Hearts have questioned their fans motives for using the Red Hand of Ulster flag to taunt Celtic supporters.
The Tynecastle club are in bother with the SFA who are investigating the attack on Neil Lennon in last month’s Hearts-Celtic clash at Tynecastle.
One supporter is awaiting trial for that incident but the Edinburgh side are conducting a deeper investigation into what manager Jim Jefferies described as the poisonous atmosphere on the night of the Celtic match.
Speaking at the club AGM yesterday, chief executive David Southern said: “What happened in that May game can never happen again.
“All we are asking is what are the reasons for the colours you’re flying at Tynecastle? As regards the Union Jack, there is no club that deserves the right to fly the Union Jack more than Hearts given the sacrifices of our players. We would never ban the Union Jack.
“But it’s been hijacked and it can be hijacked by a minority of our supporters. We need to be very careful of that.
“As regards the Red Hand of Ulster, quite frankly there is no relevance of that flag at this ground, unless you’re from Ulster Hearts Supporters’ Club, which I believe exists. You can’t be arrested for having a flag or being in possession of a flag unless it’s a prescribed flag.
“What you can be arrested for is waving it in an inciteful manner. If it’s used in an inciteful manner to intimidate away fans at Tynecastle, or when we travel, those responsible will be arrested.”
Turning to the attack on Lennon the Hearts chief added: “We’ve spent the last four or five weeks in detailed discussions with the SPL, police and stewarding companies in every effort to try to reduce the sanctions the club may face.
“We did everything in advance of the game that we possibly could. We’d be aghast if the SPL came back and said there was a hefty fine on its way or anything worse than that.
“Because of the person who ran on, we’re going to make the entire lower main stand a season-ticket holder only area.”
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Forgive for not being convinced but what Hearts are saying sounds like Rangers with their “small minority” defence.
Potential fine – I really can’t see it. The SFA, police etc have already came out and stated that an anti Irish / Catholic bigot fest is the way they want Scottish football to be portrayed to the rest of the world. (I’m referring to comments after the League Cup final this year).
I refer to anti Irish / Catholic sentiments not because I am either of the two but because we all know that is the reason that Neil Lennon takes so much abuse.
I’m quite impressed with their frankness. Their comments regarding the red hand could rile their support, but it hasn’t stopped them pointing to the truth.
Well said steven,the Scottish league is a cesspit of anti Irish/catholic bigotry from the boardrooms down.I personally would rather start in the English fourth tier and let them get on with it….
Dangerous ground banning flags of any description. The Red Hand has no obvious link to Hearts. So what? Palestinian, Starry Ploughs, Swedish, Honduran? Waving a flag, no matter how vigourously is not a crime.
Let’s not get distracted by side issues here.
Hearts ban the Red Hand and everything’s hunky-dory. Don’t think so.
Smoke-screening even Rangers would be pleased with.
2 Games behind closed doors. That would be fair.
I completely agree, let people fly whatever flags they want, if you start arresting people waving flags provocatively where does it end? As long as it has no reference on the flags of racist or bigoted organisations like the OO then leave it be.
What they need to do is stop the racist and bigoted songs aimed at Celtic supporters and open an inquiry into why the SFA, police, politicians and scottish media have been happy to let it go on unchallenged for decades, why the racist and bigoted hate campaign against Lennon was allowed to continue from the very 1st day he joined Celtic until now, allowing it to escalate to attempted murder of a football manager a QC and a politician.
Until the widespread, deep rooted, anti irish and anti catholicism is addressed, AND JUST AS IMPORTANTLY why it has been allowed to exist as an acceptable and “normal” part of scottish society by people who are in positions of authority, people who are supposedly educated, then nothing at all will change.
This is lip service exactly like that from the scum at ibrox this year. The garbage they all spoke in the media only to inflame situations the very next day was what we all know they are really about. The biggotry starts at ibrox and tynecastle, and is supported by the clubs. The SFA are equally guilty and they will never change either.
I applaud the Hertz spokesman on this stance, i ask my fellow Celtic fans this question, ” what did you want the guy to say/do?” I have absolutely no time whatsoever for this club and dislike any occasion i visit Swinecastle but can folk not see that they also may feel like this when they vidit Celtic? Are rival fans not allowed to “hate”us?? I certainly “hate” Rangers and Hearts so why do we seem to have a complex when the roles reversed?
What we dont do is send bombs or bullets but our fans at times have embarrased our club, Dida incident-Dallas coin- jumpin off the top tier-Walters banana-Diouf clown-Reyna clown.
Lets just give Hertz the chance to clean up their act and weed out their idiots.
Oh and fair play to Kyle Laffable.
Stopping people flying flags wont help. As far as i can gather i dont believe any Celts care about hearts or rangers flying NI flags, its being told to go home by racists and insulted by bigots that is not only wrong but a crime and yet its been allowed to go on unpunished, police officers and stewards stand yards from people screaming racist abuse at people and do nothing. It seems to me like this is just an attempt to avoid tackling the real issues and problems, who really gives a s#it about flags being waved when supporters are being racially abused, spat at, and attacked in the street simply for being a Celtic fan?
I don’t want hearts supporters or any other clubs to be banned for flying flags, the SPL will decide Celtic park should also ban flags in their bid to “tackle sectarianism” while Celtic supporters, people of Irish decent and Catholics are still being treated like s#it.
That was exactly the point I made earlier. The banning of flags, regardless of the flag will not bring an end to a century of discrimination and hatred. Football rivallry is healthy. If the powers that be feel football rivallries are to blame for all the sectarian hatred, then the game really is heading for oblivion in Scotland.
Police and stewards need to know what is racist/sectarian and what is not.
Outbursts like Rob McLean’s at the Cup final do not help matters in the slightest. It’s that kind of illinformed rant that perpetuates the “one side bad as the other” shite.
As the Hearts guy said, “No team deserves the right to fly the Union Jack more than Hearts…”
No team deserves the right to fly the Irish Tri-colour more than us.