GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 16: Cameron Devlin of Heart of Midlothian reacts after conceding a third goal scored by Callum Osmand of Celtic (not pictured) during the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park on May 16, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The media should deal with facts, not fiction or unproven claims. That’s what I was always led to believe their job was. Facts should be checked first before lurid claims are presented as being real.
So, what are some sections of the media doing instead? They accept incredibly serious claims at face value, and then they write pish, talk pish, repeat the same shite and avoid focusing properly on what really happened at Celtic Park after Celtic won the title.
What does the word “assaulted” mean in this case? That is a serious word. It should not be thrown around casually because people are emotional after a football match.
Some in the media failed to focus on Ibrox fans who invaded the pitch and assaulted Celtic fans after the game there, when Celtic won on penalties. That was not vague. That was not rumour. There was evidence. There was footage. That was a fact.
So why does everyone love putting the blame on Celtic and Celtic fans?
There is something deeply poisonous about the way certain sections of the media operate when it comes to Celtic. I felt it again yesterday, listening to this stuff being thrown around. Big words. Heavy accusations. “Assaulted.” Repeated over and over, as if saying it enough times magically transforms allegation into fact.
That is the issue here.
Not one person is saying that if somebody genuinely assaulted another person, it should be ignored. Of course not. If that happened, there should be evidence, investigation and consequences. That is how serious allegations are supposed to work in a grown-up society.
But I am sick to the back teeth of this modern habit of people firing out accusations in the full knowledge that the media will simply print them unchallenged because it suits a narrative. Since when did journalism become stenography? Since when did the job stop being “establish facts first” and become “repeat claims loudly and dramatically”?
If somebody says Hearts players were “assaulted,” then the first questions should be simple. Where is the evidence? What actually happened? Who was assaulted? What injuries were sustained? Was there police involvement? Was anybody arrested? Was there footage? Witnesses? Anything?
Because “assault” is not some wee fluffy word people can chuck about because emotions are high after a football match.
It is a serious allegation. The connotation of that word matters. It paints images in people’s minds immediately. Violence. Victims. Chaos. Criminal behaviour. Once that word is out there, the damage is done, whether evidence ever appears or not. But the media should not be treating the absence of evidence so cavalierly.
That is exactly why responsible media are supposed to caveat these stories properly. “Alleged.” “Claims not substantiated.” “No evidence currently provided.” That is basic journalism. Basic fairness. Basic professionalism.
Instead, what happens? Headlines. Outrage. Social media frothing. The same anti-Celtic voices crawling out of the woodwork to scream about “classless fans” and “disgraceful behaviour,” while nobody stops for five minutes to ask whether any of it is actually true.
Here is the part my Ginger Witch instincts absolutely scream at me about: this is the worst sort of selective outrage. Because I remember Ibrox. I remember actual footage of Celtic supporters being attacked after Celtic won on penalties there.
That was not whispers or vague claims. People saw it with their own eyes. Videos circulated everywhere. Celtic fans being pursued onto the pitch. Violence. Aggression. Disorder. Evidence. Real evidence.
Yet somehow, the moral panic never reached the same fever pitch.
Funny that. The media framing was softer. More careful. More understanding.
There were excuses. “Emotions spilled over.” “Passion.” “Rivalry.”
The language suddenly became gentler when Celtic fans were on the receiving end.
That is why so many Celtic supporters no longer trust large chunks of the Scottish football media. The inconsistency is glaring. You can feel it in your bones. You do not need to be paranoid to notice patterns when they repeat themselves year after year.
Celtic win five titles in a row, which is an incredible achievement, dominant and historic, and instead of the focus being on football, success, excellence and standards, the spotlight immediately swings onto controversy, accusations and moral lectures. Why?
Because some people cannot stomach Celtic standing tall.
That is the truth underneath all this garbage. Celtic are too successful for some people’s comfort. Too powerful culturally. Too resilient. Too massive.
So, every opportunity becomes a chance to drag the club, drag the fans and drag the support through the mud, whether justified or not.
Honestly, my Polish side recognises this behaviour instantly because I have seen versions of it my whole life. People repeating narratives because they heard them on television. Repeating slogans because newspapers told them what to think.
No critical thinking. No asking questions. No demanding proof. Just obediently parroting whatever outrage is fashionable that day, like mummies reciting from a script.
That mentality is dangerous everywhere, in football, in politics and in society generally. A claim repeated a hundred times is still not automatically a fact.
People need to start remembering that.
I am not saying every Celtic fan is perfect, because no support on earth is perfect. Football crowds are emotional, chaotic and unpredictable at times.
But I refuse to accept this constant rush to criminalise Celtic supporters based on vibes, bitterness and unproven allegations, while other incidents with actual evidence get sanitised or quietly brushed aside.
The media should deal in facts. Not innuendo. Not hysteria. Not emotionally loaded words tossed around for maximum outrage clicks. If there is evidence, present it. If there are charges, report them. If there are victims, prove it.
Otherwise, stop presenting allegations like established truth, because that is not journalism. That is narrative manufacturing. And Celtic supporters – and the Celtic manager too, by the way – are absolutely entitled to question it.
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Unsubstantiated claims, lies and accusations that are very Trumpesque, with that distinct Scottish twist of hatred of the Fenians. Its been an incredible few days since we won the league, and the media response has been nothing short of a fucking disgrace. As much as I don’t like how DD runs the club, maybe he should start taking legal action against those propagating untruths and fostering hate. It might just halt the endless stream of shite.
“When did the media stop establishing facts to run with wild unsubstantiated claims?”
Unfortunately the hard fact is they have absolutely no duty to be truthful. Other than the BBC, all the others are privately owned and commercial outlets. They can say and print what they like. That is the cold hard truth. And that’s exactly what they do. They report and print their own agendas regardless of what’s truthful or not. The BBC is supposed to be guided by its ‘Charter’ and is owned by the UK Government. It has a duty to report balance and truth at all times. But as we all know they repeatedly fail to meet these standards, especially BBC Scotland.
That’s very true of BBC Scotland, which has played a big role in the development of the one-sided narrative and the “media hysteria” referred to last week by the SFA. For weeks Martin Geissler, a Hearts fan, used the Radio Scotland Breakfast Programme to promote the pro Hearts narrative and went full tonto the morning after the Motherwell handball game. Many of the Radio Scotland morning programmes have had a clear anti-Celtic agenda which has shown a total lack of perspective and demonstrated that Scotland has become an unhinged country.
One thing that it is worth noting in the context of post match field invasions is that there was one when Scotland defeated England at Murrayfield to win the Rugby Grand Slam in 1990. English players later complained of serious hateful and vile abuse from Scottish supporters. That was brushed aside as inconsequential, and described on the BBC as exuberance. Why is such a distinction being made now?
I don’t listen to ‘Radio Shortbread’ but i remember the game well that you mention. It is indeed double standards. I used to like listening to their late night music shows but i can’t listen to their news and politics programmes. Far too stressful. I’d blow a fuse.
I said it yesterday and I’ll repeat myself, the more of our fans start to realise this and the more the media know that we’ve caught on, the better. The reporting of what went on after the game, both the pitch invasion AND the merchant city has absolutely nothing to do with what went on and everything to do with the colour of the jersey.
Pitch invasions happen- regularly.
Players get taunted by fans- weekly.
As for the mess and littering in town- do these folk complain when there’s thousands of orangemen marching up and down the streets leaving a mess? Do they complain when god knows however many tonnes of rubbish has to removed from TRNST festival? Do they hell. Those things can’t be used to bash Celtic and our supporters. It’s sheer bigotry and hatred and not one of us should stand for it.
The lot of them can gtf. We should use it as motivation for 6,7,8,9 and 10! COYBIG double on Saturday please!
Listen what I don’t get and I’ll never understand, is why do Celtic supporters still buy the Daily Record, all your doing is funding the hate towards Celtic. Why ???? If I want to find out anything about Celtic I read articles like this, I couldn’t care if the Record went into liquidation.
Very good point. Never understood it myself. Why commit financially to these outlets and fund their bitterness? I’m not in the habit of helping to pay the wages of The Village Idiot, Keith Jackass, Barry Ferguson, McMoist, Keevins and Jim White etc.
I don’t even bother with so-called Celtic blogs that link to any of these outlets.
I had a Celtic supporting friend who used to buy the Rectum, and his response was always that no one would ever tell him what to read.
Mind you he also voted for Brexit, so I can only conclude that his chief motivation was stupidity.
Totally agree Andy & Richard, If your a Celtic fan, and you buy these rags,
You’re actually contributing to the lies and Guff they print about us.
Should be total ban on this crap newspapers.
I, like many Celtic fans have taken great pleasure in feeling the pain, hearts fans and the millions of “neutrals” have gone through over the past few days. However, that feeling has gone now and 1 of anger has set in. Anger at what you’ve basically just written about Paulina.
When is someone from mainstream media going to come out and ask for proof of these allegations against us. I’ve heard ppl defend Celtic and the fact they deserved to win the league, but their background mainly comes from a Celtic persuasion. When we’ve cruised to league titles before, the narrative has always been ushered our very quickly ” the best team won the league, the table doesn’t lie”. For some reason that logic has been binned this season, and it was suggested hearts are the real champions….eh, “naw they’re naw”
Hearts done well. They lead till the final hurdle and then fell. The team chasing them throughout the season, was like a long distance runner or a seasoned race horse. They sat behind in their slipstream until it was the right time to make their move . That’s how races are won. The leader couldn’t kick on and match their manoeuvre going into the home straight.
Only Celtic fans will recognise the teams achievement. Only Celtic players will look back and call it the finest title they’d ever won.
We will tell our children and grandchildren about this season. Historians will write about it after we’re dead and gone . This was a season Celtic roared again, after being asleep for most of it.
Let them say and write what they like, but no one will ever take it away from us
What we all need to do is all theceltic family will not except there lies anymore there poison of indoctrinated racist bigotry anymore the media civic Scotland police Scotland you will take responsibility for your racist bigot attitude and you will pay for it no more back of the bus this is our city this is our land this is our club . You not attack Celtic with your lies your racist bigotry we will not have it and will protect Glasgow Celtic with every fibre of our lives no more HAIL! HAIL!.
If I’m, Dermot Desmond and im seeing all this perpetuated lies, the campaign to discredit Celtic and diminish how great a feat it was to claw back a supposed guaranteed title for Hearts. Every one and their granny has piled on from all over the UK, many couldn’t tell you the first thing about Scottish football. Dermot Desmond should now use this as motivation to really drive the nails into the coffin, get the club sorted, get proper structure from the top down, proper investment in players and management, and let’s leave all the other teams with no excuses, especially that Ibrox mob!
Well obviously my hatred and it is pure fuckin unadulterated HATRED of them thanks to forums like The Celtic Blog doesn’t allow me to purchase The Scummy’s in any way whatsoever…
But where the fuck is Lucan in all of this…
And he’s supposed to be a ‘leading’ lawyer as well…
The only defence I’ll give him is that responses at the minute would be severely detretemental to the cup final preparations…
But if he’s done nothing by Monday at the very latest then he’s just as bad as all the Scummy’s…
And they are fuckin bad, very bad, EVIL in fact !
The media response has been shameful. It’s just dreadful. You’d think these rags with their dwindling customer base and dying companies might have a bash at proper, fair journalism and reporting to see if anyone is interested in that just for a change. Because this constant outrage that they peddle is very tiresome and biased pish.
They have thousands upon thousands upon thousands on Wallow Wallow who openly admit to buying them Brattbakk…
That’s their demographic and clearly main customer base and they’re clearly targeting those poor low level IQ Sevco sods given the output that James from The Celtic Blog catches them publishing and flags their pathological lies up on a daily basis !!!
There’s a phrase that only needs to have one word changed to characterise what we see with the Scottish media, not just the sports media: “There’s no need to bribe the English journalist for seeing what the man will do quite unbribed there’s no occasion to.’