smiler Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 2 hours ago, Tommy Brown said: Your right, Levein should have gone after the cup final. Stendal deseved longer. Robbie foitbal is eye bleeding Anything i missed😀 Aye, Tosh thought Hibs winning the SC was a “decent outcome”. That one springs up frequently, and so it ****ing should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Rob Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Defending Sevco on JKB should be one step down from an instant ban. One warning - second offence, you’re gone. We just don’t need that rubbish on here. Same would apply to Celtic, if that ever happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobreath Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 4 hours ago, Forever Hearts said: To be fair it's the same whenever Celtic fans act like lowlifes.......NOT. Less whataboutery when were discussing Celtic idiots so shorter thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 16 minutes ago, Nobreath said: Less whataboutery when were discussing Celtic idiots so shorter thread? Aye, that'll be it.🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 21 minutes ago, Doc Rob said: Defending Sevco on JKB should be one step down from an instant ban. One warning - second offence, you’re gone. We just don’t need that rubbish on here. Same would apply to Celtic, if that ever happened. I don't think admin need told how to do their job when it comes to what should constitute a ban. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hesh Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 19 hours ago, Homme said: Do folk really care about this? Honestly what does it matter if Rangers players sing some songs? Not a good stance to take Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazzas right boot Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Just now, Forever Hearts said: I don't think admin need told how to do their job when it comes to what should constitute a ban. They'll be open to suggestions in the name of continuous improvement tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 The thing is had sevco been allowed say 20000 socially distanced fans inside castle greyskull then the disruption would have been less severe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 4 minutes ago, Smith's right boot said: They'll be open to suggestions in the name of continuous improvement tho. I'll take your word for it (for the first time ever). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 4 hours ago, Forever Hearts said: Why would I want to say that? I enjoy beating them at football, that's all and many of their fans are good guys, same as Celtic and Hibs. Sorry for not getting all 'uber Hearts fan' like you. Why would you want to say **** the rangers and all who sail in her indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazzas right boot Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 (edited) 15 minutes ago, Marvin said: The thing is had sevco been allowed say 20000 socially distanced fans inside castle greyskull then the disruption would have been less severe. Bit truth here. Hopefully lessons learned and they allow maybec4/5k saints fans in to celebrate the cup double. Edited May 18, 2021 by Smith's right boot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETTY29 Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 27 minutes ago, Marvin said: The thing is had sevco been allowed say 20000 socially distanced fans inside castle greyskull then the disruption would have been less severe. Is Ibrox a 90k stadium? Possibly, but seriously, that would be pandering to them again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 6 minutes ago, DETTY29 said: Is Ibrox a 90k stadium? Possibly, but seriously, that would be pandering to them again. I know it's a shitheap with an infestation of vermin but it's probably worth 3 or 4 times that I reckon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 20 minutes ago, DETTY29 said: Is Ibrox a 90k stadium? Possibly, but seriously, that would be pandering to them again. True but the disorder might have be averted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kila Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 7 minutes ago, Marvin said: True but the disorder might have be averted. Until after the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 Just now, kila said: Until after the game Then again... maybe You're right 😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NANOJAMBO Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 7 hours ago, Forever Hearts said: It means I have zero respect for him because he seems to pick and choose when to open his gub. I hope that's ok with you. Why bitch about it on here ? Why don't you write to him if you feel that strongly - but you don't as it's just some more deflection / whataboutery. Pathetic stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 1 hour ago, NANOJAMBO said: Why bitch about it on here ? Why don't you write to him if you feel that strongly - but you don't as it's just some more deflection / whataboutery. Pathetic stuff. Do you write to everybody who annoys you? What a pathetic post.😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterion Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 4 hours ago, kila said: Until after the game This ^^ The first George Square "Sash Bash" was discussed for months by Rangers fans. A Blue nose pal told me in January how it would "definitely be happening" if they won despite there being no indication of the pandemic ending. The first one gave them the encouragement to do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Burgundy Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 13 hours ago, NANOJAMBO said: Why bitch about it on here ? Why don't you write to him if you feel that strongly - but you don't as it's just some more deflection / whataboutery. Pathetic stuff. 😆 It's a message board for bitching and moaning and everything else pal. Stop being a thrupenny bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DETTY29 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 (edited) They wanted 4 10k parties to be held in Ibrox. What a bunch of self entitled arseholes. Edited May 19, 2021 by DETTY29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 They should've said it was a Palestinian protest and permission would have been granted no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazzas right boot Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 17 minutes ago, Forever Hearts said: They should've said it was a Palestinian protest and permission would have been granted no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 17 minutes ago, Forever Hearts said: They should've said it was a Palestinian protest and permission would have been granted no problem. Isn't it about time you were accusing others of being obsessed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Smithee said: Isn't it about time you were accusing others of being obsessed? Here's Brian Wilson's take on it. In case you don't know (and I'd bet a pound to a penny you don’t) he's a Celtic director and lifelong Celtic supporter. IT may be unfashionable to point out but football can create really joyous occasions. Take last Saturday’s FA Cup Final at Wembley with 21,500 people in the stadium, an intimation that normality is again conceivable. There was an emotional quality to the singing of Abide With Me, dedicated to victims of the pandemic. “When other helpers fail and comforts flee; Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me”. Old words with special meaning as people came together after so long, in this way. Then there was the game itself, turning on two acts of beauty – the goal from Youri Tielemans which won it and the save from Kasper Schmeichel that thwarted Chelsea. So Leicester, one of our cities hardest hit by the pandemic, had its morale lifted to the heavens. The occasion was possible through a balanced approach to risk. Putting 21,500 people into Wembley’s open air must carry a scintilla of risk. But keeping them out and playing this special game behind closed doors would surely have done far more harm than good. In Scotland, such thinking is taboo. Even before the latest Glasgow shutdown, there were to be just 600 supporters inside Hampden for the Scottish Cup Final. Now the vast terraces will be empty. To what good effect or elimination of risk, I wonder? Last Friday I was in Glasgow Airport, a place of eerie silence these days but suddenly raucous sound announced the arrival of a flight from Belfast which disgorged a platoon of Rangers tops, clearly here for a party. I should make clear the colour of tops is irrelevant to the thrust of my argument. If anyone had doubts, this confirmed that the following day’s celebrations were going to be a big event attracting supporters from far and near. Given that entry to Ibrox stadium was precluded, the logic pointed to a big event somewhere else – ie the streets, bridges and squares of Glasgow. Who had decided that this was a good – or at least, less bad – idea? It seemed basic common sense – which would have applied equally regardless of which club had something to celebrate – that the thousands congregating in Glasgow should be allowed to do so in their preferred environment, their own stadium. The choice was not between whether or not people would congregate; only where. I have still to hear any rational explanation of why it was thought preferable for this to happen in the aforementioned streets, bridges and squares where, as soon transpired, absolutely no rules would apply, than within the confines of a stadium where they all wanted to be and within which some degree of regulation would have been possible. Then, while I was waiting for my flight, a friend in the hospitality industry phoned in despair to tell me about the latest disaster – the decision not to move Glasgow down to level 2. At this point, the contrast between what everyone knew was going to happen the following day and the latest extension of Glasgow’s lockdown moved from being merely irrational to grotesque. I have never quite understood why it is forbidden to have a glass of wine with a meal within permitted hours. However, the idea this would continue to be banned in Glasgow on public health grounds while the same politicians and experts had put exclusion from a football stadium before all the blatantly obvious risks inherent in the alternative now appeared incomprehensible and irresponsible. Yet who does one turn to for an explanation? Who can the beleaguered hospitality industry ask for the right of appeal, based on reason? In what respect is the public health advice in England different to that in Scotland? There are so many questions and after more than a year of this, so few detailed, satisfactory answers. The decision makers hide behind the mantra that anyone who challenges their edicts is less interested than themselves in public health or protecting the community. That has never been true and should have been called out long before now. The longer this goes on, the more urgent the need for scrutiny. Keeping Glasgow closed is a blunt instrument which fails to recognise vast differences within its boundaries. Concentrating on postcode areas seems more sensible than relying on boundaries which were drawn in the 1990s for entirely different reasons – primarily to keep more prosperous areas out of Glasgow. The idea that people are not going to travel from Glasgow for a meal in Bearsden or Kilmacolm does not accord with reality. So the major impact of this blanket ban within the confines of the city is not to limit the spread of the virus but to put another nail in the coffins of good, responsible businesses that are struggling to survive. If the politicians believe their own rhetoric, why did they not act last Friday to limit the public health damage from the Rangers party? Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf could have made a recording of his pious strictures to be released around 6pm. and then taken the rest of Saturday off. What did he expect in George Square? Community singing of Abide with Me? Ditto the First Minister who should surely have seen the need for containment within her own constituency? The lesson is that while it is easy to ban things it is within your authority to ban, a greater talent is required for seeing a bigger picture – and that is what they made a complete mess of last weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 7 minutes ago, Forever Hearts said: Here's Brian Wilson's take on it. In case you don't know (and I'd bet a pound to a penny you don’t) he's a Celtic director and lifelong Celtic supporter. IT may be unfashionable to point out but football can create really joyous occasions. Take last Saturday’s FA Cup Final at Wembley with 21,500 people in the stadium, an intimation that normality is again conceivable. There was an emotional quality to the singing of Abide With Me, dedicated to victims of the pandemic. “When other helpers fail and comforts flee; Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me”. Old words with special meaning as people came together after so long, in this way. Then there was the game itself, turning on two acts of beauty – the goal from Youri Tielemans which won it and the save from Kasper Schmeichel that thwarted Chelsea. So Leicester, one of our cities hardest hit by the pandemic, had its morale lifted to the heavens. The occasion was possible through a balanced approach to risk. Putting 21,500 people into Wembley’s open air must carry a scintilla of risk. But keeping them out and playing this special game behind closed doors would surely have done far more harm than good. In Scotland, such thinking is taboo. Even before the latest Glasgow shutdown, there were to be just 600 supporters inside Hampden for the Scottish Cup Final. Now the vast terraces will be empty. To what good effect or elimination of risk, I wonder? Last Friday I was in Glasgow Airport, a place of eerie silence these days but suddenly raucous sound announced the arrival of a flight from Belfast which disgorged a platoon of Rangers tops, clearly here for a party. I should make clear the colour of tops is irrelevant to the thrust of my argument. If anyone had doubts, this confirmed that the following day’s celebrations were going to be a big event attracting supporters from far and near. Given that entry to Ibrox stadium was precluded, the logic pointed to a big event somewhere else – ie the streets, bridges and squares of Glasgow. Who had decided that this was a good – or at least, less bad – idea? It seemed basic common sense – which would have applied equally regardless of which club had something to celebrate – that the thousands congregating in Glasgow should be allowed to do so in their preferred environment, their own stadium. The choice was not between whether or not people would congregate; only where. I have still to hear any rational explanation of why it was thought preferable for this to happen in the aforementioned streets, bridges and squares where, as soon transpired, absolutely no rules would apply, than within the confines of a stadium where they all wanted to be and within which some degree of regulation would have been possible. Then, while I was waiting for my flight, a friend in the hospitality industry phoned in despair to tell me about the latest disaster – the decision not to move Glasgow down to level 2. At this point, the contrast between what everyone knew was going to happen the following day and the latest extension of Glasgow’s lockdown moved from being merely irrational to grotesque. I have never quite understood why it is forbidden to have a glass of wine with a meal within permitted hours. However, the idea this would continue to be banned in Glasgow on public health grounds while the same politicians and experts had put exclusion from a football stadium before all the blatantly obvious risks inherent in the alternative now appeared incomprehensible and irresponsible. Yet who does one turn to for an explanation? Who can the beleaguered hospitality industry ask for the right of appeal, based on reason? In what respect is the public health advice in England different to that in Scotland? There are so many questions and after more than a year of this, so few detailed, satisfactory answers. The decision makers hide behind the mantra that anyone who challenges their edicts is less interested than themselves in public health or protecting the community. That has never been true and should have been called out long before now. The longer this goes on, the more urgent the need for scrutiny. Keeping Glasgow closed is a blunt instrument which fails to recognise vast differences within its boundaries. Concentrating on postcode areas seems more sensible than relying on boundaries which were drawn in the 1990s for entirely different reasons – primarily to keep more prosperous areas out of Glasgow. The idea that people are not going to travel from Glasgow for a meal in Bearsden or Kilmacolm does not accord with reality. So the major impact of this blanket ban within the confines of the city is not to limit the spread of the virus but to put another nail in the coffins of good, responsible businesses that are struggling to survive. If the politicians believe their own rhetoric, why did they not act last Friday to limit the public health damage from the Rangers party? Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf could have made a recording of his pious strictures to be released around 6pm. and then taken the rest of Saturday off. What did he expect in George Square? Community singing of Abide with Me? Ditto the First Minister who should surely have seen the need for containment within her own constituency? The lesson is that while it is easy to ban things it is within your authority to ban, a greater talent is required for seeing a bigger picture – and that is what they made a complete mess of last weekend. Good that a Beach Boy has an interest in Scottish Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unknown user Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 minute ago, davemclaren said: Good that a Beach Boy has an interest in Scottish Football. stop it, this is serious, people are disrespecting the hun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Police chief has his say. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7132390/home-office-palestine-protest-rangers-celebrations-police/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 3 minutes ago, davemclaren said: Good that a Beach Boy has an interest in Scottish Football. 0/10 for originality. 👎 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davemclaren Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 13 minutes ago, Forever Hearts said: 0/10 for originality. 👎 Brian’s songs are the height of originality imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambomjm74 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 4 minutes ago, Forever Hearts said: Police chief has his say. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/scottish-news/7132390/home-office-palestine-protest-rangers-celebrations-police/ It’s exactly right. What ever flag or just reasoning... none of these public gatherings should have taken place and were all illegal. COVID kills and destroys business and life’s. Morons signing their wee tunes, hitting each other and breaking bottles is vile... but not likely to end in Death. The gatherings in Glasgow across the weekend are, regardless of your political views. The police have to have not only legal authority but the moral authority which requires the unbiased support of our leaders, that’s not happened. Reading through this thread and the joy of some, at a Union Jack being seen as bad ... whilst ignoring the real point is a sad reflection of the “neverendum” “civil war” that now exists. Excuse me sectarianism, this religious stuffs a bit out of date ohh don’t worry Nationalisms already here to help replace the old fashioned hate with a new one ... superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinga the Swinga Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Maybe Police Chief wants to have a word with his bosses at govt. They ignored the one on Friday as it served their purpose, but all that did was green light and egg on Saturday and Sundays disgraces. Given you can add fireboming of Llawells house overnight, Glasgow truly is the cess pit of Scotland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Just now, Malinga the Swinga said: Maybe Police Chief wants to have a word with his bosses at govt. They ignored the one on Friday as it served their purpose, but all that did was green light and egg on Saturday and Sundays disgraces. Given you can add fireboming of Llawells house overnight, Glasgow truly is the cess pit of Scotland. Peter Lawwell lives in Lanarkshire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadj Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Smithee said: stop it, this is serious, people are disrespecting the hun! 🤣 1 hour ago, davemclaren said: Good that a Beach Boy has an interest in Scottish Football. Brilliant 🤣🤣 1 hour ago, Rave MacPherson said: He gets around 🤣🤣 well played Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadj Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, jambomjm74 said: It’s exactly right. What ever flag or just reasoning... none of these public gatherings should have taken place and were all illegal. COVID kills and destroys business and life’s. Morons signing their wee tunes, hitting each other and breaking bottles is vile... but not likely to end in Death. The gatherings in Glasgow across the weekend are, regardless of your political views. The police have to have not only legal authority but the moral authority which requires the unbiased support of our leaders, that’s not happened. Reading through this thread and the joy of some, at a Union Jack being seen as bad ... whilst ignoring the real point is a sad reflection of the “neverendum” “civil war” that now exists. Excuse me sectarianism, this religious stuffs a bit out of date ohh don’t worry Nationalisms already here to help replace the old fashioned hate with a new one ... superb. What is the real point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Rob Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 2 hours ago, Rave MacPherson said: He gets around Criminally underrated comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auldbenches Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Malinga the Swinga said: Maybe Police Chief wants to have a word with his bosses at govt. They ignored the one on Friday as it served their purpose, but all that did was green light and egg on Saturday and Sundays disgraces. Given you can add fireboming of Llawells house overnight, Glasgow truly is the cess pit of Scotland. What happened to Scottish football being given the yellow card? The Scottish government have had a year to get on top of these things and haven't taken any action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambomjm74 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 23 minutes ago, sadj said: What is the real point? Covid rules ignored, which could well spread more covid and cost life’s and slow exit from restrictions. All gatherings were wrong, only some have been portrayed as wrong... Peoples political bias sees sides taken and a great joy from some at Rangers fans behaving badly, it used to be a football rivalry. I have no love for Rangers or any other of our rivals. I think you’d gather that from my original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real Maroonblood Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 2 hours ago, davemclaren said: Good that a Beach Boy has an interest in Scottish Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riccarton3 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Think The Rangers football club nose has been put out of joint by the Scottish govt. That's right, a football club 10,000 dead and they want 4 x 10k in their ground. For a trophy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Independence Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 7 minutes ago, jambomjm74 said: Covid rules ignored, which could well spread more covid and cost life’s and slow exit from restrictions. All gatherings were wrong, only some have been portrayed as wrong... Peoples political bias sees sides taken and a great joy from some at Rangers fans behaving badly, it used to be a football rivalry. I have no love for Rangers or any other of our rivals. I think you’d gather that from my original post. It is not political it is factual. They are the worst fans, as evidenced through year after years of besmirching their own club. I am 64 and it has aye been. Evidence? Just google Rangers fans shame or similar. As a starter: The never-before-seen images from one of the 'worst nights of violence in Manchester since the Blitz' - Manchester Evening News They are Scotland's Shame! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinga the Swinga Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 32 minutes ago, Independence said: It is not political it is factual. They are the worst fans, as evidenced through year after years of besmirching their own club. I am 64 and it has aye been. Evidence? Just google Rangers fans shame or similar. As a starter: The never-before-seen images from one of the 'worst nights of violence in Manchester since the Blitz' - Manchester Evening News They are Scotland's Shame! Glasgow's shame definitely, West of Scotland's shame maybe, but not Scotland's. They are **** all to do with Edinburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last Laff Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Let’s not pretend Celtic fans aren’t just as bad though. Sitting on their high horse forgetting smashing up Sunderland among other places singing songs about the soldier murdered by they two ***** with knifes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last Laff Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Malinga the Swinga said: Glasgow's shame definitely, West of Scotland's shame maybe, but not Scotland's. They are **** all to do with Edinburgh. Thousands of them from here though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingantti1874 Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 12 minutes ago, Last Laff said: Let’s not pretend Celtic fans aren’t just as bad though. Sitting on their high horse forgetting smashing up Sunderland among other places singing songs about the soldier murdered by they two ***** with knifes. they are every but as bad and as far as hearts are concerned worse. They smeared human shit on the walls of tynecastle celebrating the death of innocent people. What in the actual **** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Last Laff Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 Just now, kingantti1874 said: they are every but as bad and as far as hearts are concerned worse. They smeared human shit on the walls of tynecastle celebrating the death of innocent people. What in the actual **** Huns probably do the same at the shit tip down Leith. Both are just ****ing horrible football clubs man. Who the actual **** goes about smashing up cities and sing about people getting their heads chopped off and not have that part in their mind thinking this is unacceptable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Slim Stylee Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 3 hours ago, Doc Rob said: Criminally underrated comment. God only knows what we’d do without him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydug Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 7 hours ago, Forever Hearts said: Here's Brian Wilson's take on it. In case you don't know (and I'd bet a pound to a penny you don’t) he's a Celtic director and lifelong Celtic supporter. IT may be unfashionable to point out but football can create really joyous occasions. Take last Saturday’s FA Cup Final at Wembley with 21,500 people in the stadium, an intimation that normality is again conceivable. There was an emotional quality to the singing of Abide With Me, dedicated to victims of the pandemic. “When other helpers fail and comforts flee; Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me”. Old words with special meaning as people came together after so long, in this way. Then there was the game itself, turning on two acts of beauty – the goal from Youri Tielemans which won it and the save from Kasper Schmeichel that thwarted Chelsea. So Leicester, one of our cities hardest hit by the pandemic, had its morale lifted to the heavens. The occasion was possible through a balanced approach to risk. Putting 21,500 people into Wembley’s open air must carry a scintilla of risk. But keeping them out and playing this special game behind closed doors would surely have done far more harm than good. In Scotland, such thinking is taboo. Even before the latest Glasgow shutdown, there were to be just 600 supporters inside Hampden for the Scottish Cup Final. Now the vast terraces will be empty. To what good effect or elimination of risk, I wonder? Last Friday I was in Glasgow Airport, a place of eerie silence these days but suddenly raucous sound announced the arrival of a flight from Belfast which disgorged a platoon of Rangers tops, clearly here for a party. I should make clear the colour of tops is irrelevant to the thrust of my argument. If anyone had doubts, this confirmed that the following day’s celebrations were going to be a big event attracting supporters from far and near. Given that entry to Ibrox stadium was precluded, the logic pointed to a big event somewhere else – ie the streets, bridges and squares of Glasgow. Who had decided that this was a good – or at least, less bad – idea? It seemed basic common sense – which would have applied equally regardless of which club had something to celebrate – that the thousands congregating in Glasgow should be allowed to do so in their preferred environment, their own stadium. The choice was not between whether or not people would congregate; only where. I have still to hear any rational explanation of why it was thought preferable for this to happen in the aforementioned streets, bridges and squares where, as soon transpired, absolutely no rules would apply, than within the confines of a stadium where they all wanted to be and within which some degree of regulation would have been possible. Then, while I was waiting for my flight, a friend in the hospitality industry phoned in despair to tell me about the latest disaster – the decision not to move Glasgow down to level 2. At this point, the contrast between what everyone knew was going to happen the following day and the latest extension of Glasgow’s lockdown moved from being merely irrational to grotesque. I have never quite understood why it is forbidden to have a glass of wine with a meal within permitted hours. However, the idea this would continue to be banned in Glasgow on public health grounds while the same politicians and experts had put exclusion from a football stadium before all the blatantly obvious risks inherent in the alternative now appeared incomprehensible and irresponsible. Yet who does one turn to for an explanation? Who can the beleaguered hospitality industry ask for the right of appeal, based on reason? In what respect is the public health advice in England different to that in Scotland? There are so many questions and after more than a year of this, so few detailed, satisfactory answers. The decision makers hide behind the mantra that anyone who challenges their edicts is less interested than themselves in public health or protecting the community. That has never been true and should have been called out long before now. The longer this goes on, the more urgent the need for scrutiny. Keeping Glasgow closed is a blunt instrument which fails to recognise vast differences within its boundaries. Concentrating on postcode areas seems more sensible than relying on boundaries which were drawn in the 1990s for entirely different reasons – primarily to keep more prosperous areas out of Glasgow. The idea that people are not going to travel from Glasgow for a meal in Bearsden or Kilmacolm does not accord with reality. So the major impact of this blanket ban within the confines of the city is not to limit the spread of the virus but to put another nail in the coffins of good, responsible businesses that are struggling to survive. If the politicians believe their own rhetoric, why did they not act last Friday to limit the public health damage from the Rangers party? Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf could have made a recording of his pious strictures to be released around 6pm. and then taken the rest of Saturday off. What did he expect in George Square? Community singing of Abide with Me? Ditto the First Minister who should surely have seen the need for containment within her own constituency? The lesson is that while it is easy to ban things it is within your authority to ban, a greater talent is required for seeing a bigger picture – and that is what they made a complete mess of last weekend. He's also a committed Unionist who hates the SNP. Hardly an unbiased voice. Even if a reduced attendance had been allowed at Ibrox the sash bash in George Square would still have occurred imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malinga the Swinga Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 3 hours ago, Last Laff said: Thousands of them from here though. Kill the two stems of sectarianism, Rangers and Celtic, and who knows, future generations of Glaswegians maybe able to live in a civilised society. Would take a while but better that than allowing their stench to freely circulate. Scientists found a vaccine for Covid, can they not find one for old firmitis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Hearts Posted May 19, 2021 Share Posted May 19, 2021 40 minutes ago, luckydug said: He's also a committed Unionist who hates the SNP. Hardly an unbiased voice. Even if a reduced attendance had been allowed at Ibrox the sash bash in George Square would still have occurred imo. And the ones criticising Rangers fans whilst condoning/encouraging the Palestinian demo are committed Nationalists who hate the Unionists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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