I have no interest in, or intention of, sugar coating what I’m about to say.
You can tell the tone of it from the headline.
Ibrox’s decision to contest the deserved bans handed out to its half-wit footballers for their breaches of the Scottish health regulations is grotesque, disgusting and an insult to all the people in Britain who have suffered as a result of this bug.
For a long time, it has been clear that their club does not give a damn for either public safety or for public opinion.
When you consider the odium Celtic had to endure for taking a trip to a foreign land, even though the football authorities and the government approved it beforehand, it is incredible that they have gotten away with some of what they have over there.
This was their second breach involving players going to house parties.
Their club was responsible for by far the most serious violation of the regulations when they played a match without knowing if their footballers had passed routine tests.
Even last season, when the rest of the world was worrying about what lay ahead, all they saw was an opportunity, a stinking, reeking opportunity to use the crisis to lever out of office the officials they didn’t like and to cast doubt on our title credentials.
Let’s not forget that this embarrassment of a club had the gross irresponsibility not only to demand that games be played but said they would not recognise any competition which wasn’t completed in front of full stands.
Funny how the tune has changed on that, right?
But this … this appals me and I would stipulate that it would turn even the strongest stomach.
They are gaming the system because they can.
The club clearly has no problem with the behaviour of these footballers.
They broke the rules at a time when new variants were spreading.
It is a minor miracle – if it’s not something darker – that their club has not had to self-isolate half the squad at some point. I regard their tremendous “luck” during this crisis as suspect.
In addition to this, their unapologetic and quite disgraceful public statements on this matter led, I believe, to the equally disgusting behaviour of their supporters.
That club has not one ounce of shame or regret or remorse for any of it.
They continue to treat the whole of this crisis as a something to be exploited, as a game, as an inconvenience that only applies to the rest of us. Their decision to appeal the deserved ban for their footballers – when they have been free to play for over a month already –is lamentable.
Where is the outrage of the media?
Where is civic Scotland on the gross irresponsibility of this?
It is brazenly wrong and although Ibrox will not care if there is public criticism, there should be.
There needs to be.
The millions who have suffered during this crisis deserve that.