It’s almost a throw-away line but startling in many ways. According to an un-named piece in today’s Scotland On Sunday: “Privately, the police have admitted that it is their intention to “smash” the Irish Republican, Marxist Green Brigade. They are willing to go to extreme lengths, in terms of their use of survelliance and a wide range of extraneous powers, to do so.”
Whether this is wishful thinking on the part of the author or the feelings of Strathclyde Police the motives are pretty disturbing. Given recent developments it can only be a matter of time before the group of fans that brought ‘Just Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘In the Heat of Lisbon’ to Celtic Park are blamed for the eurozone crisis and the lack of salt and grit for the upcoming and unexpected cold snap.
Sure the Green Brigade have overstepped the mark at times but there is more than enough current legislation to nip that sort of chanting in the bud. Why the police wish to ‘go to extreme lengths to smash’ the Green Brigade should be a matter of concern to all Celtic supporters.
In a city riddled with crime and drug problems it would be presumed that the overstretched police resources could be better used combatting those real issues rather than attempting to smash a small group of football supporters who make their presence very public.
If the police have issues with the Green Brigade there is a very easy way for them to deal with it. At every Celtic home match they’ll be found in and around section 111 where their chants and songs generally lived the ground up.
The article on Scotland on Sunday comes ahead of a UEFA disciplinary meeting over alleged illicit chants during the Celtic v Rennes Europa League match. This matter was brought to the attention of UEFA by Strathclyde Police.
As the SNP under the leadership of Alex Salmond attempt to force through ill thought out and un-necessary legislation on the back of three Rangers players being sent off against Celtic in February is seems that the Green Brigade are the convenient fall guys for most of societies ills.
If the Green Brigade were the only problem needing smashed by Strathclyde Police the ‘dear green place’ would be a much more pleasant and accomodating place to live, work and visit.
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Surely its about time we used ONLY our own stewards to police inside the ground and leave Strathclyde’s finest to patrol the surrounding area and traffic control.
If there are any major problems with members of the Green Brigade, then they can be dealt with internally not via some pre-meditated clamp down before there are any offences reported.
Pre-meditated clamp down? No offences reported? Where have you been the past while? The GB have already been reported to UEFA so this is NOT a ‘pre-meditated attack’ as you put it. Cotton wool over your eyes by the look of things.
I think sadly you are the one with cotton wool over your eyes, the reporting to Uefa was an unprecedented action by a police force who for years have witnessed the disgusting songs at other grounds, seemingly never hearing anything worth reporting.
This was either a deliberate selective attack or maybe some of your cotton wool fell into their ears.
I agree that police should have reported several other sets of fans in Scotland for songs of an offensive nature. However I do not believe this is a direct attack on Celtic Football Club. The Police and Stewards have been reported at several football stadiums in Scotland this season for their over zealous heavy handed approach towards the normal innocent fan. This does not only happen at CP!
The reporting of fans by the Police match Commander direct to UEFA did only happen at Celtic Park. Was this the first time they had heard anything ‘offensive’
If this is true, then it’s disgraceful. In fact, it’s fascism: “smashing” a group because it holds different views from the majority of people in a country cant be legal. Who on earth has sanctioned the use of police resources in this way ?
As far as I’m aware being a Marxist or an Irish Republican is not illegal in the UK, nor in Scotland, either. I am neither a Marxist nor an Irish Republican myself, and while I love a lot of the things the GB do, I have to admit the ‘ra’ chants depress me, for many reasons.
However, I do have strong Irish connections, and, politically, I am a couple of miles to the left of Tony Blair. Therefore, I am all for Celtic retaining it’s unique blend of Irishness, Scottishness, and left-wing politics. And I’m all for the GB being allowed to continue to exercise their right to sing Irish songs and air their political opinions. I would perfer it, though, that they ditched the add-ons, even if it’s just as a mark of respect to the people in the UK who find the chants offensive.
If the claims in the Scotland On Sunday are true, then I really hope that the PLC and the rest of the support wiil stand shoulder to shoulder with the GB against this state sponsored intimidation. If it’s allowed to succeed, then we no longer live in a democracy.
Who will they smash next ?
There probably is some groups needing smashed in this land surely the clowns that march or streets followed by a drunken rabble telling us we,re not welcome here.
Indepence don’t make me laugh I wouldn’t trust the SNP to do anything other than be
bigoted. Let’s criminalise the minority only in Scotland many cultures but only one matters the rest feck if home.
Powers that be in Scotland have been very clear in their infantile intentions towards Catholics and Celtic fans. The problem is that it is in fact they, the establishment, who connect the two. Celtic have always been multi-denominational, unlike the Monarchy, the Crown, the SFA, SPL, judicial system, and of course, the Refs of the SPL.
The exposure of these bigoted groups has only made them strengthen their resolve and this report shows their communistic ways are not dead by any means. Scottish and British archaec thinking is no different to the recent autocratic ruling in places like Iraq, Iran, North Korea etc. And they wonder why we are so insignificant in the world!
Ask people like Hugh Dallas, Jim Farry, they know. Now the police force of the anti-Catholic crown are on a mission. What a shocker!
Have UEFA found the club guilty of this “crime” that was picked up by only one person, not the official UEFA observer ??
So any talk of “smashing” a singing section is completely over the top and an atrocious waste of valuable police resources.
I still believe in innocent UNTIL proven guilty…as so many cases “reported” are squashed before they reach court or are found not guilty…I’ll stand by my earlier comment…even without cotton wool in my ears.
When I attend games, it’s not my ears I fear being assaulted but more the nutjobs who look for trouble, used to be so called casuals now we just call them morons. I think any police work would be much better served looking elsewhere.
Maybe about time they “smashed” some of the many drug rings or extortion rackets..but then maybe they would uncover backhanded payments for looking away. Priorities and singing offensive or not should be well down the list to be smashed.
A very dangerous situation here, the Strathclyde police have an agenda and this has to be sorted. I hope Mr John Paul McBride is keeping a close eye on all this. A 16 year old Irish lad asked a policeman for directions to Celtic Park last year,in Glasgow city centre, the cops eyes bulged and he told the lad to f*** off. Its time for someone to have a look at this crowd.
When will the Catholics of Scotland wake up to the fact that they are not wanted in Scotland and the powers that run the country will do everything they can to controll The GB and any other CATHOLIC /Celtic org they stands up for their rights.
The IRA chants need to stop. What have the IRA got to do with Celtic anyway? Nothing.
What is concerning is that the vile singing by the majority of the oposition fans at the cup final was not condemned by the police or politicians, in fact they praised them. Now that is really worrying in my book.
Allegation has merit given the reports we’ve heard of supporters being stopped, searched & quizzed on attitudes or affiliations to the GB.
Not just plod confiscating ‘banned’ Pope scarfs, but men in suits with brown envelopes of pictures of fans going about their ordinary business, suspected affiliations and questions on attitudes to matters which the authorities have no business asking.
This would almost be funny until you consider the crime figures publishes, the issue over previous data being forensically destroyed, the figures retrieved from British Transport Police & the icing on the cake, that the application of this lunatic bill will be at the discretion of aforementioned society custodians.
The cherries on the icing on the cake being the honoured mckasklll & graham the former robustly refuting allegations of being sectarian in an a statement no one has seen & the latter having been ‘lifted ‘ for unruly behaviour at a Scotland game!
Sounds like an episode from soap but sadly all too real. Almost as sad but real as the ‘not proven’ assault seen by the whole world minus 15 bods ‘good. & true’ in Edinburgh & a cowardly national leadership too afraid to talk about it!
Oh I forgot the high praise of the ‘family friendly’ league cup final by the police & SNP not to mention the high profile hit squads at the ready in case of green flares, whilst blue & red ones burn freely!
Sincere apologies but this situation is so farcical it’s difficult take it in!
Only in Scotland, all of the above would not be tolerated anywhere else (save china perhaps)