Ian Maxwell has tonight attempted to defend the exclusions of both Celtic Park and Ibrox from the list of stadiums hosting the Euros in 2028. His comments are a nonsense.
His claim that Hampden is the only iconic stadium of the three is absolute rot as anyone who follows football knows damned well. Celtic Park and Ibrox are vastly better grounds that Hampden.
Both grounds regularly feature on the lists of the most atmospheric stadiums in Europe. Celtic Park frequently competes with Anfield for the top spot in those lists. That is the very definition of iconic. His comments are plainly ridiculous and insulting as well.
Hampden has one thing in its favour and one thing only; it is the home of the SFA and the SFA will put its own selfish interests first, every time. It’s the reason Celtic sees no reason to upgrade our ground to the level required to host a European final; the SFA will never accept any ground being used for that purpose but their own white elephant.
The SFA is a completely self-interested organisation without an ounce of ambition for our game or a shred of backbone. Club grounds up and down England will host games in this competition and there will be plenty of credit to go round … Scotland is restricted to one ground because the SFA has no intention of sharing any of the benefits.
He tries to pass this off by saying that Wales, the Republic of Ireland and the Six Counties are each using one stadium, and that this shows that there is “consistency.” The only consistency here is how much garbage that man talks and has talked since getting the gig.
None of those places can boast three world class stadiums, and that’s the difference and his disingenuous nonsense should be scorned as exactly the garbage it is. The SFA could have proposed three grounds from here and the two club stadiums would have had as good a chance of getting matches as Newcastle (on the list) Everton (on the list) and Aston Villa (on the list.)
They could have promoted the whole game here instead of only themselves.
This is their level, this appalling selfishness, this arrogance that Maxwell thinks he can sell this bag of excrement to us on the grounds of Hampden’s “iconic status.”
What a joke. That man should be nowhere near the pinnacle of our game.
Neither CP nor Ibrox currently has the top UEFA stadium designation, with one stipulation requiring team buses to enter underground/enclosed areas. It would cost an absolute fortune to add that to either stadium and in Ibrox’s case I’m not sure how it could even be done due to the listed building status of the Main Stand. Hampden already has it, even though the two ends are very poor for both facilities and sight lines. Murrayfield hasn’t got it either, hence it not being part of the bid (aside from the SFA and the SRU not being on the best of terms). A shite state of affairs, but that’s how the situation is.
My late Dad used to tell me ” never trust a man who’s always smiling”.
Maxwell is always smiling and he’s a hun. End of.
Exiting the stadium might have something to do with it also.
It’s becoming a feckin nightmare on the Gallowgate after games where the traffic is backed up up and and at a standstill for up to an hour every home game while they empty the Jock Stein Stand coach park.
I cannae see the EUFA bigwigs tolerating that shitfest once they have done their feasibility study.
Ps,FUCK THE SFA
Why would they change,? The Celtic hierarchy let them off time and time again. Nobody stands up to them, Not one of them is a tenth of the man Fergus McCann is.
Spot on.Hampden is a shitehole
According to SSB tonight, ‘ it’s probably because the “behind the scenes” facilities are a cut above ‘. According to proscribed belief, it’s because Hamdump has state of the art built in gyms and training facilities. So my question is this. Does UEFA insist that all eligible stadia have this facility built-in?
Would appreciate your take on that (and subsequent debunking), James.
He can’t debunk it. It’s true.
It’s because of the dressing room size and access as per UEFA guidelines.
The problem is UEFA would never sanction Celtic Park to be in the running due to the lack of internal coach parking (amongst other criteria). So without this fundamental issue being resolved it would not matter if Maxwell had put forward Celtic Park as UEFA would simply veto the choice. Here in Portugal all of the stadiums that hosted the Euro´s (renovated or rebuilt) had this. It is due to the safety of the players and more importantly the referees that UEFA insist upon this, unless we get that then unfortunately we will NEVER host a big final (Likewise the other mob as Ipox also doesn´t have this) Would imagine Murrayfield would (haven´t been either professionally or as a fan so can´t state this as 100% fact) but would the SFA put forward a rugby ground ??
Thanks for the input Paul.
He is normally the invisible man when it comes to controversial SFA type Fcuk up’s like institutional referee cheating now aided and abetted with VAR cheating and the like…
He will be lording it with this decision for Hampden for sure –
He might be lording it come Sunday if Scotland qualify for Germany 2024 that evening…
I should really want Scotland to win as ma country of birth and I should be hoping for it for friends and neighbours who will be delighted with qualifying when and if Scotland do –
But the SFA and SPFL have sickened me as a Celtic supporter over many years and the thought of Maxwell and his cohorts (and Sevco minded cohorts at that) lording it at Germany 2024 makes me wanna spew bucket after bucket of seasick !
The Euros Celtic Park snub..is totally misleading…we don’t meet the Fifa criteria…nothing more, nothing less. Who’s fault is that? Not the FTSFA but our boards lack of imagination
Our board won’t spend the money to no benefit. The SFA have made it clear that if European finals etc are coming to Scotland it’ll be at Hampden.
No reason for us to spend it when we will get literally no benefit from it whatsoever.
If, IF, the main stand is redeveloped then criteria’s required will surely be taken into account?
Why would we let that lot into or borrow our Paradise, our ray of hope. Personally I don’t care if Scotland qualify. It may be my country of birth but there is no love afforded to it. Its institutions, its governments and its acceptance of oppression, bigotry and sectarianism broke that bond a long long time ago.
As a Catholic of Irish decent, this country failed and denied me, my family and friends of opportunity. I’ll never support Scotland and the thought of any success for the SFA, SPFL and Steve Clarke makes me want to puke my ring. What sickens me more is the grovelling for acceptance. The only thing Scotland taught me was how to fight and how to run. HH
Some things in there I disagree with – I do love Scotland and would dearly love to rid it of its scum element – but I completely get the tone of that and the content. I could give a standing ovation to that post.
@SSMPM. How ye feel about the Scotland team and Scotland in general is up tae you. Tho tae try and blame Scotland as a whole, for oppression and bigotry is utter crap. The SW of Scotland has been and is, as long as I can remember, the area which is far more culpable than anywhere in the country for this cancer. I’m of Scottish-Irish decent, raised in the SW of Scotland, love my country and have never felt the need tae hold my whole country in general for anythin ah’ve witnessed and there’s been quite a few things. And as a mention, like it or no, the team ye support is first and foremost a Scottish club. A Scottish club with a Scottish-Irish heritage, or Irish-Scottish, whatever way ye want tae describe it. Our greatest captain Billy Mc Neill said after winnin the European cup ‘we did it for Scotland’. (proof of that is on The Celtic Story footage if ye care tae look). Markin out the whole of Scotland as a nation, the way you have there is nonsense.
My recollection, is that some journalist asked Cesar if we had won the European Cup for Britain. His answer:
“Certainly not for Britain. For Scotland? Perhaps. Most of all, we did it for Celtic.”
Apologies in advance, Kevan, if my recollection is faulty.
Hail Hail.
@ magua. If he said that as well, then ok, ah can accept that. In the footage I’m talkin about, he said ‘we did it for Scotland, that’s the important thing’. Those were his words.
I’ve got broad shoulders Kevin so you crack on. Don’t think I did say the whole of Scotland as a nation or that I hate Scotland. Scotland is a country, not a person or an homogenous people, and it’s a most beautiful country at that. For example my family’s home was never attacked or targeted by a mountain or a glen or the magnificence of its isles. I believe I was talking about the institutional failures including the footballing ones and the maintenance of a divisive regime by a certain type of people.
You failed in your oppositional response to recognise the tone of the content of the comment and the consequences that had and still has on some of its citizens. Maybe in your SW of Scotland location your family members or home was not attacked or targeted almost weekly, annually and over decades by people in the streets, marching bands who think they’re pure gallas, who think that they are the people, who think that your windows and mother’s face are worthy of smashing. Ours was. Never ever did that get addressed by those that are supposed to police it. Failure and maintenance. This dog or its family will not forget or lick the hand of the ‘masters’ that beat it nor take a sucky bum lick approach with those that wish and do continue with it.
Scotland is a country, not a person or an homogenous people, and a most beautiful one at that. I refer you to Magua’s comment. HH
@SSMPM. Didn’t FAIL to recognize any content of your comment and every country in the world has a degree of institutional failures. Some worse than others. And when you say for example ‘ this country failed and denied me’, it sounds, probably tae most people, like your implying the country as a whole has failed you. So you should’nt be really surprised at the response.
Glad you responded Kevan and to see your explanation of your thought process. I totally agree with you’re comment that it is up to me what I think. Not anyone else, not even our most successful captain. Particularly as it’s as a result of my experiences, those of my family, friends and for example our church that’s windows gets smashed up and walls painted on regularly, something I forgot to mention. This over every decade that I can remember of my life. In all honesty I wasn’t surprised at your response/s. I recognise that you felt offended because you love your country and that you perhaps took a literal rather than a literary licenced explanation within the context of what was written. Whether most people would probably have seen it that way is your interpretation though, not fact. I haven’t seen loads of comments agreeing with that interpretation or maybe they weren’t bothered by it, as you appear to be, or maybe you just get upset easily or like arguing.
As I’m sure you well know a country can’t do anything to you, thinking that truly is a nonsense. It’s not a living breathing thing, it’s an inanimate thing. I was writing, as I believe you are well aware, about those people in the institutions that purport to represent it, and those that maintain it. As you say you didn’t FAIL to recognise that in my comment. If every country in the world has a degree of institutional failures as you say that really doesn’t make what occurs in Scotland somehow acceptable nor something that we shouldn’t strive to change. Enjoy the rest of the season. HH
Excellent comment
Right on, brother. I used to share those views but the years have mellowed me. I love being Scottish and I feel absolutely zero affinity with Ireland other than it’s cracking place to visit.
I can assure you Ireland has its scum element too. And I am not just talking about those loyalist pricks in the North.
Scotland’s problem, for me, is the Nationlist movement who couldn’t run a fucking pissup in a brewery. Also the fact that the SNP is synonymous with independence. As such, we’ll not get our freedom from Westminster any time soon. But the fact that there are so many people who want that does fill my heart with gladness.
Don’t hate being Scottish lest you want to be aligned with some (albeit classic) soundbite from Trainspotting. Own it and join the campaign to free ourselves from Tory voting England. People who want progressive socialist state should never vote Labour as they’ll always balls it up at some point and we’ll return to having another 10-20 years of Tory rule to look forward to. Starmer’s Labour are just another shower of Red Tories anyway. England showed what it thinks of progressive socialism by treating Corbyn the way they did.
Once Scotland is independent, we can make our own mistakes!!!!
Euro 2028 in England with token visits to the neighbours. Twas always going to be thus and the sfa were far too happy with that arrangement.
Good well written and informed piece of writing as always. May I ask how to find you on Twitter as there are several similar names?
If you look at the stadiums in England that were part of the bid, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and The Emirates were not included. If you ask anyone who has been to all 3 stadiums, they will tell you that Wembley is the worst (albeit it has a far higher capacity).
The English FA also chose Everton’s yet-to-be-built new stadium to represent the North of England. It will have a capacity of 52,800. Obviously there are bigger options North of London. That also seems strange to me.
What does please me, however, is Northern Ireland’s chosen stadium. Hahaha. Get it up ye ya loyalist pricks.