As football fans we know this and are prepared for it. However, what happened at Ibrox was shameful and somewhat reminiscent of the dark days of the 1980s.
Glasgow derbies aren’t just football matches. They are tribal, historical: two sides of a religious divide coming together to battle it out for 90 mins for supremacy. They’re cauldrons of hate, bitterness, religious sectarian bigotry, political and national identities on the line, paramilitary trappings on show,. Those loyal to the crown and the union on one side those opposed to British colonialism and the monarchy on the other.
This is somewhat of a simplification but you get the picture - you have two sides who for various reasons hate each other.
This isn’t a hundred year “war” but instead one that stretches way back for centuries. Sunday cast light once again on what is an ignored issue in Scottish society: anti-Catholic hate.
I make no apologies for using the words “hate” and “hatred” - there’s no other way to describe it.
It’s “acceptable” hatred though. Sing songs about killing Muslims, Jews, Gays or those of different races and you’ll be quite rightly arrested and charged with a hate crime. In the west of Scotland sing songs about killing Catholics and being up to your knees in “Fenian blood” (let’s not argue about this, the majority who sing this have no idea who the Fenians were and most probably think the Irish Republican brotherhood were a forerunner to the Wolfe Tones, an Irish Bee Gees if you like) and at worst you’ll be told to “keep it down” - not stop but lower your voice. It’s “acceptable” to be a religious bigot, and that bigotry runs deep.
Now this is a football column and you might wonder when I’m going to get to the game but when Mr McIntyre and TPQ approached me to write about Scottish football I knew somewhere along the line I’d need to talk about these things. Ignoring problems in society doesn’t make them go away. Facing them head on is what’s needed, and it’s time anti-Catholic hatred in Scotland was treated the same way as anti-Muslim hatred or white supremacy. We need to stop pretending that in 2026 this is merely a “football problem”. This is societal, it runs much much deeper, and the scenes at Ibrox whilst shocking and deeply disturbing at the same time were not entirely unpredictable.
Tensions already high, seasons on the line, to the victors the spoils to the defeated another year of failure.
The match itself was entirely forgettable, two disallowed goals (no Liam Scales wasn’t offside, IMO, but of course you’d expect me to say that - right Steve R?) Extra time that couldn’t separate two poor versions of Glasgow big two and it all came down to who held their nerve in a penalty shoot out. 120 mins of mediocre football and a season defining penalty shootout loomed large.
Celtic prevailed and Rangers wilted.
Fans in the Broomloan Road stand celebrated enthusiastically, all 7,500 Celtic fans. Some spilled onto the pitch to take photos with their heroes to capture moments on camera for the future - to say I was there when this happened - snapshots for history. This was all way too much for the Rangers fans in the Copeland Road stand who armed with bottles, bars and flares rushed onto the park and toward the celebrating Celts.
What ensued will make headlines around the world, not because a poor patched together Celtic side managed to defeat their biggest rivals in their own backyard but because of the scenes of carnage: Celtic staff attacked, grown men dragged off the park, lines of police and stewards, police horses, injured fans and officials and God knows what outside the stadium. We’ve all seen the video, I don’t think I need to dwell on it other than to pray the guy was okay and no lasting damage was done (at the time of writing there’s no further news so I’m hoping he’s fine).
Of course the Scottish media were quick as always to try and suggest that celebrating Celtic fans were to blame for this carnage. In particular, Emma Dodds of Premier Sports who suggested this was bound to happen when you give Celtic their full allocation. TalkSport claiming Celtic fans were ripping the stand apart, attempting to tear down nets and goal posts. And less said about the BBC and STV reporting the better.
You’ll struggle to find someone in Scotland who’s impartial enough to admit that the fault for this lies with fans of the Rangers whose hatred spilled over into the scenes we saw. How dare some uppity Tim’s celebrate a victory!
In the cold light of day, and as the dust begins to settle, whilst both clubs have questions to ask, we must not pretend this was a “both sides battle” - it wasn’t. Once again the Rangers ultras, the Union Bears, showed they simply can’t handle defeat. This is what happens when behaviour becomes unchecked and normalised.
Sunday was a symptom of a much deeper problem and it’s time the Scottish government faced this reality and treated anti-Catholic, anti-Irish hate the way they treat all other forms of discrimination. As long as we keep turning a blind eye to this then these things will continue to happen.
Sunday was simply a boiling over of the simmering pan of shame that is Scottish society.
I’m looking forward to football filling this column next week but because I don’t talk about it, don’t think, to plagiarise a former IRA chief, “it hasn’t gone away, you know”
Til next time …
🐼 Gary Robertson is the TPQ Scottish football correspondent.
I notice that Celtic fans simply "spilled on to the pitch" to celebrate with their players instead of the more correct terminology that would be invading the pitch to antagonize the Rangers fans after utterly destroying the Broomloan stand with vile "Kill all Huns", "66 too few" and various IRA slogans and disgusting graffiti all over the place in this article Gary. But sure, offended by everything ashamed of nothing. Hope Celtic will pay for the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage they caused with all this and the wrecking of the seats.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for 'anti catholic media'...why did the Daily Record airbrush the celtic scarf out of the fans hand when he was photographed lacing a steward again?
The game was pish though I'll give ye that.
The "66 too few" was straight from the Hillsborough, Munich and Istanbul tragedy chant depravity handbook. None of those graffiti artists can remember the shock and trauma of the Ibrox Park disaster. I am sure the vast majority of Celtic fans are disgusted by it.
ReplyDeleteSteve if you’re talking about the photo of the “fan” lashing out at a steward with the scarf in his hand then thats actually photoshopped badly IN. I can provide evidence both original and altered images side by side. Same as the shots of smashed seats. The Scottish media showed ariel shots of the Copeland road and the “Union bears” area claiming it was the Celtic end. There was even a photo of smashed bathrooms circulating from YEARS ago they were displaying as events from Sunday. It’s disingenuous to suggest Celtic fans came on the pitch with the intent to antagonise as I reported even Premier Sports (originally) suggested the fans of Rangers were the aggressors. We can all agree that fans should stay off the pitch but how many times do we see this in high pressure games? Celtic fans went nowhere beyond perhaps 18-20 yards onto the park the rangers thugs ran headlong across acres of grass to throw flares bottles etc. We are not the same, these events are incomparable. Don’t get me wrong I don’t think for one minute that all Celtic fans were innocent and all Rangers fans are guilty. I’ve listened to numerous podcasts on both sides since and the number of people who won’t take their kids, wives, sisters or indeed selves to these games again after Sunday is depressing but not unexpected. Sunday set us back years but as I said this isn’t just a football problem. It’s a Scottish society problem. As for the mocking of the Ibrox Disaster this is something I’ve never felt easy with Barry but hatred runs deep and I genuinely don’t know how to stamp it out. Bans, fines, imprisonment? Fans policing themselves fails to stop it, I’ve seen it on social media and heard it on the streets. There’s no justification for mocking the deaths of innocent people but then is there justification to hate based on religion race or sexuality? It’s a complex situation one who’s answers will come perhaps from those much smarter than me
ReplyDeleteThe only way it will stop Gary will be a complete ban on opposing fans in the opposite stadiums and the actions of Celtic fans have ensured this for years to come unfortunately. If this was at parkhead and Rangers fans invaded the pitch after Chermiti scored his two then you'd be baying for blood. We all saw the fan holding up his phone with '66' on it showing it to our fans and that wasn't the last miscreant that was on sunday. I'll make no more comment on this as it's starting to get inflammatory. Still enjoy your pieces though.
DeleteOne of the badges on my Drogs beanie is a commemorative one to the fans who died at Ibrox. Every fan should go to a game and return home alive. Those that don't should not be subjected to that type of abuse. Keeping all fans safe should be a unifying force within the game.
DeleteLeeds United have asked the FA to classify Jimmy Savile chants as tragedy chanting as rival fans chant "Jimmy Savile, he's one of your own' and sadly some Leeds fans try to own the chant.
ReplyDeleteEvery club has its lunatics Barry and sadly some chants are despicable. Supporting your team is one thing but these kind of chants have no place in football
ReplyDeleteCommon denominator, Rangers fans. It’s funny how irate and self righteous they get about opposition fans spilling onto the pitch to celebrate yet it’s ok for them to do it, see the hilarious spillage at Firhill a few years ago under Caixinha when they got a late winner against Partick Thistle. Their own sectarian singing, up to their knees in fenian blood, conveniently ignored again. The most triumphalist set of fans in football but as soon as they are on the receiving end, they can’t hack it. Yes, Celtic fans are no angels at times but again, Rangers support conduct themselves in their own thuggish, sectarian manner then apportion blame to the opposition with no hint of self awareness whatsoever. Much the same as the Scottish cup final against Hibs in 2016. Always someone else’s fault but the common denominator? Yes, Rangers fans….. again
ReplyDeleteLast Saturday , did hard nosed Celts & Gers fans cheer on the Jocks to victory @ Murrayfield ?
ReplyDeleteWill they support the tartan in the U S A during the World Cup ?
How will Scottish society cope with mass immigration ( from very different cultures ) in the present & near future ?
Ron hardcore fans of The Rangers tend to support England it helps them cement their “British and pr**d” identity. Being seen as “Scottish” just isn’t in the rules. Steve R, it’s not a place I want to go or a subject I want to address but in a football column it would be amiss of me not to comment on these things. I am delighted you enjoy my scribblings and honoured to be honest if someone takes the time to read anything I write but if we step back from our respective tribes and look at this impartially Stuart is right it’s not fans of other clubs that are spilling into the streets wrecking city centres. I mean look at George Square after the league victory the place was a war zone. I’m not telling any lies here, you know when it comes to games I’ll happily praise players of other teams for their performances whilst often being too critical of Celtic. If I thought the behaviour of Celtic fans on Sunday was inflammatory enough to cause the scenes we saw I’d say it. I’m beholden to no one I’m given free rein to be as bias or otherwise as I like. You might think otherwise and I respect your opinion but we can’t ignore the sectarian cancer that exists in Scotland and the problems it causes. Glasgow derbies are NEVER just about football, they never have been. Sunday has been coming for a long time. Tribal differences have widened since the Scottish independence referendum, we live in a deeply fractured society. The need to impose identity has become greater than ever for some,”Yes” were dangerously close to destroying all some held dear. As for immigration Ron we’re all immigrants here and the majority of Scots are secure enough in their own national identity to be able to welcome those in need to our shores without the fear they’re here to change us or take from us. As for the Ibrox Disaster remembrance, it’s a wonderful footballing thing you do Mr McIntyre. No one should leave and never come home. Many could learn lessons from this.
ReplyDeleteGary - unfortunately, some never learn. Ibrox, Hillsborough and Bradford were terrible tragedies and despite the rivalry the soccer fan community should be at one in relation to these disasters.
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