Nobody at Celtic should hold out much hope for “normal” relations with Ibrox.

Today, the big global debate is on European security. And if there’s one thing Trump and his rabid band and I agree on, it’s that it’s about time Europe took its security more seriously. It’s about time Europe freed itself from the yoke of America.

Because our over-reliance and dependence on the U.S. for security is harmful. And the reason it’s harmful is that we cannot keep dancing from one foot to the other, depending on who wins the Oval Office.

The far right has taken power in the United States. And not just the far right, but the real crazies within the far right. There’s no guarantee that Trump will be the last president from that school of thinking. The old alliances, the old certainties, are gone—probably for the foreseeable future. That means Europe has to get a grip and take greater responsibility for dictating its own affairs.

I am pro-EU, pro-Europe, and have been for my entire adult life. It’s good to see Europe finally coming together on this issue. It’s good to see Europe finally making a stand. And it is well overdue that Europe became the world’s moral leader and moral centre. No other continent knows war like we do, knows turmoil like we do, knows the damage military conflict can do like we do. So this is long overdue.

I wonder if there are people at Celtic looking across the city and wondering if a new regime at Ibrox will open doors for us and change things in terms of the relationship between the two clubs, which is currently at its absolute nadir. If I thought for a minute that the Ibrox club was going to be run by sensible people who were willing to engage with the rest of Scottish football in a fair-minded and reasonable manner, I might even harbour such thoughts myself.

But I have a suspicion that even if this takeover happens, enough people will remain on their board and in the orbit of that club to keep it stuck on the fringes—to keep it behaving abysmally, recklessly, and with contempt towards the rest of the game. The idea that normalised relations with that club are on the horizon is, to me, fanciful.

There are two scenarios here. In one, the new board of directors wants to run the club like a business and doesn’t really care what the fan groups think, so long as people keep buying tickets. That would be a best case scenario. But if that’s what happens, there’s no use trying to have positive relations with them, because they don’t care about mending fences with Scottish football or helping the game be all it can be. They have their little asset, and they’ll squeeze it for all it’s worth.

In the other scenario, the new board realises that it needs the fans on board to some extent, which means the club will continue to be run in exactly the same manner it is now. And that means no future where Celtic and that club can come together in any meaningful way—because the lunatics will still be running the asylum.

Now, understand that I’m not talking about cosy partnerships. I’m not talking about commercial deals—those are an absolute no-go for me and, I’m sure, for every single one of you. Nobody wants us climbing into bed with the Ibrox club under any circumstances to promote the so-called “Old Firm” brand. Absolutely not.

I’m talking about getting around the table with them on issues like ticketing arrangements and the safety of our supporters. I’m talking about having discussions on things that matter to our fans and to our club—where normal relations between the clubs are a positive.

But just as I am firmly convinced that the Republican Party has fundamentally changed—not just Trump but the whole party—I am just as convinced that the Ibrox club is beyond reform. It has been stuck in this ludicrous position ever since 2012. It exists on the basis of two giant lies, and nothing is going to change that. To move forward, their leadership would have to take such a radical shift in position that it would alienate almost all of their fans, putting their financial viability in the toilet.

Obviously, what prompted this was yesterday’s news about the tickets, and I’ll be writing more on that later. But there are so many points of contention between the two clubs right now. And while some will argue that Celtic gains nothing specific from having a good or even workable relationship with the club across the city—something that isn’t based on mutual loathing—such a working relationship would make it less likely that we end up on a collision course as we have been over the past few years.

And it’s not the only area where that club has behaved in a lunatic fashion. It has done so from the moment people like King took over. Its behaviour towards the rest of Scottish football has been atrocious. It is permanently locked in a war with the SFA and the SPFL, and you would hope that a new board would try to mend fences instead of continuing to be driven by their own hatred. That would benefit the game as a whole.

Because we cannot have one club undermining all the commercial contracts in Scottish football. We cannot have one club endangering those partnerships and deals. We cannot have one club stomping around looking for things to be outraged about and trying to exploit every loophole they can find. That is dangerous—especially when the governing body shows no interest in bringing them to heel.

Perhaps when I talk about better relations, I should actually say “normal relations”—the same kind of relations we have with every other club in the country. As I said, I’m not talking about cosying up to them. I’m not talking about climbing into bed with them for commercial deals. I’m simply talking about being able to sit around a table and have a civilised discussion about what is in the best interests of Scottish football.

And yes, with a more sensible and sane Ibrox board, it is very possible that we could sit down and properly hash out the terms for something like a normal ticket allocation at both grounds. On top of that, there would be room for both clubs to work together on things like increased allocations at other stadiums. Other clubs, in cutting our tickets, know full well that the terrible relations between the two Glasgow clubs makes them incapable of taking a joint stance on the shocking treatment of our away fans.

Right now, the two boards hate each other so much that any joint initiative is impossible—even when it’s in their mutual self-interest. And that has nothing to do with Old Firm Inc or any partnerships; that’s just something that would help supporters.

But, as I said, I don’t hold out much hope. Either their new board won’t care about this stuff, or they’ll bow to the wishes of their supporters and continue waging war on the rest of the game. They’ll continue to alienate other clubs. They’ll continue to see Celtic as the an enemy to be beaten, rather than just a rival.

I hold out no hope for a renormalisation of relations—even provided the takeover isn’t just a media stunt designed to sell season tickets. But their supporters are the key reason why I don’t believe any such normalisation will happen. And nobody at Celtic should be holding out hope for it either.

I know there are people at Celtic who would like to think a new board at Ibrox would usher in a brand new era—some kind of détente between the two clubs. But the folks in the stands, in the investor boxes, and everywhere else at that club will simply not allow it. Neither will the media, who have a vested interest in stirring up hate even where there isn’t any.

This is our future. It will look a lot like the past.

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