I was quite disturbed to read about the seemingly arbitrary detention and denial of entry to the stadium concerning fans of both Celtic and Rangers yesterday.
Fans Denied Entry
Official reports state that around 90 fans were prevented from entering the stadium yesterday following intervention by the police. This would explain the significant block of empty seats in the Green Brigade’s corner section of the stadium. However, the Green Brigade allege the number of affected fans was far more than 90.
Green Brigade Issue Statement
An official statement from the Green Brigade, posted on their social media channels outlined their alleged mistreatment at the hands of Police.
To Summarize: The Green Brigade along with some other Celtic fans congregated at the Celtic Social Club, in keeping with their usual pre-match routine, at around 10am. They immediately noticed a large police presence.
The statement emphasizes that at no point did any of the police attempt to engage with the fans or inform them as to why they were there in such numbers.
Kettling Ensues
At 10.45, according to the statement, 200 fans were kettled by police. This involves surrounding the group and forcing them to remain stationary whilst packed close together.
Kettling is a common riot control tactic, but its use in non-violent situations is a source of great contention. The Green Brigade say that they were told they would be permitted to move on once all opposition fans had entered the stadium. They waited for approximately one hour.
Section 60 Kicks In
Once the hour had passed, The Green Brigade claim the police changed their tune. Suddenly it was no longer a case of being held in place for their own safety, but they were, in fact, being detained under Section 60 regulations. More on that later.
The supporters in the kettle were told they could leave only if they submitted to the following police demands:
Detention by police via forceful removal from the kettle.
Full Body Searches (requests for female privacy were allegedly ignored by police)
ID Verification and the confiscation of all sunglasses, hats and hoods. Basically anything that could obscure the police cameras' views of the fans.
Police filmed all of this without the consent of any of the fans. Such consent is not a legal requirement but is a standard courtesy.
When fans refused to comply with what they saw as an abuse of power by police they were denied entry to Celtic Park.
The Green Brigade also praised Celtic Supports Liason Officer John Paul Taylor, who was on the scene throughout and did his best to try to mediate a solution.
Police Response Raises More Questions
Police Scotland released a statement in the wake of a social media outcry regarding their alleged actions.
The statement began: “A group of around 90 people, most of whom had concealed their identity, were denied entry to Celtic Park after refusing to be searched by officers under the applied Section 60 powers on Sunday March 16.”
Section 60 is an emergency power only supposed to be invoked when there is a clear and immediate threat to public safety. It grants police the power to stop and search anyone at their discretion if they believe that person may pose a threat to public order.
Police Scotland announced the section 60 measures on Friday, and did not elaborate on the specific threat involved.
Additional Scrutiny Needed
The statement continued: “It was the opinion of officers that they posed a threat to the safety of people within the stadium and to the public due to possible possession of weapons and pyrotechnics.”
Detaining anyone, or restricting their movements based purely on “the opinion” of a couple of police officers seems to set something of a dangerous precedent.
Things Don't Add Up
The Green Brigade said in their statement that they are seeking legal advice and demanding a full enquiry into how fans, clubs and authorities communicate with each other.
The fact that they infer legal action would suggest to me that the Green Brigade have documentary evidence of their allegations.
In any case, we have two wildly diverging stories here, supposedly documenting the same event.
Also, might I add, the operation to prevent the use of pyro, which was the police's justification for this entire episode, ultimately proved futile. Rangers supporters let off several pyrotechnics at full time, in the stadium, before going on to generally wreak havoc, as I outlined earlier today.
Do as we Say Not as we Do
Additional social media posts from earlier in the day also claim that the Rangers ultra group The Union Bears were blocked from entering under similar circumstances. It’s not clear if they are included or in addition to the 90 individuals quoted in the Police figures.
The statement from Police Scotland seems almost purposefully vague and lacking details.
I'm No Conspiracy Theorist, But....
If there was such a dedicated police operation focused on Ultra groups in both supports, why is it that Rangers fans still, somehow managed to smuggle pyro past this police "Ring Of Steel"?
Police incompetence would be the obvious answer.
Unless of course, Rangers fans were not subjected to the same vigorous stop and search criteria as the Celtic fans?
I’m merely speculating of course, I’m sure that Police Scotland does not have the same problem of institutionalized bigotry that plagues so many other areas of Scottish society.
Of course Police Scotland wouldn’t give Rangers fans preferential treatment over Celtic fans, would they?
Rights are Universal
The unfortunate reality here is that, with a section 60 order, the police were within their rights to detain and deny stadium entry to anyone who refused to comply.
The bigger debate here is the late announcement of the section 60 order, just a couple of days before the match, and the seemingly arbitrary deployment of its powers without any kind of regulatory oversight.
It would seem that both Celtic and Rangers fans missed the game as a result of this choice made by the police. And yet pyro still made it into the stadium, in the Rangers end.
For the avoidance of doubt, I will add here that, as much as I detest their fascist outlook and their general conduct, the Union Bears are also victims here, if indeed they were also denied entry.
Even they have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Authorities Continue to Talk at Fans, not With Them
It could be argued though that this entire sorry episode is just one facet of a far bigger societal problem. Too much power given to law enforcement with too little oversight.
Combine that with some, not all but definitely some, members of Police Scotland who think that their uniform gives them the right to act like Judge Dredd, and you’ve got a toxic recipe for disaster.
This could all have been avoided if the Police just engaged proactively with ultra groups from both sides, and let them know the score.
But no, instead we have a sneaky media announcement mere less than 48 hours before the game, with seemingly no attempt made to proactively engage with fan groups or the clubs.
If the Police Had Good Reason, Tell Us
As I already said, the police statement raises more questions than answers. It does nothing to address Celtic fans’ allegations of being kettled by police. I have seen video evidence which would appear to verify the Celtic fans’ accounts.
It also doesn’t address what reasons the police had for stopping these particular individuals, at that time. Just saying “well they looked a bit dodgy and they wouldn’t cooperate,” simply isn’t good enough.
Like I said, Scotland is not a police state and these kinds of judicial oversteps cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.
It's the Green Brigade Today, It Could be You Tomorrow
Without getting too political, recent events around the world should demonstrate the dangers of police being granted arbitrary powers of detention and the rights of citizens being restricted.
The pretext today is pyro, but what if tomorrow it’s carrying a Palestinian flag, or singing a song the police don’t want to hear?
It may sound hyperbolic, but history has shown just how quickly these things can spiral out of control.
A Line Must be Drawn
Police Scotland need to explain themselves, and there needs to be a full enquiry into what exactly happened.
We might not all share the same politics as the Green Brigade, but they are part of our Celtic fan collective. An attack on them, is an attack on us all. Whatever our politics, we all love Celtic, and we have to defend the rights of all our supporters.
The Board love to talk of “The Celtic Family”, well part of that family is under threat, and the club need to speak up, now. This can’t go on.