As most of you doubtless now know, at Ibrox last night their fans unveiled a tifo before the game which was as nakedly sectarian as you are ever likely to see. That’s the long and short of it. Emblazoned with the image of notorious American street thug William Poole and the slogan “Surrender or you’ll die”, it is a loathsome sentiment.
Two things would have happened had The Green Brigade done something like that, not that they ever would because their own political views and those of the Ibrox gutter element are so diametrically opposed it’s unreal. The left doesn’t have people like this. These kinds of sentiments have no place in left wing or liberal discourse.
The first thing that would have happened would have been that the media and our chattering classes would have lost their minds over it. The second is that UEFA would have stepped up to the mark and opened an immediate investigation.
I do expect one of those two things to happen, because how can it not?
Those words alone invite questions. And even if you were unfamiliar with the genesis of those words, and even in the unlikely scenario where nobody made you aware of where they are from, you would certainly have your interest piqued when someone from Ibrox was forced to explain, “Yeah, that’s a line from a song.”
And your next question would be, “Oh right. What’s the song?”
Which is where the serious, and more probing, questions would arise.
Their best defence is that it’s from “The Cry Was No Surrender.” And of course, that brings it into the realm of the political banner. For which they will get sanctioned.
But see, the image … that’s the problem with trying to explain those words away as something other than what they so obviously are, words from another song, Ibrox’s anthem to ethnic cleansing, the one that has the line in it about being up to their knees in fenian blood.
William Poole is essentially the anti-Irish, anti-immigrant bigot portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis in the Scorsese movie The Gangs Of New York. Now you tell me … an anti-Catholic, razor carrying street gang boss who ran his local community rackets and spread fear amongst immigrants all across the city. Does that sound like somebody else or is it just me?
It’s not even a nod and a wink to that song. It’s Billy Fullerton except they pulled what I always call a Terry George bait and switch; Terry George is the co-writer and director of Some Mother’s Son. He freely admits it’s a film about Bobby Sands, but they might have found it difficult to get that made, and so they created Aidan Gillen’s character, Gerard Quigley, and made his mother the bridge to the audience. It’s just a coincidence he shared Bobby Sand’s cell.
UEFA are going to do their own digging, and when they identify that guy and they asked FARE, who know this issue inside out, to join the dots they won’t need help from Bletchley Park to make the connection. So that banner is a big problem.
Let’s start with the obvious thing UEFA will want to know about that anti-Irish, anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant far right banner; “They had to get into the ground to set that up. And nobody in your stewarding operation or at a higher level asked what that was before they did it? Or did you guys know and thus knowingly allow that in your stadium?”
I think that begs a second question and it will be the one that decides the level of the sanction, “With those words and that image having been allowed, do you expect us to believe that you’ve done all you can as a club to keep that sort of sentiment at bay?”
To be honest, I don’t know how they’re supposed to answer those questions, because all UEFA has to do is get hold of even one clip of footage from one SPFL game in the last few years, and especially away from home, and they’ll hear those words lustily belted out before they’re ten minutes into the broadcast. It gets sung every single week and not one word is uttered about it except by a handful of people in the media who long ago realised they are banging their heads on the wall.
If UEFA wants further context, they should be observing goings on right here in Scotland, where our own club has refused to accept tickets for their ground because our fans are not safe there and they have not satisfied us that they intend to make it so.
Hey when your fans are putting such a horrific statement on a tifo, that spells it out better than any Celtic press statement ever would.
The club tolerates the behaviour of its rancid element. That’s the fact of it. The idea that they would ever make serious attempts to weed these people out is ridiculous and we know it is. They make no effort to get them under control, instead offering Celtic mitigation measures so they are unable to physically harm our fans.
No-one cares that the intent is very much there, no-one cares that the kind of people who make netting necessary are the issue and they shouldn’t be near a football ground. Nor that the Ibrox board, which by virtue of the season ticket system has the names and numbers of every person who sits in those seats and has equal information for all the away tickets they sell and somehow they haven’t removed these people yet.
UEFA will not be as coy as the SFA and the SPFL have been.
There are actually regulations which our governing bodies refuse to use.
There are already rules in place for our governing bodies to tackle songs like The Billy Boys. They will not do it. The SPFL has the regulations in hand to sanction the Ibrox club if its supporters threaten the safety of ours, and the fact that our club has had to take unilateral action, and is threatening more, tells you how seriously the SPFL takes those.
What’s the wording, do you think, in those regulations? I’ve read them and it’s as vague as the regulations on away fan ticket allocations, and that’s quite deliberate because it gives them the wiggle room to do nothing at all.
As long as clubs can show they are taking a “pro-active role” in addressing these sorts of incidents the governing bodies leave them to it.
But what happens if a club can tick all the boxes on their wee checklist but the problem continues and grows and finally turns into a much larger problem? What happens if the club, say, issues orange jerseys? Slaps a supremacist slogan on the walls?
Allows tifos preaching ethnic cleansing?
Football governance in Scotland is a joke.
The governing body in Nyon will not be so lenient. I will be astonished if they don’t seek answers and then sanction Ibrox harshly based in no small part on the answers they get. Maybe they will force action which our governing bodies lamentably will not.
the huns and ALL who support them, really are a bunch of bigoted, sectarian Neanderthals…really….
i saw the tifo last night and couldn’t make out the words…at the time, i did think it resembled the character from “gangs of new york”…but i thought…nah….ridiculous…
but your article just confirmed and clarified it….
they really are an obnoxious shower of cretins…
it’s like some kind of grotesque pantomime over there…we have the board, they deserve….
I wrote up to 1989 but in reality they could still be allowed to run that disgusting policy as at no time ever did those cowards at the SFA threaten sanctions! Wasn’t untill uefa started to threaten then did they sign ” petite merde” so still their vile hoardes rightly think their old dead club and now this new one still had their sick hate ideology, what a place disgusting!
Their tifo’s are usually so bad you cant make any of it out. 🙂
Sad bit about it is these are men bringing up families, impressionable young folk with an obscure message of hate, why? Just because my Da telt me.
Saddens me that fellow Scots think like this. Ironically where most have Irish or Catholic backgrounds themselves or certainly family members.
Aye but it’s just banter. Spend thousands at a time when times are hard on a figure of hate at a football match. FFS!!
Weirdo mhate they need to belong to something or somewhere as we all do but I always wondered who in their right mind could support any club from that hellhole breeding ground of hate ! I give no one a pass have questioned few who I thought were half decent but most know they have plenty vile scum and never deny it but shrug their shoulders , now these guys know they are welcome around Any Celtic pub or groups but openly tell you we would never be! Weird I could never be part of a club such as that no matter if brought up in their vile hate , disgusting creatures top to bottom are 99 percent of orcs
They are poison!! Their were only a bigish club here to oppose ” the Fenians” fact!! 1912 I think then brought in their religious appartied and sickenly were allowed this till 1989!! Tho still their mindset top to bottom! Can’t change these weirdos tho most are cowards they are dangerous as every city that scum has played will testify! For me I just not play them! We still win the league I reckon as they bottle their advantage!! Bottom line we need a new strong board that takes this filth to town ,while also finishing our own stadium!Off topic but finish the bowl give us 72,000 sears! At least then our money is being used to build us even stronger! On the orcI tell sky, and rest of media there is no ” o f” ( I won’t even write it never mind say it) The term they love as its their thing their hate not ours and never was ever! Always hate that term only Huns ever used it, cut their oxygen ! Without hating us they have nothing ! Sad thing is these creature think if fair game to attack anything green or people wearing it be that men,woman or Childern they are poison top to bottom! Long game we need out of Brigadoon Scotland and should went decades ago!
Dead Rabbits
Stesano
No use complaining about the term O… F… and doing nothing about it. Until all Celtic fans keep referring to them continually as OLD FIRM SEVCO, not R4ngers or The Rangers but OLD FIRM SEVCO until everyone is brainwashed, or Gaslit nowadays, into thinking of them every time they hear it mentioned. After all, at the time of the Sydney Competition fiasco, they were the ones who had We are Old Firm emblazoned around the stadium, or coup, to be more precise.
James, please send a copy of this article to UEFA. It’s the only way they will begin to understand how this atrocious behaviour has poisoned and is poisoning our game, with the tacit approval of our ‘governing body’.
Be sure to show the handshake at the end between manager and official.
If you don’t, who will?
Saw it for what it was right away. As blatant a sectarian, racist message as ye’ll get. Isn’t that what it’s supposed tae dae tho, insult the people it’s aimed at- catholics and irish immigrants. Ironically, half their team bless theirselves comin on and off the pitch tae. Hope UEFA have been well informed of it and it’s meanin by today.
A governing body when it suits them. They always let them away with it and always will. They might get a limpid slapon the wrist and that will be it. Freemasonry isn`t just a parochial committee, they are helping them no matter what part of the world they go. Even in both UK parliaments they have their carers.
The Billy mentioned is the one of their own from Glasgow, nothing to do with anyone in New York, this is the Scottish media`s way of making light of it. I can`t understand black players playing for them or supporting them either, with their
links to the KKK. We have had the odd Irish traitor playing for them also of course.
Thet are a disgusting sectarian tribute act,they also hijacked the penny arcade & played it before games,it was a reference to a catholic being shot ina penny arcade in Belfast,there club from top to bottom knew what that song meant to the govan gargoyles
I seriously don’t care about there banner I’m sick and tired about it and that includes celtics banners about political views. I just want to watch football get behind the team whatever get over it seriously and if u can’t go live with people who will accept it but of course u wont. Football is a rest bite for day to day drudgery not to bring up political views if so go and stand for parlimant
Cant see UEFA doing anything it’s not as if they were waving Palestinian flags, they bow to bigots and racists but if your political, ah that’s a different matter.
Sadly, I am not so confident the questions will be asked, never mind there being any sanction applied.
Let put all the tripe the want the cant put anthing else up you have to go to paradise it made of ledgends if i had the wings of a sparrow the dirty black arse of a crow i would fly over ibrox tomorrow and u know the rest
You have a platform, so why don’t you help UEFA out here? Get in touch with them and direct them to the details and evidence. The reason why the world is bad is not just because of bad people, it’s because good people do nothing about it. That includes our club. Lawwell has influence at UEFA, but nothing is done about this. Is that not a bit strange and what does it tell you about Mr Lawwell. So while contacting UEFA, why don’t you contact Celtic as well and let them know about their responsibilities.
We had an utterly fine human being at this club who dragged it out of the gutter. Wee Fergus knew how to deal with the bad guys and did so very effectively. He acted immediately when he detected foul play.
Scotland is a country full of foul play and the establishment are happy to keep a certain group of Scottish citizens at bay. Yet they tolerate and even encourage those mindless thugs who preach hatred of a certain religious persuasion. As an atheist, I find this utterly appalling, but it is ridiculous to talk about it and not do something about it. Let UEFA, Lawwell and Celtic know what you think and demand that they do something. Don’t just talk. Encourage all the Celtic groups to do the same.
and is uefa going to look in it this has been happening with this club for decades with the support of the sfa and officials its vile that comes out of these fans.has it been reported to uefa.everything this corrupt vile club does seems to get swept under the carpet,somebody has got totake a stance against it…they should be docked points every time it happens (and the same for any club).you would soon see it stopped,has anybody actually raised this with uefa
The rangers supporters have been getting away with this bigotry from day one and the sfa and spl do nothing about it they where not even punished for the shameful scenes at inrox when Celtic supporters where hit with bottles and even the Celtic staff had a bottle smashed over his head and the Celtic goalkeeper box had broken glass scattered on it and what did the SPL and the SFA do absolutely nothing
Hello,
They’re up to their necks in it and with it being so high profile will they get away with that retorec remains to be seen.
Frankie Bhoyle
Well said