Prior to the game on Thursday, I spoke on the podcast and wrote about my fears that something truly ugly was going to take place on the day. I am not even a little bit surprised that I was correct.
That genuine ugliness was on full display. I’m even less surprised that it was heightened by the fact they were in a winning position when it happened because that is precisely how certain sections of the Ibrox support choose to celebrate. It’s how they’ve always chosen to celebrate—with despicable behaviour, including but not limited to outbreaks of violence.
I have numerous complaints about this. For a start, I want to take issue with the Celtic spokesperson or spokespeople who opted to do the club’s talking through select fan media outlets and via briefings to specific journalists.
One of our players was struck by a coin yesterday; I don’t feel the club has taken this sufficiently seriously, either in its actions or public posture. The Ibrox club is very adept at issuing statements—we often laugh at them for it—but there are times and places when a statement is necessary. Yesterday was such an occasion, and we should have issued a very clear and unequivocal one instead of resorting to side briefings.
It’s absolutely not good enough, not by a long way.
This is not a new situation. It is the continuation of a very old one—one that led to their fans being banned from our stadium. In my opinion, yesterday’s actions fully justify an extension of that ban, even if it means our fans are also prohibited from visiting their ground.
Above and beyond Celtic’s non-statement, we have the SPFL’s utterly worthless one, which calls for a life ban for the coin-thrower. That would be fair enough if it weren’t for the fact it completely downplays the wider issues.
The coin wasn’t the only object thrown at us, and the player who was hit wasn’t the only target. The manager himself was also targeted, yet the SPFL statement makes no mention of that. Once again, it tries to pass this off as the actions of one angry lone nut.
It took one of our own journalists, Graham Spiers, to go over old ground and condemn, wholeheartedly and unequivocally, the behaviour of a far larger section of the Ibrox support than just the individual who threw the coin.
The SPFL’s approach, echoed by much of the media, is disingenuous at best and utterly gutless at worst.
I don’t possess psychic powers, but it was not difficult to foresee what happened yesterday.
Problems at Ibrox have been consistent for a long time. Looming over all of it is a toxic club culture based on supremacy and hatred. That is where these problems originate, yet it is rarely acknowledged—let alone taken seriously—by our media or those at the top of the sport.
It is tedious to keep going over this. Tiresome. Frustrating. Infuriating. We shouldn’t have to talk about this. We shouldn’t have to tolerate it. No other ethnic or religious group in this country would be subjected to the shameful and disgusting bigotry that regularly targets Irish Catholics in Scotland. Yet I’ve given up expecting anyone to do anything meaningful about it.
All we can do is highlight it again and again, hoping to shame enough people into standing with us and pushing this behaviour to the margins where it belongs. But at Ibrox, this is not on the margins; it is mainstream. It’s in the bloodstream, and that is the problem. Few in the media—save for a small handful—will admit this, and nobody in the governing bodies has the courage to address it.
That’s why Celtic should have spoken out, publicly and aggressively. They should have said that anti-Catholic hatred in Scotland is intolerable and must be eradicated. This is at the root of many of these issues. But our club shies away from such statements, offering excuses like not wanting to expose staff to unacceptable risks.
Are we, in the blogosphere, not subjected to such risks by calling this out? Are our players and staff not already subjected to unacceptable risks every time they go to Ibrox, where they are regularly attacked? The risk is already there, and it is amplified by the silence of those who should speak out.
And don’t even get me started on the idiotic English shock jocks who get far too much attention from our media for spouting ignorant nonsense. They aren’t controversialists—they’re dickheads. Some of them should stick to assaulting students and embarrassing themselves on celebrity quiz shows because they have no business discussing serious matters.
The larger issue remains: Scottish football tolerates a hateful culture that should have no place in society. It isn’t just about some goon with loose change in his pocket. It’s about a deep-seated and institutionalised bigotry that manifests in celebration and anger alike, all built around hate. And shamefully, it’s allowed to persist.
Thank you to Graham Spiers and the small handful of media figures who continue to call this out. Shame on the rest, including the governing bodies, who lack either the will or the courage to stand up and say what needs to be said.
That’s why it’s left up to people like me.
I suppose when it’s your blood they’re up to their knees in, you have all the motivation you need to keep fighting.
You can check out our brief discussion on the potential for trouble at this game here.
Couldn’t agree more James. Players are encouraged (quite rightly) to point out racist abuse in most other European leagues and refs will walk teams off the pitch. But not Scotland of course, where the bile, abuse and physical assaults get a tut tut at best.
We have our own lunatics who have a tendency to throw things in the corners especially. I pray they see the value in taking the moral high ground and don’t go tit for tat.
But we are already the bad guys cause we don’t wear poppies on our shirts and express our shared humanity with the suffering Palestinians.
Suffering Palestinian please give me a break here, who attacked whom?
Do the hostages being held by the Palestinian perpetrators not deserve there country to retaliate?Please respect others & keep politics out of the way here what your suggesting is outrageous left wing trash. While I don’t particularly agree with the way the Israeli government has handled the situation the Palestinian regime has instigated this conflict “From the river too the sea” is a statement of hate saying that they want to eradicate the Jewish people not get a recognised state. No different to up to your knees.
Well said. It’s always struck me as a bit hypocritical that the Goon Brigade and their likes would claim to oppose the ‘far right’ when the only difference between the people the GB support and the Nazis is that the latter’s treatment of women was better, given that they didn’t stone women to death for the heinous crime of having the temerity to be in public with their faces uncovered. They have exactly the same views about Jews and gay people. As I saw someone point out, Israel’s actions have made Gaza a safer place for gay people since there are fewer tall buildings off the top of which they can be thrown.
The utterly pathetic response from our club is tragic but unsurprising…
What else would one expect from that Mr Yellow – AKA – Lord Lucan-Nicholson…
Perhaps if some Sevco fan bottled his family, firebombed his house or panned in his window or split his head open in The Directors Box at Liebrox he’d have something to say….
But there again – He’s such a walking and breathing cowardly living creature – he’d still remain silent….
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh now Shameful Micheal !
Let’s change the narrative and say they where singing songs about Asians or Africans, you can bet your bottom dollar show racism the red card would be all over this. They are indoctrinated into this hate from childhood, carted along and paraded at sectarian marches like some kind of trophy. The culture dictates no one likes us, it’s pure pish. I’m guessing that more than half the Sevco team is Catholic, if only those players truly knew how much the fans of that club despise people of the same religion.Its great a journalist of note in Graham Spiers has called it out but, it’s a big but, why don’t sky or the BBC call it out it’s scandalous and it will continue until they are held accountable. Imagine Celtic where winning 3.0 and Alfredo Morelos was hit millimeters from his eye, he’d have been rolling the length of the park trying to get the game cancelled. Man, I really hate that club.
Scotland’s shame has gone on for over 150 years, most of us with Irish/Catholic backgrounds mostly from 2 or 3 generations back have had to listen to this abuse all our lives. The sad thing is we have a reasonably small hard core of real anti Irish racists/bigots in Scotland and a large amount of Scots who hide behind the cowardly cover of one lots as bad as the other, which is obviously bollocks.
The media and politicians in Scotland including the so called National Broadcaster call out all kind of racism and homophobia, yet keep silent on what has been Scotland’s shame for generations.
The few journalists who raise their heads above the parapet such as Graham Spiers and Jim Spence aren’t long in being silenced and their employment cut short.
So much for the show racism the red card badges endorsement on players shirts , more pointless lip service, as much an embarrassment as having specsavers on the referrees shirtsleeves, it’s a sick joke , the SFA needs emptying, they’re a bunch of cowardly scumbags more interested in keeping their heads down and stealing a salary.
The SFA are not cowards. They are facilitators for this ‘Kultchur’.
The SFA are part and parcel of the same Protestant/ O.O. / Masonic infrastructure that runs much of Scotland’s Civic, Local and National Government Administration, Media, Print and Broadcasting, and in Commerce the vast majority of SMEs and ‘family’ run businesses. All areas with a poor record of hiring Catholic workers for anything but the lowest of menial posts.
It was with the connivance of the SFA that DeidCo, in defiance of all legal and accepted business principles and standards are able to masquerade as OldCo.
Statement Fc call the shots and the SFA roll over to the detriment of ALL other member clubs. Except for Celtic the majority if not all belong to the same Kultchur. They have a vested interest in the success of the ‘Establishment’ Klub.
ANYONE BUT CELTIC.
For years I’ve tried and failed to contact uefa ,fifa,sfa etc and not even a reply about the anti Catholicism in Scotland. If this was aimed at the Jewish, Pakistan, hindi etc religion it would be addressed in a heart beat.the so called sectarian law in Scotland is a joke
no change, not sfa findings, little to no police involvement. There should be enough cameras around to pick this up.
No opposition fans, maybe Engels can take the rangers football club to court for endangering his wellbeing at a place of work.
He should actually start by asking questions if Celtic and their (so far) utterly shameful response…
Would that Male Lord Lucan-Nicholson move a millimetre far less a foot ?
Probably fuckin not !
Well done James! You said it all! Our club need to get a backbone and look after their staff and players. No sevco fans should be allowed through the gates at Paradise. HH
The sfa are too cowardly. The only time they’ll show some kind of ‘notice’, is if and when uefa step in, like they’ve done before and the ibrox support and club were warned with serious repercussions if it continued. Would like tae think it has already been noticed, or brought again, tae the notice of uefa and they’re just gatherin proof, tho that’s def a long shot right now. It’s never gonnae take the hate away, tho it would at least force them tae keep their bitter songbook away from games.
My last comment on any game related stuff and time to move on.
As always in these topics, clear and on the ball with everything.
While we await news of the swift arrest of the bigoted thug responsible for attacking Arne Engels, along with the inevitable fines and stand closure that should follow, let’s not forget about some other unresolved investigations:
• Joe Hart’s 18-yard box covered in shards of glass, a deliberate act with the intent of causing serious injury.
• The scarring-for-life attack on the Celtic dugout and staff.
• The Nazi SS 936 Totenkopf flag flown by Hun fans at Tynecastle and Ibrox.
• The bottle thrown at Matt O’Riley.
There might have been some token action taken in response to these disgraceful incidents, but the reality is the authorities have avoided holding the club properly accountable. Plus ça change.
The 2012 spawn of the Huns is an even more horrid incarnation of their predecessor. Back in my youth in the early ’90s, I could see the individuals behind the violence. Game days were horrendous—getting spat on as a young boy coming off a supporters’ bus near the Louden Bar was an early eye-opener. The poison then was overt, brutal, and in-your-face.
These days, it’s different. The poison now hides behind phones, masks, and bottles, carried by wee wimps full of hate in their hearts. They’ve traded outright violence for coins, cowardice, and online vitriol, all indulged by the media, their club, and the lie of survival and victimhood.
Celtic, as always, will keep winning and increasing their pain. We should stop comparing the ‘90s to anything resembling the oldco to newco’s shameful past three decades almost. A young Hun today grows up with a bigot for a father, stuck in a full-blown identity crisis, desperate to be a supremacist over… what? There’s nothing left for them to reign supreme over.
It used to be said, “Your grandweans will be Tims.” I hope not—because they’d also be the offsprings and spawn springs of the same arsehole fathers and grandfathers before them.
That’s my last word for today. I’m off to enjoy my birthday tomorrow and look on the bright side of life.
Smell the glove, keep the faith, and let Celtic do the talking on the pitch. ??
Very good post Smelltheglove…
The lack of governance in our game is shameful, embarrassing and ongoing!
As has been said, the bitterness and bile that emanates from their stands should have been enough to empty them, long before now!
Yet, we see our fans, ( when there was an allocation,) officials, and players targeted with missiles EVERY time we play at their cesspit of a stadium. Their song list is predictable and vile, but rarely gets called out by anyone in our smsm!
When will this ever change ?
Great post Smell the glove !
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!
Personally, I think Celtic need to take a much harder line and a different approach with regards to games at Ibrox. We should simply refuse to take play against them, citing all the instances that ‘Smelltheglove’ listed.
Celtic’s position should be that we refuse to play at Ibrox on purely Health & Safety grounds, we should force the SPFL/SFA to take measures to protect our players and staff from continued attacks and injury. Our £11 million pound signing could have been blinded.
I remember Celtic as European Cup holders in 1968 refusing to go to play Ferencvaros in Hungary after five Warsaw Pact countries, the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Poland, East Germany and Hungary invaded Czechoslovakia. The then Celtic Chairman Bob Kelly refused to play in Hungary due to the invasion. UEFA were forced to conduct a partial redraw for the European Cup. Celtic need to take firm stand with the SPFL and refuse to play at Ibrox until the SPFL take measures to ensure the safety of our playing, coaching and medical staff. Simple condemnation statements are not good enough.
If Engels had been seriously injured, then agents and advisors for any future signings will not be prepared to risk their assets (players) safety if they sign for Celtic.