There can be few pastimes more dangerous for someone who is disabled than being an Ibrox fan.
Because they have Paul Kersey levels of bad luck.
If you’re a movie fan with any knowledge of 80’s cinema you’ll remember Paul Kersey; played by the late, and brilliant, Charles Bronson, he was the star of the Death Wish movies. And God, what luck he had.
In the first movie his wife and daughter are attacked inside their apartment; his wife dies and his daughter ends up catatonic.
In the second movie it’s his housekeeper and his new squeeze who are attacked and brutalised.
In the third, his friend Charley is horribly murdered.
In film four it’s his new girlfriend’s daughter who dies, of a drug overdose.
And in film five – despite the trail of destruction and death that follows this guy around and strikes at all around him – he finds another woman willing to take her chances, with predictable results.
I’m not saying it couldn’t happen, I’m marvelling that writers and film-makers were able to pitch that story again and again to producers and financers and get those movies made.
I’ve commented on the behaviour of a section of our support already.
I have written that they need to be hunted, found, banned and then prosecuted. I am not having any excuses, no defence of these people and want to see no mercy for them.
But the narrative out of Ibrox has a reek of familiarity about it that is too hard to ignore.
How many more times are they going to recycle the same old tired stories about their “innocent supporters” being victimised?
Whether it’s foriegn police, Scottish police, rival supporters … it always seems to be these poor sods at the thick of it.
Their “innocent fans” find themselves in more scrapes than a Russian infantry division.
If I were amongst their ranks, I’d take out health insurance before I went to watch the team every week.
I am not making light of this, I am treating the issue about as seriously as The Daily Record has done today with its lamentable, disgraceful, wilfully misleading and perhaps even wholly fraudulent article on our fans.
The scenes they describe … could they have happened?
Sure, if the 700 people they had inside Parkhead were made up solely of WAGS, the disabled, pensioners and kids.
It does seem to me somewhat unlikely that this was the case.
And if you were trying to sell that to a Hollywood producer … well, unless the people who greenlit Death Wish 5: The Face Of Death are looking for a new project I reckon you’re going to be out of luck, because this will be too much of a stretch for them.
I’ve seen plenty of pictures of those scenes since the game.
I see a lot of angry middle aged white men, faces strained with anger, others clearly loving every minute of it, trying to get at Celtic fans through the police line. I see loutish yobs throwing stuff into our section, including seats.
What I don’t see in those pictures is what one would expect … cowering innocents, people scared out of their wits.
There is an absence of fake tans in designer gear worried that their fingernails will get cracked if they hang around much longer.
If I was in their (expensive) shoes, I’d want to know more than just why Celtic’s security arrangements weren’t up to snuff.
I’d want to know why their cheap bastard boyfriends and husbands didn’t spring for an executive lounge like every other footballer out there, and instead chucked them into the midst of all those angry Peepul.
Am I saying it didn’t happen?
I’m saying that we’re the only country where the WAGS want to stay out of the papers.
They ran to the press but didn’t want to be named?
Is that because they feared reprisals from our supporters, or because one of the neighbours might remember having seen them at the hair salon that afternoon when the game was on?
What happened at the weekend was damned well out of order and I cannot repeat this enough times; everyone involved should be prosecuted to the limit of the law. Celtic fans, Ibrox fans, colours be damned.
If you’re going to act like that you are a hun, and you deserve what you get.
But I am not having this, not having this narrative that everyone in that end was a victim.
I’ve watched footage of it.
I’ve seen broken green seats get flung. I’ve heard the sectarian karaoke at full volume.
If you were close enough to be dodging bottles, maybe you were too close in the first place, right pressed up against a stewards face close … and maybe if you weren’t you might want to ask your club when it intends to make these fixtures safer by restoring the old ticket allocations and putting some real distance between the fans again.
The Record was well briefed today.
Ibrox’s PR department is working full-speed ahead.
You might think that they’d lost the title at the weekend or something, but of course that’s just coincidence.
That’s not part of this story at all, is it?
The articles in that rag of a paper are par for the course…..high time Celtic banned it altogether.
The so called Scottish media are a disgrace in this
so called “greatest wee country”…..
None of them can take that we are going to be champions….and Red Bull are big odds on to go to the final in Seville
HH
Same old tactics. Get in first……Hijack the narrative, play the victim……..change the truth…….peddle the new narrative urgently in The Press.
We all know we are dealing with a very Bigotted, Damaged, Paranoid and Hateful Football Club, who have obviously been trained in PR and false Narratives by The Kremlin.
The exact opposite of what these people say, is usually somewhere near the truth.
Excellent read .I saw those daily ranger lies today…for that’s what they are out n out lies .the club should trawl all CCTV n blow this lie out of the water and then declare that going forward that no old firm FC fans are permitted in to celtic park again .they died before let the Newco wither on the vine and disappear too.
So they had a ballot for the 700 ticket allocation and lo and behold some wags get drawn out. Give us a break. Pinnochio couldn’t come up that.
Amazing coincidence that, isn’t it?
Get outta here – WAGS in among the great unwashed aye right!! I’m also sceptical about any significant numbers of disabled supporters either, wouldn’t they be in specially designated area? Well physically disabled certainly would have to be and anyway would any disabled supporters/ carers really put themselves through that? As for war heroes…gies peace, only that mob would trot that out as a category! Like yourself I have seen online footage which bears, no pun intended, no resemblance to the reality! Considering what happens to our supporters at their midden they have an absolute cheek to open their gobs! Just do as most supporters now suggest and ban them from our ground, give them any old baloney but keep them away from our ground- far better atmosphere without them! Thought Celtic’s reply to their pathetic statement was a good one hope they’ve filmed the damage caused too!
What I don’t understand is the Police control box is directly above the hordes,surely they would have a bird’s eye view of just what exactly happened
Brilliant James all lies from a sick lot from the top to the bottom Celtic should get video evidence and take them and that rag to task about it when we win this league they maybe have to call in the liquidator again cmon Lord Hodge.
As I said on Facebook the record is trying to even up the score here after the violence at ibrox. I was still in the stadium when both sets of idiots were causing havoc but to use a headline about wags and attacking our support again the DAILY RANGER has hit a new low.
Not laughed as much for a long time James, big Death Wish fan for this reason,there having a pop at John Terry now, the guy was up for a game of golf and a spa weekend, and took in the game, it even showed his fish and chips at the Carrick, but because he put a Celtic scarf on he’s public enemy number 1.
Simple solution no hun filth getting tickets.
High time we really moved on from this mob. Make it clear to everyone that CFC are not part of any OF nonsense. We own half share in the trade mark. Refuse use of OF when we are named.
And for God’s sake no longer provide any tickets for Celtic Park when trfc visit.
Still no activity on glass bottles at their own midden shows they don’t give a toss. Now is the time for us to part ways.
It’s easy to resolve ban the lot of them from celtic park they are vile bile hating peeple who can’t take defeat without tantrums resulting in violence everyone knows it in Scotland England and Europe the press here are a disgrace that’s how their readership fallen they will go into liquidation with sevco and the hole of Scottish football will be happy ????
Skank Mingers & Pensioners bottled eh? Amazing how being part of the Onion Pussies adds Mascara & Lippy tae yir coupon & ages yi 50 yrs lol! Mind am only talkin about the Mingers here BAWAHAHAHAHAHA!!
According to Tom English it was the Celtic supporters singing IRA songs that caused it. And by the way, why no comments on the one and only cinch logo on the board being behind Postecoglou when he was interviewed. Is this Celtic pandering to Old Firm FC again?
Celtic are about to claim their 10th title in 11 years not to mention the numerous cup successes in the same period. This hugely successful period for Celtic is something the delinquent hoardes that follow this excuse of a football club just cant come to terms with and never will.