Praise is due for Brian Wilson, but the Ibrox club and the Scottish mainstream media are guilty once again burying their heads deep in the sand…
Brian Wilson like the rest of the Directors on the Celtic board isn’t fit for purpose, but credit must go the interim chairman on this occasion for his comments on yesterday’s long awaited report into the trouble that marred Celtic’s Scottish Cup quarter-final victory at Ibrox back on 8th March.
Without going into all the details, the independent investigation recommended a wide range of measures, including stadium closures, and massive fines for clubs whose supporters are repeatedly guilty of misbehaviour.
Wilson immediately had the club and the supporters corner, and rightly so as it was our club who not only had supporters attacked, but members of staff also.
Brian Wilson said: “This is a thorough piece of work which provides all parties involved with food for thought and action. We welcome the repeated emphasis on the primacy of safety above all other considerations, a message consistent with Celtic’s approach in all it does.
“Celtic made its strong objections to important elements of matchday planning very clear, well in advance of the match.
“While we remain in dispute regarding certain points within this review, our club does not shrink from criticisms contained in the report or the lessons to be drawn. Nobody should, since the potential implications of disregarding them are obviously serious, both for safety and for football.
“We continue to believe that the non-violent incursion by a small number of Celtic supporters following the conclusion of the Scottish Cup quarter-final was not, in itself, a major or threatening incident.
“However, the actions by a section of the home support, some of them masked and carrying weapons, and subsequent attacks on our supporters and staff, were deeply concerning and we remain puzzled as to why the actions recommended by the Safety Advisory Group of Glasgow City Council were overturned at a senior level within Police Scotland.
“This has left a vacuum in the role previously understood by consent to be occupied by the Safety Advisory Group. Accordingly, we welcome the recommendation that the status of Safety Advisory Groups should be formalised and strengthened.
“While this was, of course, an away fixture for Celtic, we will seek to learn lessons of value to our own operations and co-operate fully with the authorities in doing so.”
The Ibrox club unsurprisingly buried their heads in the sand, blaming the governing body, Celtic supporters and everyone else for the disgraceful scenes.
Kudos to Brian Wilson for calling it as it is, and defending the good name of our supporters, whilst pointing the finger of blame at the guilty culprits, with that being a section of the Ibrox support.
If only the ‘independent’ council, the SMSM, and the Rangers football club could find the courage to admit as such.
Both clubs have been cited by the Compliance Officer and both can expect to be punished. Yet it was the Rangers supporters who instigated the violence inside and outside of the stadium, violence that as the report states, came dangerous close to causing the loss of life.
The Ibrox club ultimate bear the responsibility for the failing in the match day planning and Police Scotland cannot claim to be innocent parties in all of this. The access to the stadium was dangerous and could in itself have resulted in fatalities, a third Ibrox disaster.
it beggars belief that Rangers of all institutions would be so reckless in this regard given the events of the last and the tragic loss of life of their own supporters.
Celtic supporters storming a gate was disgraceful and ultimately there were too many bodies inside the Broomloan Road stand and that is clearly something that Celtic must take seriously.
The consequences for the way these Glasgow Derby matches and other high profile games are handed in future are likely to be significant and there is also a real threat to the ultras groups across the country and not just at the two Glasgow giants.
It’s unlikely that the full allocation for away supporters at Glasgow Derby matches will return anytime soon and perhaps that is no bad thing as things stand.
The independent review can be read HERE.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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1 Comment
I have to admit that I find it as insulting to read Mark Dixon’s opening statement about ANY Celtic board member being “unfit for purpose”!
In fact, I consider it akin to that of a brand new infant, just born to a wonderful mother of five other beautiful extremely talented and happy children uttering it’s first words, “you are unfit to be a mother”.
Like Mark Dixon and the rest of his infantile brainless followers, this little infant didn’t know what it was talking about either!