Celtic vs Rangers under-17s match sees "faces contorted by hate"

[editor]

This reporter was deeply unimpressed by the fans' antics. describing it as a "nauseous occasion."

Faces contorted by hate as two sets of supporters use kids game to vent their bile: Our man Gordon Parks on last night's Old Firm youth cup final match
GORDON says he has never worked at a game where Police have advised reporters to seek sanctuary in the safety of the press room.

AGE has never been a barrier for some Old Firm fans determined to grasp the opportunity of a sectarian fix.

But once again it was an under-17 game which was the vehicle for bigots to vent their twisted agendas.

Sometimes it's better to allow the pictures to tell their own story.

And one glance at the images which depicted last night's shameful scenes at Celtic Park leave little to the imagination.

A Glasgow Cup Final between the Old Firm was once again seized upon by followers of both clubs to bring shame to our game.

In scenes reminiscent of last season's fixture between the two clubs, it was smoke bombs, flares and bangers which accompanied the anti-social behaviour from the West of Scotland's lowest common denominator.

Faces contorted by hate, two sets of fans baiting each other and using the occasion of a kids game to vent their bile and make the most of what was the rare chance to air their differences.

It may have been a repeat of the behaviour which marred last season's Firhill game but for me it was a football first in many respects. I've never worked at a game where Police have advised reporters to seek sanctuary in the safety of the press room.

It's was also a first in witnessing the bulk of two sets of supporters paying little more than a passing interest to what was happening on the pitch and preferring to stand sideways to spout sectarian abuse at one another.

There will be some who even today would struggle to tell you the score.

It all carries on in the reader comments : http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/faces-contorted-hate-two-sets-3473218

 

[weepiper]

The Record is roughly equivalent to The Sun in terms of how much of a pinch of salt you should be taking with this reporting.

 

[editor]

The Record is roughly equivalent to The Sun in terms of how much of a pinch of salt you should be taking with this reporting.

I'm sure it's a shite rag, but it's hardly a surprise to see ugly scenes when these two teams play each other.

A crowd of over 8,000 had taken in the game which was played in a hostile atmosphere with a heavy police presence required to calm things as they threatened to get out of hand just before half-time.

After the game tens of seats were damaged as Rangers fans exited the stadium.

Ibrox youth coach Billy Kirkwood said afterwards: “What happens in the stands is nothing to do with us. Unfortunately that’s society at the moment. That’s the bigger picture and it’s not just Rangers and Celtic. I wish I had a magic wand to know how to combat it.

“There’s going to be a time when Rangers are going to play Celtic at first-team level and all I can say to that is, oh dear.”

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footb...-rangers-u17-fan-tension-clouds-win-1-3391799

 

[weepiper]

I'm well aware of the background. I'm a Celtic fan. The media certainly don't help the situation with their glorifying though.

 

[twistedAM]

I'm well aware of the background. I'm a Celtic fan. The media certainly don't help the situation with their glorifying though.

That report's not glorifying, it's condemning.

 

[xslavearcx]

can't really comment on this one, but can say for certain that the one that was held at firhill last year (partick thistle my teams ground) wasn't pretty, and a fair few of our seats got ripped out by fans overcome by the 'passion' of the old firm game. such incidents led to the polices recommendations to have our fans singing section moved to accommodate celtic fans when ever we play them at home because of fears of the usage of 'pyro' in the wooden floored main stand that is generally for away fans.

the sensationalist reporting by the tabloids is almost as predictable as the apologetics that comes with old firm stuff to be honest.

 

[weepiper]

I only started really bothering about Celtic once Rangers had already gone into a lower league and I'd happily never see them back playing us again. I'm not apologising for anything; I want no part of behaviour like this

 

[xslavearcx]

i hear you. been going to jags games fairly regularly over the years since in primary 3 with my dad and thouroughly scunnered with scottish football for similiar reasons, and also that the competition is appalling between non-old firm clubs with the old firm. Should've been wise to that when i was the only kid at school supporting a team that wasnt celtic haha!.... looks like a chance that rangers wont be in the top division anyway.. i think the only time id start going back to games regularly is if, in the absense of a yes vote, we amalgamated scottish football with english football and the SPFL became a feeder league for the Unibond north league. Looks like im stuck with NFL then!

 

[twistedAM]

the SPFL became a feeder league for the Unibond north league.

 

[Fedayn]

That report's not glorifying, it's condemning.

A bit ironic that it is in the Daily Record, a news paper that ran several articles/features with journalists, one in particular James Traynor, remarking that 'The Famine Song' was just a bit of banter.... Hypocrisy writ large from the Record again. The same newspaper that carried-along with other tabloids, the claim that Celtic fans rioted in Dundee in 2012 when the police made no such claim and the Record and others provided zero evidence for their claims.

Back when I moved up here in 1994 the very paper here mentioned talked admiringly of the atmoshpere at such games, they were far worse than we see now. In a 10 year period 10 Celtic fans and 2 Rangers fans were murdered in 3events surrounding these games. We are a mile apart from those days which the Daily Record celebrated, the fucking hypocrisy laid bare again
Are games between Celtic and Sevco/Rangers/The Rangers/The Monkeys etc etc a tad on the vitriolic side? Yes, absolutely. Is it as bad as the press often claim? Well the police would seem to disagree given there weas 1 arrest for a breach of the peace. (I don't doubt this will increase after CCTV is examined)

 

[LiamO]

@op

whereas Swansea V Cardiff is a veritable love-in?

 

[editor]

@op

whereas Swansea V Cardiff is a veritable love-in?

What the fuck has that got to do with this topic?

 

[geminisnake]

I don't like either side, I particularly don't like Rangers fans due to only having met one or two decent ones in nearly 50 yrs but all I see in that enlarged photo are smiles. No faces contorted in hate. There may be more photos in the link but I'm not clicking on it. The Record are cunts of the highest order and I'd check anything they printed apart from the date!

 

[alan_]

Where are the faces "contorted by hate" most of the pictures show them LoLing

 

[DotCommunist]

looks like plenty of police o/t was had that day

 

[LiamO]

What the fuck has that got to do with this topic?

If I have to explain that to you than you are even less intelligent than I thought.

 

[editor]

If I have to explain that to you than you are even less intelligent than I thought.

LOL. Coming from you that truly is hilarious.

But I'm afraid you're still you're going to have to explain what a totally unrelated fixture between two teams in a different country has to do with a thread concerning the sectarian divisions that bubbled over in a Celtic vs Rangers u17s match. Can you do that or do you intend to keep on bringing up random fixtures from all around the world?

 

[LiamO]

yawn

 

[weepiper]

It's not just about sectarian divisions bubbling over you know, despite what the media might like you to believe.

 

[editor]

yawn

The sound of an empty vessel.

 

[xslavearcx]

A bit ironic that it is in the Daily Record, a news paper that ran several articles/features with journalists, one in particular James Traynor, remarking that 'The Famine Song' was just a bit of banter.... Hypocrisy writ large from the Record again. The same newspaper that carried-along with other tabloids, the claim that Celtic fans rioted in Dundee in 2012 when the police made no such claim and the Record and others provided zero evidence for their claims.

Back when I moved up here in 1994 the very paper here mentioned talked admiringly of the atmoshpere at such games, they were far worse than we see now. In a 10 year period 10 Celtic fans and 2 Rangers fans were murdered in 3events surrounding these games. We are a mile apart from those days which the Daily Record celebrated, the fucking hypocrisy laid bare again

To be honest, its not just the daily record and traynor that have this hypocracy - the celebration of the old firm fixture has been part and parcel of scottish football discourse for as long as i can remember, and most likely precedes that. Not to mention that the media perpetuate the value of the old firm fixture over and above any other fixture which imo has been detrimental to the development of the fan base of non-old firm clubs. There was plenty of commentary about the ascendancy of Aberdeen and Dundee Utd as being a bad thing, and that scottish football needed a "strong old firm" - despite the fact that in terms of european sucesses this was the last half decent period. This old-firm centric angle can be evidenced by the very design of any tabloid sheet one opens (or radio programme on football like say radio clyde) that is for every rangers columinst (say derek johnstone) there has got to be a celtic columist (say hugh keevins). This is the medias attempt at 'balance' something which does not seem to recognise that there are a few other senior football clubs in scottish football.

Now thats not to say that within that seemingly 'balanced' perspective, the medias output is not shaped by an irreflective anti-irish racism slant that frames the issue of sectarianism without that kinda understanding, trying to shape it as 'both being as bad as each other'. Scotland above and beyond football has to start to reflect on exactly what this whole sectarianism issue is about if it wants to make any headway, and populist headlines about old firm games aint going to remedy any of that.

But speaking as a football fan, abstracting football away from the other stuff that goes on in scottish football, i am fucking fed up with this emphasis on the old firm. Having a league designed around to maximise old firm fixtures is beyond shit and i think we are already starting to see the signs of the shiteness start to erode onto celtic and rangers capitive markets in scottish society, one sees more premiership shirts than old firm shirts on the average summer day (i think). And more specifically as a partick thistle fan, we have had to endure the shite policiing that has been designed around the problems associated with that fixture, including moving our singing section to accomodate celtics support recently, and further back for the whole of scottish football the banning of alcohol because of the battle of hampden.

anyway ive given up in scottish football but it does make me smile to see how the old firm in europe in terms of thier shitness related to their ability to spend is pretty muchh the same as we ('diddy' clubs) have to experience vis a vis them!

 

[Fedayn]

anyway ive given up in scottish football but it does make me smile to see how the old firm in europe in terms of thier shitness related to their ability to spend is pretty muchh the same as we have to experience vis a vis them!

Btw, fucking ram your OF bollocks.

 

[xslavearcx]

Btw, fucking ram your OF bollocks.

how about FTOF?

 

[Fedayn]

how about FTOF?

I am opposed to the notion of an 'Old Firm'. Fcuk being guilty by association.

 

[xslavearcx]

deleted post as was just stupid flaming.

anyway accept the motivation to distance from the OF term, given the poltics associated with segments of celtic and rangers support, but i nevertheless still think it is valid insofar as their buisness interests are inextricably linked to that inter-rivalry.

 

[just ice]

LOL. Coming from you that truly is hilarious.

But I'm afraid you're still you're going to have to explain what a totally unrelated fixture between two teams in a different country has to do with a thread concerning the sectarian divisions that bubbled over in a Celtic vs Rangers u17s match. Can you do that or do you intend to keep on bringing up random fixtures from all around the world?

Hoping not to get caught in the 'crossfire' here but permit me to intercede on behalf of LiamO, though I suspect you may already be aware of the volatility between these two Scottish 'giants' and you had your bucket of salt to hand and your tongue in cheek.
A few years ago while working in Swansea we took in the 'local derby' between Swansea and Cardiff and though the match was played in rain, the atmosphere in the ground was mostly of a mature and respectful nature both on and off the park. The real surprise was how normal it was on the streets outside the ground after the final whistle. Apart from groups of singing, noisy youths of both sets of supporters whilst departing the stadium there was no fighting, taunting or threats towards each other at any time. This was picked up on by all three of us as white and red shirts were passing each other going in every direction and even moving aside for opposing colours in the rush to leave. We all come from Scotland and support different Scottish teams but cant see Celtic and Rangers passing each other in huge numbers without taunts, objects being thrown or fighting before a game let alone after a game and the result. There would not have been the same interest in the above aforementioned game between these two teams had 'The Rangers' been playing in the SPFL as this top level would more than take up the vast majority of their footballing concerns. The murders committed in the name of 'sport' between these two teams in the last 15 years is indescribably shocking. I think this is why LiamO has lent to the Welsh footballing equivalent and its 'tame' and genial manner, though maybe another choice of derby would have been more apt.
I'm sure the families that have lost loved ones over many years through 'sport' from both sets of O.F supporters wished there had been the same healthy rivalry that I witnessed in Swansea.I have my own opinion on the reasons why this happens and have been to many O.F. games, all prior to the dissolution of the trophy winning team that was Rangers. I'm not sure what they want to call themselves now but do they really want to associate with a bankrupted club name that still owes tens of millions to countless people and who now think that their trust in their club was seriously misplaced. Personally I wouldn't think twice about going to the aid of a Celtic or 'Rangers ' fan that was badly hurt or injured or any other club supporter and anyone for that matter. Perhaps one day this maturity I seen in Swansea and in other great "derbying" cities will filter up to our country and more specifically to these two giants of the Scottish game.

 

[Dr_Herbz]

"faces contorted by hate"