FIFA is an organisation with unpleasant history.
Any outfit that was led by Sepp Blatter has some questions to answer.
However, if they are serious about their zero-tolerance policy towards racism then it is to be welcomed.
Now a cynic might conclude that the world-class administrators on the 6th floor at Hampden did not greet FIFA’s missive with unrestrained joy.
The elephant in the room is anti-Irish racism.
A problem that is so all-pervasive that its very existence is denied by many in official Scotland.
The Fitba Fourth Estate are major offenders in this matter.
Even when Neil Lennon laid it out for the stenography Corps in a presser while he was the manager of Hibernian.

“You call it sectarianism here in Scotland, I call it racism. If a black man is abused, you are not just abusing the colour of his skin, you are abusing his culture, his heritage, his background. It’s the exact same when I get called a Fenian, a pauper, a beggar, a tarrier. These people with the sense of entitlement or superiority complex. And all I do is stand up for myself.”
Despite a presser turning into a tutorial on racism for the hacks, the chaps in the press box still categorise songs like the Billy Boys and the Famine Song as “sectarian”.
The former was banned by UEFA in 2006 and the latter was ruled to be racist by the highest court in Scotland in 2009.
Lord Carloway ruled in a case involving William Walls that the Famine Song lyrics were racist “… in calling upon people native to Scotland to leave the country because of their racial origins.”
A decade on from that landmark ruling it is still socially acceptable to publicly denigrate the multi-generational Irish community in Scotland.

Now FIFA’s new ‘three-point protocol’ instructs referees to stop matches so fans can be warned over the public address system.
If the behaviour continues, the second step would be to suspend the match and allow players to return to the dressing room.
Then, if the racist chanting persisted, the match could then be abandoned.
Dear reader, I think you can see a problem here and it is anytime the Ibrox klan are congregated in a stadium in Fair Caledonia.
If FIFA is serious about anti-racism then chapeau!
Now it is for the folk who run the game in Scotland to finally address an atavistic hatred that has very deep roots.
FIFA have given them instructions so let’s see what they do.
For the avoidance of doubt, I’m not holding my breath.
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It’s an age old concern. When I left the school, the first question at an interview was what school you attended.
Today what a see on social media we have come no where fast, or in my case slow.
Celtic were always the whipping boys, But we have moved on where our voices and views can no longer be suppressed due to our religion.
The new one is the paedophilic obsession of only one club, even thou evidence has provided it was widespread, including the club with the most abhorrent set of fans who spend a lot of there Saturday singing about a man, who spent his time tending to the dying and injured when disaster struck.
We will always find the bigots, who only express these views at football grounds, because it won’t be tolerated in any other walk of life now, unless your in some one religion only club, where you can still show your love of all things bigoted,
You can gain approval to demonstrate this on the streets ever year.
It’s called the freedom of expression or a so called culture identity.
We have come nowhere in a long time. Inside football grounds.
Will the bigots give up there last remaining conclave?
Personally I don’t think so, not in my life time anyway.
It’s a sad indictment of modern Scotland that these values still hold strong in some quarters.
We move on ????
Keep up the good work Phil. Maybe someday they might just listen.
Forgot to mention it’s all the Catholic Schools fault or Independence that’s dividing the nation now.
Terrific post and so true.
The Independence (and Brexit vote too) didn’t create Divisions but what it did do was dude opinion and create mistrust.
Which you will find was the whole point of the exercise for a Tory Party on the cusp of its own downwards trajectory.
Divide and conquer or as in this instance have Socialist voters looking at other options rather than resolving the issues at hand.
It will never resolve itself because those who wish to remain relevant will never allow it to resolve itself.
The sooner people realise we are all stuck on a spinning ball In deep space with limited resources the better.
We have far more in common as a species than we do differences.
Divide’
I predicted several posts ago that since BREXIT day was out of the window it would be a Friday night. And so it has come to pass. Looking forward to reading the full version. Silly me! Almost said unedited version!
Just heard Sevco posting £11.3m loss and needing £10m investment BEFORE end of season.
It gets better go to Post Balance Sheet Events:
“POST BALANCE SHEET EVENTS
The following events have occurred subsequent to the year end:
Acquisition and disposal of player registrations
The Group contracted for the purchase of four permanent player registrations in addition to the temporary registrations of one player on loan. The amount payable in respect of above amounts to £11.5m, after taking account of direct costs.
The Group also disposed of six player registrations on a permanent basis, eight registrations on loan and became entitled to sell on fees on player registrations previously disposed. The amount receivable in respect of above totalled £0.3m.”
The RANG3RS are coming…
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……………….💣
Further to the above post ☝🏼
Could you ask yer man as to whether the Post Balance Sheet events would have had any serious influence on the wage bill (currently approx 64% of Turnover) and subsequently FFP?
Perhaps this might be why they chose to leave the Kent deal so late in the day?
Forgive my ignorance Cyan-not too good with all the financial stuff-if the Huns need 10m investment before the end of the season, I would think that probably means yet another share issue. Would I be correct in assuming that it would now be illegal for DK to underwrite this? If so, what other feckin’ mug is going to do so? Hail Hail
GOING CONCERN (Page 14/60)
“The Board of Directors have discussed the Club’s forecast cash flow shortfall and have reached agreement with Laird Investments (Pty) Limited whereby it will provide additional loan facilities as necessary to meet shortfalls to the above requirements and any further amounts that may be required a result of variances to forecast cash flows. Further to this, Laird Investments (Pty) Limited have agreed to provide a £5m facility to October 2021.
The Board has considered the level and timing of additional funding that may be needed and is satisfied that any such amounts will be made available as and when required.“
GOING CONCERN (CONTINUED) Page 15/60
The Board acknowledge that the uncertainty over the level of additional funds that will be required and a lack of a binding debt facility indicate that a material uncertainty exists which may cast doubt over the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern and therefore its ability to realise its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business.
Nevertheless, after making the enquiries referred to above, the Board of Directors believe that there is a reasonable expectation that the Group will at all times have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing this report and the statutory financial statements.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The RIFC Group maintains cash to fund the daily cash requirements of its business. The Group does not have access to any further banking facilities.
As at 30 June 2019, there are interest-free, unsecured loans with investors amounting to £10.3 million, other commercial loans of £3.0m, whilst the Group also has finance lease agreements totalling £1.2 million.
As at 30 June 2019, the Group held £1.0m within cash and bank balances.
_________________________________________________
As far as I am aware King is involved with Laird Investments ( Director) so it looks like any future funding will be coming from South of the Limpopo. 👇🏻😬
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2018/03/kings-south-africa-trust-to-make-11m-rangers-offer/
What would happen at an “old firm “ game if Lennon takes his team off the park after the 3 strikes and your out rule is reached ? What would the SFA and EUFA do then ??
Part of the Swiss Nation are we now Tam? Now what did they do during the War against Fascism, I’d like to say absolutely nothing, but in fact nothing more than a conduit for Nazi Germany,loot. Wouldn’t cross any of their borders far less live there. ,
Would imagine they peddled anybody’s loot mate.
Lighthouse keeper are we Mac? Only people qualified for jobs in demand are eligible for a work or residence permit here so you wouldn’t have had any say in the matter.
But heyho it looks like we’re both happy to have found our level and hope you don’t get seasick.
The 3 point protocol is actually 10 years old.
Well put Phil.
I come from from a family of six all born in Scotland.
Two of us left the midden a long time ago taking new nationalities, a third has opted for an Irish passport and the other three like many of my old friends seem to just live with the situation as it is.
How depressing that the nominal intelligensia – the judiciary in Scotland – are tarred with the same racist brush as the hoi polloi (you show kindness in pointing out a few exceptions to this but in fairness Carloway had little alternative).
During my working life I travelled extensively to London and all across Continental Europe and North America, with the luck to have largely avoided the peenheid mentality left behind in Scotland.
Peenheid – every culture has it’s own expression meaning “not the full shilling”, but my favourite is the Basler dialekt “neet genug überhitze” = been in the oven OK but not heated enough on the top.
Seems to sum up the nature of Scottish institutions quite well.
Although well out of it I get reminded of the primitive swamp I came from every time I watch a game from Ibrox, so it is therapeutic to see short (I can’t take too much) articles like this.
Well crafted.
Swiss Tam (ignoring Blatter was intentional, in case that’s not obvious).
This could get very messy very quickly judging by what was coming through my TV at the Aberdeen away game last weekend.
Some of the usual suspects within our own Support kindly reminding McInnes that he was indeed a “ S ad O.B” with a “ Shite Football team”.
I do believe the SFA would be quick to punish both Celtic and 2angers fans in order to keep any prospective points dropped on an even or even uneven keel depending on what the League Table looked like at that time.
So I would suggest in advance that any Celtic “ Supporter” who has one iota of love for our Club resist from singing these songs from now on?
After all we already know from previous experience it won’t take much for the SFA to pull a fast one where our Club is concerned.
Wise up ffs.
HH
Well said
The klans ultraa will be out in force before we know it to rub our noses in it and with a 2 FINGERS salute to the SFA and FIFA . The BENNY’S think they are Huntouchable but their day is coming and in more ways than one . There are none that are so blind as to those who cannot see .
What will the SFA do?
The clue is in the name !
Not anti Irish by any means but something I have never understood, I call an Irishman/woman a Fenian I’m racist but they call themselves Fenians all the time. Why would good Irish people call themselves something they deem to be racist? I am Scottish and don’t call myself a ” Jock” .
Anyway , don’t expect the GFA ( Glasgow football association ) to toe the FIFA line. Already being reported they will implement ” something ” along those lines. Don’t forget the ” big two ” are complicit as they reject any proposal to deal with this scourge on society.
Hi Jim. There’s a long tradition of marginalized peoples ‘appropriating’ the slurs used against them as a kind of empowerment. The most obvious example over here in the States is the “n-word” and African-Americans. But it’s important to remember that those folks aren’t trying to rehabilitate the word for common, general usage. Nobody’s trying to make the n-word okay for wypipo to throw around. It’s cultural argot, and if you’re not part of that particular culture, you don’t get the free pass and assumption of benign intent. There are more than a million words in the English language- best find another one to convey your intent instead. Slan!
Good post, which raises an interesting point. This is not uncommon amongst groups that have suffered some form of oppression. Reclaiming the derogatory terms used by the oppressor and using them as a term of empowerment. Think of e.g. US rap artists like NWA or Public Enemy that use the N word in this way. This is not something that’s universally approved of though, even within these groups. Akala, for example, has dropped this type of use of the N word in his rap tracks and seems to be against its use now, even in this context.
‘Fenian’ is not and never has been a derogatory term.
It’s an identifying word that becomes a slur when expletives are added on to the end of it.
I would identify myself culturally as a Fenian but not a Fenian ‘B*****d’.
Big difference!
Its 30 minutes to go. “Rangers” are 3 down and look like losing more.
They sing TBB. Game stops. Gers Fans warned.
They wait few minutes and start again. Game stopped players taken off.
You can see where this might go.
Unworkable Just let Ref note each occasion, let the game run and he recommend points penalty on top of the result.
Independent monitor watching on TV.
I believe the issue is more anti Catholicism than anti Irish , the Orange Order doesn’t care if you’re Irish , the Crown don’t care if you’re Irish but try joining the first or marrying into the second if you are a Catholic of any nationality then that’s where the problem starts and stops. I am a Catholic , I am Scottish , I have found (as yet) no Irish heritage in my family tree yet I have been subject to discrimination my entire life. There is no problem with being Irish so long as it is the right type of Irish like Sammy or Arlene. Hating someone due to their skin colour or nationality is no worse than hating someone due to their religion , the problem isn’t colour or creed the problem is hate in whatever form it presents itself, but I think you already know that.
Spot on Tim, however, I’m sure you’ll find that Messrs Wilson, Foster, Dodds & etc., consider themselves to be “British”, rather than Irish, despite their addresses, and accents!
TOUCHÉ ✅ great wee addendum
No, if that was the case then they would use “papist”, “bead rattler” etc not Fenian, which is of Irish and not Catholic origin and would be completely incomprehensible to Catholics in other parts of the world.
The reason you’re assaulted by it despite having no Irish heritage is due to Klan ignorance and “guilt by association” etc.
Youre right up to a point. There is undoubtedly bigotry against ALL Catholics, but against Irish Catholics it is particularly vitriolic.
Wouldn’t be surprised then if future Glasgow Derby games, [involving TRFC], will have no away supporters allowed.
And the players and refs will be instructed to develop selective hearing.
Whilst the TV broadcasters and the SMSM will continue to be supine.
Nothing will change: unless CFC kicks up an almighty fuss.
But after the club’s inaction over Res.12 – I won’t hold my breath either.
The TV already turn down the pitch side mic’s so they don’t pick up the bile, so don’t expect anything from them.
It’s not often that I come across anything remotely funny in the Daily Retard’s reportage, but I felt that I had to share thexperiences following with you…
An open letter to Celtic fans from Alessandra Mussolini
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/open-letter-celtic-fans-alessandra-20765168#ICID=Android_DailyRecordNewsApp_AppShare