22 days in May

Sadly first?

first

dont tell me i`m second

Was it just me, or were Fiorentina rotten?

Was it just me or was Vieri rotten?

Was it just me or was Mutu rotten?

Was it just me or when the clock read 103 minutes, I thought, who's the ref, Bobby Tait? Ok, that may just have been me :)

That wasn't football, that was torture.

What an embarassment for the SPL.

Anti Football...see Rankers 2008.!

This is what football dreads.

Fiorentina were pretty poor with their invention to break that brick wall down but Ranjers just elbowed their way in the back door.

Ironbhoy

Lets keep our eyes on the prize here.
The Ranger's result does not affect us or them in the league run in.
First up - Motherwell.
Three points.

KEEP OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE!!

I'm gutted!!!

I'm gutted!!!

Congratulations Paul on a valiant attempt to rally the troops on a night when the Celtic family are hurting badly.

Our 2003 efforts and the great memories of Seville are about to be surpassed by the worst scumbags on the face of the planet.

Sadly I suspect the prospect of a UEFA cup final will breathe new life in to tired hun legs and I suspect winning our final three games will not be enough.

Dear God no..........

Noel, NOEL, where are you? I need to find a blog to unleash my thoughts. Funky, Carrotty, drink pourers won't do!!

It would seem this tournament is not waht it was 5 years ago. ;)

This "victory" sickens me.

And what will be worse will be the heroic tales that the media will somehow conjure from one of the worst displays of football I have ever seen.

Roll on Saturday so we can see some proper football again!

But many of you will offer congrats. to Ed. Why?

I won't offer congratulations for the "achievements" of his "Scotland's Shame".

Anti Football indeed.

Middlesbrough were the last truly bad team to reach the UEFA final - lats hope there is a similar denouement

VertWolf

Oh dear oh dear oh dear Just as I feared. Written in the stars.

Hunbelieveable!

The moral high ground can be a wee bit lonely, guys.

Anti football say Barca and Fiorentina.

Negativity say Messi and Mutu.

Where are they tonight?

Heading for a European final?

Nope.

Kirk Broadfoot is.

Ahem.

Let's face it, if it was us and not the Hordes, would we be complaining if it didn't look pretty?

I think not.

Total media lockdown required.

the huns have shown an inability to win games

IF we win are next three we will be champions

i would say this is the hardest part of the equation

in truth i wish it was august 2008

Edward,

A very begrudging congratulations.

Maybe I'm just a vexed tim but was that not one of the worst advertisements for Scottish Football?
I'm sure you could'nt care less tho.

There's only one Dick AdvoFatt!!

I think a topic for the future has to be the huge gap in quality not just between the top and bottom of our league, the EPL which has three tiers.

The quality of teams that are getting into the UEFA cup has plummeted. Not sure whether this is because of the new league formation or just the financial gap in football has got so huge that the players available to teams has significantly reduced.

I'm sure Paul and others can speak more eloquently on this subject than me, but I think its something worth a closer look

Also if you are a Rangers fan would you buy a DVD of the run to this final?

Paul, thanks for ushering us onwards and upwards from tonights mockery of a semi-final. I suspect we'll dwell on this for some time though.

They will be physically battered after that tonight, but such a victory can have tremendous metaphysical benefits. I believe despite the extra 30 mins play, this league is now harder to win for us than it was before a penalty was taken.
It will be a new experience for us all though, winning the title on a Thursday night. Better make sure Friday 23rd is reserved for happy hangovers.

Ghod help us - the most negative team since the Red Star Belgrade team of the 80s has reached a Euro Final.

Whilst it will no doubt be good for Scotland's co-efficient, surely the credibilty of Scottish football has taken a bit of a kicking after watching that performance tonight (and their many others in the earlier rounds). Whilst Celtic aren't world beaters, at least we try to include a few guys with flair. Final or no final, I would refuse point blank to fork out money to watch that p*sh that was on show tonight.

Off on a pilgrimage,going to find a cell and stay there.The faith is going a bit wobbly.
Keep the Faith.

Lurgan53, go to the top of the class:

“Let’s keep our eyes on the prize”

We have a championship to win; focus.

The place that we call Paradise, forget about it, it’s irrelevant. See Lurgan53.

Michael Collins, LetThePeopleSing. I would be disappointed if I had time to concentrate on anything other than the game against Motherwell.

Caesar1967, deleted, language.

Scum supporters and a scum team congratulations never never never. Remember what this scum sing about.

We must win our last 3 games and hope we win this league or this country will be hunbearable.

Seville is goosed now every scum hun imaginable will try to get to manchester to outshine our invasion of seville.

We do not want them winning 4 trophys as the hun media will make them out to be better than the lisbon lions.

Long time lurker on an excellent site. Their luck must run out soon !Three points on Saturday please !

How are our acheivements about to be surpassed (or have already been surpassed). I seem to remember we got there by scoring GOALS. They barely had a shot on goal in the 2 legs of the semi. If they win the final (shudder to think) and if they score any goals (excluding penalties in a shoot out) they can claim to have out done us.

Please people, they will take a boost out of tonight nothing is surer, but don't go overboard they have a ways to go to even equal what we did. How many premiership teams did they beat on the way to the final.

I'm disgusted they got a boost tonight, but they looked (yet again) out on their feet tonight. Long may it continue!

Standing up for the Champions!

These Rankers' games, what with all their extra time and penalties, mean I get quite some time to snooze. Its almost as if the game plan is to reach penalties because that is the only time there is some parity on the pitch. All we hear is Cuellar this and Weir that. However, when the opposition have the ball, there is a back four with a five man line across the edge of the box - even David Murray could play centre half with that sort of support.

Its a black day for football when such tactics ultimately win the day. I don't have too much time for Man U or Man City. However, for the people of Manchester as a whole, you have to feel truly sorry for them - knowing the huns, they will try to surpass the Seville numbers. Violence, my friends, is inevitable.

gscbhoy

that red star team were outstanding,scoring goals for fun, bar the final

it was 1991 appox and they beat the huns 4 -1 on the way

i think

To be honest the only thing I was surprised about tonight was that Anti-Football didn't nick it 1 nil in regulation time.

They have had all the luck, they are going to win this and it is going to hurt.

We really need them to drop points on Sunday or I think its over and its time to go into hiding.

There was a Monty Python song . . . . spam spam spam spam . . . scum scum scum scum.
The Manchester Police will know the lyrics well soon enough. The GOOD people of Manchester need to be afraid, very afraid. Sauron's minions will wreak a terrible vengeance on their city. I am really disappointed that they are through - but lets face it, they are there. To all decent bears (like Ed) enjoy a final - but the rest, like the morons on BBC Scotland telling the good people of Florence that the famine is over, like the fans on STV news doing the bouncy, like the balloon carriers on Sunday, the murderers in Govan, the abusers of an Irish man in Scotland and the abusers of a talented Polish man in Scotland celebrating the memory of the greatest ever Pole - enjoy your swill, enjoy your interviews with the kiss @rse press, enjoy your white supremacy moment...... but remember we are hunting you down like dogs.

I would take "anti-football" for a seasoon to be where they are now - in fact for most of the season i think we have had to tolerate a different version of anti-football and there isa more than a passing chance we will win hee haw.

There is absolutely no need to tarnish Seville by comparing it to their situation.

I am afraid their weary legs have just been re-invigorated.

It seems grim but they rose to the challenge we set them through dominating most of the past seven years and if they win the dreaded quadruple then Lawell, The Board, WGS and the team need to respond and take us to another level becasue we'll demand it.

Hurts like hell at the moment but so did the 1990's and look where we went.

3 in a row.

It was already a must.

It's now imperative. Vital. Pretty goddamn important.

I'd love to come on here and type out some platitudes about how what they do has no bearing on us, and that we shouldn't define ourselves against them. And that would all be true...

But I'm not the man to take such a viewpoint.

The most filthy, cynical, disgraceful, satanical, appalling, rotten-to-the-core, reprehensible, pleased-as-punch, morally-repugnant, cesspool-dwelling, abhorent, cowardly squad of brigands, cheats & ratbags ever to abase the name of football has managed to fluke their scummy path to a European cup final.

My worldview is taking something of a battering right now.

CHEATS NEVER PROSPER.

3 in a row, Celtic. See to it.

It seems grim but they rose to the challenge we set them through dominating most of the past seven years and if they win the dreaded quadruple then Lawell, The Board, WGS and the team need to respond and take us to another level becasue we'll demand it.

Hurts like hell at the moment but so did the 1990's and look where we went.

I think we're totally getting away from ourselves here! Sure this is a bad result for us as Celtic fans, but, really it has no bearing on the league race at all! They may get a bit of a lift from it, however they are bound to be both physically and emotionally drained after chasing the ball for 120 minutes tonight, they've also got to factor into account that players will not want to miss the final now, so will they be as wholehearted in every challenge against the likes of Motherwell or Hibs?
Also to simply say that they are godawful and the worst team to get to the Uefa Cup Final is being a bit harsh! (Aright, maybe they are) They may not be pretty to watch, tonight was torture, but what they are is extremely difficult to break down and very well organised, they are very rarely caught out of position and everyone sticks to their task. It IS horrible to watch, but, it's very effective!
We have to stick to our task and WIN the only competition left open to us!!!

Always believe!

be secular in the following days

trust to your own

and believe

u.

A quintessential Hun performance with an overdose of luck.
We can only avoid our annus horribilus by winning our last 3 games ...if the players feel even a fraction of our collective pain these games will take care of themselves.
It ain't over ... from the lumbering Broadfoot to the ineffectual Cap'n Fantastic... self preservation of KNACKERED LIMBS for a Euro Final means a chink is there.
Let's hope our 3 league Uefa contenders see merit in pushing the Finalists all the way.
If I played for M'well, D Utd or Hibs I'd want to give them a right GIRUY.

I can't say well done to EU because it was not well done but I can offer to let him enjoy it while it lasts. A severely limited team has made a Uefa Cup final. It is inexplicable but it has happened. It's all set up for a 5:0 win in the final.

Zbyzek,
Is it ok to cheer on a team of Russian racists?

Hail Hail The Celts are here.
What the hell do we care?
What the hell do we care?
Hail Hail the Celts are here.
What the hell do we care now?

Their 'result' does not impact us. We still need to keep winning.

If, however, they win this UEFA Cup my faith in God will be reinforced. The devil must win sometimes and, if he exists, then so must God

Made a note in my diary on the way to the computer.

Simply says......"bugger".

Michael Collins, i tend to agree there.
A defeat tonight and the heads would have dropped,this will give them a real lift.
In the cold light of day it is very depressing they're only another penalty shoot away from
surpassing Seville.
Any positive posters out there that can cheer me up tonight..anyone?

It has too be said that Cueller is an immense defender. Great signing and is proof that you can get quality without totally breaking the bank.

Good news is he wont be there next season.

This is a terrible distraction away from what we all want. A win at Motherwell! Come on the Bhoys!
Either they really are lucky or Gordon Strachan is a tactical genius!

McStay.

Go into hiding?

From whom?

Get a grip man.

TheGreen Trumpet you have used up all the good words none left for the rest of us.

Manchester 2008 -It's the Little Genital V the Cardigan.

The nightmare scenario is upon us - never in a million years did I ever think I'd ever be cheering on the wee Dik versus anyone but -please,please do us all a favour and beat this excuse for a football team - penalties will be OK!

McStay.

Go into hiding?

From whom?

Get a grip man.

TheGreen Trumpet you have used up all the good words none left for the rest of us.

Paul67, congratulations on the new site.

When Celtic beat Inter Milan in 1967 it heralded the end of catanachio. How sad to see another Scottish team reintroduce the most defensive form of football and gain a UEFA Cup Final place. Wattienachio anyone?

Anyways onwards and upwards, hopefully the prospect of being the worst team to win a European trophy in a generation will cause them to take their eye of the real prize.

Bankrobber - The Clash

Evening, unbelievable...so every dog has its day? Rangers next sponsor "The Kennel Club". I expect they're so used to it these days they've all taken to Pedigree Chum. They'll be pissing and defecating in the streets next to lamppost's before long...what? In Barcelona? Oh i forgot about that!

Walter the Great Illusionist does it again .They can't win the league on penalties and nil nil draws .They have nothing left.........
The only thing he has is the energy created by our negativity
Stay focused ...
Forget about Artur and the t shirt ..
Forget about the Fuds with the Spuds ....
Forget about Manchester it rains there even more than it does in Greenock.......
Dont give him or his magician assistants in the press any energy ......
There are no rabbits left in his bowler hat.
Get behind Gordon and the Bhoys and even if we falter get behind them even stronger.
Mark my words they have nothing left ............

Raskolnikov CSC

legrandpierre

more like ryhmes with clucking bell

Lynott67, cheer up! Imagine if you supported Man City!
I had to try. :-(

Back to Celtic

I noticed some disinformation on the last thread claiming Celtic had only ONE representative in the U-17 Scotland squad. It seems from the SFA site that we have 2, James Keatings and Haydon Cochrane. It seems small still. Do we have a large number of ROI and NI boys at that level or are our Scots really poor? How did they perform in their league? Is Carlo Monti not still eligible?

Look, it's pretty hard to take this result but at BEST they are going to be the second Glasgow team to reach the UEFA cup final; absolute worst-case is that they become second Scottish team to win 4 trophies in a season. Is it cold in our shadow?

Penalty shoot-outs excepted . . . (if only!!)
Rangers have won FOUR out of their last 14 games.
They have won TWO games in the UEFA Cup out of EIGHT.
They have scored FIVE goals in those eight games, two of them thanks to a hopeless Werder Bremen keeper.
So forget about them. Concentrate on Celtic.
If we win our last three games, we WILL win the league.

Greater Manchester Police will need to smash their budget to keep the Club 1690 holiday-makers in tow. 'ScotShame' will perform to expectations and as usual the good people of Paradise will be guilty by association as far as the press are concerned. Lose Lose situation for us I'm afraid. I shudder to think.

They'll have to win this cup to surpass our achievements BTW. A long shot as fortune favours the brave, and they certainly ain't that.

Anyway, quite right Paul, Lurgan53 et al. To more pressing matters at Motherwell this weekend. Let's pile on the pressure with a comfortable win. 3 goals to the good if you please.

Has the Motherwell game sold out?
Any tickets left?

This is living proof that evil does flourish. Manchester doesn't know what it about to hit it. A hoard of racist, sectarian Huns will be descending on the city in two weeks, singing their vile songs of hate and bringing their anti-football to town. What a thought.

I'm planning on being in Manchester to see The Boss on 28 May. I just hope that there is something left of the city by then.

Welcome JP67.

Ni, thanks.

JohnBhoy, keep tellin’ it.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to apologise for stating, on 22/09/2007 that fiorentina were my 2nd favourite team.

They have now fallen sharply in my estimation, to 2nd least favourite team.

Batistuta & Rui Costa would be turning in their graves, but, luckily, they're both still alive.

Let us keep the focus on the league, despite tonight's result.

3 points at Fir Park on Saturday a must!.

Every bit as important as last Sunday game against THEM.

Keep the Faith - We still have a chance of winning the league !

And so the river of effluence,the stream of raw ,subhuman, sewage that assumes the visible face of the Rangers Support,makes it's way to Manchester.

God Help Us.

That result really depressed me, I can't believe their journey to the final will be treated as if it's as good as our Seville achievement. Some of the performances we put on in that run were tremendous and we played some extremely good teams.

Not that people want to hear it right now but this is Ranger's form over the last 14 games over 90 minutes:

Fiorentina 0 - 0 Rangers
Celtic 3 - 2 Rangers
Rangers 0 - 0 Fiorentina
St Johnstone 0 - 0 Rangers
Celtic 2 - 1 Rangers
Partick Thistle 0 - 2 Rangers
Sporting 0 - 2 Rangers
Dundee United 3 - 3 Rangers
Rangers 0 - 0 Sporting
Rangers 1 - 0 Celtic
Rangers 2 - 1 Hibs
Rangers 1 - 1 Partick
Dundee United 1 - 1 Rangers
Werder Bremen 1 - o Rangers

14 sets of 90 minutes:
4 wins (one against lower league opposition)
7 draws (2 against lower league opposition)
3 defeats

If they keep this form up then they stand no chance of winning the league. He's hoping their celebrations will lead to them losing focuss for the game against Hibs.

IF Rangers had lost tonight, can you imagine the amount of dodgy decisions that would have to have been endured as the consolation of a league victory was ensured?

At least this way, their attention and effort is diluted.

I realise they will get a boost from getting to the final but there is a finite limit to what people can achieve running on empty.

The crash won't be pretty to watch.

Hello there all, had some difficulties getting logged in last two nights.

In anycase, one of my friends had forwarded me this email which I will copy paste below, it may have been lifted from another site or someone may have made comments about this before ?

You do not need to agree with this 1000% however it is worth noting and thinking about.

Paul67, not sure how the links will come out, if they cause problems with wap internet etc, can you let me know and i will refrain from in future.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Subject: We are all Arthur Boruc !

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

On April 20th 1968, a television crew travelled to the Midland Hotel in Birmingham and recorded a political speech which was unlike any that had been heard in Western Europe since the 1930’s, when Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. The individual making the speech was a senior member of the Shadow Cabinet, not a politician of the far-right or from a marginal party. Within weeks, he had been sacked, leading to strikes, to riots, to civil unrest and to the uncovering of deep rooted racism in a country which had prided itself on having defeated the evils of Nazi Germany and saw no concurrence between the two.

Enoch Powell did this country a big favour, but not in the way he intended. His Rivers of Blood speech was certainly inflammatory and deeply disgusting, but far worse was the public reaction to it, as the “great British people” rushed to embrace views that the Nazi dictator himself would certainly have taken to his heart. The ignorance, the racism, the sheer naked hatred at the heart of so much of the population was laid bare ………… and so the Labour government of the day made sure the anti-discrimination legislation’s which had prompted Powell’s notorious rant were rushed through Parliament, as the public response made it undoubtedly clear how needed they were.

And slowly, over time, things got better.

But not much better.

Anti-immigrant hatred is rampant in Britain. The right-wing press which hyped Powell’s speech at the time and now still like to stir the pot of hatred, and the deep rooted ignorance which still exists out there is occasionally loathsome to behold. Certainly, every once in a while someone speaks out against it, usually to their detriment, but as the underlying problem has never been tackled, the Rule Britannia mentality which haunts this island, the problem has never really gone away. Here in Scotland we know it well, but here the problem has a different twist to it, a different slant, and one that is as grotesque as anything Powell, or even Hitler himself, could have contrived.

The furore surrounding the game on Sunday has revealed the naked hate at the heart of life here, revealing the country, and particularly its leading lights, in a way which should shame them all and brings an entire nation, its history and its culture into the worst disrepute. I refer, of course, to the treatment being meted out to our goalkeeper Artur Boruc, and not for the first time, but also to something far more apparent and obvious: the continuing hatred which emanates from the Rangers support, and the upper elements of our society which even as they shriek their fury at our goalkeeper find it easier to view that hatred with a Hear-No-Evil, See-No-Evil, Speak-No-Evil policy which is utterly shameful and as repellent as the sectarian views of the Rangers fans themselves.

I have friends who are Rangers fans, yet oddly none of them live here in the West of Scotland. One guy in particular, who is from Dundee now but moved here from England, views the sectarian issue up here as something wholly alien, and never having been brought up in it has never been tainted by it and so fails to understand my continual fury as to the things I have to see and hear. I think he believes me to be a little fanatical on the subject, a little insane perhaps, and it must get to him sometimes, as he knows me well enough to know I personally am not a bigot of any shade or form.

There is a poisonous atmosphere in the West of Scotland, and I swear it gets worse by the day. I grew up here, I have spent my whole life here, but for a brief time in Stirling, and have frankly never known things to be this bad. I’ve written numerous articles for this site, and in the previous one I said just that, thinking it would be the final word on the issue I’d ever need to say ………… and yet in the run-up to the recent game at Ibrox I was astounded to see what I believe to have been the most sustained attack on our club that I have seen in many, many years launched by the media, by the SPL and by Rangers linked organisations ……… all of which must have been patting themselves on the back at the final whistle that day, for theirs truly was a job very well done indeed.

From Scottish sports journalists trying to force a UEFA investigation into the fans of one of the teams they pretend to support in European competition to the SFA sending home a Celtic player from the National Squad to spare Rangers embarrassment, it was a truly extraordinary two weeks to behold, and yet nothing compares to what we’ve seen in the follow-up to our bursting of the Walter Smith bubble with our back-to-back wins against his “unique quadruple” chasing team. (Do you know, I actually plucked that comment from a news article ……… do these people not KNOW a Scottish club HAS won a quadruple, including a European trophy?)

Let me get something out of the way, just for the record. I’m Catholic, but very much of the non-practising variety. If I have politics within the church at all, I’d have to say I’m a Vatican II supporter, and my idol within the Catholic Church wasn’t John Paul II but John Paul I who wanted a church of the poor and one much more attuned to the problems of the modern world.

My own views on religion tend to echo those of Jonathon Swift, who said “We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another”, and I tend to distrust zealots of any sort, no matter which denomination they claim to represent. The difference between the hate-mongers of the neo-conservative Christian right and the Islamic fundamentalists they oppose so venomously are nothing but a matter of degrees ………… what joins them together is a deep-seated intolerance of other people.

This intolerance is why I hate them both with equal fervour, and it’s why I hate a large, vocal section of the Rangers support ………and why I have come to hate the club which houses them, the society which tolerates them, the media which defends them and the culture which despite cosmetics and the half-hearted attempts of politicians still breeds them. One Scotland, Many Cultures. That’s what they say. For all their slogans and their summits, for all their eye-catching and vote-grabbing initiatives, they remain deaf, blind and ignorant when it comes to actually tackling the real problem.

The real problem, as everyone knows, is not simply sectarianism itself, which is a catch-all predicated on the belief that the two communities in Scotland are as guilty as each other, but, more specifically, it is a fervent, virulent, form of anti-Irish racism and its brother in hate, anti-Catholic bigotry. It really is as simple and as stark as that, and until this cancer is tackled at the source it will spread, it will grow, it will continue to feed off itself and it will continue to overshadow all of the steps taken to move us forward.

So, today, once again, Scotland’s Shame is visible for the world to see. The banner that pointed at the Rangers support at the first of our two victorious derbies could have easily been pointed at the press box or even certain sections of the director’s box, most notably that section which houses Westminster and Holyrood’s hangers-on and the so-called opinion makers. Scotland’s Shame is not just to be found in the chants of the Rangers fans but in the way their bigotry is pandered to, even defended, when it is not being completely ignored, by the media and the political class. I would add to that the organisation Nil By Mouth, which is aptly named when it comes to criticisms of the filth of Ibrox but is strangely vocal when it comes to levelling volleys of abuse at Celtic, our fans and our players.

And today, shockingly, step forward one of the greatest Celts ever, Billy McNeil, and hang your head in shame.

Writing for the tabloid arse-wipe The Sun, whilst something I would not myself chose to do, is not an unpardonable offence. John Hartson has been doing it effectively for the past few weeks, putting the Celtic case forward with great verve. He is the proof that it’s the man who makes the forum, not necessarily the other way about.

Billy McNeil has been doing it for longer, for years in fact, and was one of the reasons any Celtic fan would even deign to pick that paper up. He lent it certain credibility with some supporters, but in attacking Boruc he appears to have left the path of sanity.

We all know by now that a Celtic fan was attacked and killed in Govan on Sunday night. We now know Aiden McGeady himself was a victim of a sectarian attack, and we know that Artur Boruc will be the subject of an SFA probe. At a time like this, when the sectarian scum of our society are crawling out of the woodwork, McNeil has launched a cowardly attack on our goalkeeper for a sign of religious faith which would not have raised hackles anywhere else in the civilised world. A man who I idolise and worship has gone down in my estimation and this saddens me, but not as much as the connotations of his remarks, which are that those who follow the Catholic faith should keep their heads down as the nature of the country we live in is to treat them as second class citizens at best or as targets of abuse and violence at worst. Those comments are disgraceful and diabolical and suggest the best we can hope for is not to provoke the bigotry and hatred of some of the folk we have to share living space with.

Well, McNeil, that is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

When do we stop apologising for who and what we are? When does the hatred end, when does the system of government, of laws, when does this society of tolerance we keep hearing about kick in? Certainly it will not happen as long as we hide under the bed, as long as we act as if we are ashamed of our upbringing and our culture.

Believe me, my anger today does not come from being a member of the social group being rounded on here, because I am an observer of the traditional Catholic customs at best. It comes from the wellspring of fury I feel when I see Islam being attacked, when I see the people of Palestine being subjected to the state brutality of Israel, from the same internal force which makes me a socialist and internationalist. The fact I am a Catholic myself does not come into it at all. This is not a matter of religion, for me, but a matter of right and wrong and there is no defence whatsoever for McNeil’s claim that Boruc’s actions have led to the promotion of bigotry ……… except in a way McNeil did not intend. For he himself is the one who has promoted bigotry, for he has become the mouthpiece for our enemies and has pandered to the worst of them and given them a poster boy in our own camp, which I assure you they will use to get at us.

McNeil is not alone of course. Nowhere in his article, indeed, nowhere in the whole maelstrom of hatred being whipped up, is there mention of the Rangers’ fans new anthem to hatred, the one about the famine which ends in the line “why don’t you go home?”

If our society needed another example of The People, what that phrase means, and the twisted, fascist, racist beliefs which underpin it, then surely it is here, in a song as reprehensible as the one UEFA banned them from singing and which the head of the game in this country was quick to defend whilst a mere radio broadcaster.

Upwards of a million people died as a result of the Irish Famine, and another million plus had to leave their native land as a result. This song is a monument to the ignorance and bigotry of a vast tract of the Rangers support, who evidently take great delight in singing filth.

One can only wonder if he will defend this latest chant from the fans who once worshiped him and who clearly he worships in return, but his desire to do nothing should not dissuade us from trying to force the issue. This tune violates not only Scottish Footballing guidelines but those of UEFA and if we do nothing else here we should be working to lobby both organisations in an effort to get some action taken on it.

The echoes of Enoch Powell are everywhere in this, especially in the attitudes of the media towards both the song and Boruc. Whereas one is judged worthy of comment and condemnation the other hardly merits a whisper of either. For all Scotland claims to have moved on the headlines say otherwise. The silence speaks volumes. The attitude has changed not one bit from the days when job interviewees were asked about which schools they attended ……… the only change is in the more sophisticated ways they have of doing it.

Our club is not, of course, the Catholics Only organisation they try to paint it as. Our whole history has been built on the opposite. Boruc’s demonstration of his religious faith happened in front of supporters who’s club’s whole ethos is tolerance and respect for other religions and religious views, and I like to think had the same gesture been made by a player of the Jewish faith or the Islamic faith ……… and yes, even one of the branches of the Protestant faith (a good example would be a t-shirt in support of Dr Rowan Williams, who at least made an effort to debate anti-Islamic intolerance, and faced the wrath of the right-wing media for doing so) we’d have been behind him if the media launched this kind of ferocious assault.

But of course the issue does not arise. Had the media attacked an Islamic player for this, or a Jewish player, the outcry would truly have been national and the politicians would be weighing in from all sides to condemn a press culture which itself promotes bigotry when it tells the Catholic community its right to express its faith depends on them doing it behind closed doors.

It raises the question as to why the same vitriol was not poured on the religious beliefs of Marvin Andrews, who routinely wore t-shirts under his Rangers top promoting his faith and was feted by the self same media which seeks to demonise our keeper. He too publicly paraded his religious beliefs, was vocal in supporting them and even went as far as to deny medical science when he very publicly put his faith in God that he wouldn’t exacerbate a horrendous injury.

Not ONCE did the media criticise him in this way.

Pope John Paul II, although not my own favourite pope, is a national hero in Poland because he used the worldwide pulpit afforded him by his position to push for justice and democratic rights in his homeland. He was also a keen amateur footballer, himself a goalkeeper, and has a special place in Boruc’s heart for these reasons. The very system the late John Paul II was so outspoken against, and he had the support of the whole Western world when he did, had the self same attitude to the Catholic faith that is being taken here. If the religion was to be practiced at all it was to be done behind closed doors, and woe betide anyone caught in public expressions of faith ………

Boruc’s actions, far from being worthy of condemnation, should be applauded by all right-thinking people. They are a refusal to give in to bigotry and hate. They are his public acknowledgement of beliefs he holds close to his heart and his way of saying he views those beliefs with pride and will not pander to anyone on that issue.

I waited a long time to find a player who would replace Larsson in my affections. Boruc is it, without a doubt. Should he leave us, and it is almost inevitable he will, I will probably not find a player I so admire and respect for a long, long time. He understands the passion which moves the Celtic support, he knows what we are routinely up against and instead of bowing and scraping, as so many in the game do, he has taken a stand and dared them to do their worst.

I ended one of my articles, on Neil Lennon, by saying we should all remember the words at the end of Spartacus, when the slaves were asked to identify their leader, who was facing crucifixion. Before long, every single one of those slaves rose and said the immortal words “I am Spartacus.” Today, we are all Artur Boruc, regardless of religious faith, skin colour, sexual orientation or political hue. Today he is the voice of every single person in this country who strives to turn the awful, bigoted sectarian sea in which we live.

The Rangers fans have made their views clear. They are so consumed with hate they can’t see past it. Their reaction to Boruc is mirrored in their intolerant chant in the way the fury of the press is mirrored in their silence regarding that song.

We have a duty to see justice is done on that and we should be writing to as many people as we can to see this latest shameful act by the Rangers support is highlighted and then halted.

Here is the song, for reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=975ksUA6dqQ

(And we’re not talking about “a minority” there, are we? That’s all of them unless I’m mistaken.)

Every reader should take note of the following addresses:

http://www.actiononsectarianism.com/aos/70.html

That is the office of Action on Sectarianism.

OneScotland.Portal@scotland.gsi.gov.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

That’s the address for the One Scotland Many Cultures forum.

CabinetSecretariat3@scotland.gsi.gov.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

That address is for the Scottish Executive Cabinet Secretariat.

Kenny.MacAskill.msp@scottish.parliament.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Kenny is the Justice Minister.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/memberspages/alex_salmond/contact.htm

That one has multiple ways of contacting The First Minister.

info@theredcardscotland.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

This one is for Show Racism the Red Card.

mail@nilbymouth.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Nil By Mouth, should you wish to bother, can be contacted there.

http://www.scotprem.premiumtv.co.uk/page/ContactUs/0,,10002,00.html

You can fill in the form at the SPL contact page or …………

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_football.cfm?curpageid=184

Contact those guys there.

Or, failing ALL THAT …………… these guys have helped us in the past.

info@uefa.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

You can send e-mails there, for forwarding to the Control and Disciple Board, which will actually handle the complaint.

Here is a brief covering letter, for those who might wish to complain but can’t find the words.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing today to draw your attention to the behaviour of the Rangers supporters at the recent matches between themselves and their Scottish rivals Celtic.

During the match their fans sang numerous anthems with sectarian and racist connotations, the worst of which being a recent song with the words “the famine is over, why don’t you go home”. This song refers to the Irish Pototo famine and is not only a violation of the laws of the game, but now, in Scotland, the law of the land.

Many would rather this issue were brushed under the carpet, but the widespread availability of footage online and elsewhere, as well as what can be clearly be heard on the TV footage itself, makes that impossible to do. I would therefore ask what action you plan to take on this matter as it brings shame to the country and violates the law.

For your information, here is a website clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=975ksUA6dqQ

Clearly, a large number of “fans” are involved in this racist behaviour, and whilst taking action against the people involved, or the club itself, would be problematic it is nevertheless necessary.

I look forward to receiving your response.

Thank you.

Sincerely ………………

Friends, let’s not do as McNeil and others have suggested and blame Artur Boruc. The fault does not lie with him but in the people who are offended by what he did. Theirs is the sickness. Theirs, ultimately, is the disease, and it will not go away until we face it.

The manifestation of that disease was never more clear than in this new and shocking chant. To those who sing it, I have nothing but contempt, and I send them all a message, and it should ring out loud and clear from all the corners of the land.

Unfortunately, work tomorrow is not going to be pleasent.
My gaffer is a Hun. I'd always thought him to be one of the so called decent Huns, but this morning, the mask slipped and he cracked a Jim Torbett/Wee boys/Big Jock line.

It's true what they say.... it's when they believe they are in the ascendancy that the mask of decency slips to reveal the true face.

I can offer no congratulations to any of them. They should be apologising to everyone else in football.

Zbyszek.

you have mail.

Distraught. Would someone please help me from this despair? Please someone give me something to be happy about. I need to see Robbo’s pen again or Naka’s wonder strike to get me out of this.

The huns, Anti-Football, satans 11 have all triumphed. It’s a disgrace to the modern game...Appalling actually.

They are truly Scotlands Shame for a number of reasons.

Gordon Brown will have to move some of his troops from Iraq to Manchester to deal with the Hunnish Hoards.

I am disgusted

Any CQNners willing to fix our resident Ed up with a ticket for Manchester?

Rangers players gave 100%. (that's as about as positive as I can be)

Now would you prefer Walter Smith or Dick Advocaat to win a European trophy?

There is a set of supporters happier than Rangers' tonight …

… those of Zenith St Petersburg.

I know we've been saying it all along (and we were right) but Wee Dick's team are much better than Rangers. I predict they will give them a doing.

What if they don't and the Great Wall of Govan prevails again? I'll be miserable. But I refuse to miserable until the unthinkable happens.

Onwards to Saturday.

Come on the Hoops.

Lets focus on the positives

Tell all the huns you know
That we're in Seville and youre no
Its 90 degrees, the suns on our knees
and the San Miguel's starting to flow

roll on two weeks

Tell all the tims you know
Were in Manchester you're no
It's 16 degrees, pissing with rain
and there no bevvy allowed on the train

It can never compare with the Pilgrimage

we know it but most importantly they know it

well said irishman

this rangers team hasn't won a game over 90 minutes since they beat partick thistle six games ago.

and they have had loads of practice recently of running around, closing down ,playing their negative football

but now they are going to have to change tact and play games chasing victories ,and playing against teams using rangers spoiling tactics ,but with no extra time and penalties to help them achieve those victories

but as paul says,we MUST finish the season with a 100% record

It's hard how to feel about tonight. I don't want what they do, in a competition we have no interest in, to upset me but it's not easy.

Say what you like about them the fact is they are very difficult to break down...our fabulous first and thumping third goals on Sunday had as much to do with the absence of Cuellar as the skill of McDonald.

The last few weeks I was thinking that at least, at the very least, if the unthinkable happened, Bayern would be waiting. O_o

I'm not sure if Dick in the Red corner is a blessing or a curse?

Hi Paul67,

First post on the new system - impressed with the layout, good job to you and the teams.

Feel truly sick tonight, couldn't be more of a contrast in styles with our run to Seville.

For the past 4 rounds I've thought, well surely this will be the end of the road for them, but no - they've made it to Manchester.

I just hope to God they don't emulate us, anti-footballing you-know-whats.

KTF.

If walter smith fell in the river clyde he'd come out with a salmon in each pocket. It cannot be possible for a team to win so few European matches yet reach the final.

David Blaine couldn't pull that off!!!

One of lifes great certainies being the hun support wil never let you down when it comes to embarrassing themselves and the country.
Famine party's, flute bands,bouncies ,BJK sing alongs,should be quite an occasion indeed!

Let's try and lighten the tone.

I received an e-mail at work today, ostensibly advising me on 7 types of e-mail message not to send.

Among the predictably banal instructions
Don't include porn
Don't insult your boss etc;

was the advice not to send jokes accompanied by the following scare story:-

"Your colleagues may not share your sense of humor, especially when it comes to off-color, sexist, or racist jokes. True story: After Chevron employees passed around an E-mail titled "25 reasons why beer is better than women," four female employees sued the company for sexual harassment. The cost to Chevron: a whopping $2.2 million. Not much of a joke, after all. "

Now, what is your first reaction to that story? Is it to take to heart the advice and vow never to attempt humour in an e-mail?

Or, is it similar to mine:- "well, that's a 26th reason why beer is better than women. Beer won't sue you for 2.2 million!"

Hope Paul does not get ripped off by my posting this.

have rejoined CQN and wish to acknowledge Paul's sterling efforts to revamp and update the site, Whilst it is not the result we could have wished for this evening we can still look back on two excellent AND WELL DESEREVED victories against Rangers which have set a definite marker for next season irrespective of what happens in the championship. Ranger's UEFA Final should also be the motivation for celtic to move to the next level next season. There will be no excuses if the board do not invest to improve the team. For those of us disgusted by the vile chants and banners displayed by Rangers fans the UEFA final will put them firmly in the spot-light WORLD WIDE....The international press will not be so dismissive as the scottish red tops and i believe that the rangers fans chants and will score a massive own goal at the UEFA FINAL which will be exposed.

How many brickies can we raise between us to rebuild Haidrian's wall while they're all in Manchester?!

Pity any tims who live there.

C First

I pointed out earlier that Zenit are 10th in their league. Not sure they'll be any better than anyone else who have lost to the Huns.

EDB

Their league has just started. They were champions last season. They blew Bayern Munich away tonight.

If they get a goal, and Rangers open up a bit (say by going to an 8-1-1) they will hit them very hard on the break.

That's what I'm focusing on. Why be miserable about things that haven't happened and may not?

Come on the Hoops.

meant to say that offensive the rangers chants and banners will score a massive own goal at the UEFA FINAL will be exposed to the world. Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter will not be as ignorant as the scottish tabloid press

Sorry C first but I suspect dodgy dealings in this Final.

Advocaat is not to be trusted I.M.O.

sixoclockatthechapel- I think you'll find that it's:
the little genital v the silver cock.

they're saying it's grand theft footie on some other forums.

I hear what you're saying Celtic_First, but I'm equally as annoyed that they have a chance of winning the damned thing as I am that they now have something to equate to Seville.

Still feeling sick.

Celtic_First
I just hope your right (please god). It will be a travesty if that mediocre football team win the UEFA Cup. I'm not being bitter but it's fact.

What would Rangers do without the lottery of penalties?

Still in shock.

Let's all focus on Fir Park on Saturday.
Nothing short of a comprehensive victory will do. Send out a message to the anti-footballers that they will actually have to start playing to win. An alien concept for them and one which may prove difficult to achieve.
As others have pointed out, draws and penalty shoot-outs are all very well in cup matches, but cannot win you leagues.

C'mon the Hoops. 3 victories to go. Time for real Heroes.

EDB sadly i also concur with your sentiments, Advocat is an ex Rangers Manager and close friend of David Murray i am not expecting anything from Zenit .......however as i have said Celtics recent victories have set a marker for next season and they will be back stronger

Hi Paul,1st post since the changeover.Congrats,looking good.Absolutely gutted about what happened tonight & goes without saying"no visit to the newsagents tomorrow"However,what about this for a thought-WIN the league at Tannadice on Thur 22nd May,not as many Celtic fans in one ground to celebrate as we would like.Get 60,000 into Paradise on 25th May to remember the late,great Phil O'Donnell.Current squad do lap of honour with league trophy.Magnificent 7,once again wearing the hoops."Oh,what a perfect day"Hail,hail.

never in the history of human football
have so many donkeys done so much
with so few attempts at crossing the half-way line

5 years after Lisbon they won the whatchimacallit cup in the Nou Camp and 5 years after Seville they are going to be mad for it in Manchester...funny that. Not hilarious or spooky, just mildly interesting for its symmetry...

EDB, absolutely correct. Wee Barney is a slimy character. Dodgy Dave and Russian teams have previous. Anyone else remember the Ruskies shipping 5 after a dressing room visit from a certain James Bond fan with two bags of gold?

as Paul highlighted earlier this week a Celtic victory over Motherwell gives the Steelmen a massive incentive to take something from Rangers who they play TWICE before the season finishes. Mark McGhee and his Motherwell players will be determined to get into Europe next season whilst Rangers must also face Craig Levin's Dundee Utd who have taken points off Rangers twice this season. Keep the faith, walk on with hope in your hearts.........Hold your heads up high cos sure its a grand old team to play for

As well as Rangers luck tonight they stand on the verge of winning the quadruple!! Yep quadruple!! Our lack of respect last summer and underestimation of them is coming back to haunt us big time. We should have strengthed from a strong position and buried them but we never.

No matter how lucky, jammy or whatever you want to call it. It even defies logic and football what they have managed to acheive, but they have done itQQ

Okay they reached the final of the UEFA but we could have stopped them on the domestic front and not be left with this horrible feeling we have tonight!! Quadruple is very much on!!

I also got this feeling if things to go horribly wrong on Saturday on the back of the this, that GS might become the target. I hope not!! Plenty of ither factors have led us to this position. ie lack of spend on hafl decent quality rather than squad fillers.

Tonight will also be the wake up for Dermot Desmond and the Celtic Board and also for those Celtic players who have underperformed this season expect massive improvement next season

Long, long time lurker based in Far East - great site Paul which keeps me up to date with all things Celtic.

Even after losing at Ibrox I was confident that if they kept going in UEFA Cup & we beat them at Paradise twice we had a great chance. I believe after tonight's result we will win the league title although the bookies will think differently.

The only worry I have is that they might well win the UEFA Cup. Zenit's top scorer was booked 15 mins from time (he had already scored twice & they were 3-0 up when he was booked)and will miss the final. Tactically brilliant Dick! Just to rub it in, I notice Zenit are scheduled to play a league match away in Vladivostok - must be a 7 hr plus flight - on the Sunday before the final. Surely they must ask for this to be postponed to help their preparation? If not, we must start a campaign....

Give McGeady the Number 7, cheers.

Unew Mike, that’s it; eye on the prize.

Ssm, cheers.

WGS, knock that talk on the head for the next wee while, would you please? We need to focus fully on ensuring 3 in a row happens.

They will have cheerleaders aplenty, & sycophants galore, crowing about possible quadruples over the coming days. It's going to be very hard for us all on here to stand.

But. There's a way to go yet.

If it happens, & the consensus is we underestimated them, we can all get torn in post-season. But we're not there yet.

3 in a row.

Let's make it happen.

Tonight I am hurting badly.

Why does it feel like this? Do you think Arsenal fans, who had to contend with their own particular pain from the Quarter Final of the Champions League felt like this last night when Chelsea made it? Did Spurs fans?

Did Manchester City fans have such a dark feeling that Hell had just opened its gates and loosed Evil onto the world? Did the fans of Inter Milan, when AC Milan won it last year?

This is more the just a triumph of anti-football. This is a triumph of sectarianism, of bigotry, of institutional racism, of all that's dark and awful in our culture and our society. Tonight a Scottish team has reached a European final and I am dreading the newspapers, dreading the radio, dreading the TV and feel utterly sick at the dawning feeling that this might not be over but might just be about to begin.

A Scottish team has reached a European Final on a tide of bile and venom and vitriol and hatred and now that hatred is about to go global and be exposed to the world, and do you know what?