CELTIC TITLE PARTY: ATTACK RAISES QUESTIONS FOR GLASGOW AUTHORITIES
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 24 hours ago
- 3 min read
Before I begin today’s article, I just want to offer my best wishes and support to all our brothers and sisters in Liverpool affected by yesterday’s horrific events.
At the time of writing, mercifully, no one has died as a result of yesterday’s attack and I pray that remains the case.
Our friends in Liverpool represent a football club with whom Celtic have long-shared a friendship.
This friendship is built on mutual respect and working-class solidarity in the face of overwhelming hate, oppression and slander from the British establishment.
Attack leaves me asking: What Would Happen if Someone Attacked the Next Celtic Title Party?
As I write this, it is less than 24 hours since the first reports came in about the attack on Liverpool fans, celebrating their team winning the league.
The celebrations, prior to the attack, were a very familiar site. Swap out the red scarves and jerseys for green and white ones, and you as well have been looking at Celtic fans partying on The Trongate.
The big difference however, is that The City of Liverpool was fully prepared and supportive of this event, as were the Police and other emergency services.
Again, it will be some time until we know all the facts of this case, but I think it’s pretty safe to say that the thorough organization, cooperation and participation of both the local government and emergency services, including the police allowed for a swift response to yesterday’s attack and, I am sure, saved lives.
If ever Glasgow City Council needed a harsh reminder that it is vital to organize and coordinate future Celtic title party events, or indeed celebrations for any team that wins a major trophy, then this is it.
Yesterday’s attack was horrific, I’ve seen the videos and in all honesty I wish I hadn’t. However, I also believe it would have been a lot worse had the police and local government been as hostile and uncooperative with Liverpool fans as their Glasgow counterparts have been with the Celtic support up to now.
I fear that Glasgow City Council may take the wrong message from all this. They will probably see events in Liverpool as a sign that street parties and other fan-led celebrations are simply too dangerous to host at all, and will seek to ban them completely.
Though, of course, such considerations will not be given to Orange Walks, despite the fact they are far more frequent and lead to far more violence across Scotland than any Celtic Title Party ever has.
As we saw this year, attempts to prevent fans from congregating won’t work. Celtic fans have the right to gather in public if they so wish. They will do so whenever their team wins the title, regardless of how many condescending messages or slanderous memos Glasgow City Council issue on the matter.
What happened yesterday is a wake-up call, these events need to be properly assessed for safety and then the necessary steps need to be taken to allow fans to enjoy the celebrations without the risk of random attacks.
We don’t know the motivation of yesterday’s assailant. Hopefully that is something that will become clearer in the days ahead. However, regardless, this is something that could happen in Glasgow, and we need to be prepared.
I’m not writing this to take any cheap shots at GCC, The Scottish Government or Police Scotland. I’m writing this because they need to step up and deal with this before it happens.
Yesterday’s horrible events should never be repeated, but the risk remains for as long as Scotland’s authorities remain indifferent to the well-being of football fans exercising their right to gather in public.