Every now and then the legacy media throws out an article that catches your attention. Take a bow Matthew at the Herald.
And invariably it’s a reminder of why they are nearing the bottom of the slippery slope to extinction.
Celtic fans in general, and the Green Brigade in particular, have been relentlessly attacked all season long since we rightly pointed out the failings of those running the club.
In the face of the mildest of criticisms, the club hierarchy has fallen apart and retaliated with countless attacks on us fans at every available opportunity.
Police Scotland got involved as well if Brian Wilson’s account of a recent Safety Advisory Group meeting are to be believed.
Although if truth be told Police Scotland are always involved given their off the record briefing to the Scotsman vowing to “smash” the Green Brigade.
Two very powerful organisations (Police Scotland and Celtic) turning their guns against the powerless (Celtic fans).
In the face of such attacks the powerless should be able to rely on the press to uphold it’s role: “Journalism holds power to account by acting as a watchdog that exposes wrongdoing, investigates abuses of authority, and informs the public.”
And yet last weekend the The Herald/ Glasgow Times decided to publish an article titled “Why Avoiding Another Celtic Ban Is Beyond The Green Brigade”.
HERALD PUSHING A VERY CLEAR AGENDA AGAINST CELTIC FANS
In the article Matthew Lindsay launches a full scale defence of the Celtic hierarchy, Police Scotland and Mark Hargreaves specifically
All the powerful people are defended in the article.
Unsurprisingly when you abandon the tenants of journalism, the powerless are attacked with some bizarre argument put forward that Celtic fans should forgo their right to hold public servants Police Scotland to account.
“Pig Watch may well be legal. But it is deeply unpleasant, completely unnecessary and highly dangerous”, Lindsay informs us while completely ignoring the facts surrounding Police Scotland.
No mention is made of Police Scotland’s vow to smash the Green Brigade or the completely unjustified kettling on London Road last season.
No mention is made of the fact that is never covered in the mainstream press – Police Scotland are an institutionally racist organisation.
They will be funded to the tune of £1.7 billion pounds from Scottish taxpayers this year and they can’t even not be racist.
Scotland’s biggest racism problem has always been anti-irish, the very people who make up a large chunk of the Celtic support.
Not only is Pig Watch perfectly legal, in the face of such outright hostility from the very powerful Police Scotland, it is essential.
Anyone from an Irish background who supports Celtic has two very good reasons to document any interaction they have with Police Scotland.
Next up for the Herald was the defence of Celtic’s security chief Mark Hargreaves.
“Their demonisation of head of safety, security and operations Mark Hargreaves is downright sinister.
“One mutual acquaintance this week described Hargreaves as “a lovely guy who is a mad Celtic fan”.
“What is his crime exactly? Trying to keep tens of thousands of people safe from harm?”
Nice anecdote, zero facts, zero evidence.
SILENT HARGREAVES ON A MISSION AGAINST THE CELTIC SUPPORT
There is plenty of evidence that proves that Hargreaves has failed miserably if indeed he was tasked with keeping Celtic staff and fans safe.
Mark Hargreaves has yet to utter one word to us Celtic fans this season.
Even his appointment was kept quiet as was all his various actions that completely obliterated the atmosphere at Celtic Park this season.
Under Hargreaves the fans relationship with the club stewards has evaporated as they adopted Police Scotland’s hostile approach in the stands.
The pictures are all out there of very young Celtic fans being swung by the neck and getting huckled away with arms behind the back.
250 season ticket holders banned for five months with no due process and for no good reason.
And on 3 January while some of Celtic’s most dedicated supporters were banned Hargreaves rolled out the Red, White and Blue carpet for fans of The Rangers to spew anti-Irish racist bile for the entire match.
Hargreaves stewards looked on and did nothing, just like his (former) colleagues at Police Scotland.
But for Celtic fans it was ticket checks to use toilets and brutal stadium segregations without a word of explanation.
And how did Hargreaves plans work out to keep Celtic staff and fans safe at Ibrox for the recent Scottish Cup tie?
And the argument against this litany of failures in defence of Mark Hargreaves – lovely guy, big Celtic fan.
Punching down at the powerless to defend the powerful has no place in journalism.
NOTE 1: Brian Wilson is a regular columnist in The Herald as well as The Scotsman.
NOTE 2: Lindsay has regularly been publishing pro-board, anti Celtic fan content in recent months.
RELATED READING
- Why the SFA must sack Steven McLean
- Harrowing listen as the reality of the attack on the Green Brigade is laid bare
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3 Comments
by Legend07
There was also the kettling for the march from the merchant city to celtic park when the polis got an alleged call ( probably from Liewell ) about a disturbance and turned up heavy handed.
I spoke to a cop who was pretty high up (now retired) that was there that day. He told me that when he put his report in for what was meant to have taken place that day he was pretty clear in saying basically the polis did a “lot” of things wrong.
He got questioned on his report and he stood behind what he had written. Not to anybody’s shock, he never heard another thing about his statement. Police Scotland must have big thick carpets.
by Frank McGinley
It’s not tenants It’s tenets. I thought yer da would’ve taught you better!
by Jim
The Scottish police have the GB down as a terrorist organisation, I’ve seen their badge among their collection of proscribed organisations, like Greenpeace, while Neo Nazi thugs in Rangers tops carry I unmolested.