The BBC has weighed in on the matter of the Celtic fan’s title party at the weekend, in a piece which is as filled with ignorant rubbish as anything you could hope to read. It quotes business owners and council officials who seem intent on putting the worst possible spin on the events, and to read it you would think that our supporters had wrecked the whole area.
A bus-stop got damaged. Wow. Some graffiti got sprayed. I don’t want to suggest that this stuff is no big deal, but this is a city centre. I am sure graffiti happens everywhere, and the business owner who complained about it actually admitted that it’s a regular occurrence but expects us to swallow the idea that if it’s “Celtic or (the Ibrox club)” graffiti that this is somehow different.
One business owner, whose café is full of rescue cats, said that the noise scared the animals. I’m not downplaying that, but please … let’s try to keep it real here.
Another owner claimed that their having to close early had “potentially” cost thousands of pounds. Like we live in a world where a Trongate café earns thousands of pounds in takings on a Saturday early evening. Not in this lifetime. She said she lived in Barcelona; perhaps that’s true for that city, but not for the east end of this one.
An owner of a children’s shop, who closed for the day, claimed that children would get scared if they had stayed open. The children whose parents took them to the celebrations – many, many, many of them – would have disagreed.
Her general rant was the worst of the lot. She talked about hypothetical damage (which in the event wasn’t done), and demanded the club itself be made to pay for any that had been caused … why would Celtic have to pay? What role did the club play here?
The council wanted to pass the buck. Of course.
They made the already discredited claim that Celtic should have laid something on. How? Where? Like what? Let’s try to look at this logically. To get permission for something like that takes many months, and requires submitting a mountain of paperwork. To what end? On the off-chance that you do win the title, months later? What if you don’t?
Celtic, by the way, has tried to talk to the council about these sorts of events for years. We’ve been ignored for years. We’ve even released a sweeping statement about it, and asked for Scotland’s political class to do more to support football clubs and their fans … and that too was roundly ignored. But numerous laws have been passed criminalising supporters, in what some have characterised as attacks on the game itself.
Paul Sweeny, the Labour MSP, has condemned some aspects of the weekend whilst also making it clear that the council itself could do a Hell of a lot more to help. The BBC report left Sweeny’s comments out; in fact, they didn’t bother to publish a single thing which contradicted their entirely one-sided narrative. The “national broadcaster” seemed more interested in running an anti-Celtic story than opening up a proper public discussion.
“The answer is for Glasgow City Council to recognise that this is a huge part of the city’s culture and to actually create a proper fan zone and victory parade route for the buses to come around,” Sweeny said. “This should be organised with the fans, groups and with the football club management to try and anticipate this.”
Other cities do manage this stuff; the lady who had lived in Barcelona pointed out that that city has, and does, make arrangements for these sorts of situations.
“A Glasgow football team … has won the Premiership every year for the last 40 years, so it’s going to be in Glasgow anyway, we might as well plan for it and make it more of an occasion,” he said. He then talked about the money the clubs bring to the city economy, and although I think his estimates are hilariously low, his point was right on.
“We should recognise the value of that and try to accommodate it more instead of looking down on football fans and not providing the relevant facilities … We provided huge amounts of public investment for the Cycling Championships and we did so for the Euros in 2021, so I don’t see why we don’t do the same for our biggest brands. We should be looking to maximise its benefits while minimising its disruption.”
Only the BBC will know why they chose not to bother with such a sensible and serious suggestion, and instead published something sensationalist and which sought to demonise our supporters. It is the easiest thing in this whole country to do, and a lot of us are sick of it.
It is the BBC what do you expect. I do not for minute expect fair reporting by the likes of them. Ever
Where were the BBC billy boys club when sevco wrecked George square not once but twice under lockdown
Tae be honest ah can see how these city centre celebrations can inconvenience people in various ways. Only other way imo, would be just tae have the celebrations outside Celtic Park. The scenes after the 2018 final were unforgettable. Tho these severely hurtin rreporters will obviously grab any angle they can tae throw negativity on our league win anyway. The same reporters, who made very little of the despicable breach of covid rules by the ibrox support in George square. That scandal should’ve been absolutely condemned for the disgrace it was. And that was the real definition of ‘carnage’. Tho the absolute shameless, scumbag media, used the riotin tae airbrush the covid breach.
Yes and the hordes of orcs and Orangemen get to march every year causing havoc and chaos , usually after drinking all day and hearing their pishy flute bands repertoire of about 3 songs,but this all right and allowed to happen every summer.
Paul Sweeney was on radio Scotland this morning suggesting very sensible ideas for forward planning by the Council,Police and the Clubs for end of season celebrating within certain areas of the City.
This after BBC Scotland had done nothing but slag off the Celtic support all day Sunday.
Cities all over the World accommodate these kind of celebrations routinely every year but no, the so called national broadcaster always likes to cover Celtic and Glasgow negatively in so many ways.
The money both big Glasgow clubs bring to this City and the surrounding area especially in Hospitality, Taxis, Airports and to a lesser extent retail is amense. This is taken for granted by the council and businesses throughout the year.
On a hot summers day with an estimated 25,000 out on the streets and lots of alcohol being taken, I would think that 19 arrests is not an above average number. The Celtic support are not perfect by a longshot but the media just love to stick the boot in, especially where Celtic are concerned.
I was going to write something serious about this article then I thought ‘Phukit’.
I’m a Tim. I’m Scottish. I vote SNP. I believe in Independence.
I stopped buying the Daily Rags over 10 years ago. Even stopped the Broadsheets and get my News input online.
The TV license is a Tax that disproportionately affects those on low or limited incomes. I’ve only been paying it to keep my better half happy. She has a phobia about debt,responsibilities etc.
The BBC is nothing but the Propoganda wing of the Unionist / Monarchist Westminster Establishment.
I’m not paying anymore to be lied to, to have my Democratically elected Scottish Government vilified or miss- portrayed.I’m not paying anymore to have to read or listen to all their talking heads deny public space to my ‘’ Celtic ‘ heritage, my Cultural and Political roots. Nor am I funding them anymore to carry on outright acts of Sectarianism with the slants they continually make on all or any discourse about my chosen Politics ( Extremism ..ehh) or Club while they sit in guilty silence over the heinous acts, Civil and Criminal, carried out by the Uk Establishment and their foot soldiers in the custodians and followers of the so called King’s XI.
They can all Phuk off. No more.
H.H.
SAOR ALBA
Aye and the orange walks only bring cheer and happiness and everyone just carries on without their business being disrupted, usual media bullshit distortion to make a story where there isn’t one , and some people still pay a TV licence for this pish, more fool them.
Nobody died, unlike in the aftermath of the huns’ Covid title party, when God knows how many people were infected as a result of the riot in George Square, where bodily waste and close contact with probably a sizeable percentage of the mob carrying the disease, was prevalent.
How many people became seriously ill and/or perished as a result of this egregious behaviour can only be guessed at.
Maybe the BBC can give us an estimate?
I won’t be holding my breath.
It goes deeper James.
It’s all part of the anti-crowd gathering, anti- peaceful protests.
How dare the immigrant football club gather to celebrate a win, especially when they support other downtrodden causes like the plight of Palestine.
It’s all routed deep in the fact that it does not suit the Peepul. ( Longshanks’ leave behinds)
This is the only explanation I can come up with for their Peepul narrative.
Idiots born in Scotland to represent the corrupt pillaging crown.
Idiots who are equally robbed by unfair taxes glorifying the empire that is no more when its the empire whom exploit them.
They are Stockholm syndrome victims of their ancestors own narrative.
STV last night (Scotland Tonight? with John MacKay) was just as bad, again the photo of a bus shelter was shown with graffiti on it (no evidence it had been done that day) and they had some AH Academic who stated that he was a Rangers fan for 40 years and he was disgusted by the behaviours exhibited – I bet, especially since it wasn’t his team’s supporters.
As for the BBC Hun, we all know by the number of “Reporters” like Laura Miller that managed to get a freebie to Seville to see The Rangers 2012 in the Europa Cup final, which side they lean to
Hope the people with the shops tell HMRC about the thousands lost take note beware