Anchoring to a distant geographical base is not intuitively how you would expect a football club to recruit but Celtic are clearly working their contacts in Israel these days. Beram Kayal has worked out well in the two and a half years since joining from Maccabi Haifa, as has Nigeria international, Efe Ambrose, who joined from Israeli club Ashdod in the summer.
Neil Lennon recently mentioned he needed cover for left back (despite right-footed Adam Matthews performing heroics there against Barcelona), so it is no surprise that Israel international Rami Gershon is in town today. Gershon has played less than a dozen games for Standard Liege since leaving Israel three years ago, although he was a regular pick for loan club Kortrijk. Should he sign he will be a low-risk addition to the squad but he has almost certainly received commendation from the same sources who recommended Kayal and Ambrose.
Best of luck to Rabiu Ibrahim, who left for Kilmarnock after promising much but delivering little as a prodigy at Sporting and PSV Eindhoven. He was the low-risk addition of last January. You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs……
Have you ordered your CQN Annual yet? Get it here!
You can read the latest edition of CQN Magazine free online by clicking on the double headed arrow at the bottom right of the graphic below.
[calameo code=000390171cc0c3617c8cc lang=en page=20 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
965 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- »
By DAVID O’LEARY AND DAVID MCCANN
SPL chiefs must revise the scheduling of evening kick-offs for powderkeg clashes in the wake of ugly scenes at the Edinburgh derby, the Justice Secretary has warned.
• A ballboy was spat at by at least two supporters
• Claims Hibs’ Irish defender Tim Clancy was spat at during the game
• Reports of sectarian chanting
• A barrage of coins were reportedly thrown by both sets of supporters
• Widely reported accounts of a lit flare landing at the feet of young Hibs fan
Kenny MacAskill MSP said the level of disorder witnessed at Tynecastle on Thursday night – which saw fans allegedly spit into the face of a young ballboy and reports of a flare being hurled at Hibs fans – demonstrated a clear link between all-day drinking and widespread thuggery inside football grounds.
Speaking just hours after the “unacceptable” scenes, Mr MacAskill called for football chiefs to launch a review into late kick-off times which created the conditions for prolonged drinking and fuelled disorder.
Mr MacAskill said: “There is no denying the link between public disorder at football matches and alcohol abuse, and late kick-off times do nothing to help this – these matters need to be addressed.
“These most recent incidents of crowd disorder only reaffirm this. The behaviour witnessed last night is totally unacceptable and clearly shows the football authorities that the problem is not just an Old Firm one but is more widespread.
“I would therefore strongly urge the football association to review the issue of fixture timing.”
The timing of the Justice Secretary’s intervention has raised the spectre future evening kick- off times for Edinburgh derbies could be kicked into touch.
Hibs-supporting Independent MSP Margo MacDonald said the timing of certain fixtures should now be called into question. She said: “I don’t think the timing of all evening games need to be reviewed – just certain ones. This fixture was moved to a time to suit television which allowed people who had been drinking too much because of the holidays to display reprehensible behaviour. Violence and flare throwing have no place in football. It’s disgusting behaviour.
“It could be that this is a welcome juncture to review the timing of our most problematic evening kick-offs.”
SPL bosses are yet to receive the match report from their own monitor, and are wary of commenting on events and the possibility of a review of evening kick-offs before viewing this dossier – the report is expected to be lodged early next week. Evening kick-offs have drawn heavy criticism in recent weeks after trouble also flared during Celtic and Dundee’s Boxing Day Clash at Dens Park.
Fighting among fans, coin throwing and fireworks offences were all reported and five people have been reported to the procurator fiscal over alleged offences at the match.
Derby match commander Superintendent Jim Leslie, of Lothian and Borders Police, believes fans had too long in the pub before kick-off. He said afterwards: “What we had was an evening kick-off on Boxing Day where football fans had ample time to get through a lot of alcohol.”
This latest warning from the Justice Secretary comes after police confirmed they are questioning a schoolboy over allegations he spat in the face of a ballboy during the ill- tempered match.
The 13-year-old, who is understood to have handed himself into police following a backlash on the social network site Twitter, is the second suspect to be investigated over the incident after police yesterday confirmed an arrest had been made inside the ground.
Hearts security chiefs are understood to be reviewing CCTV footage of suspected crowd trouble amid claims of coin throwing and a lit flare being hurled into the Hibs support in the Roseburn Stand and landing at the feet of a child.
Hibs fan Danny Sweeney was sitting just feet away from the device, which he believes was hurled by home fans in the Wheatfield Stand.
He said: “It hit a barrier on the middle concourse and dropped at the feet of a wee boy. I think it was his father who jumped up and kicked it away. It was either a flare or smoke bomb. The kid was very upset. There’s no need for this kind of thing at football, it could have been a lot worse.”
A second Hibs fan, John Paul Blair, condemned the throwing of the flare. The eyewitness to the shock incident said: “The flare was emitting maroon smoke. It was actually a true flare, and not a smoke bomb. It hit a Hibs fan walking on the Roseburn stand concourse, and landed at the feet of a six-year-old fan. This is a serious criminal offence which carries a prison term. The child, or someone else could have been seriously burned by the flare. As it is, the Hibs fan has a scorch mark on his jacket which saved him from physical injury.”
Hearts FC have confirmed they are aware of a flare or smoke bomb being thrown during the game.
It is understood the club is carrying out inquiries to establish exactly what happened during the incident.
Meanwhile, Hibernian FC has vowed to take “appropriate action” against the spitting offenders but would not be drawn on whether sanctions could mean a lifetime ban. A club spokesman said: “Hibernian FC cannot condone any form of unacceptable behaviour. Once we have been notified of the individual’s details through the protocol agreement we have in place with Lothian and Borders Police then appropriate action will be taken against the individual.”
Mike Reilly, chairman of Hibs Supporters Association, said: “What happened at the derby was disappointing. Maybe the players on the park don’t help much when you see some of the ridiculous tackles that were going in.
“The vileness was there at that game which never used to be there in years gone by. There’s a bit of hatred coming across now and it’s hard to pinpoint why that is.
“Some games seem to be on a knife edge with trouble. I wish it could be like Liverpool and Everton, where families sit together in the same stands.
He added: “To be brutally honest, we were worried there might be problems when the late kick-off was announced. I would have preferred it to be earlier but I think all football fans would like to go back to 3pm fixtures on a Saturday.
“The Hibs Supporters’ Club in Sunnyside wasn’t any busier than usual and I didn’t see any more drinking than normally would have been done before a game. But I agree with the Justice Secretary that drinking all day before a 7.45pm kick-off on a holiday is maybe not the best thing. I don’t see why you can’t have an afternoon kick-off.”
Lothian and Borders Police have vowed to hunt down people who take items such as flares to games. They said: “Unacceptable behaviour extends to sectarian, racist or homophobic chanting and we will pursue those responsible – either during the game or after.”
Troubled times at night matches
A NUMBER of evening SPL fixtures have been marred by trouble over the years.
On Boxing Day, yobs threw coins and set off fireworks at Dundee’s clash with Celtic at Dens Park. Police had to mop up skirmishes among the 3000-strong travelling support, right.
In January 2002, crowd trouble marred a late match between Aberdeen and Rangers. The game was held up for 20 minutes as home fans climbed on to the pitch after Dons player Robbie Winters was hit by a coin thrown from away fans.
In February last year, a 13-year-old Hearts ballboy was struck in the lower back by a coin thrown from the Celtic crowd during a late-night clash.
This came less than a year after Hearts fan John Wilson ran on to the pitch at Tynecastle and lunged at Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
During that same match, a 14-year-old ballboy was also reported to have been hit by a 2p coin.
In March 2002, police dogs and CS spray were used to subdue derby fans following a Saturday night match at Easter Road.
Police across the Capital were called to deal with a “major disturbance” between Hibs and Hearts supporters following the game – the first derby to be switched to a Saturday evening kick-off to accommodate live coverage on satellite TV.
In November 2012, six men were arrested for sectarian chanting and one teenager was charged with letting off a smoke bomb during a Hearts v Celtic match at Tynecastle.
Twitter reaction: ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’
THE game prompted a huge response on social media platforms.
On Twitter, Matteo Margiotta, @matteo_m10, said: “Lets not forget a flare was thrown into the Hibs end….two wrongs don’t make a right.”
@ScottPlaysBurns posted: “Makes me sick.”
Kieran McGraw @kieranmcgraw tweeted: “Every team has their a*******s.”
While @lewis1234 said: “Spitting on Tom Clancy and chucking a flare into the Hibs stand is not fine.”
On Facebook, Daniel Rintoul posted: “I find it rather laughable all these Hearts fans attempting to seize the moral high ground after large swathes of their own support once more indulged in their ‘up to our knees in Fenian blood’ chanting as well as launching a smoke bomb into the Hibs end. Add that to Clancy being clearly spat upon, and the various items thrown by elements on both sides, and you can quite clearly see that both supports had their share of undesirables present.”
Hibs fan Ricky Thomson asked: “Given the number of incidents that have taken place there, is Tynecastle not fit for the purpose of holding SPL matches?
lennon n mc….mjallby
12:23 on 5 January, 2013
Googy
Lol,aye good yin ;)
Whitjamacaw thon pub thats the aul’ torlit near the Peveril n Peak?
Temple of Convenience
blantyretim
Me anaw……
Will f/wd info to Winning Cap’n
Paddy T
PF Ayr
On the duplicity at the Herald I belatedly came across this article from 30 December by Richard Wilson.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/2012-review-rangers.19790197
Apart from his incredible suggestion about what the media should now be doing that Alex Thomson derided
” Newspapers once broke the stories, but as the Rangers saga showed, they are now better placed to analyse them, to provide perspective, reason and commentary.”
Wilson gives examples of how they/he do it badly.
Wilson says “Yet many clubs have changed ownership and ownership structure during their histories, and have remained the same entity.”
What he does not say that under FIFA/UEFA FOOTBALL rules the term used to describe a club is “legal entity” which embraces both company and club and it is UEFA’s unwillingness to recognise Rangers as on ongoing legal entity under their own rules that has prevented them obtaining a UEFA licence. I appreciate and go along with the argument that culturally they are the same entity but legally both in civil and football law they are NOT the same entity and sooner or later the fiction that they are will be exposed..
Wilson then goes on to say
“Once the Scottish Football Association transferred Rangers’ original licence to Green’s consortium, it was recognised by the governing body, UEFA, and more recently the European Club Association, as the same Rangers: 140 years old.”
This is tripe. Again under UEFA rules a club licence cannot be transferred, it is there in black and white. What happened was the SFA granted The Rangers a National Club Licence because, as a non SPL club, UEFA FFP licensing criteria does not apply and they did so despite there being no three years accounts as required by the rules. The SFA National Club Licensing rules allow the licensing authority a degree of discretion if a club fails any of the criteria and for commercial reasons, used it, but Wilson if he is going to provide analysis rather than break stories had better get his facts right.
What we are seeing here is an attempt to rewrite the true history of Rangers downfall and one has to wonder just what hold Sir David Murray continues to have over the press and just who else in Scottish society is protecting one of its “noblemen” and why.
There is far murkier banking and political story beneath all of this that BRTH has referred to in some of his posts.
Where is he btw?
get it roon ye Pardew…
1 0 Brighton
get in roon ye Pardew…..
HH
The werefolk on RM are edeavouring to set up a committee to promote the “return” of The Billy Boys in a form which will not fall foul of the law. Initially, the original roaster fixed three simple (they had to be) criteria for nominating potential committee members:
-Up to two nominations per person, if you are nominating more than one person please do so in the same post.
-You cannot nominate yourself
-A person needs to be nominated by three different people to be considered.
A few posts into the process, the illuminati begin to nominate three, four and even five candidates such that the OR changes this criterion as he now views it as “too restrictive”. The bar is reset at five nominations per cretin. A few posts further on we see a nomination for……..seven.
Step forward “Blue Nosed Babe” who describes herself as a trial lawyer with all the attributes required (including the books) to deal with legal aspects of the campaign. She has, apparently, the ability to stay calm under pressure and so:
“I would nominate me if that is allowed [err..actually] because I can take care of the legal stuff…”
The criterion prohibiting self-nomination has now been removed. I expect the restriction on the number of nominees to change along these lines:
“Any number of persons, living or dead, may be nominated by any one poster.”
If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, the fruits of this committees labour are eagerly anticipated.
it….
Honestly was’nt coping your post blantretim.
HH
Palacio67 o))
lennon n mc….mjallby
I am off the booze for a month and you have got me naming some of the best pubs in Manchester.
You cruel man.
;>}
Today’s shameful obituary in The Herald is the latest evidence of the extent of the tendrils of the Minty/ Jabba / Media House propaganda machine.
The plan is basically to keep repeating lies until they are accepted as fact and the entire liquidation event can be airbrushed to appear as a mere blip, a little local difficulty in a glorious history.
Are they going to get away with it?
Have they got away with it already?
Get it roon ye Pardew
Neethur wiz ah
Blantyretim
Sorry to hear that – all copies were sent out straight away and a few had to be re-sent due to postal mysteries – we re-send a few on Friday so these may be included but if you can mail Paul we can double check and of course will be happy to send out another copy to each of the guys. We tried to offer a super fast service on the Annual which has been an overwhelming success in its first year.
MurdochauldandHay 12:48 on 5 January, 2013
“McCoist is under the impression that he is a big team manager and acts accordingly with his questioning of why sevco dont get a winter break and his speaking of transfer targets etc plus gets great press which no doubts fuels his ego.
“Unfortunately for him we know these pathetic attempts at impersonating Alan Pardew just make him look silly & deluded when the truth is he manager of a 4th tier Scottish division side basically a pub league in all honesty which I am findinding totally hillarious to watch”
I see him more as the poor man’s Alan Partridge.
Who’s watching Duffields Parents?
HH
So … no fans of Alan Pardew around today then?
Googy
That pubs beer is pish ;).
lennon n mc….mjallby
13:26 on 5 January, 2013
Googy
That pubs beer is pish ;).
The food is cr..
While i’m here
Get it roon ye Pardew :))
Duffield puts Newcastle’s disastrous form this season down to ‘rangers’ ‘demotion’ to the bottom tier, armageddon he says.
wigsareuscsc
HH
Oh my God toilet humour time for a lie down.
Canamalar,
Setting off for Glw. Should unload @ 3 judges in abt 4 hrs – but don’t set too much store on this.
Ameobi off
HH
Googybhoy. Go into Herald site on google and go right to the bottom where it shows you Contact us and it gives you the email addresses there. HH
Auldheid 12.57
I noted his writings way back in Feb were all triumphalist and show must go on, no change here , sort of stuff..
Get hold of his article from June 14/15 2012, when they still doubted liquidation..
And 5 dec 2012.. He contradicts himself always ..
But as you say , last Sundays bull,.. The piece de resistance.. A must read at media school for how NOT to be true to thy profession..
For an editorial team to allow these articles out and Mc Evoys obituary on Mr Adam today .. Shocking .. Possibly frightening, that a paper could so blatantly be hurting!!
HH
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
13:35 on 5 January, 2013
Oh my God toilet humour time for a lie down.
does my brains in when i hear people saying or printing this.some day HE will answer you.
Afternoon Bhoys.
If you all don’t mind I would like to ask for your thoughts and prayers for a young Jersey Bhoy who tragically lost his life whilst holidaying in Thailand over the New Year.
Matthew Docherty was only 31 and from the details which have been released he was found after drowning in a swimming pool.
Any CQN’rs from Clydebank or your older relatives may know of his Father also named Matt ,he moved to Jersey in the sixties and passed away about 10 years ago ,Matt was a big Celtic man.
All prayers will be greatly appreciated.
HH.
Sad to hear that news, channelislandcelt, will remember Matthew in my prayers tonight.
Re The Herald
I contacted the other week regarding their journalist’s report of Sevco’s game at Hampden v QP. I basically accused them of allowing him to print lies.
In his piece, he included the words/phrases, ‘demotion’, ‘oldest derby’ and other such nonsense. It was a shocking article.
I asked if I could get a response after I pointed out these lies.
I’m still waiting.
SPF
Denigrating the deceased in order to continue the deification of one living…
If this is what passes as an obituary in a national newspaper, our culture and country is in a dark, precarious place. Civilized? Debatable….
Disturbing to say the least.
Auldheid 12:57
Good piece….Wilson concedes some ground to the IB’s but then tries to damn them with feint praise.
The Herald has been roped in with the bbc, stv, clyde, DR and Sun, and is another part of the hun propoganda machine…
Huns, hearts and Newcastle. Love it when they get beat.
Have some of that pardew you rodent of a man.
Pardew on a 8 year contract.
lol!
Remember folks that the Herald is no longer a national but regional paper such has been it’s circulation fall. No wonder. An utter rag. Sorry to see Newcastle go two down. Nae luck, Pardue!
favourite uncle
14:02 on 5 January, 2013
googybhoy ♥ Celtic
13:35 on 5 January, 2013
Oh my God toilet humour time for a lie down.
does my brains in when i hear people saying or printing this.some day HE will answer you.
Apologies for that no offence intended.
May your God go with you.
2-0 Brighton,roonye Pardew
Revisionism is rife in the media re the now dead Huns.
That obit for Hugh Adam is a neat example of it, and Gordon J’s precis earlier was bang on.
It has interesting pointers to how the ‘line’ is going to be presented this year re the demise of the horribles, which are consistent with other recent straws in the wind.
The main plank of the Hun media fightback is that it was ALL CRAIG WHYTE’S FAULT. All of it. Even things that happened before he appeared. Even things that happened after he went. Even things that haven’t happened yet.
Juan guy, as the huns are fond of saying. Naebody else.
Tell you what , though. If wee Craigy’s prescience in taping conversations with dinner guests ( as leaked to the Beeb before Christmas) are any indication of his tactics, he’ll be unlikely to go quietly. Fun ahead.
What I didn’t know, though, and which is kind of thrown in to the Obituary, in a casual way is that Murray wanted to get control of the Oldco’s Development Fund, and that was part of the reason he and Hugh Adam fell out.
Now why would that have been, do we think?
If anyone in the print media has the cohones to ask that and other pertinent questions I’m a panto dame.
Marrakesh Express 14:09
The Herald has been roped in with the bbc, stv, clyde, DR and Sun, and is another part of the hun propoganda machine
I’d like to add the Scottish edition of the London Times.
They have a ‘journalist’ called Mark Walker who writes a piece every day called the ‘Rangers Diaries’.
The pieces by Walker and the one in the Sunday Herald were almost identical.
Anyone know who Mark Walker is?
SPF