The Scottish Football Supporters’ Association (SFSA), an independent body of pan-club football fans, yesterday launched the first independent evaluation of Scottish football governance, at Holyrood.
The SFSA’s nationwide survey will assess, for the first time, supporters’ views on the current position of the game, including the performance of the game’s governing bodies in Scotland. The research will become an annual benchmarking & reporting exercise looking at all aspects of the game.
The SFSA’s online survey has been created in partnership with Prof. Dr. Axel Faix and Dr. Joachim Lammert, two experienced German academics who have undertaken similar evaluations on a national level in Germany and on a European level.
The SFSA, whose board includes former First Minister Henry McLeish; former MP and MSP Cathy Jamieson and Maureen McGonigle, Founder of Scottish Women in Sport and first female Scottish FA Council Member, has over 67,000 members supporting clubs across Scotland.
The SFSA is Scotland’s fans’ representative in The Football Supporters Europe network (FSE), an independent, representative and democratically organised grass-roots network of football fans’ in Europe with members in currently 48 countries across the continent.
You have invited to Have Your Say by getting involved with the project here.
Most importantly, you can participate in the survey itself here.
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CELTIC FC is to close the ‘Green Brigade’ section of the stadium for the next two matches after serious incidents of unsafe behaviour at the last two competitive matches at Celtic Park.
The Club is writing to the 900 season-ticket holders affected to explain the Club’s position and next steps.
The decision, which has been taken amid serious safety concerns and after discussion with the police, follows events at the matches against Hearts in May and Linfield on Wednesday night.
The safe standing area of the stadium had been working very well until the final game of last season against Hearts, when large numbers of flares were smuggled into and set off under banners within the Green Brigade section. It was an incredibly irresponsible and co-ordinated action which could have had tragic consequences.
The Club understands that consideration was given to halting this crucial game because of the thick smoke, which was blowing across the stadium and into other sections of the support and posed a serious safety risk to all those in the stadium. The fire alarm was activated, resulting in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service responding to the stadium.
The Safety Advisory Group of Glasgow City Council, which licenses Celtic Park and comprises representatives from the Council, police, fire and rescue, the ambulance service and other statutory authorities, had an emergency meeting after that game and communicated their serious concerns to the Club, which presented a risk to the renewal of the safety certificate necessary for the operation of the stadium and the capacity of the safe standing area.
The Club has been working with the Safety Advisory Group towards a solution for this season, but the events at the match on Wednesday night, where there were further serious safety issues within the Green Brigade section, require the Club to take immediate action to comply with its responsibilities under the applicable legislation.
Safety of all supporters at Celtic Park is of paramount importance to the Club. The safe operation of the safe standing area at Celtic Park requires effective communication and engagement with the supporters in that area. Unfortunately, due to the events at the Hearts and Linfield matches, the Club is not satisfied that the Green Brigade section can be operated safely at this time.
The Club will continue to investigate the events at the matches in question and to address the issues that arose. The Club will seek to engage with the supporters in the Green Brigade section to re-establish the necessary communication and engagement to permit supporters to be readmitted to the section and for it to be operated safely, in consultation with the Safety Advisory Group. If that cannot be achieved, then the Club will require to examine other options.
Club Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said: “The behaviour of fans in the Green Brigade section of the ground at the matches against Hearts and Linfield was a serious safety risk, which has left us with no choice but to take decisive action to ensure safety within the stadium.
“There is no room for debate. The safety authorities and the football authorities make the rules. They also enforce the rules. If the rules are broken, Celtic will be punished again and again. There is no hiding place from these realities. Anyone who has Celtic’s interests at heart must surely recognise them and behave accordingly.
“Every club which visits here says the atmosphere is incredible and that is something that we have worked very hard to support and encourage. We cannot understand why supporters who are capable of contributing so much that is positive to the club can be so reckless in doing it damage. In addition to the serious safety concerns, we face further UEFA disciplinary action.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, but the behaviour of fans in this section is posing a direct risk to the safe operation of the stadium and is also seriously tarnishing the club’s hard-won reputation.
“Dialogue, engagement and communication with the Green Brigade have evidently failed at this time, given the behaviour experienced at these matches, and we are therefore left with no choice but to take action to ensure safety at the stadium.
“We hope that the action we are taking prompts recognition by those fans of the damage being done to the Club and that we can resume meaningful engagement with them which would ensure a safe environment within that part of Celtic Park.”
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s really disappointing that we are talking about stadium safety and paramilitary banners rather than our progress into the next round of Europe.
“The fans have a responsibility to behave in the stadium and I would urge everyone involved to see the damage this is causing to the club. Hopefully this is a wake-up call.
“The players thrive on the cauldron that the fans create at Celtic Park but there are clearly boundaries that you can’t step over. Everyone knows that pyrotechnics, unacceptable banners and ignoring stewards who are enforcing basic stadium safety measures are simply not on. I really hope that the fans take this on board. It would be a real shame if they forced the club to take more permanent action to ensure safety and protect the Club’s standing in European football, which is what we should all be aiming to promote.”
Cathedral View.
Ha! Ha! Brilliant! I’d forgotten about that great ad, and the catchy wee tune.
As for the ‘Alive and Kicking’ line, little did they know!
GB section closed..
http://www.celticfc.net/news/12951
That renders my tickets null and void for Wednesday then 1st game of season
My daughter and nephew are now unable to attend these matches as is Jobo and VFR as well
Really disappointed with the knee jerk reaction from the jerks on our board
Hi CQNers
Thank you to Beatbhoy for info and Kevjungle for good wishes.
You never have to wait too long for a response on this site.
Hail Hail
Cyrenean
You’re welcome. Keep better.
The PLC doing the bidding of the Huns. Running Scared.
Makes me sick that they react to criticism from the hun media, every time.
But not a word about the racial abuse and missiles suffered by Celtic players.
Shame on the PLC
Is it the whole of the standing area that is closed?
Celtic have won a prestigious award for the introduction of rail seating at Parkhead last season.
The Premiership champions scooped the prize for best fan experience at the Stadium Business Awards.
The Hoops implemented the rail seating – which has proved popular with teams across Europe – last summer and it was instantly a huge success with supporters of Brendan Rodgers ‘ side.
Who would win a fight between the PLC knee jerk reaction and the CQN knee jerk reaction?
Whilst I agree that nothing should bring our club into conflict with the powers that be I would also like the board to make a public comment on the years of cheating by Rangers and how this affected the hundreds of thousands of football supporters financially. They seem to be happy to punish their own supporters whilst also doing nothing about the cesspit that Scottish football is in.
Dessybhoy
900 seats so looks like it
DESSYBHOY on 21ST JULY 2017 5:00 PM
Is it the whole of the standing area that is closed?
Can’t be. I’m sure it holds 2,300
SP
Aye, lets all take the PLC side in this,
As I stated my daughter and nephew are in that area and I’m sure more on here are in the section
900 supporters excluded from attending
Is that not a knee jerk reaction?
If only the board would be so active when pursuing wrongdoers who aren’t green and white.
Blantyretim –
It sounds to me as if it is ‘only’ the Green Brigade section – i.e the lower part of the Kraft Cheese segment! The safe standing area has somthing like 3,000 ticket hoders. I’m about 8 rows from the back, with VFR a couple of rows behind me so that he can regularly give me a clip round the ear.
I’d be extremely distraught if the whole section is to be closed. Think I might just fire a wee email off to check ;-)
BT
It is a severe penalty for those who comply with safety regs, will Celtic find you other seats in the meantime?
Throw bottles and racially abuse Celtic players, no problem.
Fly a banner, its the end of the world.
Totally ridiculous.
The Celtic PLC truly take the biscuit. Hun slaves the lot of them
Brown Brogue Idiots running Celtic
The Green Brigade can, at times, be stupid. The board, at all times, are subservient. A mix made for conflict. Unfortunately today’s knee jerk reaction, like Wednesday’s idiocy, won’t be the last.
BT
Standing section holds just under 3,000 so it’s only going to be partly closed.
Peter Lawwell – “the football authorities make the rules and the football authorities enforce the rules”
Aye, except when it comes to dealing with many years of cheating, as exposed and admitted in courts of law by the main movers at the former Rangers FC.
Jobo
The seats are in front section across and behind the green brigade,
I’m sure Celtic with move them and allow them to watch from the directors box
Thanks for the numbers bhoys but Celtic haven’t issued specific seat/area numbers
Mini is a very unhappy ghirl
Standing section holds 2,600
BLANTYRETIM IS PRAYING FOR THE KNOX FAMILY
Did I say I was taking the PLC side??
I posted the link I’m in shock it came to this but I’m not surprised at who went off the deep end straight away.
Read the managers comments, does he sound happy and do you think that Celtic will risk not qualifying for the CL??
We played two games and we’re in UEFA’s crosshairs, this risk is obviously not worth it to Celtic.
You’ve personalised it because you know people will be affected and that’s fair enough but the bigger picture is how it’s come to this so quickly in the seasons qualifying round. Answer we went down to Linfield level, plain and simple..
Correct decision in my view, message sent loud and clear to the knuckle draggers. Buck up your ideas or GTF. What an embarrassment to Celtic Football Club mind you. We have a Manager who oozes class, he has set the benchmark across every aspect of the Club and we are very fortunate to have him. Not only that he is a progressive and proud Northern Irishman. Yet he has to put up with this crap, banners with his name held up alongside paramilitaries. It is absolutely scandalous that he has had to put his name to todays Statement. As i said yesterday, it was huge miscalculation and the consequences were inevitable.
Peter Lawwell:
“There is no room for debate. The safety authorities and the football authorities make the rules. They also enforce the rules. If the rules are broken, Celtic will be punished again and again. There is no hiding place from these realities. Anyone who has Celtic’s interests at heart must surely recognise them and behave accordingly.
“Every club which visits here says the atmosphere is incredible and that is something that we have worked very hard to support and encourage. We cannot understand why supporters who are capable of contributing so much that is positive to the club can be so reckless in doing it damage. In addition to the serious safety concerns, we face further UEFA disciplinary action.”
BT
It’s a very poor, knee jerk reaction in my opinion. I looked in on CQN in the aftermath of the game on Wednesday and couldn’t believe some of the language used to describe the GB. I quickly logged off in disgust.
Don’t often say the following but ….
Well Done Celtic ! Now it’s up to those in the Green Brigade to cooperate in restoring the section to the wonderful colourful and safe spectacle that we all enjoy and are renowned for world wide ….
Hail Hail
HT
Celtic supporters have been totally demonised…here on CQN.
I was in disbelief at some of the vile s*** ive read on here, by the usual suspects.
Its sickening.
HH
Brendan’s comments are the most poignant and should be heeded by all Celtic supporters. He believes that the banners were unacceptable, good enough for me.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s really disappointing that we are talking about stadium safety and paramilitary banners rather than our progress into the next round of Europe.
“The fans have a responsibility to behave in the stadium and I would urge everyone involved to see the damage this is causing to the club. Hopefully this is a wake-up call.
“The players thrive on the cauldron that the fans create at Celtic Park but there are clearly boundaries that you can’t step over. Everyone knows that pyrotechnics, unacceptable banners and ignoring stewards who are enforcing basic stadium safety measures are simply not on.
I really hope that the fans take this on board. It would be a real shame if they forced the club to take more permanent action to ensure safety and protect the Club’s standing in European football, which is what we should all be aiming to promote.”
KNUCKLE DRAGGERS IS IT
I’m away
Logically it would now appear that Celtic will ban secco supporters for the next twogames that they appear at Celtic Park,because of their previous loutish behaviour.
Maybe this is the most important part:
“We cannot understand why supporters who are capable of contributing so much that is positive to the club can be so reckless in doing it damage.”
GB are fantastic at times. BUT, if you contravene UEFA rules like it or not then we have to comply simple ; I do not agree with them as they are as much of a cartel corrupt to the core are Celtic going to appeal do me me a favour we are now getting it from the masons and the Euro masons hail hail
Lets see how good the atmosphere is, when you dont have the GB.
Im sure the perma offended will provide the atmosphere.
Yeah, ban Celtic supporters, but let bigoted huns do whatever they like.
Disgrace.