Linfield have refused to condemn the fans who subjected Scott Sinclair to racist abuse throughout their 2-0 defeat from Celtic.
Earlier in the week slogans about the striker were painted onto bonfires as the locals prepared to celebrate their hatred of Catholics.
Linfield rightly made no comment about those incidents but having been responsible for the sale of every ticket inside Windsor Park took a vow of silence on the treatment of Sinclair.
While the apologists would claim that he was being jeered ‘because’ he is a good player there was an underlying racist element to the abuse that escaped Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic.
In a club statement after the game they claimed: “We were pleased that the majority of fans fully respected and heeded the advice we had given them ahead of the game and we commend the Linfield fans who got fully behind the team and produced a great atmosphere in the stadium. The operational plan to manage Celtic fans who purchased tickets against their club’s wishes also worked very well.
“The club will be reviewing our own footage and investigating an incident that took place during the match where a number of objects were thrown on to the pitch. We are obviously very disappointed that a small number of people chose not to respect the club’s wishes.
“Linfield FC strongly condemns these actions and will be taking all necessary steps to identify any individual who was engaged in this activity. The club takes the safety of fans, players and officials extremely seriously and there will be serious and lasting consequences for anyone involved.”
Blaming a small minority seems a trait that Linfield have adopted from their Blues Brothers in Glasgow who even used that excuse for the mayhem at the 2008 UEFA Cup Final in Manchester.
UEFA are likely to start disciplinary action on Monday.