I have met Bernard Ponsonby in the Gallowgate.
He used to pop into the Tollbooth Bar on a semi-regular basis, and believe me when I tell you that he knows the words to some of the best songs. I sort of understand what his article for the STV website is attempting to do.
I also know that between that article and Nicola Sturgeon’s “Old Firm” comments that it spreads the blame to both clubs and both sets of fans, when yesterday’s disgrace was the product of only one of them and it wasn’t Celtic.
Watching STV last night, I also couldn’t help but notice that when they did their segment on the behaviour of the Ibrox fans that their background picture was a guy in a Celtic scarf.
The agenda is obvious. The agenda is shameless.
This is what our club does when it gives even the slightest credence to the “Old Firm” concept, as it did when it agreed to export the Glasgow Derby to foreign shores.
That our directors appear not to understand that our paying this even token lip service damages us and allows the press and others to continue this “two sides of the same coin” debate is ridiculous.
The “two sides of the coin” prattle is, to be as blunt as possible, a load of old cobblers and it always was.
There is no moral equivalence between people who sing about being up to their knees in fenian blood and the targets of that vile chant.
What happened inside that stadium was entirely one-sided and there are no more “two sides” involved in the disgrace on Sunday than there were two sides to blame for the events in Charlottesville in 2017.
Ponsonby writes at one point “to 99.9% of those in the ground it revolts for those who have come along to support their team know that their club’s reputation suffers because of “a few idiots”, to quote Postecoglou.”
The garbled nature of that sentence should not detract from what he’s trying to say; this was the work of a small minority and most of their fans abhorred it.
The bottle throwing might have been abhorred but it was only the darkest manifestation of a much wider and much deeper series of outrages which are barely acknowledged at all.
It’s the usual argument, and the usual absolute bollocks.
Those bottle throwing incidents did not spring forth from nowhere.
They were part of a toxic soup which extended to the songs and the banners and even the club’s desperate efforts slap the “Old Firm” slogan everywhere.
When their fans were singing about being up to their knees in fenian blood that wasn’t 1%.
When the ground applauded the despicable banners that was not a small minority.
In my opinion, and this needed said a while ago, those still making the “small minority” argument sound more and more and more like Trump, standing in the aftermath of the Charlottesville outrage and praising the “very good people on both sides.”
We should no longer be tolerating this absurd, disgraceful argument.
We should be calling “bullshit” on it every time we hear it.
There is a serious, and growing, problem at Ibrox, encapsulated perhaps best in their refusal to even acknowledge the Celtic official who was injured far less offer an apology for it. That club is sinking in a churning sea of its own vile predilections … still some people insist on throwing them a rubber ring with our name on it.
On Sunday we saw one club’s supporters – the vast, vast majority of them – disgrace themselves and Scottish football.
A handful went even further and committed appalling acts, but pretending that the hatreds and the vileness were restricted to those individuals is to continue doing the devil’s work for him.
It is this refusal to confront the real issue which allows it to grow.
These were not an isolated set of incidents but another step on a continuum, and its one the media refuses to get off.
We have Jim White banging on about the “special atmosphere” in Ibrox as if he didn’t hear a single out of place song … he must be deaf as well as stupid. Ian Crocker on Sky did exactly the same thing, and people keep on doing it.
These people would do an immeasurable service to the Scottish game if they would stop in the middle of their commentary when the vile songs start and, instead of praising them, condemn them in the harshest, strongest terms.
Instead you get the impression that these folk would have praised a Nuremberg Rally if they’d been asked to provide commentary for it … and that, too, is part of the problem.
These games are promoted on the basis of hate, and it has been for a long time and the Celtic fans initial objection to the despised Old Firm slogan is that we wanted nothing to do with that.
Could we be any clearer about it?
There are no “two sides” here, just them and us.
Yet the press promotes this lie, and times like this they use it against us.
Celtic does not belong in this gutter.
The narrative that we are somehow wallowing down there today, as part of their disgrace, really is an insult not just to our supporters and our club but to the intelligence of some of the people pushing it.
Nicola Sturgeon should have called it out for what is instead of falling back on her lazy, politically expedient slogan … but Bernard Ponsonby, who knows full well what the truth is … and so I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that nonsense, but I am almost 100% sure that he barely believes a word of it himself.
Sevco rangers are the Russia of football
Sadly James the away fans at Livingston are partly to blame here. With their unwanted songs they give the agenda seekers an “in” with which to equate us to the sort of barbarism seen at the big hoose.
We MUST make sure our fans behave impeccably at the next couple of games against the zombies, lest this narrative gains credence. It’ll still be pushed, but we must be able to refute it.
100% agree. Wish the idiots in our support could see this.
Learned a long time ago never to watch STV
no matter what’s on…..a station with an agenda
HH
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/complaints/complain-about-tv-radio-a-website
I’ve written to Ofcom, James, and would encourage every other Celtic supporter to do the same . Posonby’s distortions cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged.
How long until someone is killed at a ground, human beings have already lost their lives for as little as wearing a Celtic top away from the grounds.
Something has to change , there has to be severe consequences for there behaviour.
Absolutely nailed it James.
Thanks Pat..Will be complaining also, watching Stv news last night I was livid, starts off with two colours of scarf and quickly only celtic colours in background for the rest of shameful segment of goings on at ibrox.
On another note my 14 year old son is in Turkey with his friend and their family. Had to leave the bar, after going 2.1 up, as the Rangers fans there were going to beat up his friend’s Dad.
Well said, James. The history of the rivalry, did nor contribute to the unacceptable, awful, unlawful; antisocial behaviour, of Rangers’ fans. Celtic fans did nothing wrong; not even to incite them. Politicians who put one foot on either side of a barbed wire fence will get caught-up sooner-than-later. Celtic play Rangers 17 April in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. There must be a Lady with a big calming voice to sing O Flower of Scotland, before the game starts. All supporters of both teams hold their club scarfs above their heads. All Scots love the sentiment of this song, The Scots from Ireland also had to put up with the terrors of the English in their past.
The United Kingdom Parliament has “Never Said Sorry” to the Scots and Irish. If Rangers supporters want to sing “God Save the Queen” they are free to do so, but “nothing will save them”. I should not have said that….don’t mean it. All supporters are firstly Scots.
Unfortunately there is a very,very sizeable chunk of ranjurs supporters who are so steadfast, if not staunchly Loyal, to a monarch in another country, so true that they would rather sing a National Anthem from another country. An Anthem that glories in killing Scots who’s only crime was in seeking to assert their right to nationhood and survival as a people.
Good luck in trying to get Sevconians to sing O Flower of Scotland.
Alas there are a number of rangers supporters who are actually Scottish Nationalists seeking Independence who would be afraid , very afraid to sing our own Anthem while surrounded by their fellow rangers fans.
It ain’t gonna happen.
Spot on “Nadir”………no chance of them singing THAT song
HH
No chance of them holding scarves above their head either! When I read this comment I thought ” aye right” a support that refers to us as taigs, terriers, fenians, tattie munchers, bead rattlers etc are never going to accept Celtic supporters as Scots. Wouldn’t matter if the entire support turned up in kilts with saltire painted on their faces – in their eyes we are all Irish Catholics! Now I am an Irish Catholic, and proud of it, but I know many aren’t but like I’ve said doesn’t matter to a shower of bigoted bitter loyalists! We are were we are no use trying to find common ground with these people because vast, vast majority don’t want that and any that might would he too intimidated by their peers to act on it.
It would be helpful if you could give the details of where Celtic fans can contact stv to complain about their ridiculous attempts to drag us into the gutter with the sevco thugs
Sorry just seen above post with ofcom address
The huns (for that is what they are), were encouraged from the start by the Ibrox bigotry machine with the playing of the music to the banned and racist Famine Song.
Their behaviour is sanctioned and encouraged by the Ibrox board and enabled by their caponised fellow travellers in the media and police.
That is how it is in 21st century Scotland.
Can’t see Ofcom address at all ???
What amazed me was the silence. The bottle incidents did not. After Rogic scored it was the end of their backing for the team. I have never seen that before in any ground. You would have thought they were 4 goals down. A draw would have felt like a victory if they had scored in the last 10mins but the crowd gave them nothing.
It’s like the teacher saying to the victim of the bully ‘Well, you must’ve done something…’
Given the violent incidents, the bigoted bile, the media/press responses, and the responses by those in authority, it is clear that the health and safety of Celtic’s representatives and fans cannot be secured when we have to play them. Their club and their fans is a vile and violent disgrace.
That should be the reason why Celtic FC stands up and tells the SFA/SPFL that their supporters will not be allowed into Paradise for the next Glasgow derby. Forget about any of the authorities quotas, protocols, rules, etc. Disregard them trying to force us into it by quoting rules. Rules don’t protect us, and are broken without consequences repeatedly by them. Stand firm for once – protect your stadium, your representatives staff and fans Celtic FC
Fat St Bernard the dog PONCE his name should be.
Another with a burst face looking like stuntman for another BOOZE jockey Jackass Jackson.
Unfortunately until Celtic officially come out and end our association of this god awful brand in no uncertain terms we will always be one half of something.
Come on Celtic please please please make a statement and threaten libel action if anyone uses that term to describe our club.
Do that and watch our club disappear over the horizon with our own global status while the other mob squeal and strop like the hangers on they are.
In the early 1960’s a sports journalist called Ian Archer came out with the comment that Rangers fans had rampaged through Europe like Attila and his Huns, thus they have since forever been known as the Huns. Since then things haven’t changed but Police Scotland, Scottish Media and most politicians of every party have tried to spread the disgrace of the Ibrox version of the Huns onto other football fans in Scotland. Especially if they tend towards the green and white in Glasgow. As an Independence supporter sometimes I am ashamed of the the Moral bankruptcy of this country.
Also a judge described them as Huns after a game in England, when they brought carnage to their city.early 60ies.
Michael,
Ian Archer was a brave, truthful, journalist who reported for the Glasgow Herald.
There was a Glasgow Derby after President J F Kennedys assassination in 1963. Before the game, an announcer asked the crowd; to Honour J F K, with one minute of silence.
Do you know what the Rangers supporters did? They jeered, because J F K was a Catholic. In the Herald Ian Archer wrote: “This country would be a better place if Rangers did not exist”
If you believe the reporting of the Scottish media of this incident is bad, just wait until after the game on the 17th at Hampden. It will be the first time in a few years both set of fans will attend in mass. We know that sections of their support do not react well to losing, the Celtic supporters cannot be draw into any kind of tit for tat behaviour. To all those going to this game remember above all else you are representing Celtic.
The answer is…. no away fans… the CP game last month was the best atmosphere ever.If there is trouble without oppo fans being in stadium… finger can only be pointed one way
Bernard Ponsonby sits in the next section of the North Stand to me. We pass each other often in the concourse pre and post match. It can’t be easy for him to fuck the narrative brand tell the truth…