish people would hold onto that feeling of togetherness just a little longer, that it was a much more common phenomenon and that it didn’t take a horrible event to bring it about.

The game itself was nothing to write home about.

Celtic won easily, without really being spectacular.

It was a workmanlike performance from a Celtic team playing against a side who turned up with high hopes but not a lot of expectations.

I didn’t have many either, I have to say, especially not in our Turkish striker.

But he answered some of the questions.

Nadir needed this. He needed goals. He needed to look like a player, and with Leigh Griffiths out with an injury the chance presented itself and he did well.

He got into the right places and did the right things.

Most important, he produced the goods.

Scoring twice will have been a huge relief to him, and hopefully we’ll now see some signs as to why Ronny Deila thought he was a worthwhile signing.

The best man on the pitch actually wasn’t Nadir Ciftci but Aussie midfielder Tom Rogic, whose re-emergence in this team – and as a real star – has been one of the tremendous upsides of an otherwise lacklustre season.

It is as unexpected as it is welcome, because I thought we’d seen all this kid had to offer and when he was allowed to leave on loan last year I would have put good money on his never coming back.

I am delighted with how well he’s doing.

He’s one of those players who clearly works for every privilege he gets as a footballer, and he has heart and determination to succeed.

He will be a great asset to our side for many years to come.

The jury is still out on Nadir, but a double has helped and if he can keep on doing it then people will soon put aside his less than impressive start.

The fans want him to succeed.

They want him to come good.

Their support will help him forward.

The other talking point was the actions of the police; their over-reaction, actually, and another in a long line of confrontational moments with our fans.

There are people within Police Scotland who simply do not like Celtic supporters.

That’s pretty clear-cut now, and as long as these guys have the authority to constantly harass us serious issues will remain and hard questions will continue being asked of the Scottish Executive.

Sunday’s issue was a banner the Celtic fans brought to the game reading “Police Everywhere Justice Nowhere.”

That the authorities reaction to this piece of criticism was heavy handed and reactionary makes the case for the fans more resoundingly than a hundred banners could.

There is little doubt that relations between our supporters and the police have now broken down completely, and this isn’t good for anyone.

The decision to move into the crowd and grab this banner was a lamentable one, a disgrace in a country where there is still, allegedly, freedom of speech.

Police Scotland’s behaviour is becoming an embarrassment, frankly, and the continuing silence of their political masters is bubbling into a scandal.

If Fans Against Criminalisation take their campaign to the European court – as they fully intend to – the Scottish government is going to end up in the unenviable position of having a law over-turned because it is in violation of the ECHR convention.

That will be a shameful moment for them, but it’s one they can still avoid by putting the leash back on their police force and putting this law in the bin.

It’s well overdue.

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  • swiss says:

    Ciftci scored a couple and looked the part James, in my opinion he will be a good signing for Celtic,
    a different type of player than Leigh but i think he has a “hardness” about him which will be good for the club for the rest of the season, when he gets a bit fitter and has more game time he will do just fine………..Rogic looking good too!

  • Therese Storrie says:

    If the police were any force at all they would be better off arresting Ajax thugs rampaging through the Gallowgate than worrying about flags that actually speak the truth !!

  • schoosh71 says:

    There is no doubt in my mind that Police Scotland will, have and do use techniques and procedures that were introduced to counter terrorism and NOT against football fans, of one and only one club. Would happily contribute to any crowd funding cause that would hold those responsible for their actions at the ECHR. HH

    • TonyB says:

      Me too. It is unacceptable to me that as Celtic supporters we are being treated differently to those of sevco who were allowed to physically abuse Morton fans on Saturday by spitting and throwing bottles at them, with no police action taken.

      Compare this with the cops in Perth who basically abused Celtic supporters’ right to free speech.

      Although other football fans have had a taste of this treatment, it appears to be mainly targetted at us.

      We are now effectively living in a police state in Scotland, with no apparent checks or balances on their behaviour. It is Fascism pure and simple.

      We must do all we can to end this.

      BTW. There is a new Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Does he know what is going on?

  • Jimmybee says:

    Hail Hail James.
    Players aren’t getting the backing they once did from our fans.
    Our greatest fans in the world claim has slipped,and we are too ready to condemn players than back them.
    Every misplaced pass every dribble or shot that doesn’t come off is often followed by the usual howls of abuse.
    Celtic is a massive club,it takes time for players to develop into Celtic players. Cifti,Armstrong ,Mackay-Steven, Boyata,Rogic,Bitton etc,all players who will develop and become good Celtic players given the chance. We have became a bunch of moaning faced gits to be honest. Cifti is in a difficult position due to Ronnie only playing 1 up. The guy is bound to be rusty when he gets game time I would love to see him partner Leigh up front but it’s not going to happen. So when he gets game time he needs support the same as every player does.
    Boyata too was getting all kinds of abuse but the boy needs settled players round him,I thought he did good on Sunday.
    Let’s hope the fans get back the way we used to support our players,by encouragement when things aren’t going well for them.

  • John says:

    I would willingly contribute to any fund to take this to the European courts, I would also contribute to Ronnie’s flight home.

  • KGB says:

    Rogic playing really well…..expect him to be gone next season….

  • john heaney says:

    stiil a dumpling, that was a flash in the pan, hes hopeless.

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