Earlier today, I posted an article about the Celtic fan banner at the Hibs game over the weekend, the pointing out that our club was founded by immigrants. But that wasn’t the only noteworthy thing to emerge from the match.
Before the season even kicked off, Hibs became the latest SPFL club to drastically reduce the allocation for our fans and those from across the city to a mere handful of supporters.
In the aftermath of that announcement, I read one of the most idiotic articles to appear in the mainstream media this summer.
The article was written by Tam McManus, fully supporting Hibernian’s decision and essentially suggesting that our fans brought it on themselves.
His rationale? That supporters from Glasgow have engaged in racist, sectarian singing, threw flares, and set off fireworks. He argued that these individuals needed to be weeded out of the grounds, and Hibs were correct to respond.
But McManus’s article was foolish for three reasons.
First, it was Hibs fans who initially raised the issue of cutting allocations, and they did so as a very specific response to one set of supporters only; the ones from Ibrox. They even released a statement to that effect. It was their fans, not ours, guilty of sectarian and racist singing and they’ve been doing it at Easter Road and other grounds for years.
Second, the idea of punishing an entire fan base for the actions of a few is plainly and simply wrong. Yes, there’s an element of the Celtic fan base that just won’t take a telling when it comes to smoke bombs and flares. They have jeopardized the away match experience for all their fellow supporters. But rather than working with Celtic to find and address this small group, Hibs are cutting allocations for all of our fans, and McManus agrees with them.
And the third reason is just as obvious, except to clowns like McManus and the Hibs board. Turning away paying customers is something only very rich or very foolish organisations do. Are Hibs suddenly awash with money? Have they become the wealthiest club in the land? Because from where I sit, they play football in a country with one of the lowest-value TV deals, and their attendance figures aren’t exactly among the highest in the game.
These clubs endlessly complain about the financial gap between themselves and the Glasgow teams. But because of petty grievances, parochial attitudes, and the abysmal short-sightedness of those in the directors’ boxes, they’ve adopted a policy of leaving money on the table, sometimes quite substantial sums. Begging their own fans to pick up the slack has, by and large, fallen on deaf ears, so that really is money lost to them entirely.
This is embarrassing for Scottish football. Seeing a game involving the champions played in front of half-empty stands at a ground where we often struggle makes for dreadful television. It makes the game here look backward and ridiculous.
Idiots like McManus defending these sorts of policies bring nothing positive to the table.
But it’s the clubs themselves—the ones that do this stuff—that should be roundly ashamed. They’re killing the away match experience.
On top of that, I’ve long suspected that, for some of these clubs, this is a sporting integrity issue. They’re using the absence of regulations and an away fan guarantee to try and tilt the odds in their favour. Not that it works very often, if it works at all.
But it’s blatantly obvious that this is what some clubs are trying to do.
The fact that this problem is spreading, that every day another club seems to want to put up barriers to prevent willing customers from paying to watch their team, slowly but surely turns Scottish football into the joke that many outside the game here already think it is. Because where else but a footballing banana republic would you find clubs acting this way and being allowed to by those who supposedly run the game?
This is why a lot of people laugh at us.
Because from the outside looking in, this is farcical.
It does seem foolish to turn away money but many football supporters from other clubs are not keen on the IRA chants. What that has to do with football is beyond me.
Yes sporting integrity even got kids into there plans no ball boys behind the goals for quick start to game these bots are getting forced to slow game down on Sunday hibs goal keeper allowed thirty seconds or more to release ball so frustrating sky is going to shove an advert in why directors focus on crowd and benches instead of keeping camera on the ball replays when balls in play clubs like hibs are forcing us to watch games in poor broadcasting tv panel boyd want let anybody talk what has he and Mcfaddin got to do with hibs or Celtic I’m sure supporters would like some of there ex players but boyd talks som manure I’m sure English based sky has boyd there to embarrassed scottish people he’s a clown and he Is there to represent Scottish football
I’ve said it before and I will now say it again. A bit extreme I know, but Celtic as a club should refuse under the present circumstances to take any tickets from any club for any away games, until they all realise that they cannot do without us financially. Let’s stop them all fucking us about, call their collective bluffs, I don’t thing the status quo would last too long do you? It is difficult enough for CSC’s to run supporters buses to these games without getting ticket allocations constantly reduced, so let’s boycott them big time and listen to them all fkn squealing.
I’m afraid the Celtic Board is not predisposed to turning money away.
It goes against their Capitalist code.
Squeeze, squeeze and flog it is their mantra.
Tam Mc Manus has a different point of view , it doesn’t make him an idiot !!!!
I can see both points of view ,particularly the financial loss to clubs but there is also the hassle of having to deal with fans from Celtic ( and Rangers ) who intimidate other supporters and are disruptive around the town. It happens at every ground.
Tam McManus is an idiot. He has a long history of writing idiotic anti-Celtic pish.
Mc Manus conveniently forgets Hibs fans’ appalling record regarding the abuse of opposition players including throwing missiles, and the singing of foul songs themselves.
They constitute one of the scummiest supports in the country.
Two points here John…
1) Clubs will not have to deal with hassle from “(Rangers)” fans and haven’t since 2012 when they banished themselves to the football fires of hell – In other words, they’re deed as the do-do my friend…
And two…
2) Who in the actual fuck is Tam McManus ? – I’ve never heard of him for sure !
I agree wholeheartedly. Clubs complain about finances but then cut off their nose to spite their face by turning away fans thus actually losing money. Not only are they killing themselves but also football as a live spectator sport, relying solely on their own dwindling home support and tv money. There appears to be a different set of economics at play in Scottish football.
That’s no entirely accurate. Was pissed off at our own support at one point, singin the ‘roamin in the gloamin’ tripe. Only heard it once, loud and clear on the TV, tho that was enough. Dae these morons no realize how much of an insult it is tae every non-catholic supporter, player etc. They want tae bin that shite. It’s embarrassin.
Well said Kevan. Feckin’ idiots with no sense of Celtic history.
Hail Hail.
James, fans travel from all over Scotland to support the Ugly Sisters. They won’t support their local teams for one reason. Sectarianism! Thus the financial gap between the smaller clubs and the Old Firm is too large.They know they’ve NO CHANCE to win the league and virtually none to win a Cup.Thats why there’s empty seats in their Stadia.
You’re really not worth a reply, but I support a team because I’m sectarian??? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. HA!
Look around the leagues, most leagues are dominated by two or three teams. In the last 20 years, for example, Hearts (2), St Johnstone (2), Dundee Utd, Inverness & Hibs have won the Scottish cup, what’s your definition of “virtually none”?
The Old Firm is ‘pan breed’ – deed Somehow and has been as dead as the do-do for 12 years plus now !
Only The Sevco Huns and The Scummy Scottish Football Media wanna keep it’s pathological lying myth alive….
The reason for introducing two home games a at home against Celtic, and, at that time a team calledRangers, ateammwhich played out of Ibrox, was to increase monies available to the other teams in the league. A ban on fans negates, any putative benefit from the arrangement.
Not an away fan tbh and it kills more than just entrance fees as I suggested before, pubs, eateries, transport, ground catering and more….
It will all change when they are hit in the pocket. This will be costing each of those areas millions in revenue. Costing the clubs 5-10k customer loss in ticket money and more at least 4 times a year. Prolly close to £200k per game. hell mend them.
Gates receipts are a less proportion of clubs revenue than 20 years ago. Stadiums are too small for the Big Glasgow clubs but right for the rest of the league. Sadly our away fans sectarian and IRA chanting is a disgrace. It put me and many others off watching and attending. It needs to stop.
Absolutely spot on. Turning away paying customers is the road to ruin for sure. In fact clubs would be better advised to maximize paying customers to gain more revenue and have their concessions used to the full. Watching on TV overseas friends often al why is half the ground empty? They are amazed when the answer is because they won’t sell more tickets to the away team on purpose. The authorities need to mediate this issue and set some standards. They will kill the atmosphere at games in hope that a small crowd benefits them. So far that has not worked. So may as well make lots of Money while getting skelped rather than getting skeloed and leaving money on the table. Not very fiscally responsible
Just as well the majority of televised games involving our club is away otherwise the embarrassment of empty seats being beamed across the land would be ours. I live a fair distance from Glasgow now and my season ticket was reluctantly given up because of that and work issues. Trying to get a ticket for a home game now when I am off is nigh on impossible. Then when I see the highlights and the ground is half empty really does my head in. If it wasn’t for the ultras Parkhead would be a dull place most weeks due to the big game hunters picking and choosing their games