The Daily Record won credit for scooping the off-field story of the week, multiple investigations into singing by Celtic fans, but others are beginning to ask who gave the newspaper details of a police investigation.
The stories broke in an unusual manner, with SFA referee and policeman, Eddie Smith, named as the person who reported Celtic fans to Uefa and the SPL. The officer made what looks like an inexplicable decision after some confrontations inside Celtic Park, without mentioning a word of his concerns to the Celtic security people during the game – the normal procedure for such incidents.
Smith, who has Celtic supporting credentials, was named, providing the perfect foil to deflect accusations that this was some sort of Masonic conspiracy, which it was not. The entire episode is a classic internecine dispute among Celtic supporters, but with the comments made to Uefa, the story was parcelled up for the Record by a Strathclyde Police spokesman.
The Daily Record reported, “A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said: “For Eddie [Smith] to speak to the delegate after the match is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it is standard practice””. This is completely irrelevant.
Celtic’s retort in the same article got to the heart of the issue – why the police are speaking to Uefa and the media but not speaking to the club: “This is quite unprecedented as no issues were raised to the club during the match and the police didn’t inform us directly about their concerns.”
Control over media communications from Strathclyde Police falls to Director of Communications, Rob Shorthouse, (pictured on the left). Shorthouse, whose own favourite team have taken a reputational battering from Uefa in recent seasons, despite silence from the police, should be concerned that the force have given newspapers material for three days of screaming headlines instead of addressing the key concern about departure from established procedure. This has only inflamed a volatile situation between Celtic fans and officers on the ground. Shorthouse, who held a similar position at the SFA until two years ago, will be familiar with the sensitivities of football issues.
Perhaps a Freedom of Information request will reveal who leaked a story that laid out details which reflected so badly on Celtic. All we want is equal treatment, as a former chairman once commented.
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Please, please, please… let me, let me, let me… (thumbsup)
Podio?
mon the hoops
CFC
philvis
A curse upon your evil-podium grabbing technology.
So the police speak to the match delegate after the game as standard? Presumably the delegate then decides whether or not to mention anything raised by the police in his report. Did the delegate at the Rennes match mention anything about illicit singing in his report?
The Pantaloon Duck – Fowled again. (thumbsup)
Paul67
Shorthouse pictured on left,who’s the sleekit lookin bassa on the right?
Keep telling it like it is, Paul!
Hail! Hail!
paul 67
Perhaps a Freedom of Information request will reveal who leaked a story that laid out details which reflected so badly on Celtic. All we want is equal treatment, as a former chairman once commented.
this is what is at stake here
freedom
well said
No bad
We’re gonna win the league
We’re gonna win the league
Ee aye me adio
We’re gonna win the league
well, well, well, there’s a surprise………….
Good article Paul.
These hun liars are everywhere seemingly.
The Pantaloon Duck says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:13
Podio?podio ,to the bold fenian men.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVvzehTNXhs
If you come from Belfast Town, Derry City, County Down
The Calton, Tullygally, or from Bray
you can come along and see ‘Bhoys against Bhigotry’
but don’t you sing ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
Fergus(Alex) has said no, those tunes will have to go
these Rebel songs no longer can be played
so we’ve made our self’s a pact, to polish up our act
so don’t you sing ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
You can sing of big Jock Brown, against the Famine and the Crown
‘The Fields of Athenry’ just makes the grade
you can sing ‘Glen Daly’s’ tone and ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’
but don’t you sing ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
The campaign’s under way, Pete McLean(Rob Shorthouse) has had a say
a loyalist through and through it has been said
he has made a lot of cash, as he hides his Orange Sash
and he doesn’t know ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
So it’s no more ‘Crossmaglen’, ‘Up the Ra’, or ‘Fenian Men’
‘Sean South of Garryowen’ must not be played
‘The Broad Black Brimmer’ has to go, ‘Take it Down’ and ‘Say Hello’
and don’t you sing ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
So children, Mums and Dads, do not sing ‘Where are the Lads’
who stood with me when history was made
and don’t sing old ‘Gradh Mo Croidhe’ and how you long to see
to see the ‘Boys of the Old Brigade’
Voguepunter
Kojo?
Imatim and so is Neil Lennon says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:16
2010 Never Again
The midday blessing come to you all today from Rome…..where the officials of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs……are having an all expenses paid sabbatical and a well earned rest…..after their rigorous endeavours to ensure the liquidation of Rangers FC is imminent
Magnificent leader, Paul (in both contexts of the word) :-), this is what makes CQN the outstanding blog in Timdom.
A picture can indeed speak a thousand words!!
EXCELLENT PAUL67
paul67
this info needs send to uefa
do u agree??
hoopeddreams – A curse upon your evil-podium grabbing technology.
If you ain’t first, you’re last.
Ricky Bobby CSC. (thumbsup)
hamiltontim says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:1
Don’t believe oor Kojo could ever be as sleekit as that sleekiest of baw faces.
philvisreturns says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:15
Just you wait till I figure out how you do that thing you do!
Great factual article Paul.
Keep a look out – there’s bound to be more trouble coming your way because of this.
Keep up the good fight.
Paul67,
excellent article, but particularly love the photo!
As to emotions between strathclyde’s ahem “finest” and the Celtic support, particularly the GB, any idea as to the thoughts of the Board on this.
I can feel tensions building almost daily.
A serious flashpoint could well be in the offing.
Thsi should be avoided at all costs.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Paul67
Brilliant once again, keep exposing these shamless liars
This Rob Shorthouse character has previous for this kind of thing has he not? Sure there was much discussion about it on here a few years ago.
Old Firm policeman slams Uefa over chanting claim
reddit this
Ewan Murray
The Guardian, Saturday 22 April 2006
Article history
The senior policeman who will oversee tomorrow’s Old Firm match at Celtic Park has disputed Uefa’s claim that sectarian chanting is tolerated in Scottish society, while insisting that the decision the European governing body handed down on the recent Rangers case will have no bearing on the way Strathclyde Police handle the encounter.
Chief superintendent Kenny Scott, who has acted as match commander for more than 20 Old Firm meetings in the past eight years, will be in that role for tomorrow’s game amid a public debate in Scotland over who has the responsibility to eliminate sectarianism at football grounds.
In exonerating Rangers 10 days ago on the charge of sectarian chanting by their supporters in recent Champions League matches against Villarreal, Uefa claimed that bigotry was a Scottish “social and historical problem” and singing of The Billy Boys – a song that glories in the violent death of Catholics – is now “somehow tolerated”.
However, Scott said: “I would strongly argue, particularly with reference to the last two years, that Uefa’s statement has no validity. Sectarian behaviour is dealt with firmly in Scotland, and that includes at football matches.” Revealing that 39 people have been charged after the previous two Old Firm meetings at Celtic Park this season for sectarian-motivated crimes, more than half of the total number of arrests, Scott re-affirmed that fans singing The Billy Boys are liable to be prosecuted.
“Uefa’s comments will have no effect at all on my actions as match commander for this match and evidence shows that sectarian offences, including people singing the song in question, have been acted on by the police,” he explained. “It is clear that the police and others, including football clubs, have taken massive steps forward against sectarian behaviour.”
Amendments to Section 74 the Criminal Justice Act (Scotland) in June 2003 allowed police to treat religious hate crimes as an aggravated breach of the peace. In the first year of that legislation, 450 people were charged with sectarian offences. That figure has now increased to more than 500, with the overwhelming majority of arrests coming at football matches or political marches.
And Scott hopes supporters attending the final Old Firm match of the season will be aware of the potential for action if they fall foul of such laws, particularly with Fifa’s new penalties for discriminatory behaviour set to come into force.
“I hope that people have taken notice of what Uefa have been investigating and of the debate that has gone on in recent weeks,” he said. “This should act as a wake-up call, and anyone who truly supports their team should know that behaving in an inappropriate manner could have serious consequences for that team in the future.”
Alex McLeish will be in charge of Rangers for the 25th and final time in an Old Firm match, and is aware that the home support will be in a party mood with the title secured. However, Rangers are still chasing a Champions League place and McLeish admits they must silence the vast majority of the 60,000 crowd.
“Of course this is what we are trying to do,” said McLeish. “Whenever we go to each other’s grounds we try to make our own supporters happy and to make it a happy week at work as opposed to a miserable one. We are there to try and help our fans enjoy the next few weeks. It’s the last one for me but I am looking forward to it as much as the first one. For atmosphere and passion, a game like this is a phenomenal experience.”
Well said Paul, the use of the smear campaign against Celtic is in full flow now, last year our Manager and this year our fans and the fabric of it’s club itself.
It’s seems certain conflicts of interest are running the show now..
Sad but predictable times, makes me ashamed of the land where I was born and leaves me in no doubt either why I favoured my Irish roots over the country I grew up in.
Starry Plough (is my name offensive yet?)
Paul67,
Very powerful stuff. Can we do anything to redress this situation?
The Token Tim says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:20
Have you done those scores yet?
2010 Never Again
The evidence is mounting up. When does collusion become corruption?
Paul
A fine article. It made me laugh. Probably not the intended response, but I think recent events have tipped me over into hysteria…
http://www.internationalsportssecurityconference.com/presenters/kenny-scott.php
Kenny Scott is Managing Director of Sports Safety Solutions Ltd, a company formed by him in early 2009 in response to an increasing demand for his services in relation to issues associated with safety and security management in football. Currently his principal client is UEFA for whom he is engaged on a number of projects, including,
Provision of consultancy services regarding the organisation of safety and security in the lead up to the UEFA EURO 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. In this regard he has been instrumental in the development and delivery of training programmes for police and stewards in both countries in recent months.
Liaison with the European Union Think Tank on Football Policing on behalf of UEFA Stadia and Security Unit, including planning for the delivery of a wide ranging joint work programme between both parties in respect of safety and security issues.
Appointment as UEFA Security Officer for the UEFA Champions’ League Final 2011 in London. This follows on from similar appointments at other recent UEFA Finals in Madrid, Istanbul and Moscow.
In 2007 he retired after a 30 year police career in Glasgow during which he carried out the role of Police Commander for a ten year period at both Celtic and Rangers Football Clubs. During this period Kenny was also involved in academic research related to policing around major tournaments, notably EURO 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands and EURO 2004 in Portugal. This research led by Dutch behavioural scientists led to major changes in the Police Cooperation Handbook published by the EU.
He has been used by UEFA as a security officer at high risk matches across Europe since 2006. His work in this field has taken him to Italy, Spain, Norway, Croatia, Turkey, Slovakia, Serbia, Holland, Poland and during EURO 2008 to Switzerland and Austria.
At present his involvement with the European Union continues as he is engaged as a consultant in a major project aimed at establishing a pan-European police training programme funded by the European Commission and jointly supported by UEFA.
****TKF PREDICTOR****
All those taking part in the Predictor, please note that this weeks fixtures are up on the website.
Get yir predictions in now!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Security chief at Rangers leaves Ibrox club to take up role with UEFA
Oct 31 2010 Exclusive by Norman Silvester, Sunday Mail
RANGERS security chief Kenny Scott has quit the club to take up a lucrative troubleshooting role in European football.
Fans have been mystified by his absence from Ibrox since the start of the year.
But the club have made no official announcements about it.
However, we can reveal that Scott is now working in a highly-paid freelance role with UEFA – European football’s governing body – putting security in place for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.
He is also being used by UEFA in other troubleshooting roles across the Continent, particularly for high-risk matches.
Scott is acknowledged as one of Europe’s leading experts on match security, particularly in tackling hooliganism.
The 53-year-old former police chief superintendent had previously been mixing his full-time work with Rangers with consultancy work with UEFA.
But he has decided to concentrate on his role with UEFA, where he is highly regarded by officials, including president Michel Platini.
Speaking from Poland yesterday, Scott said: “I have now officially left Rangers, though I have been back a few times this year for games as a guest.
“Most of my consultancy work is currently with UEFA and I travel across the Continent visiting different venues and devising security policy.
“My main task is security at Euro 2012.
“But as a freelance consultant, I am now available for hire for any football security related work.”
Scott was head-hunted by David Murray in 2007 after a high-flying career with Strathclyde Police.
He was match commander at Ibrox, Hampden and Celtic Park and policed more than 20 Old Firm games.
In 1998, Scott, a married father from Lanarkshire, was the police liaison officer for Scotland during the World Cup in France.
During that spell, he helped foil an attempt by a busload of Scottish and English hooligans to cause trouble at games.
While at Ibrox, Scott helped spearhead a bid to stamp out sectarian and offensive songs following warnings from UEFA.
He also had a pivotal role in the investigations into rioting by fans after the UEFA Cup Final in Manchester in 2008.
The only blot on his police career was in 2007 when he was fined £60 for using a mobile phone while driving just after tough new laws had come in. He was off duty at the time.
His replacement, David Martin, is a former assistant chief constable with Strathclyde Police.
Like Scott, he was also match commander at Parkhead for Celtic games.
Before taking the Rangers job, Mr Martin was a member of the Parole Board for Scotland.
Yesterday, a Rangers spokeswoman said: “Kenny was a great employee for the club and we were very sorry to see him leave.
“We wish him every success in his new role.”
Pantaloon Duck
I’m telling you. He sold his soul (assuming he had one in the first place) to the de’il for the software which allows him to grab those pods before the rest of us.
It’s an ill wind…………..
Rob Shorthouse = Strathclyde Police’s version of Darryl Broadfoot.
Unfortunately for them, Strathclyde Police aren’t exactly the best and the brightest.
If the Celtic board are even halfway awake, they will hold the police to account. (thumbsup)