Just when you think Rangers couldn’t sink any lower they always find some creative new way to remind us why they are Scotland’s Shame.
A Decent Win, Marred by Moronic Behavior
First off, credit where it is due, Rangers scored 3 well-crafted goals to Celtic’s 2 yesterday, and on the balance of play merited their win. They played far better than I expected they would.
However, as usual, thanks to the idiotic acts of some of their players and fans, the result isn’t what most people will be talking about today.
Instead, we have widespread racist chanting, players assaulting Celtic fans, and a manager whose inability to show any kind of self-control could have caused a riot.
Expect the usual damage control measures from the sycophants in the Scottish media. Still, no amount of verbal gymnastics from the tabloids can hide the fact that this was an utterly embarrassing display from Rangers and their staff.
“Only Water?” That’s Not the Point!
I’ve already seen various comments online in response to Vaclav Cerny’s disgraceful behavior towards Celtic fans trying to downplay what he did.
“It was only water, it didn’t do any harm!” said one.
“Celtic fans need to stop being so bloody sensitive and bitter” said another “well-known member” of a site whose name I shan’t repeat.
What Cerny did, spraying liquid in the faces of unsuspecting Celtic fans is a form of assault. That’s not hyperbolae, that’s not me being bitter, that’s a fact, and its one that I hope Celtic remind the police of in the strongest possible terms.
Don’t let them downplay this, don’t let them normalize this kind of thuggery. The player and the club need to be made an example of, but I doubt they will.
Fans Return, and Bring Their Hatred with Them
Celtic’s PR team made a big statement ahead of yesterday’s game that “unacceptable behavior” within the stadium would not be tolerated. Well, then I hope that Rangers will respect this and ban every one of their fans singing about being “up to their knees” in the blood of my ancestors yesterday.
Who am I kidding? They’ll probably package the audio on a CD and flog it alongside their next orange away strip.
I said yesterday that fans who want to come to Celtic Park to watch football and behave respectfully should be welcomed. Rangers and their fans showed yesterday that they are woefully incapable of doing that.
Deploying netting was too generous, animals like that should be behind bars.
Rangers Will Pander to it, As Usual
As I said already, I don’t expect Rangers to take any kind of punitive action against their players, their manager or their fans for their unacceptable conduct. In fact, if they haven’t done so already, they’ll probably soon have some mealy-mouthed statement, scribbled in their usual blend of crayon and their own feces, defending the “exuberance” of their players, the “passion” of their manager and the “staunchness” of their supporters ready to go.
It’s the default now, every time their fans or players embarrass the rest of Scotland. Admit nothing, blame everyone else, and maintain the familiar sense of entitlement, arrogance and supremacist attitude throughout.
Celtic Must Demand Action
So where does this leave Celtic? Any action the club take will be characterized as “sour grapes” by the ever compliant Scottish press. After all, they called us paranoid for decades when we called out Rangers’ cheating. 2012 proved that, if anything, we weren’t paranoid enough.
But that doesn’t matter, the club needs to defend its supporters, its customers. People paid to go and watch a football match yesterday. They didn’t pay to get liquid thrown in their face, or be subjected to a barrage of racist abuse from the visiting fans.
Celtic's board need to demand that the authorities take the strongest possible action against Rangers, their players and their fans for their totally unacceptable conduct.
If the fallout is that we go back to no away allocations for these games then so be it.
Yesterday Changed my Mind About the Derby
Opinion was divided among the Celtic support, but I was actually cautiously optimistic about Rangers fans coming to Celtic Park yesterday. I had, naively, hoped that some time locked out of Paradise might have taught them some humility, some respect. How wrong I was.
I don’t want those mutants anywhere near our stadium again. What they choose to do at their own midden is up to them. But yesterday showed that they are more trouble than they are worth. They are a toxic artefact of a culture that needs to be confined to the bin bag of history as soon as possible.
A Full Apology, and Appropriate Consequences, Nothing Less
Unless Rangers issue a full and unreserved apology to Celtic, our fans and the millions watching on TV around the world for their conduct, Celtic should apply every sanction open to us.
No more tickets for them, no more engagement. If they think they can dictate to the rest of Scottish football, let’s leave them to it.
We do not need them and we do not need their fans. Leave them to shout into the void.
Missed Opportunities Galore
Yesterday was a missed opportunity on many fronts. The obvious one being that Celtic blew the chance to put Rangers back in their place and clinch the league title before the split. However, that is merely delaying the inevitable.
I’m more upset about the missed opportunity to move forward, to leave the pettiness, the bitterness and the hatred behind, and just enjoy a good football match with a positive atmosphere.
As Michael Caine famously said in “The Dark Knight”: “Some people just want to watch the world burn.”
That’s Rangers in a nutshell, spreading division, toxicity and hate wherever they go, regardless of who gets hurt in the fallout. Celtic don’t need that, and neither do our fans. This should be last time we accommodate any of them within our proud stadium, until, at the very least, they learn some basic manners.