CELTIC BOARD NEEDS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT THE GREEN BRIGADE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 56 minutes ago
- 4 min read
If there’s one thing the Celtic Board have consistently succeeded in over the past few months, it is creating drama and anger where there need be none.
The latest public relations mess involving the Green Brigade, Police Scotland and Celtic’s own stewards is just the most recent example in a recurring pattern of the Celtic Board talking at fan groups rather than with them.
Celtic Board Needs to be Transparent and Communicate BEFORE Any Bans are Issued
For those out of the loop (I honestly envy you at this point) Celtic announced, as usual, late afternoon on a Friday when media backlash would be minimal, that the Green Brigade are banned from the next 6 matches, 3 home, 3 away, after a violent incident at the recent home game against Falkirk.
Unfortunately, much like the recent departure of manager Brendan Rodgers, we only have one side of the story at this time, and a certain narrative being aggressively pushed by the Celtic Board and those friendly to them in the media.
The Celtic statement alleges that one fan assaulted a steward after a routine ticket check. And following the intervention of two nearby police officers, around 100 members of the Green Brigade piled in, and prevented the alleged assailant being arrested.
Celtic’s statement was accompanied by video footage, which just shows a lot of anger and physical confrontation, but no clear indication as to what triggered the events in question. It would be best described, as the late great Arthur Montford would say as “an almighty stramash!”
How Celtic or indeed the police can say beyond any doubt who the individuals involved are, is beyond me. The footage simply isn’t of the necessary quality or context to pass as evidence in any kind of legal proceedings.
However, if the club decide to take their own, arbitrary action, which under the terms and conditions of tickets they are entitled to do, then there is no need for legal process.
Now, just taking Celtic’s statement at face value, and seeing the accompanying video, you have to say it is not a good look for the Green Brigade, and it’s hard to argue that a ban of some kind isn’t justified.
However, in the last 24 hours, a conflicting narrative has emerged, one that seems to be corroborated by several sources.
Just to be clear, I cannot say if this information is true or not, as 1) I wasn’t there, and 2) there has, so far anyway, been no video evidence to back up this account.
Despite this, in the name of transparency and openness, I have decided to share the first hand, fan accounts of what happened in the run up to this incident.
It conflicts directly with what the Celtic board claim happened, but crucially it would explain all the anger on show in the video, though it certainly doesn’t justify any violence.
So, according to various sources online, the individual suspected of assault had been to the kiosk to collect two cups of water. In keeping with the current fan action “not one more penny” fans in the Green Brigade and many others are currently not buying food or drinks from the kiosks. However, by law, all food outlets must provide water free of charge upon request.
Whilst returning to his seat, the individual was confronted by a steward who demanded to see his ticket. As the person had both their hands full, with the aforementioned cups of water, they were not able to quickly reach for their ticket. At this point the steward, allegedly became aggressive and a scuffle broke out. Two nearby police intervened, with one of them, allegedly grabbing the suspect by the throat.
It is this action, which, if indeed this is what happened, represents a gross abuse of power by both the police and stewards, that triggered the ensuing “rammy” from surrounding supporters to “protect one of their own”.
Again, this does not justify violence against police or stewards. It does however, potentially, add some much-needed context to the blurry, somewhat random nature of the video footage Celtic released.
In any case, applying a collective punishment to an entire group without any form of formal disciplinary process or transparent investigation simply isn’t on. The Celtic Fans Collective released a statement over the weekend condemning the Celtic Board’s act of collective punishment against an entire group for actions which have not been fully investigated, and for which those accused have had no opportunity to present their side of the story.
It's also rather convenient that at a time when fan protests against the current board continue to ramp up, that one of the more vocal groups (though certainly not the only one) leading the protests suddenly find themselves banned from Celtic Park until after the club’s AGM later this month.
I will say once again, I don’t know who is telling the truth here. I don’t know what happened at the Falkirk game to trigger all this.
The only thing I can say with certainty is that Celtic aren't telling us the full story. They continue to try to maintain an iron-grip on the narrative, regardless of the damage this kind of control-freakery does to ongoing relations with fans and the general public.
By once again refusing to engage with fans in an open and transparent process of dialogue and investigation, The Celtic Board have, yet again, thrown a gallon of petrol onto the already raging inferno of fan anger and resentment towards them.
This needs to stop.