Well, today Celtic fans got an unexpected boost, and I’m really thrilled for all of our supporters. The verdict on our UEFA case, which we all expected to be very harsh based on previous punishments and what other clubs have received, isn’t as severe as feared. We’ve been fined for the smoke bomb at Villa, but UEFA has stated that they believe the club took all necessary measures to prevent pyro use.
So, our suspension remains suspended, and our fans are free to travel to Munich. On top of that, we’ve also got a pass on the Champions League qualifiers next season—just so long as there isn’t a stupid incident, home or away, against the Germans that puts us back in jeopardy. You would think that such a close escape would finally clarify some thinking on this, particularly in terms of how we police ourselves.
During the Cold War, after the Soviets developed nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles became a reality, the U.S. Strategic Air Command began keeping bombers on what they called “ready alert.”
They also staffed ICBM centres 24 hours a day, and the big boards were switched on to watch and secure the skies against any threat. The concept of a 24-hour watch was born. They called it “eternal vigilance”—being forever ready for an attack.
That’s exactly what we need among our own fans now—eternal vigilance. Every fan needs to be mindful, not only of their own conduct but of those around them.
We need to self-police—not in an aggressive way, but in a way where you put your arm around a mate’s shoulder if he’s acting out and say, “Calm down, big guy, you shouldn’t be doing this.”
That’s what made me most angry about that picture of the fan at Birmingham—nobody around him seemed bothered, even though the possible consequences must have been obvious to every single one of them.
This can’t keep happening. There was a time when Celtic fans would never have permitted such a stupid act that jeopardised the support and the club. But we’ve grown a little complacent, a little too accepting of the unacceptable.
From now on, we have to be a lot more careful about controlling the environment around us and what we permit within it.
We’ve had a lucky escape here, but we’re still under the gun. The sentence still hangs over us, and the possibility of it being enforced at a time when we can least afford it remains a real threat. So, although we’re out of the deep woods, we’re not out of the woods entirely. People need to behave more responsibly.
That said, there has been a little justice done here.
There’s been a little fairness, because it was outrageous that so many of our fans were going to be disenfranchised due to the behaviour of a tiny minority—in this case, the behaviour of one individual. Although, as I said in a previous piece, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Still, it’s a big relief for the fans as a whole.
It’s a huge relief that they’ll be able to go to Germany, and I’ve spent the last hour trying to get bookings sorted for a bunch of folks. I know they’re all looking forward to it. Munich is a tremendous city—it’s one of the best places I’ve ever travelled to—and they’ll have an absolute blast while they’re there.
My only regret is that I won’t be going, but I’ve got my heart set on a bunch of trips next season, but that’s going to depend a great deal on the ability of my fellow fans to keep a close watch on what’s happening around them and to act in the best interests of our club. That’s what this is all about—the best interests of our club.
For today, the news is good and I’ll you’ll permit me a little joy in the suffering of others, a little schadenfreude, some in the media must be gutted. They were gleefully expecting not just the suspended sentence to kick in, but perhaps an even longer ban. Some of them must be pig sick that this hasn’t come to pass.
Still, we must maintain that eternal vigilance I talked about. Let’s not let our standards slip again. Let’s keep showing the world why we’re the best fans in Europe. And we are the best fans in Europe. I firmly believe that.
Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images
The prices of flights are on the rise already given this sensible judgement but aye some future watchful self policing is gonna be required to put a halt to this damaging behaviour.
Is Schlupp available on a free in the summer?
Yes, he’s out of contract in the summer.
Regarding the media being gutted about this decision: apparently the BBC Scotland Sports Dept are submitting an appeal against it.
I do agree with the idea of self policing ! That should be standard practice amongst our fanbase to uphold our good name.
Minorities can always spoil it for the majority and although it’s dreadful, it’s just a fact of life.
We should all remember Seville and the goodwill we created with our mass exodus to Spain.
That has been tarnished in recent years and it’s vital that we check that now, before our fans ( regardless of how good we think we are,) are spoken in the same breath as the marauding Sevconite Huns!
Our club and associated fanbase, is so much better than that !!
Don’t give any of these pro Sevco cretins, the opportunity to discredit us, or think otherwise ! HH
Make no mistake about it Celtic (and her 99.999999% of decent supporters) are very very lucky today for sure…
Has Mr Lawwell’s influence on the ECA swung it for us ?
If so full kudos to someone that I don’t always praise !
Sadly I don’t think your advice will work James as these selfish bastards don’t actually give a Continental Fuck about Celtic any day of the year…
It’s difficult to ask anyone to interfere with those ‘peepil’ (Yep – That’s all / what they are) as you don’t know what the reaction would be, but yep a couple of ‘heavies’ among the support breaking his / her fingers and or wrists might make them think about planning and doing it a second time for sure…
Here’s a wee personal story from days of yore…
In these heyday Indian summer days back in The 70’s I was six and was really pissed off about being the first to be taken in with the sun still blazing especially as a girl that I fancied on her holidays was still out with the rest of ma buddies… (So The Bold Clachnacuddin goes into a strop with ma maw and slappeed the bottom (sash) lounge window and succeeded in breaking it (more three or four cracks – but still broken non the less)…
Big mistake as ma maw (rightly- tho I didn’t see it that way at the time) phoned daddy at the pub (he was home on leave from sea) and up he came to give me a right doing to go along with my cut and painful hand…
That would never happen nowadays but that’s the way it was in The mid 70’s – it taught me a painful lesson and ma weekends out late were taken off me the rest of his leave and I never dared to argue or break any rules any time soon until I started underage drinking at 15 with the rest of the majority of the estate in a disused pump house listening to Now 3,4,5,6 etc on a battery ghetto blaster and by which time ma old man and ma maw had separated otherwise I might not have chanced it if he was still in ma house…
So sometimes a ‘boot in the arse’ does fix out wrongdoing, however I appreciate that kick ass to a petulant six year old by a parent is easier to deal with than challenging a probable stranger without knowing what the reaction of the said stranger would be…
However summery justice does work – it worked with me, it worked in Ireland and it’d probably work with those who plan and execute their evil against their own fellow Celtic supporters !
James, you’ve jumped from the game against Bayern to next season’s qualifiers, we might beat Bayern! I’m going into this thinking stranger things have happened and I can honestly see us getting a result at home, we’ll probably need a large slice of luck away but it’s not outwith the realms of possibility. The Raith Rovers game is badly placed, do we go full strength, keep the momentum and batter them? Or do we rest as many as possible and rely on the squad?
As for the fans, I hope they don’t see this as a slap on the wrist and no big deal. We don’t want infighting but it needs called out.
Unsure if Celtic can legally do this . We have pictures of the clown with the pyro in Birmingham, why don’t Celtic sue him in either a criminal or a civil court for the amount of the fine from uefa . If successful I’m sure it would make these idiots who take pyros to Celtic matches think twice if there was a potential of being sued for thousands £££ and banned for life by the club.
I’m sure it used to say in the small print when purchasing tickets you had to stay within the law and any other conditions attached to the purchase of said ticket.
bjm – it’s a criminal offence to enter a football ground with any pyro never mind setting it off. So why haven’t the police identified him as the photo has him bang to rights.
I feel for the clubs when the authorities fail to back them up.
Clach & the hoops makes a good point there. Although ahm for the support tae self-police, it’s still a dodgy area. What we don’t want, is somebody if needed, puttin some eejit right and a full scale, free for all starts. That wouldnae help matters. Better just pointin the culprit out and lettin the stewards or security deal with it. Keep ourselves right.
Munich is a fantastic city, I worked there for 6 months earlier this century, 2001 to be exact and I made a lot of friends there. In fact I was part of a group of Tims who formed the Munich Shamrock CSC in those days, and it was myself, after a lot of suggestions who came up with the name of the club. It wasn’t a touch of genius or inspiration on my part as the pub we were in at the time and where we watched aal the games was called the ‘Shamrock’ LOL
Kevcelt69 – I tried speaking to stewards at Dundee when 4 masked arseholes appeared in our area from their stance behind the goal. They stood in front of a stewards, yards from the police control room and set off flares despite being told 2 of us had respiratory problems and one had heart disease. These arseholes don’t care about anyone and it’s a good kicking they need. On the night the stewards said they couldn’t do anything and the watching police failed in their duty to protect the public
The same clowns will start there ira garbage again, and spoil it for the rest of us. Im happy that have got to travel , still angry about the clowns who sang there bigoted songs in Birmingham, but ill chill soon enough about that. Celtic are a fantastic football club, formed for the right reasons, and followed for the right reasons, but these cretins need to be exterminated HH
Sadly I have zero faith in the twats that behave in this way and a ban is in the post.
I actually slightly disappointed that there is no ban as feel it’s the only way the message might hit home to the twats it even then I doubt it. What it would do is galvanise the majority against them and hopefully also the club working harder with ticket allocations to keep them out of the twats hands.
The story of the boys at Dundee is simply horrific and the song book in Birmingham was nauseating – we’ve gone from everyone favourite team in Scotland to being widely despised. That’s some achievement?.?.?.?.?