Celtic’s Trongate “appeal” had a sting in the tail for the council.

By the time you read this, it might all be over.

By the time you read this, we might know whether the Trongate party has been a triumph or a disaster. I can easily imagine circumstances where it ends badly—where rabble-rousing nut-jobs from a certain other club show up to disrupt the event and cause all manner of chaos.

A triumph means it goes off without a hitch. It means our fans get to party with each other. And provided they do no real damage to the local area—and I don’t regard a bit of rubbish in the streets as “damage”—then I’ll consider it an excellent day out and a job well done by our supporters.

Provided there are no major arrests, no significant disorder, it’ll be a good day for all concerned—hopefully including the residents, who may end up with a better view of our fans than they appear to have right now.

Yesterday was a day for statements. I covered, in the morning, the one from the council and the reasons why Celtic fans should feel free to ignore their entreaties not to attend. Later on, Celtic released their own statement. It asked fans not to attend, but that statement wasn’t all it seemed.

At the end of the night, two fan groups issued a joint statement which sought to attack Celtic as much as the council. And look—I don’t really want to get into that too much, but obviously I can’t ignore it. In that statement, they said fans should enjoy the day however they see fit, and I endorse that view wholeheartedly, having written something similar earlier.

The fact is, this party was always going to go ahead.

It was going to go ahead regardless of what anyone said or did. The Green Brigade were, in my view, a bit silly trying to take ownership of the event—or claiming ownership of it; for the record, they don’t own it. Celtic fans would have gathered regardless of whether they had stuck their name on it.

But I’ll say this too: if anything goes wrong today, in terms of opposition fans turning up to cause carnage, that’s not the fault of Celtic fans. It’s the fault of a council that doesn’t want to engage with supporters at all.

Over the past couple of years, they’ve made life increasingly difficult for football fans—including with those ludicrous stadium parking regulations, which draw a massive exclusion zone around the grounds and preclude people from bringing their cars.

It would be different if we had a transport system on par with Germany or elsewhere. But we don’t. It’s another area where we’re scandalously under-resourced, and when you consider those parking rules, it’s as if screwing over football supporters is now official policy.

Celtic’s statement, on one hand, may seem like throwing in the towel—but it wasn’t. The club was angry. It did just enough to cover itself from any allegation that it had done nothing to make things easier for the council, while also making sure to point the finger of blame for why we’re even in this situation in the first place.

I think the Green Brigade’s statement is grossly unfair to the club. It’s not the club’s fault that we’re here.

The GB said the club has had months to organise this, but it’s not their job. That’s the job of the council. And it’s the council that has failed here—not Celtic.

The part the Green Brigade has taken issue with is this bit:

“The Club has engaged in recent months with local community and residents’ groups, many of which include Celtic supporters, and it is clear that large gatherings in public spaces, even when positive and celebratory, can cause issues for those living and working in these areas.

“While previous celebrations involving Celtic fans have been well intentioned, unfortunately, as local community stakeholders have made clear in recent weeks, some of these have led to severe congestion and difficulties for emergency services, residents and local businesses.

“Further, without the planning, facilities and infrastructure of an organised, licensed event, the number of supporters present at previous gatherings has become so great that the safety of fans has also become an issue of real concern.

“The Club encourages supporters to follow the advice issued recently by local community stakeholders in this regard.

“For all of these reasons, the Club would encourage supporters not to attend unlicensed large public gatherings, which do not have safety planning, facilities or infrastructure for supporters attending.”

I don’t think there’s anything unreasonable in that.

The club has done its best. An agreement wasn’t reached. The club doesn’t want fans in unsafe situations—that’s perfectly valid. Anyone criticising the club for that is just looking for a stick to beat it with. Besides, they’ve missed the real point—and the real point is what came next.

“Celtic has been trying for some time to work with city stakeholders to seek to discuss and develop plans, which might allow for a more suitable venue for celebratory events away from Celtic Park.

“We can assure our fans that we will continue to do so, as we strive to develop appropriate arrangements for our supporters in the future, as is the case in other cities.”

Those lines are crucial.

I feel like I could have written them myself. In fact, I wrote something not dissimilar yesterday morning, when I talked about how other cities I’ve travelled to for Celtic games have done far more for our fans than this city ever has.

As far as I’m concerned, Celtic’s statement meets all of its responsibilities—legally, morally, and ethically. It makes clear that any failure to organise something safe and structured lies not with the club.

Something like this needed the buy-in of all stakeholders, including the council. And it’s very clear the council hasn’t bothered. They’re complaining about rubbish the event might generate while doing nothing like putting out extra bins—that tells you all you need to know about how seriously they’ve taken it.

Our club hasn’t missed the target. Our club has made sure fans know exactly where the breakdown in communication has happened.

When this club makes mistakes, I’m one of the first to call them out. But this? This isn’t Celtic’s fault. Their statement makes it plain that they tried—and failed—to make progress. I think the conduct of the council has been absolutely pathetic.

For God’s sake, they allowed an Orange parade to take place on the same day as this event. That alone should tell you the contempt in which they hold our club and our fans. Anyone blaming Celtic for this either isn’t paying attention or is wilfully misrepresenting the situation.

I hope our fans enjoy their day, no matter how they choose to celebrate. I hope there’s not too much disruption to those who live and work in the area. And I hope opposition supporters are smart enough to stay away.

But Glasgow City Council has made a mess of this—and unless they do a hell of a lot better next year, we’re going to be right back where we are now.