CELTIC FANS CELEBRATE, SCOTLAND’S SHAME RETALIATE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 22 hours ago
- 3 min read
There’s nothing quite like a Celtic win at Ibrox.
I was tempted to just open today’s blog with a paragraph simply reading as follows:
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Oh, and I might add:
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
However, to do so would be petty and childish, so I won’t.
Like I said though, there really is nothing quite like a win over any incarnation of Rangers:
Especially when it’s a last gasp win.
Especially when it comes after being outplayed for most of the game.
Especially when you can see how much it infuriates those petulant man-children in the Copland Road end.
Celtic fans will remember today as a day when their team stood firm, new heroes emerged in Viljami Sinisalo and Dane Murray, and a revitalized Reo Hatate led by example in the middle of the park.
Unfortunately, none of the headlines in tomorrow’s papers will reflect that. So, despite the fact it’s now after 1am here in Japan, I thought it only right that I get in and comment before the inevitable tabloid sh*tstorm hits tomorrow morning.
As Fans Invade the Pitch, Scotland’s Shame Only Had One Thing on Their Minds
Today will not be remembered for great football. Scotland’s Shame made sure of that.
Before I continue, a disclaimer: No fans should have entered the pitch at full-time. It’s not how things should be done. We could celebrate plenty without entering the field of play. Celtic fans will carry some blame for that, and rightly so.
However, the TV pictures don’t lie. Celtic fans entered the pitch to celebrate with the players. What limited footage we saw on TV showed Celtic fans hugging the players, taking selfies with Martin O’Neill, and a general outpouring of joy. No doubt there was the odd “get it up ye” gesture towards the Rangers end, I am sure, but that’s part of football. That is banter.
What followed from the Rangers end, led by those Smurfs on Smack the Union Bears was not. They entered the field with one intention alone: violence. We gubbed them, in their own midden, right in front of their ultras, and they couldn’t handle it.
We’ve seen the Green Brigade get dragged through the wringer on various occasions in recent times for the use of pyro at matches. I don’t recall them ever throwing a lit pyro directly at the opposition fans though.
The Union Bears, complete with their Temu Spider-Man outfits, threw several projectiles at the Celtic end, fought with stewards and police, and just generally made absolute fools of themselves before a worldwide audience.
Questions need to be asked, and answers demanded. I doubt our gutless media will ask them though, so I’m going to try and do so now:
How were any Rangers fans allowed to bring pyrotechnics into the stadium, when it was well documented today, by Born Celtic among others, that the Celtic supporters were being searched, kettled, and generally manhandled by Police Scotland at every opportunity?
Why were a gang of masked, black-shirted thugs allowed to conduct a clearly coordinated attack while the Police stood aside and did nothing?
Why was nothing done to prevent the thug who took the painfully stupid decision to try and start a “square go” with our 6ft striker Tomas Cvancara from making such a poor life choice?
These questions and more need to be asked, but they won’t.
We will see the usual “both sides” narrative being pushed across Scottish mainstream media tomorrow. We will see politicians look to gain attention by condemning “football thuggery”, without having the political courage to actually call out the ones who caused it.
Celtic’s defense, especially our goalkeeper were absolute heroes today, as were the supporters who cheered them on to this unlikely victory.
Scotland’s Shame reminded us exactly why they deserve that title. I wonder how Rangers chairman Andrew Cavanagh felt today, watching the chaos at the end. He probably thought he was buying into a high-level European team, with a fanbase that could potentially grow to global proportions.
Instead, he’s got a team of journeymen, led by a manager who conceals his tactical ineptitude only slightly better than he does his receding hairline. They are "supported" by a bunch of fans, whose neo-fascist, supremacist attitude, rooted in racism and 17th century bigotry, is nothing short of an absolute marketing nightmare.
I think the final word on today’s acts of violence and stupidity from the Union Bears and their brethren is best left to a journalist of far better standing than me.
The late, great Ian Archer said this of the Rangers support back in 1976, and 50 years on, nothing has changed: they remain “A permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace”