The BBC ultras documentary painted a balanced picture. But a future one won’t be as kind.

This week saw the airing of a three-part documentary on ultras on BBC Scotland. Notably, it was made without the cooperation of the ultras at either Celtic Park or Ibrox, which is worth stressing from the outset.

I will come back to that shortly.

The documentary was clearly designed to present a softer, more human side of ultra culture. In doing so, it highlighted the colour, the organisation, and the sense of identity and belonging that these groups bring to football. There is nothing inherently wrong with that approach. Indeed, it offered a far more balanced look at the subject than many would have expected in the current climate.

For that reason, the filmmakers deserve credit. They produced something thoughtful, measured and, in parts, genuinely insightful. Moreover, the documentary challenged lazy assumptions and pushed back against the idea that ultras are simply a problem to be solved.

However, no one should pretend that this was the final word on ultra culture in Scotland.

Indeed, it was not. Nor could it be.

Because of that, the absence of cooperation from the most prominent ultra groups in this country ensures that a deeper story remains untold. In other words, a more uncomfortable story still sits beneath the surface. One that moves beyond colour and choreography and instead confronts the darker aspects of what this subculture can become.

Furthermore, over the past couple of weeks, particularly since the events at Ibrox, I have argued that a far more defining documentary still waits to be made. Specifically, one focused not on the movement in general, but on one group in particular. When someone eventually finds the nerve to make that film, then it will paint a very different picture.

In the meantime, the debate around ultras continues to intensify.

For example, Keith Jackson has suggested that the Ibrox club may consider disbanding the Union Brats. Meanwhile, others believe Celtic could be on the brink of permanently locking out the Green Brigade.

We will see.

However, Celtic, if it ever chose to take that route, would have to present a far more convincing case than anything we have heard so far. In other words, it would have to offer something rooted in fact, not a narrative built on exaggeration or selective outrage.

By contrast, the Ibrox club does not need to stretch the truth.

Indeed, the Union Brats are exactly what they appear to be.

There is, therefore, a section of the support in this country that will never be reconciled to ultra culture. For some, these groups simply do not belong in stadiums at all. That is understandable to a degree. After all, if the worst excesses of ultra behaviour were removed, then you would likely find broader acceptance across the fan base.

However, that raises a difficult question.

So, how do you deal with it?

At Ibrox, the choice is stark. They either continue to feed the monster, or they confront it.

Personally, I do not believe they have the will to confront it.

Because confronting it comes at a cost. Financial, cultural, and institutional. As Joe McHugh has pointed out, correctly in my view, if the club were to properly take on the most unsavoury elements of its support, the financial impact could be enormous. In fact, it could render parts of the current model unsustainable.

That is the reality.

Yet the club does not have the stomach for that.

So, the problem festers and, as a result, it will continue to.

The longer it is indulged, the worse it becomes. Likewise, the more it is normalised, the harder it is to challenge. As a consequence, the pretence that theirs is a benign, colourful presence becomes increasingly detached from reality.

Eventually, there will be a reckoning.

Because the Union Brats are what they have always been: a scandal waiting to happen.

Indeed, a major scandal.

And when it comes, the club will be forced to act. Not because it wants to, but because it has no choice. Until then, however, it will prioritise keeping the peace.

There will, of course, be those who accuse me of bias for saying this.

There always are.

Some will, for example, fall back on the familiar argument that this is a problem on both sides. In other words, that is the two heads of the same coin argument by another name. By extension, they will claim that by focusing on one group, I am ignoring issues within our own support.

However, that argument does not stand up. Our ultras are not the same. That is not denial and it is not deflection. Rather, it is a statement of fact.

What happened at Ibrox was, in parts, regrettable. Certainly, some of it was unedifying. Moreover, some of it reflects the darker edge of football culture that exists everywhere. After all, anyone who has attended major derbies across Europe knows this.

For instance, you will hear offensive chants at Manchester United versus Liverpool. Likewise, you will hear references to tragedies that should never be used in that way, the worst sort of tribal instincts. It exists. However, there is a line.

And in Scotland, only one support crosses it consistently.

Indeed, only one support engages in racist and sectarian chanting as a routine part of its culture. Furthermore, only one support has repeatedly entered the field of play, not in celebration, but in pursuit of confrontation. What happened at Hampden was exceptional.

One set of supporters entered the pitch to celebrate. By contrast, the other entered to fight. That is the distinction. That is the issue that should have been front and centre in any serious discussion of ultra culture in this country.

And it is not the first time it has happened.

What made this instance different was the organisation. Specifically, a group dressed uniformly, faces covered, moving with intent. That is not spontaneous behaviour. Instead, that is something else entirely. The BBC documentary, to its credit, made one important point very clearly.

Namely, not all ultras are the same.

That matters. Because Celtic supporters have said repeatedly that we do not want to be judged by the actions of others. Instead, judge us on what we do. Judge us on our own behaviour. Above all, do not drag us into someone else’s gutter and ask us to answer for it.

That is not fairness or balance. Rather, it is avoidance.

For too long, Scottish football has avoided confronting the reality of this issue. Instead, it has preferred vague equivalence to uncomfortable truth. In doing so, it has chosen not to shine too bright a light in one particular direction.

However, that story is not going away. Indeed, it will be told.

In time, it will be documented properly, in full, and without the soft edges.

And when that happens, the picture will be a lot less flattering than the one we have just seen.

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