Uefa’s incredible playable pitches, diversionary bans

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Having seen European football played on what could easily be mistaken for a swimming pool, I would be surprised if Uefa postponed Wednesday’s game Quarabag-Celtic game. Champions League and Europa League football takes place on pitches which are unplayable every season.

The combination of clubs travelling thousands of miles, crammed fixture schedules, competitors from hundreds of towns, many of which are not in natural grass growing regions, forces match supervisors to turn a blind eye. If the pitch in Baku is truly in a bad shape, the best Celtic can achieve is to have the game moved to an alternative venue., but even that would take an unlikely alignment of stars.

To some or other extent, everyone wants to control what the media reports about them. This is not in itself bad, but there are limits to the extent a football club, or any other group, should take this desire to control. Often for the reason that it will simply not work.

If some numpty reports that Ronny Deila said something off about Neil Lennon, and Ronny said no such thing, the numpty in question would find (found) himself banned from Celtic Park for using falsehoods to cause the club trouble. His newspaper would have to suck it up, as they were in the wrong.

When it comes to journalists reporting an unwelcome fact the rules are completely different. BBC’s Chris McLaughlin, who was banned from Ibrox days after reporting police arrested fans at the Hibs – Newco game for sectarian offenses has been publicly backed by the BBC.

The Corporation eventually backed Jim Spence after he was subject to significant intimidation for using the phrase “some people will tell you, the club that died” in connection to Rangers, but from the outside they appeared to be on the back foot early on.

In his excellent interview with Phil Mac Giolla Bhain, published today, Spence talks about this, saying “It has been and still is a blatant attempt to coerce and ultimately take journalists livelihoods away from them”.

Banning journos work in some circumstances: when they are factually wrong and doing you harm, but if they are factually correct, you’re handing the perceived enemy the initiative, and the high moral ground. A comment about a small number of arrests for sectarian offenses, which few people read, has now been magnified beyond comprehension. It’s a complete PR disaster of their own making, Newco should buy-in some expertise in this area.

Incredibly, when Craig Whyte made himself busy banning journos who reported what he was up to, those who should have been most alarmed were so lustfully delighted at the bans and invitations to demonstrate, they didn’t stop to consider Whyte was diverting their attention.

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426 Comments

  1. Apparently the stadium is sold out. That was from locals who were trying to get tickets, but couldn’t.

     

     

    Thanks to SMB and The Bhoy from the village and a couple of others, I’ve got mine.

     

     

    I would not disgrace the hoops with my body, but a Scotland strip….

  2. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Kit

     

    Estadio national an infrequent poster on these pages nowadays is going to the match

  3. BT

     

     

    I won’t be too hard to find, I’ll have one of my Scotland tops on, if you want to let him know.

  4. KITALBA on 3RD AUGUST 2015 6:32 PM

     

     

    I passed on your e-mail addy to big archie of these pages last week, wanted to contact you about forwarding Football Strips. Blantyretim kindly gave me your e-mail addy to pass on to big archie.

     

     

    Keep the Faith!

     

     

    Hail Hail!

  5. hello again. bit of evening sunshine! what have we done to deserve this ? Really looking forward to gae now, I ve a serious appointment tomorrow with a prospective new customer and a follow up planned with another key customer for Wednesday afternoon, hopefully keep me occupied till 5.30 Wednesday, but the mind will wander.

     

    Doubtful if I will e back home in time so I looks like I Pad and a couple of soothers to settle the nerves..Got back on treadmill again today, 5K done in 29 mins 40 seconds as I try to return from injury. probably not good that I have a 5 hour drive ahead of me tomorrow morning. We shall wait and see….

  6. Having a nightmare with the new format.Sticking trying to navigate up and down,re-loading taking around 2-3 minutes,really losing the plot with it.In saying that,it looks good.

     

    New format,but Thompson Twin,still a trumpet.

     

    Hate these “Bad pitches”but dont think it will suit our opponents either.Maybe time for the “Route one”approach.Get into their box as soon as possible.Would play 4-4-2,no tippy tappy across the midfield.

     

    We await RDs wisdom.

     

    46 degrees on my normal spot on top terrace today.Bo!!ox to that.In the pool for hours.Hot bath.No escaping the heat.

  7. Lennybhoy:

     

     

    I have nothing left to give away but I have a wee sneaky that the club are bringing stuff….

  8. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Kit

     

    Will let him know enjoy and I’ll see you when you are back in Glasgow

  9. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    Houston talking total mince. Said Rangers had not lost ANY cases to HMRC. Err – wrong!

     

    Said the fans were against the BBC since The Men Who Sold The Jerseys. Again – wrong! They went anti-BBC after the documentary about Craig Whyte.

  10. The Sevco’s desire to ban Journalist’s for reporting on Sectarian singing from within their hunnish hoards of supporters just goes to prove what we all knew already – that the Sectarian hatred does not end with a minority of fans but, is infact, part of the The Sevco F.C’s tradition & supported from top to bottom within Mordor. A fact that flies in the face of statement’s released earlier in the year when they claimed “We are doing all within our power to stamp out Sectarianism within our support.

     

     

    I say “Fine the bastard’s £20”, that should be enough to bankrupt those ignorant neanderthal’s.

     

     

    We say Hail Hail, they say Heil Heil.

     

     

    Come On You Bhoy’s In Green!

  11. West End of East End on

    Why do Radio Scotland pander to this hun and allow him on the programme ? These characters get far too much air time.

     

     

    I don’t hear him calling out Chris Jack, Matthew Lindsay or Richard Wilson who are all huns…

  12. RWE,

     

     

    Thanks for that!

     

     

    Shameless plug time: the second novel in the series, Cold Roses, is now also available from all good book and e-book retailers

  13. BBCheat vs RIPlc

     

    institution vs dead institution

     

    mythbuildfer vs fantasists

     

     

    who gives a f…

     

     

    HH

  14. skyisalandfill on

    Richard Wilson thinks that the Huns and the BBC a should kiss and make up. For the good of Scotish football of course.

     

     

    its like a parallel universe.

  15. Spoke too soon,working much better tonight.

     

    Lost my BT Sprts here now.Bassas.Done something to block it out.No one getting it.My local has a 5 metre dish !!!!!!,and cant pick it up.

     

    I thought it could have been a red for Craig,but who cares?.Same chance as Sammi put away at WarbsWorld.

     

    Nerves shredded for Wednesday ,sooooooo much resting on us getting through.

  16. glendalystonsils on

    Just watched the video of Craig Gordon conducting the orchestra. It’s a shame they cut the clip short and missed the best bit where he rushes off the podium and brings down the lead violinist before receiving a yellow from the tuba player.

  17. Using the new format on my iPhone. Disappointed not to be in the new format problem clique :-(

     

     

    LB

  18. It is of course nonsense to ban a journalist for reporting truth. But what we are seeing in Scotland is far more sinister and far more far reaching than just that. Scottish institutions have rallied behind the lies and corruption and the witch hunt against anyone going off message is astonishing.

     

     

    Some of this has been dressed up as fear for public disorder. As if appeasment of bullies has become public policy.

     

     

    This is about racism which is alive and well and thriving in Scotland. My god it’s even sponsored by the Scottish government.

     

     

    However once again cqn is only pointing out the obvious part of this story. The less obvious and less comfortable part is celtics acquiescence or even worse complicit ness with all of this. Celtic let some of the most outrageous lies get told about the club and say nothing. Celtic let supporters get arrested for nothing (in fact aid the process).

     

     

    Scotland and Celtic are singularly failing to tackle these probelms and in doing so are worsening the situation markedly, when I read Monaghans posts from FF it is clear to me that a delusional mindset has been allowed to fester within those who post there and elsewhere. The media and Scotlands appeasment of this has created a worsening and dangerous position to develop.

     

     

    FF is a football site right. Even if it wasn’t the constant anti catholic rhetoric goes unpunished and unquestioned. I thought this sort of stuff was illegal in Scotland?

     

     

    Young men can be arrested for singing a song you can buy quite legally, but Catholic racism it seems is fair enough.

  19. Celtic

     

     

    Team on Wed?

     

    Mulgrew in ?if no

     

    Full back?

     

    Griff injury trouble from Sat?

     

    Cifti in from start?

     

     

    My Team

     

     

    Gordon

     

     

    izzi

     

    VVD

     

    Bhoyata

     

    Efe

     

     

    johansen

     

    Kris

     

    Scott Brown

     

    Nir -if fit

     

     

    Cifti

     

    Griff

     

     

    All reporters welcome except those who guff is of the radar

     

     

    history intact

     

     

    nothing to justify here:-)

     

     

    hail hail

  20. Craig Gordon….did he no come up for a corner once .

     

     

    have a good night Celts.

     

     

    HH

  21. Good evening friends.

     

     

    Hopefully heading back to Spain in October for a week and thinking of Sitges, Santa Susana or Javea. If any of you fine folk have any recommendations – apartment with a roof terrace would be preferred – I’d be delighted for your advice. On here or at –

     

    jobobaldie@yahoo.co.uk

  22. Evening,

     

     

    I know someone posted a pub to watch the game in Edinburgh – Malones – a few nights back, but does anyone know of a pub, in the New Town, Stockbridge, Comely Bank area ?

     

    i’m working there and will not have time to head over to Malones.

     

     

    CB.

  23. glendalystonsils on

    ChippyBhoy on 3rd August 2015 7:48 pm

     

     

     

    The cask and barrel or the Pheonix bottom of Broughton st. should be showing it. 5 mins from Stockbridge.

  24. Just in, read back a couple of pages.

     

     

    Jobo,

     

     

    Javea is a lovely spot. It would be great for training. Deniabhoy has his cycle cafe, just up the road in Denia.

     

     

    Don’t know the other places, Javea is about an our or so from Alicante Airport.

     

     

    Clogher

  25. Sorry for this late entry. Just read the Sunday Post football section with reference to Stuart McColl

     

     

    They had a two page spread by Mark Guidi with the headline

     

     

    I,M PROUD OF WHAT I ACHIEVED AT RANGERS

     

     

    What the feck was that all about. Only won 7 games out of 17. Humped 6-1 by Motherwell in the play offs

     

    Finished 3rd in the championship

     

     

    have been laughing all afternoon.