IS IT SAFE enough to pop my head up above the parapet?
Ill-advisably, some Celtic fans raced onto the pitch AFTER Callum Osmand had stroked in the final goal in the 3-1 title-clinching triumph over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday and referee Don Robertson signalled the end of the game.
Those supporters, caught up in the raw emotion and the elation of the moment, were in the wrong. I think we all accept that.
They are now seen as the guys with the black hats in the avalanche of absurd innuendo that has reverberated around the universe. Or so it seems.
What has happened since that moment the ball nestled in the back of the net has been a mixture of preposterous hysteria and vitriolic drivel.
GOING, GOING, GONE…Callum Osmand rolls the ball towards the gaping net for Celtic’s third goal to kill off any Hearts hopes of a title success at Parkhead.
It was only a matter of time before Tony Bloom, with a 29 per cent stake in the Edinburgh club, surfaced to throw in his ten million pounds’ worth and inform talkSPORT listeners that two Hearts players had been assaulted by home fans at the conclusion of the encounter that saw Martin O’Neill’s men lift their fifth successive crown.
After four days of consideration, Bloom offered the nation: “Well, the final whistle hadn’t gone so no supporter should be on the pitch. The Hearts players were in danger, one or two got assaulted. It’s completely unacceptable behaviour.”
Hmmmm…can you spot any flaws in there, dear reader?
On Sunday, as CQN reported, an SPFL spokesperson posted on X: “Given the speculation about the conclusion of the game, we would like to make clear that, prior to awarding the trophy, we were informed by the match referee that the match had ended and had not been abandoned.”
Seems fairly straightforward, doesn’t it? Maybe Tony missed this nugget of information as he penned his address to the nation through the medium of radio.
The cavorting followers have also been labelled “menacing” and “threatening”.
HAIL AND HEARTY – FOR THE TIME BEING…Tony Bloom (right) in the Tynecastle stand to watch Hearts beat Celtic 3-1 in October.
Really? I was born in the Gorbals and brought up in the Glasgow housing scheme of Castlemilk and I can only say I have seen more intimidating sights in a children’s nursery.
I’ve read a national newspaper hack describe the actions of the pitch invaders as a form of “mob rule”.
Good grief! The Al Capone Chicago Celtic Supporters Club must have been in attendance in the east of Glasgow for the big game.
Another report stated: “Hearts players were goaded and accosted as stewards and police struggled to restore order. Police Scotland officers have been liaising with Tynecastle officials to establish exactly whether players were assaulted and who was involved.”
Unless there has been a change in law overnight, the burden of proof lies with the accuser.
Can anyone produce film or images to back up these allegations? How about a medical certificate for the “one or two” who got assaulted?
All the hot air spewing from the so-called experts must surely be proving hazardous to the Ozone Layer.
Some of the remarks have gone beyond mindbending. I read another scribe who reassured us “there was next to no chance” of Hearts coming back from the loss of the third goal.
Not exactly Pulitzer Prize-winning material. Next to no chance? Two goals in 30 seconds? I’m no gambler, but I would put the house, the wife and the cat on it being a bleedin’ obvious impossibility for Hearts to rally to score two in half a minute.
The Brazilian team of 1970, Pele et al, wouldn’t have been able to achieve the feat against Millport Amateurs. Even if the Isle of Cumbrae performers were sober.
Wake up, folks, and smell the coffee.
Like it or lump it, the Premiership silverware is back in the Celtic trophy cabinet where it has resided for fourteen of the last 15 years.
HE’S BEHIND YOU…Kieran Tierney looks over his shoulder as Hearts defender Harry Milne tries to catch up.
And, yes, I realise there will be some misguided tub-thumpers out there who will accuse me of being paranoid.
After almost thirty years in this country’s two biggest-selling newspapers, you become immune to that particular denouncement. Didn’t bother me then. Doesn’t bother me now.
As chief sports sub-editor at the Daily Record, I got used to the newspaper being labelled the Daily Rebel by Rangers fans.
Likewise, the Sunday Mail, where I was sports editor for almost ten years, was known as the Sunday Liam by the same set of supporters.
It wasn’t all one-sided, I hasten to add. The Record was the Daily Ranger and the Mail was the Sunday Mason to those of a Celtic persuasion.
Sometimes, ladies and gentlemen, you just cannot win.
Get used to it, Tony.
ALEX GORDON
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