AFTER LATEST LIES, A CELTIC DAILY RECORD BAN IS LONG OVERDUE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Jul 25
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 4
As anyone who reads the ACSOM Blog regularly will know, I’m a great believer in the power of a free press.
However, as one of my favorite superhero characters once said: “With great power, comes great responsibility.” The Daily Record completely abandoned any pretense of such responsibility this morning in this, the latest, in a decades long campaign to slur the good name of Celtic players, supporters and the club in general.
To End The Lies and Slander of Celtic, Daily Record Must be Banned Immediately
For those who haven’t read the Record’s latest piece of anti-Celtic hyperbolae, I’ll summarize.
On the park, Celtic were outplayed by Ajax and lost 5-1 there’s no denying that.
But watching Celtic getting gubbed on the pitch wasn’t enough for some at the Record. They had to drag the fans into it too. Of course, if you can get a little bit of implied antisemitism in there too, then that’s all the better for The Record’s agenda.
Towards the end of the game, a very small group, I’d say about 10 or so, Celtic fans were videoed shouting and gesticulating at a similarly small group of Ajax fans.
It was, for want of a better phrase, “handbags at 10 paces”. Lots of shouting, a couple of empty plastic cups tossed by either side. Barely even noteworthy, apart from highlighting the fact that the respective fans clearly still don’t like each other after far bigger clashes in Amsterdam a few years ago.
There are two videos circulating of this same incident online, one is much clearer than the other. So of course, the Record chose the further away, less clear-cut video of the incident to try and obfuscate the issue and further blow this story out of proportion.
You can also look at the Record’s choice of headline for further needless sensationalism:
“Celtic and Ajax fans clash as tempers flare and pints fly during Como Cup defeat”
I don’t see any “pints flying”, maybe the odd empty plastic cup. Still not acceptable conduct, but hardly the utter carnage the headline implies.
What is more sinister though is that the Record report: written by a reporter who wasn’t even in the stadium and, I assume watched the same TV feed I did, which showed no signs of trouble, straight up lies about who instigated the trouble and why.
The Record says: “a number of Hoops fans decided to make their way towards the Perspex barriers separating punters behind the goal and start launching their pint pots towards the Ajax fans and stadium security staff.”
No, they didn’t. If you have evidence to the contrary then let’s see it.
Here’s what actually happened, a direct account from someone who was at the stadium:
“Clashes broke out between the two sets of fans after Celtic supporters waved Palestinian flags.”
In other words, the Ajax fans were the ones who instigated the “violence” (if we can even call it that), in response to the flying of a flag.
Local media and Italy and The Netherlands appear to also be running this angle. That it was Ajax fans in response to a Celtic fan waving a flag that started the trouble.
Somehow, I’m more inclined to believe them than the Daily Record. Especially when the Record reporter who was actually in the stadium made no mention of the trouble in his initial match report.
I suspect the Record newsroom, knowing that Celtic and Ajax have a bit of history, decided to assign someone the task of trawling social media all night for any sign of trouble, and then exaggerate it accordingly. His perseverance was duly rewarded with a story, built on exaggerations and untruths, but which I’m sure grabbed plenty of clicks.
For the record (no not that one), anyone identifiable who was involved in this trouble from the Celtic supporters’ side should be banned from Celtic Park. As ultimately uneventful as this was, it still isn’t acceptable behavior for fans representing our club abroad.
I trust Ajax will do the same with any perpetrators they identify on their end.
That being said, the biggest trouble maker in all of this is the Daily Record, with yet another sensationalist attempt to slander Celtic’s good name, and that of our supporters. Attempting to link the incident to both defeat on the park and the drink taken in the stands is also part of their longstanding drive to demonize football fans in general.
It needs to stop. The Daily Record needs to be banned from Celtic Park until they retract this story and apologize.
However, they won’t, and we all know the probable reality is that our board will do nothing either. Get ready folks, it’s going to be another long season of multiple, probably Daily attacks on Celtic and our supporters from our media, emboldened by a Celtic board who couldn’t care less, as long as you keep buying the merch.
