GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 18: Celtic fans banner during a UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and SK Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park, on September 18, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Days like yesterday are good days for me.
I knew when I got up and posted the Rod Stewart piece that I was going to get stick for it. I know I’ll get stick for this one too. But days like that are good days.
Days when I put something up knowing it’ll cause me problems—those are the days I know I haven’t dumbed it down. I haven’t held back. I haven’t compromised my own integrity or softened my views to suit anyone else’s.
Long ago, when I started doing this, I made an agreement with myself: I would never pretend to know more than I do, never pretend to be more than I am.
But just as importantly, I would never pretend not to know something just because it makes people uncomfortable to hear it said out loud.
Last night on the podcast we talked about the Rod Stewart thing.
And I’m not taking back a single word I wrote or said.
That man disgraces our shirt and our club by espousing the view that Britain should “give Nigel Farage a chance.”
I don’t think anyone with Rod Stewart’s profile—who uses our club’s name the way he does, and who regularly sits beside the directors as a guest of the club—should be endorsing a racist anti-immigrant politician to be Prime Minister. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t let him back in the building.
I’m sorry if that doesn’t sit right with some of you.
But it’s only by saying things I know won’t sit right with some of you—and still writing them, still publishing them, day after day—that I know I’m staying honest. If I can do that, I know I’m not tailoring articles to avoid offence. I’m not pulling punches. I’m not holding back.
At the risk of upsetting a few more folk, let me repeat what I said on the podcast last night: to the Rod Stewart Fan Club, there is nothing I can say that will make you less inclined to stand by your man. And the thing is, I don’t think there’s anything he could say or do that would change your minds either.
I saw Dave Chappelle once talking about R. Kelly—and about R. Kelly fans. People who feel conflicted about still listening to his music.
Chappelle had a suggestion for anyone who couldn’t quite understand how anyone could still be an R Kelly fan with some of those allegations hanging over his head: imagine the infamous video—R. Kelly urinating on a 15-year-old girl—playing with I Believe I Can Fly laid over it.
That was a brutal, brilliant way of cutting to the core of a complex question: can you appreciate the art while despising the artist? The answer’s always been yes.
And in fact, the truth is, it’s more complicated even than that.
Let me give you an example.
The word sadism originates from a single individual—Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade.
A French aristocrat, philosopher, and author, he spent much of his life in prison for a variety of appalling acts. He also wrote some of the most depraved literature of his—or any—century.
Two of his books, 120 Days of Sodom and Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue, are still selling great guns today. His works remain bestsellers. And they remain among the most shocking things ever written.
Written, it should be said, by a thoroughly depraved man.
So, in his case, you can despise the art and despise the artist… while still recognising that, in a technical sense, those works have artistic merit.
I’ve never understood the argument about whether you can separate the artist from the art.
You have to be able to separate the artist from the art.
You have to accept that terrible people can produce beautiful, incredible things—and that those things are no less worthy of appreciation because of the sins of their creator. A lot of the most famous people in the world, behind some of its greatest works of art, were not very nice people.
To the people who were offended yesterday, here’s my advice: stop taking things so personally, and grow up a bit. Put your dummies back in and calm the hell down.
Nobody’s telling you that you’re a bad person because you’re a Rod Stewart fan. Nobody’s saying you don’t have the right to listen to whatever you like or enjoy it as much as you want.
My criticism of him is not a criticism of you—and you really need to stop acting like it is.
I think he should have kept his stupid mouth shut.
I think someone with his profile—someone who’s wrapped so much of their public identity around this club—has a responsibility to behave like a proper ambassador.
If he wants to endorse Nigel Farage, then he should keep that shit to himself, lest people who don’t know any better think that it reflects on us.
Farage is not a buffoon. Farage is a dangerous individual with a dangerous policy platform. And he’s surrounded by even more dangerous people with ideas even more unhinged than his own. For any public-facing person—who isn’t already a certifiable lunatic—to give that man more credibility than the media already hands him is reckless, irresponsible and utterly shameful.
Farage has spent his entire political life spouting anti-immigrant poison. I have no difficulty calling him a racist. I have no difficulty calling him a bigot. He is all of those things and more—and he has spent his entire career surrounded by racists and bigots just like him.
No-one who preaches about Celtic and Celtic values can endorse that man and still claim to respect—far less represent—what this club stands for.
Because Farage is the antithesis of everything Celtic was founded to be.
But this article isn’t about Farage. And it’s not about Rod Stewart either. It’s not even about whether you can appreciate the art without appreciating the artist.
This is about something else entirely. Something I never thought I’d have to write about—because, frankly, I thought it was so obvious it didn’t need to be said. I assumed—and here, I lose points for naïveté—that this was something everyone just understood. But apparently not.
Because over and over again yesterday—sometimes politely, sometimes aggressively—I was told that Stewart’s opinions, as rancid as that endorsement is, still allow him to represent as a Celtic fan because this is a club “open to all.”
You know something? That is a pile of steaming bullshit.
It absolutely astounds me that anyone believes that. Or can believe that. Because I thought it was blatantly obvious that this is not a club open to all. It never has been. It never will be. I don’t know anyone who genuinely believes otherwise.
But apparently, you’re out there. Apparently, you exist. And I am honestly amazed by that. And because so many of you were in a rush to tell me that’s how you feel—then I guess this one’s for you.
Celtic is a broad church.
That means we can encompass a wide range of opinion.
We tolerate and accept many different viewpoints. We can fit a lot under this roof—because it’s a roof built on tolerance and respect for other people and their beliefs.
But let me explain to you where we get off the bus.
There is a line. And that line is intolerance itself.
The deal-breaker is hatred. The welcome mat stops at support for what is evil and intrinsically wrong. Those things are not welcome under our roof.
This roof shelters what, in political terms, would be called a safe space—a place where people can exchange differing views respectfully and securely.
Hatred has no place under that roof. Hatred does not allow respectful debate.
When I listen to people on the far right, shouting their vicious, ignorant slogans, it’s not just that I personally have nothing in common with them. It’s not even that this club—founded by immigrants, for charitable purpose—has nothing in common with them. I honestly don’t see how the broad, vast sweep of the human family has anything in common with them either.
And I’m afraid, if you flinch at the sound of “up to our knees in Fenian blood” but then go onto Facebook and post vile garbage about people “coming over on boats” you need to take a breath, take a minute, and sort your shit out.
Brother. Sister. Once upon a time, that was us.
That was the people who founded this club you claim to follow. Even when fleeing famine we were smeared as “economic migrants.” Over here to “steal the jobs” of good Scottish workers. Over here to spread the disease of Papal doctrine. Unclean bogtrotters. We were on the same level as the dogs. “No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish”—that was written on signs hung in windows across Glasgow and the West of Scotland.
Let me say it again: the guys on those boats? That was us, once.
And if that’s somehow confusing for you, then get your head out of your arse and start thinking—instead of letting Facebook algorithms enslave your mind.
This isn’t some “woke lefty blogger” in the 21st century trying to impose his politics onto Celtic as some kind of personal crusade. These are facts.
This is who we are.
This is what Celtic is. These are the stones the club was built on. It’s our foundation story. It’s not myth. It’s not some politically expedient fairy tale.
If you’re a Celtic fan, this is where you come from.
And once you understand that—really understand it—once you realise what that means, how can you possibly believe this is a club “open to all”?
How can you believe it ever was?
It’s a welcoming message, yes—but it’s not meant to be taken literally. It means we take in all comers. But it doesn’t mean you get to stay.
Because under this roof, we’ve always been choosy. And rightly so.
It matters who lives under this roof. It matters who shares this space.
If you’re telling me the immigrant has to share it with some jackbooted thug, you’re wrong. And I don’t believe this club would ever permit that.
If you truly think this is a club open to all, picture this: you turn up for the first home game of the season, and Tommy Robinson—or one of his little foot soldiers—is in the seat next to you.
Are you OK with that?
If he spends the game booing our Black players, are you still sitting there saying, “Ah well, broad church, he’s got the same right to be here as the rest of us”?
Because that’s the logic of your position.
And I don’t believe that.
And what’s more—I don’t believe you really believe it either.
There are ideas that are too dangerous to be merely stupid.
And there are others that are too stupid to be truly dangerous.
But then there are ideas that fall in the middle—both dangerous and stupid—and those are the worst of all. I genuinely believe this is one of those.
And don’t worry—I’m well aware that the extreme left, the mad fringe left, can weaponise this idea just as much as the crazies on the right.
We should always be watchful for that.
We should always be willing to call it out.
On 7 October, one of the most shameful moments in the recent history of our club took place: a PFLP banner was unveiled in a section of our ground.
It should never have happened. And it must never be allowed to happen again—not without serious consequences for everyone involved.
Because this is not a club open to all—and God forbid that we ever become one.
We are a club with standards. We are a club with values.
We were founded on those values.
And being part of this family means understanding and respecting that fact.
That’s why extremism—of any shade or stripe—has no place in the stands at Celtic Park, and why, in spite of that welcoming slogan, it will never be allowed to have a home there.
James we can’t be banning folk that have a different political view to yours ffs?
Not a great fan Rod and hate Farage and all he stands for but locking Rod out because he feels differently is pretty radical don’t you think? Where does that stop – season ticket and party membership card to get in? Sorry but that is not open to all regardless of how much you may dislike the subject and we are all there primarily as supporters of the football team not the add ons….
Rod Stewart is a multi millionaire who reads the daily record to keep in touch with how ordinary people think!!!
Na Da, Na Da, raysar67 – Cos The Daily Record ain’t ordinary people…
They’re extraordinary ‘peepil’ though !
As regards to ‘a club open to all’ it is a point well made James and you are absolutely correct, we have got to have limits applied to that mantra. There will always be undesirables who are not welcome at Celtic Park, but the mantra still holds in the main with, I would say a 98/99% figure being a realistic target.
As regards auld Rod using Celtic to enhance his profile, think again. for I would say he is a bigger draw worldwide than we will ever be. Far from using us he always does his best to promote us, his lates gig at Glastonbury once again proving his love for the club. He is 80 years old,,,,,,,,, and a very fit man for his age, but I’m not sure his brain is in sync with his body to be honest. He does like to be controversial, and I tend to dismiss his misguided comments as the addled thoughts of an old man past his prime.
I cannot help liking the guy though for the way he has stuck by Celtic for so very, very long, more so than any other high profile celebrities that are happy to pledge their love for the hoops but rarely make an appearance. We should really cut him a bit of slack and not be so offended with his ramblings.
We are sailing.
I agree. I like Rod Stewart’s music. I love the way he supports our club and bigs us up. However I hate his politics and blue rinsed right wing views.
He isn’t alone, I have spoken to many fans who agree on Farages views on immigration without any irony, sadly.
Well said james
Well said James,I stated my displeasure on video Celts about rod Stewart endorsing farage and reform,the danger I see in it is Rod is a very high profile figure and could easily influence the thoughts of his fans in the UK specifically his English fans and influence some Celtic fans just because they adore Rod Stewart and some people are easily led, remember back in the day Rod endorsed Enoch Powell for god’s sake ,that tells us where his mindset is,I’ve nothing personal against Rod and I liked his music especially his early stuff with the Faces but I wish he would keep his right wing rhetoric to himself.As for farage it’s not that long ago when he visited Scotland as leader of ukip he was locked in a pub in Edinburgh for his own safety,then recently we had the scary scenario where reform come in third in the Hamilton by election, probably because all the Hun thugs from larkhall and surrounding areas voted for reform,which is scary considering farage was totally hated in Scotland now his reform right wing red necks seem to be gathering pace.
As the winning Labour candidate has, in the past, been seen in the Ibrox directors’ box, I’d have thought a high percentage would be voting…..for their preferred candidate.
Perfectly natural ZZBhoy…
For a Butchers Apron Loving Political Party (Labour) having a candidate at the director’s box at a Butchers Apron loving football club !!!
Well said James, Celtic is a club open to all fair minded people. Those that don’t know where we come from and are right wing anti immigrants can f#ck off as far as i am concerned. Rod can f#ck off too
On many points, James, I agree with you. However, the great thing about free speech is that I don’t always have to agree with you and you don’t need to agree with me. In other words we agree to differ. In this case I really have to take issue with you. To suggest that someone is not welcome at Celtic park because their political viewpoint differs from you goes totally against the ethos of our club.
The supporters of Celtic FC come from all walks of life, religion, ethnicity, and political beliefs. There is not a situation where 59,999 supporters are a homogenous group and Rod Stewart belongs elsewhere. The average of opinion polls from July 24 up to and including June this year has Reform sitting on 14.3% and whilst we cannot totally transfer that to political beliefs at Celtic park, it’s a pretty good starting point. What it means is that there is a fair chunk of Celtic supporters who would vote for Reform. Possibly even as high as 8,000! I don’t care about their political views and nor should they care about mine because collectively we all support our team. So when I sit at Celtic park I could be sitting beside Reform, Conservative, SNP, Labour, Green, or no affiliation at all. I share your view that Reform is an odious party with a racist agenda but there will be people who abhor the politics of any one of the other parties. The point is that I don’t need to be from an Irish Immigrant, working class, Catholic family that would crawl over broken glass to vote labour to support My club.
I had a relative, a good Celtic man who gave up his life aged 25 fighting the racists in the Spanish Civil war.
Rod is an English man who has adopted Celtic as his team who in my opinion is a bit of a fanny.
If he has racist views he should be hunted from Celtic park.I would not be surprised however if a sizeable number of the Celtic support vote for the Reform party.
Facists
Utter Rubbish.
1. Rod Stewart is a joke. Do you want my body? Do you think I’m sexy? Frankly, No
2.Nu Labour bombed Iraq back to the stone age. Was John Reid Welcome? What about those that invited him on to thew board?
3. Our current government of spivs, chancers, half wits and morons ids doing everything it can to avoids saying the “G” word but if what is happening in Gaza is not Genocide, nothing is.
4. As the slaughter continues everyday our Foreign Secretary, Uncle Tom Lammy, tells he cant say as he is not there. Yet hew can tell us genocide is taking place in Ukraine, although he is not there either.
5. When people say “For everyone”, that’s shorthand for all well behaved people. In the same – universal suffrage means everyone can vote. We accept children cant, the mentally ill cant.
6. The boat people are not the same as the Irish. The Irish came legally, the boats did not,
Were the Irish that came to Scotland or other parts of Britain in the 19th century immigrants or migrants? Someone going from Scotland to work in England would not be classed as an immigrant; so why would someone going from Ireland, when it was part of the same political state, to another part of Britain be classified as an immigrant? The failure of British rule in Ireland entailed that many of its victims were forced to migrate to other parts of the British Isles. Technically, that is no different from those moving from Scotland to England or vice-versa, it was only the difference of scale. It also provided much of the man-power that benefitted the industrialisation of Britain.
The root cause of this neo liberal attitude stems from the the opinions shared by board members families in the Centenary video back in 1988. Mr Kelly’s wife reminisces on past balls and says ‘those days are gone now, don’t you think’? Some of the board, and the old board still have the 1938 attitudes, prevalent in rich people, like Rod Stewart and Farage. Never been been quartered for being late, never been laid off, or had to strike for their rights. Yes I’m a leftie, and the courage of the men who fought Franco and Hitler is to be widely acclaimed and highly honoured. Supporting modern day fascist is wrong. Stewart, his honours and his opinions can go to Ibrox as far as I am concerned. Celtic’s support to a person feels for Palestine, refugees from war torn countries and the disadvantaged. James keep up the good work. Maybe in the coming season the referees will remind the Celtic supporters who doubt our roots, that we are still considered to be at the back of the bus.
It isn’t the boat people that are to blame for the poverty and deprivation to be seen in all parts of Britain, it is the political class that have ruled Britain and the US since the 1980’s/90’s. They dumped millions of Industrial workers onto the scrapheap with absolutely no national plan for retraining or job sharing, The British social system has never recovered from the shock of those times. Farage and his crew are just extreme examples of the same political class that delivered these right wing economic policies, with an extreme dose of racism thrown into the mix.
I am sure that the bulk of Celtic supporters are politically left of centre, but that doesn’t mean that anyone with democratic right of centre political views can’t be accepted at Celtic Park. Extreme Right anti democratic politics are flourishing all over the World threatening minorities everywhere, our fathers and grandfathers fought and died defending democracy against Fascism let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again.
Rod Stewart has only highlighted that he has basic right wing views on politics, I wouldn’t think he would have any influence on how people vote.
A Good thought provoking post James, but it will be good to get back to the escapism that football brings from this cruel World.
Celtic are getting on with the build up to the season, I wonder if BR has any surprises in the way the team will be set up. Bring it on.
Well said JT you beat me to it .
Farage is a cnut, Starmer is a cnut, all tories are cnuts, Lib-Dem’s are pointless, Swinney is inept.
When will we see a couple of big signings at the Celts?
SCOTTISH SINN FEIN then JimBhoyback…
We need something like that for sure !
Everything you said here James, needed to be said. Well done.
” I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”.
Voltaire (?) Free speech anyone?.
How about people from the “Celtic family” or “Celtic background ” who accept “awards” from the honours list ?. How should they be viewed?.Knighthoods, Lordships, MBEs
OBEs etc.Do they have any idea the carnage the British caused in Ireland ?.Are they O.K with that ?..At least Benjamin Zephaniam had the courage to speak out and refuse his.
Well said James. Great response to your critics yesterday ????
It makes total sense that Celtic should not be open to absolutely everyone. James misses the point though. The new illegal immigration is not like the old Irish migrants that came to Scotland. The Irish and Scots despite some religious differences are very similar and generally do get along and the Irish have been able to make good lives for themselves in Scotland and Britain. Some of the new illegal migrants are bringing some horrible customs, most are anti LGBT and many are extremely oppressive to woman. This goes on in modern day Britain virtually unopposed. Ask yourself why people are voting for unsavoury characters like Farage…its because nobody is listening. The vast majority of the people at Celtic Park these days are fairly well off and don’t encounter the negatives of uncontrolled illegal immigration.
I don’t think Celtic is an anti semitic club but the vast majority of Jews don’t feel comfortable there and I doubt if Celtic will have another Jewish player in the foreseeable future. Good that James is condemning hamas etc. but there was very little support for the Israel people from the stands after the horrors of Oct 7th. In fact there was banners supporting the horrific rampage.
Celtic should be a club open to all but within reason!
If Tommy R was sat next to me I would hope he would contain his behaviour to that which was acceptable and if he was shouting racist comments I’d report it to the police & stewards & would expect them to respond by ejecting him but would they? In reality Rod doesn’t spout and shout his political views during matches he verbalises his support for Celtic.
Of course that doesn’t happen to the hun supporters that sing their songs of hatred in our Paradise so better not to allow them into our ground at all. Ever again. And here again we have the contradictions openly on show even when their players spray liquid over our fans.
Maybe on such occasions I’d agree with your left wing Stalinist approach
It’s your blog to say what you feel about Rod,Farage and all but who knows what people really think inside their heads.Yes some people might not like Farage I don’t know the man so I couldn’t comment on that but we live in a democracy and a hell of a lot of ‘ordinary poor good living people ‘ have taken his stance.My point is we shouldn’t begrudge people from trying to better themselves by voting for their favourite We all have different circumstances in our lives so who are we to condemn people who are struggling to get by every single day and see him as the way out of it.I’ll never vote for his party for one particular reason I will never vote for a unionist party
In my humble opinion this is the finest piece you’ve ever written James and I don’t say that lightly considering some of the brilliant articles of your’s that I’ve read over the years. You’re 100% correct as well we’re all immigrants in this family we call Celtic and I can trace my lineage back to the early 1700’s in Cork and Galway. I’ve never liked Rod Stewart’s views on the monarchy or Boris Johnson and especially now on his comments on Farage who’s a very dangerous individual and should automatically bar Stewart from Celtic Park as you rightly say in this piece, I’d back that.
In your condemnation of extremist and racist views being voiced by Celtic fans there was one blatant omission. The club is being stained by those who sing the odious hateful Roaming in the gloaming. We are quick to demonise others for sectarianism and bigotry. As long as that song is sung at Celtic Park or by Celtic fans in general then we are hypocrites for tolerating it. I would be interested to hear your views, James
I have to say I’m with you 100% on this one. Farage is a snake oil salesman and absolutely in it for himself but he’s also a bad yin. Have a read into his past. I think racism is at the core of it, and he does attract bigots and racists and “normalise” these attitudes.
Beware the wolves in sheep’s clothing.
If you tolerate this…