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Has Sevco Forced One Of Its Own High Profile Fans To Clarify His Anti-Racism Message?

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Earlier in the week, I did a piece on the Sevco fan rep Richard MacDonald, who appeared at the weekend’s Black Lives Matter rally in Glasgow Green and told the audience that the club needed to change, and that he was committed to making sure it did.

It was an excellent, and welcome, statement from someone who should be taken seriously.

After a major online firestorm of criticism, some of it aimed at the man himself and some aimed at the club for allegedly employing his company in some way.

I didn’t go exploring the details, the Peepul were doing that on their own.

I was not surprised to see Richard releasing a statement “clarifying” his comments.

What was a little more surprising is that he chose to do it through a public relations firm called ChacePR.

They handle the Everyone Anyone campaign, and in publishing his “clarification” they have, in my view, seriously undermined the whole ethos of what they are meant to be promoting.

Sevco has a serious issue with its reputation.

This would have been an outstanding time to confront that problem, and take on those who drag it through the gutter.

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In the 1951/52 season, SFA chairman George Graham tried to stop Celtic from flying the Irish tricolour flag over Celtic Park, leading to a bitter stand off between him and the club. Which Scottish club backed Graham over his stance?

But that would mean changing some of the philosophy which governs every level of it.

Richard MacDonald also undermined himself, but he was under such momentous pressure from the rest of the so-called Sevco family that I can easily understand why he did it.

That doesn’t make it less gutless, but he was put in a difficult position.

Sevco is a club entirely without shame. I am going to do a lengthy piece on this over the weekend; it bears giving real scrutiny to their so-called efforts to stamp this problem out.

We all know that they aren’t sincere.

Were ChacePR acting on the club’s behalf here?

Was Richard MacDonald forced into that grovelling, and contradictory, statement?

Nothing would surprise me. That club behaves abysmally at times.

This episode should be the proof, if we needed it, that their anti-bigotry campaign is window dressing.

They refuse to acknowledge that they even have a serious problem here … that’s the first sign of one.

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