What a ghastly day that was yesterday for our media. This blog wrote about the banner at Ibrox and hardly a single outlet did the same. With the exception of The Sun, who did highlight it, there was very little coverage of it at all. Which is to say none that I could see.
I’m a Glaswegian and proud of it. I am a proud Scot.
But there are times when I feel a deep, deep sense of shame about the place I’m from. There are people here who despise me and the community I’m from, and for a lot of people here that’s perfectly alright with them. Even those who don’t have a side to take sneer at us because in their eyes this is all part of the “Old Firm” and we’re just as bad.
Shame on those people for their ignorance.
Their ignorance is preferable, though, to the cowardice of others. It is preferable to the gutless chattering classes who won’t speak up. It is vastly more preferable than our media which pretends it isn’t happening, or worse, which write utter nonsense about great “the atmosphere” inside Ibrox is on nights when the whole stadium is up to its knees in fenian blood.
This country ought to be outraged that their fans believed they could get away with that banner the other night.
Because that banner was an utter obscenity.
But of course, if they didn’t think that they could get away with it they would never have done it.
That’s one of the reasons they did it, for the same reason they think they can take over George Square next weekend if they get a result against us. Because other than us, nobody else seems to care.
The people who put that disgusting banner up should be ostracised for it, and banished to the fringes. But their club tolerates them, the press ignores them, the police indulge them and the rest of society does not seem to care.
Not only was that a naked, open, sectarian threat to Irish and Catholics here in Scotland, along with the implied threats of their George Square announcement about how this city belongs to them, but that banner heaped disgrace upon this country and even if the country does not care about us it should care about that, about its own reputation.
That’s an image of our nation which was beamed across Europe, those words “Surrender or you’ll die” a message to every immigrant community here and abroad, the celebration of a thug, an image that neither their club not Scotland itself should easily shake off.
Nobody cares. The media silence was deafening.
The political class doesn’t bat an eyelid.
One of our football clubs has supporters who did that, on the stage of the Champions League, and that should bother more people than just a handful of Celtic sites.
They did it because they could.
Because nobody will stand up to these Peepul and tell them there’s a line of decency and acceptability and they crossed it.
Yeah this is one of those days when I feel a deep sense of shame at my country, because it will not stand up for me.
More than that, perhaps worse than that, it won’t even stand up for itself.
Let them have the square Celtic announce 1 hour before kick off forfeit game let all the hordes of zombie scum congragrate let all law abiding citizens not subjects vacate the city then with no warning drop a TND on them instantly vaparising all the vermin. Rant over HAIL! HAIL! Glasgow’s green and white and always will be.
They put a tifo up of Daniel Day-Lewis sad bunch I wonder which retard thinks this nonsense up. Only thing that slightly bothers me is these guys are bringing up weans.
One of the saddest things you will see in modern day Scotland is when young teens are propped up against walls out of there boxes in full regalia on marching days.
You have to blame the faithers.
I left Scotland in 2020. The lack of racism/bigotry I’m exposed to now is amazing. When I visit though… That’s an eye opener. Growing up you get used to it, so only the really bad stuff (like that banner) register. But move abroad for a while and when you visit… It’s everywhere. It’s endemic. There’s a real insular atmosphere in Scotland and if a white male like me can sense it I dread to think what it must be like for the “visibly foreign.”
Scotland talks a good game but it’s a cesspit of this type of thing.
Great piece James you hit every nail on the head. Unfortunately those people in this country who can make a change . Organisations and institutions that can stop this “will” turn a blind eye to what it has already caused.
I hope UEFA and FIFA do their own inquiries and come to their own conclusions. I hope to god they don’t ask the SFA/SPFL for their opinion I think it would go along these lines “NOTHING TO SEE HERE”
The S** newspaper also thought the “buy josh a pint “nonsense launched on Line for the young Killie fan who taunted the table of Celtic fans abroad after Sunday’s result was a spiffing idea.Our fans should be given a free pint for not reacting to the wee tosser considering he screamed f*** yous all at them.Our media thinks abusing Celtic fans and by extension Irish catholics is a blast
And should our own Board have said something publicly,
or lodged a complaint to UEFA / SFA ?
Our Board was posted missing in 2012 – and afterwards – so won’t hold my breath. 🙁
James get your pal across the water to use his journalistic instincts and privileges press pass to chase it up and get it HIGHLIGHTED with the EUROPEAN bodies in charge of the game,after all it’s their tournament,because you ain’t going to get it from the press gang in Scotland.
Of course they’ll ignore it, media are as much of a disgrace as that institution are. Same as, if recent attitudes are anythin tae go by, their planned ‘rally’ in George Square will be allowed as well by the Scottish police. Unless we pull off a result that is. Btw, trivial sye, tho interestin, the person who’s image they had on their banner D.D. Lewis, is actually a Celtic fan. Sure ah read that somewhere. Wonder how many of them knew that.
I can assure you there is no planned aftermatch gatherings ,there never was it was from a spoof onion bears account which grew arms and le
They are a law unto themselves James – and it looks exceedingly likely that the new club Sevco are 100% worse that their deceased predecessors Rangers (died c.2012) – and my goodness that is saying something !
It’ll be interesting to see what unfolds on Saturday 3rd of September should they win…
It’s not just Glasgow or the central belt – it can happen in wee pockets of The Highlands as well and a while ago I remember talking in the pub saying that I was going to Derry on holiday and this Sevco fan said “It’s not Derry it’s (The capital of England) Derry” if I can best describe his wording that way… Consequently I then asked him why he described it as that and the answer I got was – “Cos that’s what The Rangers* fans call it” (They actually were called Rangers at that time and not Sevco as now) ! – So I said to him “How come 50,000 of your fans bellow out “We’ll guard old DERRY’s walls and he was stuttering and stammering and truly lost for words and he quickly started on another subject away from Sevco and Football…
They really are a truly mental breed in general (though there are one or two exceptions) and are so so very easy to beat in debates of any sort. They are so so easy to humiliate and I do it where and when required –
With Celtic having all the records in Scottish Football thankfully it’s very easy to do – This guy that I mentioned above was more illiterate than arrogant, but it truly is a joy to beat an arrogant Sevco fan and it’s very very easy to do !
The banner did not offend me 1 bit.. it’s only a banner. The green brigade also put out crass banners, and get the club fined. What bothers me the most is when the green brigade put out the banners, known that it is going to get our club into trouble, and a potential closure of a stand during champions league nights. I’m not interested in rangers banners, as I don’t support them. We should get our own house in order. I guarantee the green brigade will put out some banner during our champions league run, that will get us into bother. This is Scotland, it’s always been the same. You don’t get this garbage down in England, nobody down there cares what religion or anything you are. Celtic and rangers is the most poisonous derby on earth, pure hatred, and it’s always been the same.
S Thomas…
Celtic and Sevco not Celtic and rangers is the most poisonous derby on earth I’d say…
Due to the fact that rangers died in 2012 !
S Thomas: What crass bigoted and racist banner have the Green Brigade ever put up at Celtic Park?
Supporting oppressed people throughout the World is in the DNA of our football club, if some people find that offensive so be it.
The only beef I have with the Green Brigade and that other section at the other end of the ground called the Bhoys is the choice of some songs that are sectarian and are an insult to what our club stands for.
You are more or less stating that a large section of our support are on a par when it comes to intolerance and racism with the Ibrox mob and that is plainly not the case.
Nobody in Europe will know what it means and they wouldn’t even care. Even the Irish
themselves don’t give a damn despite many, like myself, being Irish citizens through
parentage. What about the Irish ambassador in Edinburgh? He is the one who should be taken to task and then we have Irish Voice who are presently looking for funding: do they mention it much? There is no way the Scottish media will say anything about it while our own remain silent.
Your article demonstrates once and for all that the city does in fact belong to ” them”.
What are YOU going to do?. What am I ? What are WE?. this is the time, this is the place and WE are the people.
Spot on as usual James…just surprised you haven’t mentioned the homophobic stuff about Jota and Hatate that is rife on every medias comments section right now…if you haven’t seen any of it I suggest you take a look because it truly is abhorrent
The bully in the playground with shite on a stick. Looking the other way is to condone it.