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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Ugh fat ally’s baw face is offensive to me; does that mean I can grass Paul67 up to plod for such heinous offensiveness?
Well played Paul67, surely they have to ask some awkward questions of Mr Shorthouse
The Pantaloon Duck says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:20
philvisreturns says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:15
Just you wait till I figure out how you do that thing you do!
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2010 Never Again
Has anyone ever seen Philvisreturns and Paul67 in the same room?
Would imagine mr shorthouse (pictured above, left)will have some pretty immediate diary changes for this afternoon.
He will be ok though. He’s among friends.
Good stuff Paul67
Paul
It is utterly predictable that we have had 2 complaints made against us in such a cavalier manner. I was confident that something very like this would happen in an attempt to “even things up”.
Voguepunter @ 12:21,
got the tech issues fixed now and have completed up to week 8.
Hoping to have weeks 9 and 10 finished tonight.
With week 11 tomorrow………
…….leading to the new UP-TO-DATE leaderboard being posted all being well for Friday night!
Only slight delay possibly being Sannabhoy on his way to enjoying himself in NYC just now.
However we are almost there……..honest!
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
TTT
Too right and the longer they keep stume the more likely there will be protestations made towards them from our catholic support.
Trust between supporter and board is at its lowest since, funnily enough, Michael Kelly’s day. The more a section of our support is allowed to be harassed, illegally IMO, within the safety of Celtic Park the lower this trust will ebb.
This has gone far enough and I seriously believe if allowed to deteriorate further the fallout could destroy Brother Walfrids version of Celtic.
Time for the PLC to get their fingers out their arses and either publically back the support or not. Stop hiding “behind the scenes” and show your balls.
First thing they should declare is that the will refuse to allow the police to instigate problems inside the ground from this day onward. Over handed policing and incitement of the GB must stop.
MWD
Paul67,
Excellent article. I take it the FOI request has already been submitted.
We need to keep the focus on who our real enemy is.
Árd Macha
HT
The bloke who told me this has dealings with our moustachiod one, didn’t mean much at the time, I replied that I thought it was ill advised, he retorted No they blew it, very humbling places are golf courses especially in Ireland.
Anyways, as some are hinting the OF board are alive and well.
****CHRISTMAS MONEY ALERT****CHRISTMAS MONEY ALERT****
Euan Norris……..5 penalties awarded to huns in 3 games.
Paddy Power…….17/10 penalty awarded in game on Saturday.
Referee: Euan Norris.
Paul67
John Reids words have not been heeded, in fact if anything they’ve been thrown in his face.
I want Celtic to distance our supporters for the sectarian slur that persists in the malevolent media coverage.
The add ons will be dealt with, by the Board but they must also attack misrepresentation and downright lies.
I would imagine that the GB will have something planned for Saturday lunchtime. I see two scenarios possible. 1- we are perfectly behaved on Saturday and sing only Celtic songs.
2- An act of defiance as we beleive our songs are perfectly legal and we shouldn’t be told what to sing – The rebel book comes out
Any thoughts?
My wee tip today is,Celtic Cailin,3.55@Fairyhouse,wee E/W to be safe..
Good stuff Paul.
I think we are seeing the death throes of RFC and all who sail in her. These actions are desperate. If Strathclyde’s finest have any integrity, they will fire this clown for bringing the good Police name into disrepute. Heaven Forbid!
How Kenny Scott got a job with UEFA in his current capacity having being head of security at the time of the Manchester, Bucharest, Papalona riots should give us an indication of how well endowed UEFA is with members of the mafia for the mediocre.
Hail Hail
Funny how times change…………….. A wee step back to recent CQN history. It’s illuminating to revisit the CU podcast. Paul McBride rarely makes mistakes ot rash judgements. We all need to get used to the fact we are playing the long game
————————
Paul McBride on new rules surrounding offensive behaviour
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Celtic Underground did an interesting podcast with QC Paul McBride, published here yesterday. In a wide-ranging conversation Paul discussed his time as a SPL assistant referee, when he got abuse from Celtic fans and chopped off an offside Rangers goal in his last game.
He also spoke about the criminal intimidation he endured last season after speaking out against “absolutely breath-taking” actions of the SFA, who “had no credibility whatsoever”. There was also clear respect for the leadership Stewart Regan has brought to the association and a belief that things will change from this season.
Paul talks about his friendship with Neil Lennon and some of the tribulations the Celtic manager has endured, “There are people in this country who hate Neil Lennon no matter what he does”, but he is uncompromising in his stance against sectarianism, “There is an element of this society that expects Catholic people to be subservient, not to do well, not to get airtime, not to express their views. These guys are on their way out. Uefa recognise they exist… as do Rangers and want them out.”
McBride goes on to explain what he expects to happen after the Scottish government passes their new law on offensive behaviour towards the end of this year. If he is in any way accurate in his predictions we can expect big changes in the cultural norms surrounding Scottish football.
thomthethim
Ha – I told you I liked him and his patter.
HH
TTT
Good mhan,knew you could do it,Kingoh said you were sitting with your finger etc.
I disagreed ,totally.
hail hail
P67
Your last sntence of the article I reposted above is spookily accurate. In modern Scotland, this could well see you burned as a witch!
TET
My sincere hope is that the board at Celtic are playing their cards close to their chest.
A vindictive media can quickly and easily misinterpret and portray any statements in a different light.
Let’s hope they’re playing their aces behind the scenes.
Paul 67….
Excellent.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Voguepunter, never seen him before in my life.
GerryAdamsBeard, sure will.
Sheik, good idea.
The Falcon,Awe Naw, Dharma Bam, cheers.
goldstar10, it sure can.
Token Tim, agree.
Clanmalirtim, cheers.
starry plough, aye.
Parkheadcumsalford, what can we do, Semper Vigilane, if I can borrow a phrase.
The Pantaloon Duck, I know how you feel.
obonfanti1888, point taken.
EXILED TIM, cheers.
Hoopeddreams, yes, but remember, this is an internecine dispute, which we are still undisputed European Champions at.
Árd Macha, not by me….
Rev Davie, thanks, but deleted. Language….
bournesouprecipe, aye.
Highland Tim, aye, it’s a problem that the officers on the ground will have to deal with, not civies in Pitt St.
Stringer Bell, Halloween is past.
The perfect career path: Rangers FC, the SFA, Strathclyde Police. What next on his CV?
So, we need to ask questions of Baron von Shorthausen?….verrry eeenteresting!
Great article Paul67. Fantastic in fact
The problem we all face is that Rob Shorthouse will be getting a pat on the back from a number of his colleagues over this.
That’s what we’re up against.
Hail Hail
outlaw the
ORANGE ORDER
BAN ALL THEIR
SECTARIAN MARCHES
Whatever is said,it’s a FACT that The Funny Handshake Brigade has disproportionate influence in Scotland.
This is from a personal side: I am named after my great-uncle,Michael,a talented lawyer from Dublin,who came over here in the early 20th. Century to practce in Glasgow and to be with our side of the family. The Masons prevented him from working;in fact,there were NO Catholic lawyers allowed to practice in Glasgow back then.After a protracted struggle against this discrimination,he returned to Dublin,very bitter about his experience,and sad that he could not live & earn a living in Glasgow.
The point I am making is that we all have a historical experience of blatant discrimination,as Catholics,in Glasgow; and until The Masons’ undue influence is ‘outed’,then this discrimination will continue. The beast never changes;it merely changes its stripes.
What’s the chances Shorthouse is a mason?
coorslad is Neil Lennon says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:33
My wee tip today is,Celtic Cailin,3.55@Fairyhouse,wee E/W to be safe..
_______________________________
Sitting at 7/4 ,don’t bother e/w it :O)
sorry paul…couldnt resist ;-)
HT
You know where I stand with us getting out of here, and that is the hope I am clinging on to.
The appeasment can only go so far, the empty stadium will see to that, it’s stick or twist time mi amigo.
This comment is for users who haven’t seen this.
Subject: POST FROM CELTIC QUICK NEWS ABOUT BEING REPORTED TO THE SPL BOUT SINGING
Well this is one helluva bad day for our club.
I think it’s obvious now that we’re engaged in the fight of our lives off the pitch. Literally. I don’t know whether we have the stomach for it or not, but the fans aren’t united behind any course of action, so in my view we’re going to lose it. Whether the board wants us to lose it or not is another thing, but it’s perfectly obvious that we have some serious things developing behind the scenes, things that go way beyond football.
Before I say another word about it, one quick thing on the publicity whore who is Paul McBride.
Now, I liked what this guy had to say about Lennon, and he defended Lennon brilliantly. But I would think twice about hiring, for my defence, a lawyer who wants to INVENT new laws criminilasing presently legal behaviour. For him to take a public forum and actually condemn people who are not breaking and laws, and to wish for new laws to be put in place to target them, is a disgrace, and he ought to be drummed out of the legal profession for it. His hissy-fit resignation from the Tory Party for opposing the propsed Scottish Parliament legislation was pure attention seeking nonsense, and if I was someone up before the beaks with this guy as my lawyer I’m afraid I would want to question him long and hard about whether he thought I actually deserved my fate.
This man’s behaviour is so egregious, I’d like to know, lawyers present, if it violates the code of ethics in some way, and creates a conflict of interest, and if it does I’d like to know who I make a formal complaint to.
But to move on ….
The people here who want us to stop singing the songs, I understand that some of you feel we’re better off without them, but if we look at the way in which this whole affair is being handled, I think it is abundantly clear to everyone that this is a vendetta against Celtic.
Last season was an astonishing year, in many ways. We fought our corner hard, we took some high profile scalps, and the referees response was astonishing and then laughable. To claim they believed their lives were at risk, to have Hugh Dallas attempt to use the situation to leverage the SFA into letting him keep his job after sectarian emailing, to demand protection … and then to allow Madjid Bougherra to manhandle one of their own as the season came to a close … no matter that their credibility should have been in ruins after all that, it was a victory for them in every way. We saw indirect war declared against our club from those at the top of our game.
This year it is the turn of officialdom itself, aided and abeted by one of those former referees, and the only surprising thing is that anyone is surprised.
As a club we must fight our corner harder than ever, but I wonder if we will. I sense there really is no stomach for this fight, no way in which it can be fought and won unless we are willing to go all the way, and thus I think these are dark days for Celtic FC.
Those fans who condemn our own, who believe we’ve somehow brought it on ourselves, are wrong to a degree which is stunning. They are naive beyond comprehension. One only has to look at where this offensive against us first took deep root – in the aftermath of the so-called “Shame Game”, where three Rangers players were sent off, hundreds of their fans arrested and our manager provoked to an astonishing degree in a year where he’d already had his life threatened. The only people punished in its aftermath were our people, Lenny and our supporters.
It is not our songs they want to eradicate. It is Celtic Football Club itself.
We live now in a country where if you have a high profile and wear the Hoops your life is at risk from bombers. Where the national Parliament wants to criminalise us as fans. Where the police, lacking the powers under the law to take the action they would like, and “crush the taigs”, are circumventing the law and trying to put pressure on the football authorities to take the action they cannot. Where the media hates us with a passion that I have never seen surpassed, safe in the knowledge that with few enough of us even buying their rags they are safe even from boycott.
This is all-out war against our club.
Do you, any of you, really believe that this will end with the singing of Republican songs? This will not end as long as there is a Celtic, and with Rangers in existential crisis – and more bad news folks, don’t count on a ten point deduction saving our season, I don’t think they’ll go into administration whilst this season lasts – the forces arrayed against us will fight harder than ever to assure if they go they won’t go alone.
This is, literally, a do-or-die season. If only we were united against this I think we would be strong enough to win. But we’re not
So, another dark hand moves against Celtic.
Shorthouse has made Strathclyde Police a laughing stock. But who briefed him, or does he really have that much discretion within his remitt?
As you make clear Paul, when only one journo/rag gets the info then it is definitely a direct leak from the source that benefits from the leak?
If Supt Smith was simply acting normally, then ACC Corrigan will no doubt be able to produce the reports where previous commanders have reported directly to Uefa delegates while at the same time ignoring the host Scottish club?
Are there any Strathclyde policemen with the courage to stand up and be whistleblowers?
And ACC Corrigan, you need to look at your own organization, and spend less time justifying the actions of a Director of Communications who seeks to make the news rather than simply trying to get in front of events?
HH
RWE CSC
Mmm—-
Living abroad I find myself being somewhat out of touch with the lives of the more lowly members of the Scottish Establishment ——
I saw the name —– Rob Shorthouse ———– My brain triggered a response —
Restaurant —– Argyll —- unseemly incident with Chef —– other diners put off their dinners . Mr Shorthouse and his companion asked to leave the premises. Mr Shorthouse unable to drive away due to him being over the limit.
Is that the same Rob Shorthouse ?.
TET
Time will tell mate I only hope I’m right on this, though my patience is wearing as thin as fat sally’s barnet :)
Paul67
Do you seriously believe this is “a classic internecine dispute among Celtic supporters”.
So no external interference or agitation.
There are shadows in the background pulling the strings of these puppets. There are shadows within the SFA and Rangers as well as within the Referees who are puppet masters of the highest Order working away after our club embarrassed them all last season.
I don’t believe you are naive and especially not with regards any internecine dispute amongst Celtic supporters being the only factors at work.
MWD
ernie lynch says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:40
What’s the chances Shorthouse is a mason?
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2010 Never Again
I do believe that is a rhetorical question.
PS Thanks for the heads up on the MIB
Paul67 says:
16 November, 2011 at 12:39
Stringer Bell, Halloween is past.
Forgive me Paul. I was positive you had mr shorthouse posing next to a City Bakeries hallowene cake in the photo above………..