In life, you tend to get what you settle for.
That is true for individuals and also for societies.
Despite some face-saving PR for the Twitter age, Official Scotland appears to have decided that ongoing public expressions of anti-Catholic hatred and anti-Irish racism are no biggie.
It was always thus.
Last August, the genocide choir from Ibrox got a Police escort through the city centre of Glasgow.
Note that the BBC referred to “anti-Catholic singing”.
Here is a report from their own organisation in 2009 on a court ruling on the Famine Song.
Yesterday was no different from the scenes last August, and the klan was given an escort to the national stadium.
“…a large and complex operation…” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.
The Celtic end was a sea of Irish tricolours.
This is a flag that the Scottish Football Association had a problem with back in the 1950s.
They wanted Celtic to remove it from their stand at Parkhead.
In a rare demonstration of courage, Celtic refused and the SFA backed down.
I’m sure they’ve apologised to the Parkhead club for that, and I missed it.
Back then Paradise was a safe space for a socially excluded community to express itself in a hostile environment.
Ibrox was always a venue where Scotland’s officially sanctioned hatred of the Irish community could be belted out with gusto.
Next year is the anniversary of the infamous Church and Nation committee Report cornering:
”The menace of the Irish race to our Scottish nationality”.
I put the entire document as an appendix at the back of Minority Reporter.
Even a cursory examination of this eugenicist text destroys the “sectarianism” paradigm.
The report clarified that the Kirk chaps had a problem with the Irish and not Catholics in general.
They make that clear on page two of the report.
“The problem, therefore, that has been remitted to the Committee for consideration is almost exclusively an Irish problem.”
It continued, “…this is a question arising out of the abnormal growth of the Irish race in Scotland.”
Their concern was about race and not religion.
I recently contacted the press office at the Church of Scotland and asked them if they intended to mark the centenary of the report with some event.
They’re not.
The polite and courteous reply was framed within the sectarian paradigm with no mention of the racist objective of the 1923 report.
Even in 2022, the term “anti-Irish racism” remains a difficult one for many in official Scotland.
I think I know why.
It would mean, finally, accepting the existence of a multi-generational Irish community.
For the record, the Church of Scotland publicly apologised for that report at the start of this century.
In 2002, Rev Alan McDonald, convener of the church and nation committee, stated:
”I am ashamed when I read how badly we got it wrong.”
Throughout the match yesterday the Ibrox klanbase revealed what they are about: hatred of the Irish other.
Graham Spiers is an outlier in the Scottish sports media for accurately identifying the source of the “Old Firm” problem.
As for the game itself, Donegal lad Enda Coll gives his expert opinion on how it played out.
A few days before the match, he posted this on Twitter.
The acceptable racism in Fair Caledonia.
Of course, the great and the good in Scotland will style this as “sectarianism”.
It allows them to ignore the root cause of the issue.
Enda’s view on the officiating performance is hard to disagree with.
Sadly, people in the Parkhead boardroom settled with this state of affairs a long time ago.
It remains to be seen if the current manager, a highly intelligent guy with an immigrant backstory, is as comfortable at the back of the bus as the suits in Kerrydale Street.
I hope he doesn’t settle for that.
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I’m sick and tired of Celtic blogs being the source of our anger and frustration.
People like Phil can write some great narrative about the problems of Sectarianism/ Racism and highlight biased Authorities and Officials.
But unless OUR CLUB stands up and makes OFFICIAL complaints about the way football is run in Scotland…then you’ll be reading the same old stuff in 20 years time.
These scumbags actually revel in reading our “opinions ” and “comments “…To them…it’s all a big joke.
Celtic FC should insist that Madden is not allowed anywhere near our team again…His match and post-match antics are totally unacceptable…and our Club should be shouting loud and clear…and calling for an explanation.
John Beaton, and other refs, have nailed their Sevco colours to the mast…It’s time our Club nailed them to the wall.
And as for Glasgow’s finest…
Scotland’s biggest collection Free Masons and Orangemen will continue to make sure that the “right to walk ” and “sing what you want” will be top of the agenda.
Nah…the support can continue to make ripples…but we need our Board to make waves……BIG FECKIN’ WAVES.
However…as always…I won’t hold my breath.
I’m astounded that no-one is decipghering Bobby Maddens REAL message, ‘Happy Easter to one and all’ Happy Easter (2-1, and all). It’s a real GIRUY
And the show rolls on
What chance of it ever ending when The Football Association of Ireland are willing to copulate with them?
Even among my Irish relations it is the “one is as bad as the other” mantra. No chance of it ever stopping.
Until civil society in Scotland confronts this ignorant section of its population this problem will not go away. The lack of education in Scottish history and the historical links between Scotland and Ireland over the past few thousand years is the root cause of this ignorance. In Scottish schools both in the Catholic and Protestant or non Denominational schools as they are now called the History taught was all about the glories of the British Empire. I think this has changed in recent years and hopefully most of the young people growing up now will be more broad minded. On the employment front I think things have improved compared with the recent past. It is one of the few benefits of multi national companies that they look to employ the best candidate for the job no matter what school you went to. The SFA, The Media and the Politicians in Scotland are either too cowardly or are themselves racists and bigots to finally meet this problem head on.
Well the marching season is about to start. Plenty of walks to indulge their hateful souls.
Pre pandemic there were 192 marches in Glasgow alone. Thankfully there are only 80 planned for this year.
Hopefully it a downward trend that continues
The recent BBC documentary about racism defined what’s wrong about Scotland. It’s incredible that it didn’t refer to Ibrox’ significant Klan base. The producer completely ignored a century of anti Irish/Catholic hatred from the aforementioned club. She couldn’t possibly be unaware of its rancid existence. Predictably, this ‘oversight’ wasn’t highlighted by our mainstream media.
Good article, and largely good video by Enda, barring one issue.
His acceptance that for us to win a match our start position is to be so good the referee can’t influence the result.
Why?
Because Jock Stein said something similar over 60 years ago ?
It’s a ridiculous notion and acceptance of inequality.
Also one of the crucial dots omitted which is the one that links the rest is who those referees support.
It’s a drum you’ve personally been banging loudly but in the immediate aftermath of a match when the lion share of poor decisions favour the team that referee supports us surely the time to try and force the agenda.
We’re talking about the introduction of VAR today and will no doubt be reviewing case studies from England. why not an extension of other rules adopted by the EFA? Namely the one of declaring who you and your family members support.
Much like the operating of VAR, until that issue is addressed inequality and injustice will remain.
Don’t be fooled by Jock’s “refs don’t matter” patter.
When it did matter then he wasn’t shy at letting them know; witness his haranguing of Davidson after the 1970 Cup Final after an appalling performance by the latter, which resulted in a fine for the Big Man, to which he replied “the best money I’ve ever spent”. 🙂
As far as the game was concerned it wasn’t the Neanderthal song book that beat Celtic but, in Spiers’ coded language, a Sevco who were “strong and carrying a threat”. For that, read brutal and lawless with full permission of the referee, the football authorities and dammed by their silence, the Celtic board.
Laudrup called it “physicality”. Clever.
As far as Spiers moaning about the supporters, he should consider the old adage “if you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas”
Thanks Phil, great piece. I live in Australia and allowed my two boys to stay up late to watch the game. When my 11 year old asked me, “who’s this Billy they’re singing about dad”, I explained, using some of the historical facts you’ve published – facism, razors and the klan. They were both genuinely shocked – not the feigned expressions that pass for it in the media. His older brother said, “Is it because of people like them that you don’t want to take us to a Celtic game when we visit granny?”.
Not a mention on any of the BBC, or other media, pieces about the game. Like the playwrite said, “It didn’t happen – even while it was happening”.
I’ve written to the SFA, SPFL and Police Scotland but expect the standard response that they can’t press charges without being able to identify individuals. But we all know that’s not the reason. It’s to protect an ugly subculture that’s part establishment and part Neanderthal whose role in society makes it frightening for wee boys to go to a game of football.
Didn’t catch the game, as always Phil great piece.
Will it make much of a difference, if they were to ban them. They get their fix from other places, 😉😉, plus they get to run riot in their own city. People in high places gave the go ahead for the song and dance routine, and their dutiful security guards made sure that they weren’t in any danger of loosing their way. Plus they are still the same company/thingy thing, thing.
Keep at them Phil
TAL 🇮🇪
Phil I was aware of the anti Catholic feelings when I went for my first job took a pal with me, asked what school I went to told him Lourdes Secondary, we’ll let you know my pal got offered the job he didn’t want all because he went to Govan High. He told me the guy says you should chose your pals more carefully.