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Green Brigade still incurs the wrath of old brigade

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Green Brigade Celtic newsAnyone doubting the depth of hostility towards The Green Brigade only has to look at the grudging coverage given to the Celtic support in the traditional media after Saturday’s win at Inverness.

Following a week that saw the boisterous and vocal element of the Celtic support kicked from pillar to post, all ears in the traditional media were straining to pick up on so-called IRA chants at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Saturday.

Any outsider picking up on coverage of the matter would have wondered why it had taken a complaint from Strathclyde Police to UEFA to highlight such an issue if ‘IRA chants’ were a regular feature of Celtic matches.

Interestingly there has been no detail on these so-called pro-IRA chants with only a single line in the Celtic Symphony indefensible in the current Celtic songbook.

By switching from ‘ooh ah up the ra’ over to ‘ooh ah Samaras’ the problem was solved leaving the old brigade of the traditional media to look elsewhere to justify their anticipation leading up to Saturday.

Typical of the reaction was the Herald who could hardly hide their anger as the travelling Celtic support backed their team to an important victory.

The Herald stated: “Mercifully, Celtic’s visit to Inverness on Saturday didn’t turn out to be about the Green Brigade, but it could have been.

Everyone had their ears pricked to listen out for the pro-IRA poison they’ve belted out to bring so much trouble to Celtic’s door, but the controversial stuff was absent. Sure, there was some posturing. Fans sang “we’ll sing what we want”. They held up banners saying “Our music has survived through famine and oppression” and “Get up, stand up, don’t give up your rights.”

“All of that seemed to be setting a depressing context of stubborn defiance ahead of the chants and “add-ons” being heard again, but if there was anything, it was drowned out. Neither Northern Constabulary, Caley Thistle’s stewards nor the SPL’s match delegate reported anything of concern. In fact, they privately praised the Celtic support.

Almost every Celtic home supporter is totally behind the Green Brigade apart from the occasional attention seeker.

Celtic Park without the bhoys of section 111 would be a cross between a morgue and a library. This season they even prompted the Jock Stein stand into song during a tedious 2-0 home win over Inverness Caley Thistle.

With chants like ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘In the Heat of Lisbon’ alongside some of their own ‘ultra culture tunes’ breathing much needed life into Celtic Park the Green Brigade are an essential element of the Celtic support.

They will lose nothing of their edge by combining their own contemporary chants to the traditional tunes that have long been part and parcel of supporting Celtic, songs that go back to the founding days of the club, defining the club and support within an often hostile Scottish society as recently issued government figures confirm.

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  • Gavin says:

    Firstly, the Herald article was entirely accurate and balanced so using it in the tone you do is needless and provocative.
    Then for you to go on and basically cast all support at Celtic Park with the exception of section 111 as silent unworthy guests at their party is shocking!
    Internet broadcasters like yourself and others have a responsibility, just like the Herald does, to be fair and unbiased if you are to be bemoaning others on the subject and once again you have failed dramatically.
    Yet another bad article adding fuel to the fire

  • Speak for yourself what backwater are you hiding in. Almost every Celtic supporter is behind the GB. reporting no better than the gutter press

  • Greenjedi says:

    I wonder if they listened to the what the home support sang at Ibrox later that afternoon with such vigour?

    I’d guess they where probably to busy joining in to though.

  • Joe McHugh says:

    A big welcome on board to two new contributors, Gavin and Mathias Sammer.

    Two very similar comments posted within two minutes of each other.

  • paranoidandroid says:

    Well done to the GB, and well done to the whole support. Let the barstewards strain and prick up their ears as much as they want. “Give them nothing”. And watch them tearing their hair out in frustration.

  • NorthAntrimBhoy says:

    Cant see anything wrong with the newspaper article, were we not all watching the game and listening to what was happening in the stands?.

    I for one see no need for the ra chants, the green brigade are great for the club but those chants let us down. Its so small a part of what they bring, why continue with it if its going to put the spotlight on us when the problem is so much worse at mordor and swinewcastle.
    Obviously the the reporting of whats going on amongst our own fans is unbalanced but stop giving the media fuel when we have no need for the stupid add ons.

  • gary mc kay says:

    the celtic fans have a right to sing irish rebel songs these songs are not sectarian in the slightest. they are about our irish culture and freedom of speech! also take the gb out of celtic park and cfc will lose another 5 – 10 thousand supporters hard enough to fill seats when you have lackeys like lawwell about!

    • paranoidandroid says:

      Nobodies asking anyone to give up the Irish songs. However, when people sing the add-ons, they’re giving our enemies, the Celtic-haters, a big stick to attack us with.
      There’s nothing they’d like more than to hear more add-ons- because these chants are the only way they can get at our support. This is a propaganda war. We must be smarter than them. Let the world see who the bigots are.

  • stevie says:

    Accurate and balanced aye right no agenda, no wonder the Scottish media circulation figures are on a downward spiral.
    Freedom of speech sadly becomes an issue when the Scottish media talk about the Green Brigade.
    Change a few words and thats it sorted.
    Wonder if the police or the mankie Scotish media were listening at Ibrox on saturday or is this just a Green Brigade problem.

  • mick says:

    praise in private this is a bad trait in scotland
    fans gr8t at inverness
    oh was that a rebel song played at ibrox on saturday”american national anthem” this is a sectarion song about the hate they had for brittish rule and its people,is rangers changing
    from gstq to star spangled banner

  • Gerry D says:

    The green brigade and the celtic support will desist from chants that have brought the club disrepute. The same will not and cannot be said for rangers.

    The scottish anti irish anti catholic agenda is clearly seen both by todays herald article regarding what ‘might have happened’at the weekend and from crime figures, telling us what we already knew that catholics are by far the victims of hate crime.

    Fair reprting has never been evident here, we saw almost no mention of sectarian signing policies for over a hundred years or racict illegal chants, instead we had to be embarrassed into action by european authorities.

    If any further evidence of this was required then mckaskills look at declaration of the wonderful family atmosphere at the league cup final, which is as yet to be detracted and was indeed endorsed by strathclyde police.

    This is the backdrop to all reprting on these matters so I am content that we should take no lessons from other clubs, the sfa, political or police authorites within our strange little country!

    • paranoidandroid says:

      What we need to do is show the rest of the world that we are better than them. They are desperate to goad Celtic fans into a reaction. Dont give them the satisfaction.
      The fans were brilliant on saturday and look how much they hated it. More of the same.

    • Stevie says:

      Well said mate.

  • Teddy bjarnason says:

    As a fan of what Celtic should be, I am more offended by gloryfying bleeding Samaras than singing the ra. Those who sung that should be thrown in jail. Ooh aah Stokes”s da!

  • stephen says:

    Joe is spot on, celtic park is a morgue every saturday except for the green brigade section. That doesn’t mean i agree or dont agree with them, it’s a fact. They bring the only atmosphere to celtic park.

  • Brian says:

    Its fairly simple, don’t sing the add-ons and they have nothing to have a go at us for. I really don’t see how anyone can or want to argue against that. It was always a certainty that we would be the first Club in the SPL dock as soon as George Peat announced Clubs would be tackled over this. The rules have been changed from sectarian to “illicit” or “offensive” all in order to get at us, that obvious to see. Defining offensive in a Court of Law is up for debate, anyone can be offended by anything, I for example might be offended when I hear the Sash belted out in order to get it up me, but ultimately who decides it is offensive? Equally I get offended when I hear the Sheep singing “in your Glasgow Slums” and how I rake in a bucket for something to eat but again who makes the call to agree that is offensive or as one fat commentator once said “banter”.

    Lets not give them any ammunition, they are all to ready with their guns open to feed it into. Lets fight clever, and really we don’t need to be that clever about it. The Buns stopped singing the Billy Boys, weeks later they are effectively stilling singing it but replacing to the tune of Edu, Edu…… We all know what hey are up to, don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work that so lets just play the game.

  • I'm_a_cynic_too says:

    No-one is preventing anyone from supporting their club. No-one is demanding that fans stop singing. No-one wants to bar fans from Parkhead for supporting their team.

    Just about every true Celtic fan wants the pro-IRA references stopped, as evidenced by the complaints received by the club after the Hearts game. If you really must sing political songs for some reason, sing them at political rallies — not at football games. No pro-IRA songs = no problems…..Simple!

    Clean up our own house first, and then the media will be forced to focus on Mordor…..

  • Big Mike says:

    God bless the Green Brigade. Keep up the good work, sing your songs, and continue to leave out the words IRA and they cannot say a damn thing!

  • mick says:

    It’s right what some are saying, so leave the add ons out we will be fine aslong as everybody is treated the same, that means open ears at other grounds hail hail

  • Paul-Gerrard says:

    “Celtic Park without the bhoys of section 111 would be a cross between a morgue and a library. ”

    Nah dont think so mate !!
    More often than not most Celtic fans nowadays dont sing cos they know that the Green Brigade are doing the singing … i can assure you, if they were not there, Celtic fans would do what they have ALWAYS done …. sing and back the team (with or without the Green Brigade)
    Anyway, they are passionate about our club and are most welcome at Celtic Park.

  • jimthetim says:

    I am paranoid but CELTIC FOOTBALL AND ATHLETIC CLUB were born out of Ireland and its politics we should all be proud of that and be proud of the struggle for justice and freedom just like many countries in this world just like the USA SOUTH AFRICA KENYA and all the african colonies this I CAN ASSURE YOU ALL IS THE START OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM IN SCOTLAND MARK MY WORD COME ON THE GREEN BRIGADE DONT LET THEM GET YOU DOWN VIVA PALESTINE AND OUR BASQUE FRIENDS MY KURDISH FIENDS GOD BLESS

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