Media favourite Pat Nevin has revealed to MSP’s that he came under pressure from Celtic after accusing supporters of singing sectarian songs at the Scottish Cup Final in May.
At half-time in the Celtic v Motherwell match at Hampden anchor man Rob McLean chose to broadcast claims that Celtic fans had been singing sectarian songs.
McLean was in a studio at Hampden with Nevin, Craig Levein and John Hartson when he decided to change BBC policy and discuss sectarian songs having totally ignored the issue at the League Cup Final in March.
Nevin gleefully seized the opportunity to launch an attack on the Celtic support and promised to ‘mention it every time that I hear it.’
That prompted a backlash from the Celtic support with some fans working through the laborious BBC complaints procedure for clarity on the matter.
Speaking yesterday at the latest tax-payer funded talking shop into sectarian issues Nevin claimed that Celtic as well as individual fans had protested to the BBC about his comments.
“I was shocked and surprised that Celtic Football Club and a great number of fans complained to the BBC,” the former Motherwell Chief Executive claimed. “I expect to hear them say that they do not want to hear that sort of song at their ground.”
Nevin continued: “The song went something like, ‘As a young man, I’m going to join the IRA – provisional wing’. It offended me and I do not want to hear it at a football ground.”
Despite the outrage of McLean and Nevin the BBC have never followed up the issue by replaying the sectarian songs that were discussed in their studio.
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The whole reason for the charade at Holyrood is the fact that ther is only one club with a serious sectarian problem this new offensive guff is only a sop to the huns.
Nevin should start with the basics like learning the difference between sectarian and political songs.
The whole farce is pandering to Rangers, making it a “both as bad each other” situation, we HAVE laws to deal with racists, bigots, religious hatred and sectarianism ALREADY, the police and politicians just refuse to use them because it would mean emptying Ibrox and every Rangers pub in the country every week and Celtic would have a fraction of arrests.
Obviously making it an “offensive” issue drags us into it, unfortunately it also drags every football supporter in the country in to it also because when opposition fans are reporting how they are offended by their rivals mocking chants the police will be obligated to act.
This entire new law bulls#it is blatantly aimed at us to appease Gers fans and their cheerleaders, nobody will convince me laws do not already exist to tackle sectarian problems, they are just not being used, so why are they not being used?
The thing that really bothers me is that, the twits at the BBC don’t even know what sectarian means, IRA songs are not sectarian. They may be Anti British but they are not anti Protestant.
My understanding of sectarianism is that it is hatred against someone’s faith. I therefore have no notion of a sectarian song that is sung by Celtic fans and if I heard a Celtic fan saying anything sectarian I would ask him if he indeed did, know his history?
Did he know Jock Stein and Wolfe Tone were Protestants?
I’d also like to agree with the majority of posts that I’ve read that basically say Nevin is a dick and doesn’t warrant the attention he is getting!
Rofobhoy
Sectarian doesn’t necessarily mean against someones faith. This is just what the Scottish media would have you believe. Football is sectarian in that it divides people into certain groups dependant on any number of influences, and then pits them against each other. This is a more accurate depiction of sectarianism than how the press perceive it.
But then it keeps journalists and politicians in jobs for another six months until the next drama.
Hail hail
so being anti-british is not the same as being anti catholic,,,are you saying anyone who is anti catholic isnt a bigot,,wise up, i support celtic for football reasons only, if anyone hates anyone they should keep it out of football and all sports,,,
Sorry but the line provisional wing has no place at celtic games
lets educate pat alleged former chief of staff of the PIRA martin mcguiness is education minister of the 6 counties sorry northern ireland
Hmm, we were told at the time that they were informed by someone pitchside. Now Nevin says he heard it himself and was offended. Which was it?
An honest mistake!?
Personally I think it’s a futile to try and get Nevin on a technicality about whether or not pro-IRA songs are sectarian, because:
1) We shouldn’t be singing songs in support of the IRA anyway – there’s no link to Celtic, it doesn’t celebrate Celtic and it doesn’t reflect Celtic’s diverse fanbase, so why are they relevant?
2) It’s difficult to argue unequivocally that these songs aren’t sectarian, because you’d need to prove that the IRA is not, or has never been, a sectarian organisation. They’re certainly not Pro-Protestant – are you telling me they’ve never conducted an anti-Protestant act EVER? REALLY?
We know we shouldn’t be singing these songs – morality apart (which is enough for me not to want to sing or hear them), they’ve got no place at Celtic games. We need to stop the paranoia around “everyone’s out to get us and they treat us more harshly than other offenders” and just stop giving people grounds to criticize us. Are we really so hard up on other songs that we need to keep them in our canon? It’s time we demonstrated beyond reproach that we have no interest in hatred/sectarianism/bigotry/racism and stopped looking for loopholes that make “our” songs less dubious than Rangers songs.
Well said Aussiebhoy
IRA songs are not sectarian, and that has already been proven in a scottish court of law, i do agree the songs should stop though, although there is absolutely no comparison between IRA songs and racist, sectarian and bigoted songs.
Being from Ireland and catholic who’s grandfather fought for Britain during the Second World War, I lost family at remembrance day massacre, where the IRA planted a bomb and killed both catholics and protestants, what I have found is the only people who don’t want peace are the people who don’t have to live there, as a football and Celtic fan dont get caught in all this romance nonsense, IRA were murderers as was the UVF,,,gangsters who made fortunes out of the troubles
Nevin is an insignificant wee man,
He blames “sectarian” singing for him stopping supporting his favourite team, but only 2 years ago there was no mention of this being his reasons, he says he fell in love with hibs and the fans instead ?? Why does he feel the need to start telling lies now? Would like to be able to tell him that IRA songs (although no place in football) are not sectarian.