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Come On The Green Brigade, On Cup Final Day Shame The SFA In Their Own House.

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As you probably gathered, the SFA’s scandalous ticket allocation for the cup final has left me somewhat miffed. In this case the anger comes from frustration. Frustration because I know full well, as we all do, that there’s exactly nothing that can be done about their blatant slap to our face short of the one thing our fans won’t – and shouldn’t – do, which is to boycott the match and let people know exactly what we think of the decision.

Brendan and the players deserve the support of the fans on that day.

Our fans deserve the chance to watch the club win an historic treble, and if the season is to be completed unbeaten they deserve the opportunity to see this team march into the history books. That’s a day our boys and girls should be there to enjoy, and every ticket for our ends will be snapped up in double-quick time.

As they should. There’s no argument there at all.

But as I’ve said, this was an act of spite and an act of spite can’t go unanswered. Our fans can’t be deprived of the chance to watch the game, and because of that they believe this is a free kick. They think this is a chance to give us a dig without a response.

I reckon that’s a massive misjudgement on their part, and one that ought to come back and haunt them.

The Green Brigade are an imaginative bunch of guys; I trust them to make something memorable. They’ve spoken up for the Celtic fans before. I’d love to see them do it again, organising something in which all our fans can play a part, in letting the SFA know what we think of them. I would welcome the Aberdeen fans joining us in that protest, one that happens inside the ground, and in front of the TV cameras. Let the message be clear, to everyone watching.

We have the most corrupt association in Western Europe here.

That ought to be highlighted, to everyone who tunes in to the game.

Just days ago, we found out that Stewart Regan had a wee one on one with Dave King last week, an off-the-record, un-minuted meeting to discuss “general stuff”, at a time when the club doesn’t meet European football licensing criteria but has been waived through nonetheless.

King himself is facing a court case for defying the City of London takeover panel.

I often accuse fans of other clubs of not doing enough about this stuff, but I know Aberdeen fans have as much contempt for the people who “run” our game as we do. What an opportunity for them to show it, and for the supporters of both clubs to come together and send a very public message to Regan and the rest, all of whom will be at the game to see it.

This game will be contested between two teams who have done it all right, who have played by the rules, who have respected not only the letter of the rulebook but the spirit of it too; that’s something we don’t talk about enough and it’s one of the things that grates on me when hear I self-serving garbage about how Rangers EBT years didn’t violate the laws of the game … bollocks they didn’t. We all know that was cheating, pure and simple, but even if they had gotten good lawyers who dotted every I and crossed every T would that make it right?

Celtic and Aberdeen voluntarily follow Financial Fair Play, which for us is good sense and is easily enough to keep us in front of the pack. For Aberdeen it’s suicidal whilst a certain other club refuses to be bound by any constraints including those which are written down.

Then there’s Resolution 12. Lord Nimmo Smith. The Campbell Ogilvie affair … I could go on.

I am pissed off today, with the SFA for their petty little move and with Celtic for continuing to tolerate the kind of people who do these things.

Hampden offers the supporters an opportunity to do more than just cheer on their teams. This is a chance to confront these people in their own house, to embarrass them in front of sponsors, visitors from other associations, politicians and everyone watching on TV.

I believe the Green Brigade can put together something appropriate to that moment, as well as for the wider occasion.

I’ll be interested to see what they come up with.

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