GREEN BRIGADE UNITE WITH FAN GROUPS ACROSS THE SPFL. WILL IT BRING CHANGE?
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Jul 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 6
One of the most frustrating things I find myself saying continually about Scottish Football is the ease with which so many of our major issues could be fixed if those in charge would just listen to their customers: namely us, the fans.
So, I am cautiously optimistic this morning to see the emergence of The Scottish Supporters Collective, a group comprising The Green Brigade and a number of similar groups from clubs across the Scottish Premiership and indeed the wider SPFL.
Green Brigade Along with Supporters Collective Present Simple List of Changes to Save Scottish Football
The newly formed collective handed a letter into the SFA headquarters at Hampden today with a list of requests they believe will “save Scottish Football”.
Let’s go through them in a bit more detail and see how realistic each request actually is.
Their first request is as follows:
“Ticket prices should be set and frozen at the beginning of each season to prevent supporters being overcharged.
In addition, a flat percentage of away tickets allocations for all fixtures should be introduced.”
The SPFL should look to the J-League for how this would work.
The J-League has a uniform pricing structure across the entire J-1 and J-2 Set up. Tickets vary from 3,000 yen (15 quid) up to 7,000 yen (35 quid) depending on where you’re sitting in the stadium. There are various hospitality packages available outside this structure for more affluent fans who want their own private area in the stadium.
Whether you’re going to see one of the top sides like Kawasaki Frontale, Vissel Kobe or Urawa Reds, or a provincial club like my local team, and Daizen Maeda’s old home, Matsumoto Yamaga, you’ll pay the same price.
Economic necessity probably means the base prices will need to be a bit higher in Scotland than they are in Japan, but a similar framework is definitely doable if authorities and clubs engage with the process in good faith.
The second request is, I think, perhaps the biggest issue for Celtic as a club individually.
Point 2 reads as follows: Commitment from all clubs to participate in meaningful and regular supporter engagement, with their own club supporters and the wider Scottish Supporters Collective.
As I discussed in quite a bit of depth yesterday, Celtic’s biggest problem right now, be it in commercial endeavors, fan engagement and even transfers, is extremely poor communication. We have a director of football operations, yet the wider support has no idea what he actually does. We were promised an independent investigation into the treatment of fans by police months ago, and the club has gone silent.
They’ll gladly send you 8 emails in a single morning when they’ve got something to sell, but good luck trying to get a human on the phone if you have any kind of problem.
It’s sad to say this, but of all the requests made by the Scottish Supporters Collective today, this seems to me like the single, most difficult one for Celtic to achieve. It would require a fundamental change in the working culture of several departments across the entirety of the club, and probably several changes in personnel.
Let’s move onto Point 3.
“Allowance of use of atmosphere enhancement materials should be guaranteed access at all grounds, including for away supporters. Those items should include drums, banners, megaphones, and telescopic poles, all of which help provide a positive and supportive atmosphere. “
Again, this is just a case of common sense and a willingness to communicate. If all clubs across the leagues can agree a framework for allowing fan groups pre-match access, then this should be an open goal.
The biggest obstacle to it though, is the control-freakery of police Scotland and indeed the Celtic board when it comes to certain political messaging they find disagreeable. This shouldn’t be hard to achieve but I suspect the police and the boardrooms at certain clubs will make it far harder than it needs to be.
To me, point four is the easiest of the Collective’s requests to grant. Because it’s basically free, positive PR for any clubs that agree. Point four reads as follows:
“A pledge for clubs to increase investment for disabled supporter facilities, as far too many grounds remain inaccessible, with inadequate viewing areas and limited services.”
Again, this is basic, simple and easy to implement, if clubs are willing to listen to the needs of the fans concerned. And as I said, for the clubs that are proactive in this regard, the positive PR and goodwill it generates will make any required investment more than worthwhile.
The last point is probably the most contentious, because in all honesty, even a large number of regular fans may not like it. It concerns the divisive topic of Pyro at matches. Point five states:
“Pyrotechnic disposal bins to be installed at all stadia. Rather than demonizing pyro use, pragmatic measures can mitigate risks while acknowledging its role in fan culture. These bins are a proven solution, providing a safer environment, reducing hazards and eradicating heavy-handed policing practices.”
Now first of all, the acceptance of pyro in any capacity in Scottish stadiums would require rule changes and a change in the law. It is true that pyro disposal bins have proven to be very effective in making the practice safer in several other European leagues.
However, those leagues also have far healthier engagement with fans in general. They also have a far more lenient, hands off approach from the authorities when it comes to tackling this issue.
Again, common sense tells me that this would be a sensible step. However, since it would require the tacit admission from police and the SFA that pyro is a part of fan culture that is here to stay, I don’t see them being willing to cede any ground here.
And that’s the biggest problem in all of this: egos.
The Police seem to believe that their word should be final. The SFA and the SPFL lack the backbone to actually push for any progressive change on their own, and fans groups like the Green Brigade continue to be vilified in the media, with the help, on occasion, from the clubs themselves.
These are simple changes, which in a reasonable, fair-minded debate, shouldn’t be too hard to find common ground on. However, the authorities in Scotland, both administrative and legal would need to drop their current, aggressive posture of talking at football fan groups rather than talking with them.
That’s the one reason why, as much as I would love to see these changes implemented, I don’t see it happening. There are just too many egos, too many vested interests and a management structure in Scottish football that is far too top heavy.
I would, however, be absolutely delighted to be proven wrong.
