Follow Following on from yesterday I was visualising what the fashion-conscious fascist will be wearing in Norn Iron on his treadmill this virtual summer?
Well, they might go for this beauty.
Some time ago, I contacted Umbro about a rumour within the sportswear world that they were considering getting into bed with Sevco.
I sent an email to their main chap but I did not receive a reply.
Then the Castore deal was announced, and I thought no more to it.
I thought at the time that they certainly dodged a bullet by not matching with the toxic Ibrox brand.
Now they go and do this…
Of course, Linfield has some form on this front.
In 2016 their choice of musician infuriated the Admirable Warburton once he realised who he was posing with on the field at Windsor Park.
Clearly, he had no idea of the true nature of the Shankill Road Defenders.
It is worth noting that these embarrassing images are still on Sevco’s official Twitter account.
I covered the story at the time, and this site is fully searchable.
Now Linfield have again associated their….ahem…inclusive club with Ulster Loyalism.
Of course, this unfortunate accident could be cleared up if the Pantone evidence could be forthcoming.
I’m sure that the colours of this fetching new apparel and the UVF flag are not identical.
However, if they WERE technically identical then THAT would be rather embarrassing.
Then I was messaged today by a well-placed source in the Herald to say that:
“Rangers very keen to have James Morgan’s column removed today. This obviously didn’t come from me but they’re spitting blood over it.”
I then contacted an Ibrox source who confirmed the veracity of the message- i.e. that the Sevco High Command were less than Zen-like about Morgan’s piece.
You can read the piece here, but better be quick.
Just in case the Herald cave here’s the text:
Social media has been awash with the story, news broadcasts and headlines in Northern Ireland have been dominated by it. In case you missed it there has been an outcry over Linfield’s away kit that might just have ramifications for people in Scotland, too.
Last week in the province, an Alliance Party MP, Stephen Farry, complained that the Irish Premiership club’s new away strip bore an uncanny resemblance to a UVF flag from 1912.
As a native of County Down, this caused me to reflect – often the case with imagery.
I still remember the day when a couple of inebriated flute band members stopped to pee against our garden fence. Not because of any great anger – their attempts to relieve themselves, then catch up on the next line of Derry’s Walls were faintly ludicrous, vaguely reminiscent of Virgil Starkwell’s hapless efforts to play the cello while in a marching band in Take The Money and Run – instead it was my mother’s reaction: having to be persuaded against opening the door to shout abuse after them. My mother hailed from Snugville Street off the Shankill Road, so marching bands were nothing new to her, but seeing the Cherry Blossom at the front of the garden coated with urine was evidently one step too far.
It is a memory recalled with humour but it masked a rather more insidious reality. You had three choices on the 12th of July each year: you could join in, you could leave town a few days before – like some of my Catholic friends did – or you could sit inside, unable to move because every exit route in the town was blocked off and, well, you would be drawing attention to yourself.
Not so funny: I also remember the phone call from a university lecturer confirming that I was still alive following the death of a teenager – with whom I shared the same name – in Clough. In a brutal attack, he’d had his private parts hacked off by two loyalist paramilitaries. He was killed simply because he was a Catholic. I often pause to reflect that my own upbringing – as a ‘lapsed Protestant’ (I recently discovered that my great grandparents signed the Covenant) – would, maybe, have spared me this same fate.
These are the kinds of things I think about when I reflect on life growing up in Northern Ireland. They are what I think of when I see Linfield unveiling an away kit in the same colours of a UVF flag.
The UVF ruined lives during and after the Troubles, not just in the nationalist community where it was responsible for the deaths of 396 people but also in the community it claimed to protect, whether through the wholesale distribution of drugs, punishment attacks or the door-to-door collection of subscriptions from long-retired volunteers, often men in their 60s with little income to speak of.
The most demoralising dimension to Linfield’s unveiling of the kit was the response from the club. Instead of recognising the problematic nature of the colour scheme, Linfield doubled down.
Roy McGivern, the chairman, refuted any such connection between the two by tweeting: “Is this where we are as a society when an elected MP thinks that ordinary every day colours can be owned or monopolised by a paramilitary organisation?”
Of course, they cannot. For the record, I don’t believe it was a deliberate decision on Linfield’s part. But the argument is not that straightforward – it is nuanced because it is about perception. Would Linfield have accepted a design in the colours of The Starry Plough? Clearly, as anyone from Northern Ireland will tell you, pairing purple and orange together is begging for comparisons between the two. Indeed, the fact that it has since happened merely proves the point.
What’s more, it is incredibly naive to think that people aren’t going to come to that conclusion, all the more so when you are Linfield.
Yesterday Umbro, the manufacturer, said that the design was based on “a collaborative process and this kit was based purely on guidance from the club. We apologise unreservedly for any offence caused”. It was a tacit acceptance that they had got it wrong. It must be noted that this is how these arrangements tend to work, a set of templates are drawn up under guidance from the club. The original deal for this particular kit supply will have been agreed in autumn last year, the club has had plenty of time to reflect on what the implications of said kit might have been.
One letter writer to the Belfast Newsletter newspaper attempted to justify the kit by pointing out that it was in the same colours as the one worn by Manchester City for the 2018-19 season. It’s the kind of false equivalence that seems to accompany all kinds of unjustifiable arguments these days.
There is a context to this story from a Scottish perspective, too. Rangers have long traded on colour schemes that appeal to the lowest common denominator. The new Castore training kit that was released yesterday was festooned with orange numbering and lettering. I may be wrong but I am not aware of orange historically being one of Rangers’ primary colours, unless you want to count the kit that was commissioned in 2002, apparently in tribute to the club’s Dutch players.
Marketing lines they may be, but they fooled no one at the time, not least since Rangers claimed the colour was ‘tangerine’.
Indeed, the story goes that the first time Linfield launched an orange away jersey – for the 2010-11 season – it became the third best-selling kit in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, it sold out within a day, the date it appeared in shops was July 11th. There was no doubt that there was a considered marketing strategy at work.
Fast forward a decade and the decent thing would be for Linfield to remove the shirt, but don’t bank on it, judging by McGivern’s response. An official statement out of Windsor Park claimed it was an “inclusive” club “totally opposed to all forms of bigotry, prejudice, violence and discrimination”.
Harking back to an era that reminds us of all of those worst aspects of what the UVF stood for, even if it is accidental, runs contrary to the spirit of that message.
All very fair enough, in my opinion.
Of course, young Morgan breaks the basic rule of the Glasgow sports desk:
Thou shalt never call out anything that emanates from Ibrox!
Meanwhile, Umbro are now stating that they will not promote the merchandise that they are manufacturing for Linfield.
This is the sort of retail deal own goal that one usually associates with Sevco.
Meanwhile, they’re angry in Ibrox.
Plus ça change…
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The crisises we see in society today, racism, mobs on the street, police killings etc are all the product of weak government.
These problems have been allowed to fester and grow over years of time because government have had neither the ability nor the motivation to do any thing about it. Prudent government would have dealt with all these problems before they ever surfaced and became a reality.
The problem is that “Western” politicians are elected on their appeal towards their “Cronies” and not on their ability to govern.
Look at the Labour government in Britain after Tony Blair. They had thirteen years in power and they did nothing for this country nor its people. They see their role as a “Job”, a nine to five. They work for their paycheck. They have no real interest in their position of authority. Start wars in foreign countries, while the futures of the people in their own countries has been neglected. They are effectively in the wrong Jobs!
They have neglected their people and that is why the lot of their people today is as rotten today as it is.
All this UVF colours, guarding the statues etc. should not be an issue . It should all already have been put to bed, so that it never became a problem. Neglective past governments are to blame for today’s societal problems. Ask anyone who knows anything about sociology or has half a working brain!
Yes and the comment that the “Taking the Knee” is something from the Game of Thrones by Britains Foreign Secretary shows just how out of touch the British Government out of touch with world events. As a public servant he should be sacked for those comments. If you said that to your boss at your work, YOU’d be sacked.
These people of the “Political Class” of Britain and the Western Democracies, they consider themselves to be above the law. They MAKE the law. They don’t believe that they have to FOLLOW it.
A statement like that comparing an action by a Police officer who is being charged with murder for his “Taking the Knee” to George Floyd and a scene from A Game of Thrones is an insult for anyone who ever had a thought of any concern for his fellow man. It is the equivalent of a verbal flogging for all black people and people who would challenge racism.
It is easy to see how the Brits dealt with the Irish during the history of the Empire. They were considered to be sub-human. Cromwell cried “To Hell or to Connaught” He sought to make an example of the people of the Irish town of Drocheda during the siege of Drocheda. He sought to murder every man, woman and child in Drocheda as an “Examole” to the whole Irish people Irish people, so that they must surrender to British authority.
Look what they did in the six counties. They massacared civillians on the streets of Derry and Belfast, people protesting for their God-given basic human rights.
Dominic Raab’s comments betray a complete lack of empathy for the rights of human beings by the British Government.
All decent human beings will treat his comments as crass and totally misplaced.
I don’t think the culture celebrations over the last few weeks in George Square augur well for the new football season.
The new Castore clientele are happt to pick a fight wirh anyone who doesn’t share their beliefs.
God knows how they will react to 10 IAR and their club’s 10 year absenye. from winning a major Scottish trophy!
I see Glasgow”s fascists out in force again in George Square yesterday.
Those companies supplying the merchandise and sponsorship for Rangers must be delighted for the free publicity that these turn outs are bringing them.
An asylum seekers protest gives these right wing neds an opportunity to stand up for their culture, the Union and their cause.
It would appear that no matter what cause brings protesters onto the streets of Glasgow they will be met with the same response from a bunch of neneanderthals singing Rule Brittania and God Save The Queen.
Joseph. Did you know that the last verse of “Rule Britannia” finishes with the lines
“Rule Britannia, Your Marmalade and Jam.
With Your Long Red Coat and a Feather in Your Cap.
And Your Drums and Your Guns,
Bang. Bang”?
Phil
As a fellow NUJ member do have any avenue to ask The Herald why they seem to have pulled this story or to ask the journalist who wrote the story why it has gone?
Perhaps it was due to some inaccuracies or legally problematic issues in the story but surely the page it used to be on would have an explanation for this rather than 404 page not found. It is very worrying if a story is retracted for no clear reason. That is a story in itself.
JS.
Where do you start with this lot. The Orange strip put out by Rangers in memory of their Dutch players connection, hee haw to do with King Billy and his Vatican paid for army?
Whilst Hearts and Thistle are pushing ahead with their threatened legal action, the Ibrox club seem in no hurry to follow suit despite weeks of promising armageddon if Celtic were called Championees, because lets face it that was their gripe and no one else was making a song and dance about it.
Even the slow of thought amongst their fans are asking the question though others are soothing them with fairy tales that the club is biding it’s time and will strike when the time is right.
Given the various legal shambles that have ended up in a court of law how could anyone put trust in Ranger’s legal team to get it right this time, though the law of averages might play it’s part!
The SFA now in bed with Close Brothers. Interesting!
So am I the only one who read the SFA Loan piece in the BBC webshite and got a distinct whiff of Sevco Bailout from it?
Is it not the case that no points deduction will be applied to clubs which go into administration over the next few months.
Probably fair enough as the pandemic is wreaking havoc in all areas of business.
However if a club continues to add players to their squad to stop 10 IAR whilst refusing to sell their top players that can bring in millions then surely that club, or clubs, should not be afforded the same relaxation of the rules.
I should think a Clubs Acccounts should show whether Administration was a result of Covid-19 or a result of a poor financial approach coupled with Covid-19?
Provided that is a set of Accounts is produced in the first place in order to make that observation.
I was called a “Snowflake” today for asking a a generally sensible yet Sevco supporting colleague his opinion on this. I despair, I really do.
FFS what next,lynching mobs wae white sheets and flaming torches?
Typical response too.
There is no coincidence at all,totally intentional,kismet even.
Although,I’m glad sevco are peeved off but,that’s all about appearance too,everyone/anyone bollocks.
Keep at the feqrs Phil🇮🇪
I never had a problem with Rangers only signing protestants/non-Catholics or what have you. They should have been allowed to sign whomever they wish. The Head of state who is also the Head of the Church of England cannot be a Catholic so what is the problem with some little football club. Go tell Whites of London who they can and can’t admit to rub shoulders with the likes of Prince William, entered as a member of the club shortly after his birth. I am reminded of Rowan Atkinson’ Fast Show portrayal of a Satanist vicar claiming that the CoE. was a broad church and he could see no problem with his beliefs.
My problem was the corruption and manipulation of the authorities as well as the aggression of their support with even “charming cheeky chappies” calling for people who disagreed with them to be “named” and therefore putting them in danger. Sevco have carried on the least pleasant traditions and that is a bigger problem than anything else in that, like the the earlier club, there is no reckoning. We need the forensic skill and relentless attitude of the “Bunnet” who only dealt in facts.
On a wider scale, Political Correctness has resulted in many positions being filled by people, who clearly lack the necessary skills but tick the correct boxes otherwise.
Look at the police forces in the USA where there have been so many incidents of officers not having the appropriate level of courage to be doing that extremely stressful job and cope by feeling the need to shoot first and ask questions later.
Speaking of which, “they” have now come home to roost.
I am reminded that Rowan Atkinson was never in the Fast Show.
That is not news, either at nine-o-clock or otherwise.
I disagree. Rangers were not a social club, employers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of race, religion etc.
With regards to the US Police the issues are not political correctness! They are trained to be aggressive and increasingly look like a military force. For generations they have policed black people differently to white people. Racism is a huge factor.
I think my wider argument stands. Trump, Boris, Cressida Dick (Met Chief), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General of the World Health Organisation) are all in jobs which exceed their particular abilities. Ghebreyesus is not even a medical doctor but the first African to hold the post, so that’s alright then. I am sure there are many better qualified people on that continent and elsewhere who would have been better suited to the job if the selection was based purely on ability.
I see no-one striding the world stage in these times, I would consider up to their particular job unlike,say, Harold Wilson who found the courage to stand up to the Americans on the question of sending British troops to Vietnam and sadly paid for it.
On the one hand I think the powers that be scored an own goal by allowing Sevco to masquerade as Rangers from 2012. If they had been put to the sword a significant number of fans my have promoted Linfield from being their adopted club to being their No1 club to support.
On the other hand I’m thankful that my home town Belfast isn’t subjected to boat loads of loyal ‘supporters’ making the trip from the west of Scotland every second Saturday to cheer on the blues.
Linfield have a number of youngsters from Nationalist parts of West Belfast on their books. I wonder how they are feeling right now.?
Did this story appear in the print editions?
Full back page of the Herald sports pull-out.
As predicted. They caved…
Does Linfield think we came down in the last shower? I wonder what their ground share partners at the IFA think.
Unbelievable, they took the page down!!
If the Ibrox club had been kicked out of Scottish football in 2012, as it should have been for industrial scale cheating, over many, many years,
then we wouldn’t be talking about this nonsense in 2020.
Maybe unintended consequences from lockdown will impose changes at Hampden – and clubs might start treating their supporters better?
But, the senior game leaked a huge amount of customer goodwill in 2012.
The SPL clubs’ approach to ST prices suggests another huge leak of goodwill is on the cards.
Nothing seems to change / improve.