If you’ve been on the Herald website lately, you’ll have found a series of articles called “Policing The Parties.” This is about us, of course.
The pieces are basically re-hashes of the same old tired nonsense. The clubs have to do more. The council should work with them. The police have a tough job on their hands.
The only original things in that series of reports are John Mason trying to backtrack slightly on the absolute rubbish he talked after Celtic’s title celebrations – which he very obviously took part in before jumping on the bandwagon trashing them – and a story about how “tourists” were so worried by what they witnessed that they don’t intend to come back to Glasgow if there is a game on.
That story was particularly hilarious to me. A single tourist – from Paris – complained about feeling scared trying to get a meal at a Merchant City Japanese restaurant.
We have no way of knowing if this guy even existed or not, because of course this is a second-hand anecdote – but that didn’t stop The Herald devoting an entire article to his “terrifying” story, a story which also includes the suggestion that a single afternoon’s partying by our fans had a “devastating impact” on the area and its businesses.
This is the kind of hyperbolic bullshit that has no place in what needs to be a level headed discussion. There is no chance of that whilst people like Matt Lindsay are chasing sensationalist headlines and writing this kind of ludicrous guff.
Lindsay spoke to the secretary and vice-chair of the Merchant City and Trongate Community Council, and it was from him that we got this classic.
“I was speaking to a French tourist on the evening of May 18 after the Celtic fans’ title party. He came from just outside Paris and he was saying that he had been terrified by what he witnessed. He tried to get dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the Merchant City and ended up running away from crowds of fans. He said to me, ‘When I get home, I’ll tell people to watch out when they go to Glasgow – and to make sure there isn’t a football match on’.”
He ended up “running away” from crowds of fans? What are we suggesting here? A possible lynching? Was he in fear for his life? What were these “crowds of fans” doing that he felt he had to “run away” from them?
So celebrating football fans “terrified” him? He’s never seen crowds of football fans before? I would imagine he’s come across that once or twice in Paris, and one or two other sights that might have been more troubling.
He lives in a country where large scale rioting was going on not that long ago, and I don’t mean the “pissing up the outside of the bus-shelter” style “rioting” that some of the more lurid claims about our title party would have you imagine. I mean full-scale civil disorder type rioting, with police in the full regalia and tear-gas and baton rounds and petrol bombs.
That guy has led a very sheltered life. He probably shouldn’t be travelling to different parts of the world if he’s such a sensitive soul. And anyway … we’re talking here about 20,000 people if the estimates are correct. I’m just curious as to how you accidently stumble into the middle of that. He didn’t spot the signs? Hear the noise?
It’s not as if you can be walking along minding your own business and suddenly “BANG! You’re in the middle of a street party!”
There would have been one or two visible symbols of it long before you actually got there, and as there are dozens of Japanese restaurants in Glasgow I’m moved to wonder why he didn’t just do a casual about turn and go somewhere else.
The way this has been blown out of proportion is staggering.
This was a celebration. This was not urban warfare. This was not a riot.
Did it get rowdy? Yes, it did.
But other major cities manage to deal with this, because they have a political class which actually gets involved. John Mason is still banging on about all the parties getting together … his Labour rival Paul Sweeney actually spoke to the club’s directors about it and they were very clear that the club has tried.
It is the council itself which did not want to engage with our club.
And this comes amidst a staggering revelation about the number of Orange parades we have in Glasgow, one that has not generated nearly as much coverage or any of the controversy. At a recent meeting of a council committee with authority on this issue, it was revealed that over 260 of them took place last year.
“On the processions, of those which were applied for last year, how many were actually permitted?” one of its members asked. “It just seems that the number of orange order marches is disproportionately excessive. Why are so many permitted?”
And you know what she was told? All of them were permitted.
I’m sorry, but I’m not going to accept local businesses and residents in some areas having a megaphone to demonise our fans when those in the vicinity of those parades are expected to simply keep their mouths shut and get on with it.
We live amidst a reeking double standard here, and the more people want to dance around it and ignore it and pretend it isn’t there, the more it stinks.
You know when I’ll take Lindsay and others seriously?
At the end of next month if they have a similar series of articles out about the marching season and why this city still tolerates it.
You want to talk about what’s bad for tourism?
That ghastly, backwards, bigoted spectacle is a stain on Glasgow and on this country.
It’s not just that this elephant is very obviously in the room that bothers some us but that it has been allowed to shit all over the place for too many years to count, and nobody in the chattering classes has ever suggested that maybe the rest of us shouldn’t have to clean up after it.
It’s not just that it’s football fans who are the easy target, it’s that it’s our football fans. That’s what’s gotten some of these people on their high horse, and they are kidding themselves on if they think that a lot of us aren’t fully aware of that fact.
When I used to live in Glasgow I wrote to the council about an orange march that happened about 4 times every summer on my street that nobody wanted. We were merely a convenient route between 2 cesspits of bigotry it would seem.
They never even bothered to respond. Either to my individual letter or a joint one with neighbours. Was my area not deemed as trendy as the old Candleriggs market? Or is it that Celtic fans are fair game, but the ludge will cause problems?
Some people can’t get over the fact that Celtic are the top team in glasgow and just bitter wee people
260 Orange marches in Glasgow IN ONE YEAR?!
How can this huge number be possible and why isn’t the clearly bigoted disgrace highlighted anywhere, far less the media, who I wouldn’t trust to see me across the street?
Surely something must be done about this outrage?
Glasgow council should ban them all. Tell them to take their sectarian crap back to were it belongs and anyone who wants to participate can go over there and watch them
Really is a load of garbage when you see all the orange walks we have to endure holding up traffic not allowed to cross the street if you try you will be attacked before you get to the otherside police do nothing and also look at George Sq not so long ago it was wrecked memorials ect where were the police and Glasgow City Council then it’s same old adage one rule for them does not apply to us apparently makes my blood boil ?
Maybe good old Nigel Farage will make an appearance at one of those ‘Briddish ‘ walks come July ? Milk shake anyone ?
Aye – Preferably laced with acid or something like that John !!!!
When I mentioned to my wife yesterday about an orange walk that is being organised
for around 3 miles away from us she said….”but is that not illegal now”? That, from a person
who could hardly distinguish an orange walk from an orange aid. Does no one in Glasgow
Corporation, or Mason even, think along these lines? What exactly does this new Hate Crime law cover? Maybe it will dawn on the Police commissioner some day that not only are they breaking the law but frightening poor law abiding tourists like the one from Paris who lost
about two stone galloping away from the Celtic revellers.
Your wife makes a very valid point there, Effarr, as Orange walks must fall under the remit of this new Hate Crime Bill in Scotland.
Of course they’ll argue that the walks are a celebration of Protestant culture but try helping them celebrate their culture while wearing a Celtic top, or anything green.
Besides, everyone knows that they’re simply an exercise in asserting Protestant ‘superiority’ it’s just that no one in the City Chambers, media, police, law lords or anywhere else will ever admit that obvious fact because that is the Establishment and they are the Establishment team.
I wonder how many St Patrick’s marches were allowed across Glasgow in the same time period.
I think the answer would be NONE.
I totally agree, in this day and age only glasgow thinks its acceptable to celebrate the killing of catholics, dancing in their blood is the chant and this is at the very heart of these orange walks, we had no say in it when they would brandish their thuggish behaviour and then when anyone would dare question their vulgarity they were either arrested or beaten up and make no mistake these people were afforded the protection by the Scottish police force and I’m not talking about a scenario from the sixties or seventees, this is present day so I have every reason to agree with Martin
Fully agree with your sentiments. I live in perth and we have to suffer these marches as well. Law abiding citizens bring prevented from crossing by baton welding thugs.
Wonder what the outcry would be ìf instead of anti Catholic tunes and songs that were anti Islam. The outcry would be unbelievable
I was there and saw the signs James and they were beautiful for certain…
Beautiful Celtic Ghirl after Beautiful Celtic Ghirl clad in beautiful Green and White Hoops in the sunshine I passed walking from Argyle Street at Central Station –
Everyone was boisterous, I was speaking to tourists on several drink stops from ma ‘Diet Irn Brewery’ bottle (as I’m unfit for longer walks now) and they were truly amazed at the whole spectacle, I told one to follow me to The Trongate to take it all in which she duly did and took lots of videos happily to show her folks back home in America…
Will that (clearly) filthy orange bastard Lindsay publish that (because I know he’s more than likely to be lurking on here) – Will he hell publish that nor go looking for anything good about Celtic FC ever… Will he Fcuk…
I’d like to see the names of The Vice-Chair of The Merchant City or The Trongate Community Council after that rant by them –
Rest assured it’ll be something like Trevor King or Campbell Torquill or something like that and rest assured that they’ll be supporters of a football club that’s as of today 11 years and 311 days old – ie. Sevco FC…
Honestly this country in bits n’ bobs and more is so fuckin twisted and all by Sevco Huns and Unionist supporters and Unionists voters – yep that includes Celtic supporting Labour, Lib Dem and Tory ones I’m afraid as well…
The Six Occupied Counties of The Island of Ireland will be less twisted these days and that says a helluva lot about Scotland – And that’s saying something !
James not that long ago you were praising lyndsay. and I said he was an idor words to that effect he has been banging on about this for months and if you go over the articles you will hardly hear a single thing about that lot at dundee and the bother they created the game should have been cancelled what with the firealarms going off etc but nary a word against them what did you expect?
I take it the Clown that ran away just settled fur a McDonald’s as its Further doon Argyle St lol! UTTER PISH written as usual, NEVER seen wan bit ae Trouble! Al CERTAINLY no be up the Toon on July 6th, the sight ae aw they Knuckodraggaz drinking their Buckie while BANGIN their STUPID wee drums just makes me PUKE!!
The lodges and their walks make way more mess and urinate and Far wider area but because it,s the masonic lodge nothing gets said
I gave up on the labour party whrn thst wee squeaky voiced leader of the council Mathieson allowed the orange fest in the square that they wrecked a few years later.
He was a French rangers supporter over for the walk
I remember at my Aunt’s house, in Stirling Ave, Townhead, as a young boy and feeling relatively safe watching from a top floor flat window as a march proceeded along the road. Then suddenly a fire engine in full emergency mode scattered one and all to the pavements. It was quite a sight and one I will never forget but often wondered if there were any repercussions for the driver as he would have been logged in on the duty rota and easy to find.
After one few hours of rioting in Dublin last November a French tourist was asked how he felt . He shrugged his shoulders and basically said it’s not a patch on what happened last week in Paris.and got on with his holiday .
Aye Bhos – But therin Lies the difference…
Ireland (Dublin in this case) has a decent media that reports THE TRUTH unlike our Scummy Scottish Football Media that publishes Lie after Lie after Lie in favour of Liebrox…
I know as it’s reported on here often enough…
Over here in NOT so Bonnie Scotland they are more twisted than a corkscrew and more bent than a banana and more corrupt than a Labour and Tory politician and that is saying something believe me…
Thank Goodness for forums like The Celtic Blog is all that I can say !
Sacre bleu, maybe the nice bigoted orange order will knock up a nice Japanese dinner for this imaginary Frenchman, and said merchant community council can report to herald journalists how friendly they were to him while chanting their bigoted filth and racist chants while they disgrace glasgow and the country with these outdated pathetic marches, celebrating a centuries
year old battle while bringing the city to a halt and disturbing countless businesses, whoever signed off on this is not fit for office, they ought to removed, well hell mend them when the usual mayhem begins and the city suffers these yearly obscenities again .
Celtic supporters celebrating winning titles are being made out to be worse than this shite show is a fkn insult to anyone’s intelligence.
Guaranteed police scotland are going to be very busy with many officers assaulted as per usual,
This bigot fest should be banned, it has no place in a civilised society.
Different colour or creed it wouldn’t see the light of day.
It’s an absolute disgrace the amount of parades that take place.do you think for a minute that any other group would be aloud any where near that amount .I have written to every newspaper asking why there hasn’t been an article on how much the policing costs for all these parades.and does the orange order contribute to these costs..
Why have these Orange Lodge matches in Scotland Anyway? It was spawned in 18th Century Ulster with the one purpose of keeping the Catholics and protestants apart with the goal that they wouldn’t join forces to oust the British from Ireland. Last time I checked, Glasgow was in Scotland.
The Republican/home rule/IVF/IRA cared not what religion you were, only that you wanted what was best for your country.
The Orange Lodge were Bigoted, Supremacist Thugs. Protected by an over-border state.
Still are.
Sick of celtic fans getting the shit end of the stick wile these parasites get to walk all over the place without incident, aye very good !!!