THE GREEN BRIGADE, CELTIC FAN MEDIA AND COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
So, there was, apparently, a large-scale meeting last night, conducted online, involving a number of Celtic Fans representatives and the Celtic board. Among a busy agenda, two of the most contentious subjects up for discussion included The Green Brigade, Celtic Fan Media and the ongoing ban affecting these two influential groups of Celtic supporters.
Both groups remain effectively banned from Celtic Park, albeit there do appear to be a couple of minor movements in terms of at least clarifying, if not resolving these issues.
So, what happened? Where are we at? Let’s discuss.
Current Bans on The Green Brigade, Celtic Fan Media Indefensible, Yet They Persist
I guess we shouldn’t really be surprised, let alone disappointed by yet another wooly, non-comital spewing of political word salad from Brian Wilson. The guy has made an entire career out of such inanity after all.
Another empty, non-binding offer to “meet soon” with the Green Brigade and another vague allusion to “a decision that needs to be made” was all we got out of our acting Chairman last night. The CEO and the CFO, the two people that, one would think, have the authority to actually make these kinds of calls, decided they were too busy last night.
Of course, no explanation or apology was given for their absence.
Rumors are that the ultimate decision on the return of the Green Brigade rests not with our CEO or even our chairman, but with one of their supposed subordinates. It would seem that Celtic security chief Mark Hargreaves, who, I’ll put it diplomatically, has a history from his time working with the Police in terms of a perceived inability to treat organized fan groups with respect.
There are also numerous insinuations that he has a personal axe to grind with certain members of the Green Brigade. If indeed that is true, and he is being allowed to let those personal feelings influence his strategic decision making as Celtic’s safety and security officer, then his position is even more untenable than that of CEO Michael Nicholson or indeed CFO Chris McKay.
Again, I will reiterate what I have said on here multiple times before. If anything that I am saying here is wrong, I welcome anyone at the club to come out and set me right.
There’s not much chance of that though, as one of the few concrete things to emerge from last night’s meeting as a bit of clarity regarding the current ban on Celtic fan media from attending club press events.
Last night was the first time that anyone in a position of perceived seniority at Celtic actually acknowledged that a de-facto ban on Fan media is indeed in place at this time.
Apparently, representatives were told last night that a couple of fan media outlets “crossed a line” in recent months, leading to the ban.
The similarities here between the situation with fan media and that of The Green Brigade are as transparent as they are disgraceful.
Much like the nebulous crimes that The Green Brigade stand accused of, no specifics have been provided by the club as to which fan outlet said what, and about whom.
ACSOM is one of at least a dozen fairly high-profile fan media outlets that previously enjoyed occasional access to club press events. Am I, or indeed one of ACSOMs other diverse range of contributors, one of those who has “crossed the line?”
Personally, I don’t think so. I haven’t said anything on here that wasn’t either fact based or already widely reported elsewhere.
Whoever has “crossed the line” doesn’t really matter. The most disturbing element here is the pattern. The Celtic Board banned 250 fans because of actions that, in addition to being currently unproven, involved only a fraction of that number.
The Celtic board now admits that Fan Media have also been banned because of the actions of “a couple of people”. Again, it’s punishing everyone for the alleged actions of a tiny fraction of the collective group.
Now just for clarity, I don’t think any fan media outlet, regardless of what they have said, should be banned simply for expressing an opinion. Ultimately writers are judged by their audience. Those that peddle lies, clickbait and rage-fueled rants masquerading as journalism will, in the end, be found out. Their audience will, eventually, dwindle.
If they’re really unlucky they may sink even lower, and end up working for the Daily Record or The S*n!
Ironically, both those have, in the eyes of most reasonable Celtic fans, crossed the line on multiple occasions in the last few months. And yet they will, once again, take their place in the post-match presser tonight unopposed, and openly welcomed.
It does make me genuinely wonder, what on earth could any Celtic fan media outlet have possibly said that is more offensive to anyone at Celtic than the hate-filled editorials of Bill Leckie, or the constant pandering to our rivals by the likes of Keith Jackson?
Of course, my own view is biased but I have to call this as I see it. I don’t see this kind of behavior in Celtic fan media, not the outlets I read regularly anyway.
Do I agree with everything they say? No of course not. I’m sure other Celtic bloggers also frequently disagree with what I say on here. Collectively though we all share the same common goal. We say what we feel needs to be said because we are lucky enough to have the platform to do so and because we care about this club and all who follow it.
No one is above criticism, especially not those put in charge of running a football club. Accountability is a huge part of such a public role, and Celtic fan media, in the absence of a competent vernacular press in Scotland, play a crucial role in ensuring that such accountability is maintained.
The Celtic Board can, in the end, continue this self-enforced tantrum indefinitely. Fan media will continue to grow, mainstream media will continue to decline.
The Board have backed the wrong horse in this race, just as they have totally misjudged fans patience in regards to how they are treated by police and stadium security, as well as the extortionate prices they charge for their all too frequent merchandize drops.
The problems aren’t going away. Those in the boardroom must either face them, or make way for people who can.
