I’m sure there are people all over England wondering why their manager is apologising for anti-IRA chants by England fans last night. Someone likely pointed out to Roy Hodgson that his fans were breaking the law in Scotland by doing so, hundreds, if not thousands, could be criminalised this morning.
Their names and addresses are known to the football authorities, the match was televised and the chanting received widespread media coverage. Police Scotland were all over the ground and had the England fans surrounded.
All this took place in front of the First Minister, whose government decided laws against bigotry and sectarianism left them unable to “equalise” fans of all colours, most of whom never chant bigoted or sectarian words.
Alex Salmond left the stage caring nothing that the police have no interest in applying his law on this occasion. It wasn’t designed to criminalise the English, it was to criminalise Celtic fans. If the Offensive Behaviour Act can be flouted in front of the nation, the police and the First Minister, without censure or action, it is an absurd nonsense. The SNP government has refused to debate a review into the Act, never mind repeal it. They are defending the indefensible.
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Tom McLaughlin
12:43 on
19 November, 2014
How does one vote “passionately”?
..
Instead of Voting Yes..
You Vote..Yea Yea..
Summa
Ps..Hope Yir Guid..
livibhoy
12:42 on 19 November, 2014
westies
Voting Yes was not a vote for the SNP.
LB
Well, voting no was a no vote for the SNPs and Salmond is the way I saw it, and according to polls voting yes was for the SNPS. And SALMOND, just the way I see it.
Now that the international mis-match between the EPL’s “cream” and the SPL and Championship also-rans is behind us, when does discussion return to the subject of Celtic? We have some important games on the immediate horizon…
Summa –
I am good thanks. You?
We need to get some students in to explain to the old unionist greedy pensioners what the difference is.
Maybe some of the 16 year old could help.
I feel cheated now. I voted yes thinking it was for salmon forever.
I may have started a debate about “yes/no” SNP. I humbly apologize to all that I may have riled. Passionately.
EmbraMike
Enjoy your sun soaked trip to Malta. Watch you don’t get mistaken for Popeye on set now!
MWD said AYE
bournesouperecipe
This was just on TV in Oz…..and strangely I thought of you!!!!!!!
http://youtu.be/Tr8YyN1yvRA
HH
Sorry I’m confused…what was the offensive chanting?
.
Tom..
Great..Got my 2 Ghirls living with me Now..so FandabbiDosi..Lots of Cooking and Cleaning tho..;-)
Will be bringing the Ghirls home next Year for a Couple of Months..Hopefully catch a couple of Games..
Summa
auldheid
As someone who supported res 12 but cannot attend the AGM will this statement be available to me
Ok
Who replaces Broonie in midfield for game on Saturday ?
I believe Kayal, got injured in development game Tues ?
So do we Biton or Henderson in
Or
Is Kris Commons fit to return ?
So team structure changes
Ps – Mikael Lustig ooot as well, let’s hope Mathews is fit
Over to you Ronny :-)
Hail Hail
Bawsman
In the Q&A.
.
lymmbhoy
13:01 on
19 November, 2014
bournesouperecipe
This was just on TV in Oz…..and strangely I thought of you!!!!!!!
http://youtu.be/Tr8YyN1yvRA
..
Ditto here..l think of BourneSoupRecipe and Yon Ole Don’tBurrnYerBraBakkInAnger..Ha
Summa
Or how about Efe into CH, with Denayer into Midfield ?
Options :-)
Hail Hail
That’s better!
:o)
Gotta get back to work now…
:o(
Excellent article, Paul.
The law has to be changed to allow people in Scotland to bless themselves safe in the knowledge that they won’t be deemed to be breaking the law.
Why were FOCUS not filming the England fans last night?
The money that’s been wasted on this law is the worst crime. By a party who tell us social justice is their raison d’etre.
South Of Tunis,
unfortunately that’s not a new thing. For years I have seen Tartan Army louts urinating in public and in bars and singing songs expressing hatred of English people.
Because they wear kilts and “see you, Jimmy” hats it’s perceived by most of the public and the media to be a great laugh though. It would rightly be a different story were they wearing a Celtic shirt.
Must Dash
Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon to visit
Catch you all later :-)
Hail Hail
Voted YES.for Independence…have never voted SNP dont know if i ever will…blah blah blah….
Desseyboy
Publically Phil MacGiolla Bhain has helped in the past and CQN can be used to answer any questions.
Cowiebhoy,
Unless there’s a wee shuffle I think Bitton will come in.
I’d personally rather we played with Efe there. But I’m just feeling whacky :)
Cowiebhoy
Good call
Even try Efe in MF his 1st full debut in that position was superb though it was against Raith Rovers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeRchb7wxQ8
Guessing Alec and Christine won’t care a tinker’s cuss about last night’s predictable, rancid stuff from the away end.
Doesn’t reflect badly on their Scotia and its blight, as they see it.
Tutkrybhoy’s c’n’p from sevcomedia recently – where he highlighted that reactions to the footy bill are possibly the only area where opinion on Celtic and sevco sites converge, they probably draw much satisfaction from that, no?
Punitive punishment to suppress young men from becoming involved in ‘extreme, militant forms of OF-ness’.
They might come after the ‘hate preachers’ next :)
Auldheid:
I’ve got to get back to work but before I do, I just thought I’d highlight that Paul67 just came out with the biggest ‘whataboutary’ to date… and nobody saw fit to point it out to him.
“Hmmmmmmmmmmm!” as Paul would likely say.
I am really confused with the Lying King
He spent months telling us he needed to know the names
behind blue pitch, Margarita ect
But said he couldnt reveal who his backers were until a done deal ?
Also saying If the fans dont starve out the present board then
they are in danger of losing 140 years of history ?
Are they in danger of being really dead this time not
just dead ?
Confused.com
.
Britain gets a £1 pay rise: Weekly earnings up by just 0.1%… unless you have been in work for more than year The smallest increase since records begun.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2840753/Britain-gets-1-pay-rise-Weekly-earnings-just-0-1-unless-work-year.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
Summa
ohits
Congratulations and blessings!
HH jamesgang
Anyone would think there is a leadership battle going on at another political party in Scotland.
I see Dave King is back in the news re the Huns. I’d love to see him get Sevco…….just what they need. He was charged with 322 tax evasion and fraud offences. Agreed to settle on 41 charges if the others were dropped. Also there was an issue with Gary Player over a million or so. It is all too funny.
.
Ha Ha..
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/social/some-scotland-fans-trolled-england-by-turning-up-to-celtic-park-as-diego-maradona-pictures/?
Celtic Fans should do this at the Next Old Firm Game..;-)
Summa
OHITS
Congratulations to you and yours.
Another wee Tim into the world is always cause for celebration.
Paul67
Fantastic article highlighting the real reason for the OB act.
No England fan will be arrested just in the same way the soldiers were not charged at the Bigot dome and Aberdeen supporters were not done for the Jimmy Saville song amongst others.
Also when I’m at it did the Tartan army not have a wee ditty about Saville last night?
The act is simply a way to further institutionalise anti Irish racism in the form of Celtic supporters singing .
I’m surprised the Irish national team weren’t subjected to dawn raids for singing the Soldier song on Friday!
“I just thought I’d highlight that Paul67 just came out with the biggest ‘whataboutary’ to date… and nobody saw fit to point it out to him.”
Kit,
I think everyone is allowed to respond to Paul long after the first hour.
Summa –
Booked my flight to Oz in January. It’s an open ticket as I’m not sure when I’ll be returning to Scotland. Depends how fast I can tie up business. Hoping for around 3 weeks. However long it takes, it will definitely be my last visit.
Let me know when you are over next year.
Hail Hail.
Leftclick,
You feeling whacky too? ;)
Efe did play well in that game. Mentioned it many times previous. Wasn’t his debut but it was his first start.
So if the original sale is proved fraudulent and the assets handed back. Will the assets (the club etc) still owe the new holding company £17M+. That’ll be interesting.
ohits
12:06 on 19 November, 2014
Bhoys it is with great pleasure I announce the arrival of the latest addition to the Celtic family Archie who was born at 9.30 this morning , Mother and baby doing well , Granda off for a well earned bevvie tonight . HH
##############################
Afternoon, hope all well and congratulations on the arrival of wee Archie, now fill me in what Auld Gramps did to deserve a beer…!
Watched the game last night….garbage on all fronts, could hear a chant often associated to England supporters, regarding the IRA, dunno the words, is it that alone that has instigated an apology is the mere mention of the IRA offensive.?
Ayrshire is Green and White
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On This Day in 2007: John Reid becomes Celtic chairman
Darryl Broadfoot
Herald Scotland’s sports team trawls through the archives to bring you the best stories from yesteryear
Herald Scotland’s sports team trawls through the archives to bring you the best stories from yesteryear
There are those who consider Dr John Reid to be neither right or honourable. The former minister for defence was yesterday formally endorsed as chairman of the Celtic plc board by resounding majority at the club’s annual meeting.
Yet, in the realms of democracy, rarely will a politician feel so bruised after winning an election with 97.85% of the vote.
Reid was almost consumed by his own landslide after robust objection from the floor at his succession to the outgoing Brian Quinn. Being branded a war criminal is almost perfunctory for a man heavily implicated in the legality and morality of the war on Iraq. Being accused of desecrating the ethos of Brother Walfrid was an entirely new charge brought against him.
Reid listened intently, even respectfully, as, one by one, the dissenting voices boomed their contempt over the sound system in the Kerrydale Suite.
Following the predictable war criminal line, Reid was branded “a leading protagonist of a mendacious government”, while Celtic stood accused of betraying the club’s principles and even subordinates to the wellbeing of humankind.
It made a compelling change from the annual complaints of insufficient toilet-roll ply and under-cooked, over-peppered half-time purvey.
Reid, the first Roman Catholic to be named secretary of state for Northern Ireland, has tackled many a political heavyweight, and sanctioned the downfall of his fair share of tyrants during his political career. A rabid Jeanette Findlay, outspoken voice of the Celtic Supporters’ Trust, was an altogether new proposition.
Having absorbed the standard routine of rabble-rousing, Reid stood up and delivered a response as impassioned as it was emphatic. In short, he insisted there is no correlation between his political career and his new responsibilities as custodian of Celtic’s future.
There was nothing defensive about this sermon.
“I regard this as the greatest honour of my life,” he began. “I have sat in high office and I am proud to have ended 800 years of conflict and tragedy in Northern Ireland. There has been no mention of that today.
“I have to respect the right of everyone at this club to have their own ideas, background, religion and politics. That is what has made this club different from others, but we leave background, religious division and political division at the door of this club. This is not a forum for political debate.
“I have heard someone from the floor refer to me as a member of the great and the good. I am a member of the same Celtic family and have not always been driven to the front door. I remember walking in the rain from Carntyne. I have supported people with different views to my own. One of my heroes, Bertie Peacock, was an Ulster Unionist.
“There has been only one other occasion when someone injected football into politics and it was when I became the first Roman Catholic secretary of statefor Northern Ireland.
“The first question was: did I really want this job? The second was: is it true you are a Celtic supporter? It was not appropriate then and it is not now.”
However, it still required the intervention of the outgoing chairman and the principle shareholder, Dermot Desmond, to justify the recommendation of Reid as chairman. It is, without question, an incendiary appointment but one that was proved yesterday to carry the support of the vast majority of the club’s shareholders.
In football administration, as in politics, the outspoken minority were afforded disproportionate debating time. A hush fell over the audience as the enigmatic Desmond made a rare and forthright address.
“When you come to Celtic Park, you leave the robes of office behind,” he said. “He is a Celtic man by passion, background and desire. We, as a club, are compassionate, understanding and Christian in our approach. That has been the hallmark of the last century and I would like to see that continue.”
Quinn, who departed after 7½ years of office with a tear in his eye, scolded the dissidents when the fabric of the club’s moral code was questioned.
“What would Brother Walfrid have thought?” he said in response to one question. “I do not know, and neither does anyone because it is hypothetical.
“What I will say is Celtic are involved in more education and charity initiatives than at any time in our history. I’m sure he would be delighted with that.
“Secondly, on whether I considered it [Reid’s appointment] may have been divisive; of course I knew there would be opposition to this.”
Reid became animated when presented with the conspiracy theory that his appointment was only recommended by Desmond in exchange for access to his business contacts and political leverage.
“It appears it is now a sin to be a friend or associate to Dermot Desmond,” said Reid. “He is one of the best friends this club could have. I happen to be friends with one or two people up here [at the top table of board members]. I went to school with one of them and was a minister with another. I even had dinner with Gordon Strachan once.
“I like people who watch and support Celtic; it should not be a badge of dishonour.
“I sat in the front row with [First Minister] Alex Salmond for the AC Milan game and, believe me, it takes a lot for me to jump up and hug him. I do not intend responding to a political point from the Stop the War coalition. I have never been accused of running away from a fight but there are plenty of other forums.”
From the relative tranquility of the boardroom, Reid expanded on his eventful introduction as Celtic chairman.
He has already confirmed his intention to retire from politics after the next general election – “it may take longer than initially suspected” – but the 60-year-old spoke candidly on his new responsibilities.
“I mentioned it in Ireland earlier this year,” he began. “If I had to decide between my seat at Celtic Park or my seat in the Cabinet, I know which I would choose. I do not want you to exaggerate because, even at today’s meeting, there was a significant show of support by hands. We are part of the team.
“Whatever is done will be done with propriety. It is a great honour to be chairman and I will leave my politics at the door. I have waited 40 years to get a vote of over 90 per cent in any election.”
Summa
I appreciate that the so-called “Saville chants” are in extremely bad taste, but are we being serious in asking for people to be arrested for it?
Surely not.