…could have been a headline in today’s newspapers, following the guilty verdict on Celtic player Ryan Caird, but it isn’t.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/celtic-youth-star-caught-with-knife.22718299
“CELTIC youth player Ryan Caird has been given a year to show he can be well behaved after pleading guilty to carrying a knife. The 16-year-old was caught with a four-inch knife in his pocket by police officers in February. Yesterday Glasgow Sheriff Court deferred the case until November 2014.”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/celtic-youth-star-admits-knife-charge-142917n.22735415
“Celtic youth star admits knife charge
CELTIC youth player Ryan Caird has been given a year to show he can be of good behaviour after pleading guilty to carrying a knife.
The 16-year-old was caught in February this year by officers on patrol who searched him in the street.
He had a four-inch knife in the pocket of his tracksuit top and was arrested and taken into police custody before appearing in court two days later.
The teenager, from Cambuslang, pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to having the blade on him, on February 23.
And yesterday at the court sheriff Charles McFarlane QC deferred the case for 12 months for Caird to be of good behaviour.”
Strangely this “sentence” flies in the face of the SNP Scottish Government’s proclamations on how they are addressing knife crime in Scotland.
http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2012/dec/msp-pledges-help-clear-knife-crime-streets
“MSP pledges to help clear knife crime from streets Sun, 02/12/2012 - 09:34
The success rate of the Scottish Government’s joined-up approach to combating knife crime in Scotland – and in particular South Lanarkshire – is being hailed by Christina McKelvie MSP.
This comes at the end of a week which saw Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announce that the maximum penalty for carrying a knife is to increase from four to five years imprisonment, which is part of the strategic battle against knife crime.
Ms McKelvie, SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, said:
“The joined up approach involving the Scottish Government, the police, Scottish Courts, Crimestoppers UK and people of all ages and backgrounds in our communities – nowhere more so than here in South Lanarkshire – will overcome the scourge of knife crime.
“There is now a record number of police on our streets which has helped drive violent crime down to a 30 year low; there are 44 per cent fewer weapons on our streets since 2006/7, but there are some who still persist in thinking it is OK to carry a knife.
“It is not OK - and together we will drive that message home.”
One has to wonder about this anomaly between these proclamations on knife crime, and allowing Caird to walk free without so much as a rap on the knuckles.
One also has to wonder at the same Sheriff sentencing someone to 6 months community service for abusing Celtic manager Neil Lennon via the internet.
Isn’t the Scottish Legal system odd?
Bill
Wednesday 20 November 2013
Tuesday 12 November 2013
The Most Shameless Support in Football
The Celtic support can count themselves lucky that Rangers civil war and a compliant media have ensured that the Amsterdam riots have largely been kept off the front page of Scotland’s newspapers. In the cases were reports have been published, they are completely at odds with the reports from the Dutch press, and also at odds with the shameful scenes filmed and broadcast on Youtube of Celtic supporters attacking trams and undercover police
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbVLYzcWNA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpF1IyeegIo
As 8 undercover police officers were attacked in Dam square with one knocked unconscious the scenes, 44 Celtic fans were arrested on the night, with most simply cautioned, but 6 were detained in Amsterdam, 4 of whom have been released.
The scenes were reminiscent of the ugly scenes in Manchester 2008, however, the response in the media and amongst the support involved couldn’t be more different
While Manchester City Council and the GMP did everything to antagonise the Rangers support, the vast majority of the 200,000 present in Manchester did their club and their country proud. Those involved in the trouble amounted to 0.02% of the support present that day.
Of course there is no excuse for the behaviour of a miniscule percentage of the Rangers support that day, and the response across the UK was one of disgust.
The many cases of police brutality that night were glossed over in favour of that that shameful attack on Mick Regan of GMP. What followed was a hatchet job on the Rangers support by Scotland’s tabloids, broadsheets and broadcasters, with CCTV stills on the front page of every single alleged participant of the riot.
The BBC in Scotland ran dedicated radio programmes to discuss the riots, and Real Radio had Phil MacGiollabhain guesting on their show claiming to have “broke the story”. He never did admit if he was in Manchester to watch Rangers, or why. BBC also ran a Panorama programme across the UK, with an appeal for witnesses being the cover for as high a profile hatchet job on the Rangers support ever seen.
Given that there are cases of football violence in England on a similar scale almost every week that decision to broadcast this “appeal” seemed very strange
The Rangers support itself condemned the behaviour of that small minority.
Fast forward to 2013 and Celtic’s riot in Amsterdam is being spun by those same media outlets to portray the rioters and those responsible for knocking a policeman unconscious as victims. There is little in the way of condemnation and lots in the way of lies and spin in the media with some of the defending of the indefensible quite disgusting.
Even worse, those at the thick of it, rather than be condemned by their fan chiefs and fellow fans for shaming their club are being supported.
The Celtic Trust have now started a campaign to “free the Amsterdam 2”
http://www.celtictrust.net/index.php?func=d_home_article&id=449
The brass neck takes some beating, to pardon a pun
Bear in mind that the two in custody are charged with seriously assaulting a police officer
This must be the most shameless support on the planet
Bill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbVLYzcWNA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpF1IyeegIo
As 8 undercover police officers were attacked in Dam square with one knocked unconscious the scenes, 44 Celtic fans were arrested on the night, with most simply cautioned, but 6 were detained in Amsterdam, 4 of whom have been released.
The scenes were reminiscent of the ugly scenes in Manchester 2008, however, the response in the media and amongst the support involved couldn’t be more different
While Manchester City Council and the GMP did everything to antagonise the Rangers support, the vast majority of the 200,000 present in Manchester did their club and their country proud. Those involved in the trouble amounted to 0.02% of the support present that day.
Of course there is no excuse for the behaviour of a miniscule percentage of the Rangers support that day, and the response across the UK was one of disgust.
The many cases of police brutality that night were glossed over in favour of that that shameful attack on Mick Regan of GMP. What followed was a hatchet job on the Rangers support by Scotland’s tabloids, broadsheets and broadcasters, with CCTV stills on the front page of every single alleged participant of the riot.
The BBC in Scotland ran dedicated radio programmes to discuss the riots, and Real Radio had Phil MacGiollabhain guesting on their show claiming to have “broke the story”. He never did admit if he was in Manchester to watch Rangers, or why. BBC also ran a Panorama programme across the UK, with an appeal for witnesses being the cover for as high a profile hatchet job on the Rangers support ever seen.
Given that there are cases of football violence in England on a similar scale almost every week that decision to broadcast this “appeal” seemed very strange
The Rangers support itself condemned the behaviour of that small minority.
Fast forward to 2013 and Celtic’s riot in Amsterdam is being spun by those same media outlets to portray the rioters and those responsible for knocking a policeman unconscious as victims. There is little in the way of condemnation and lots in the way of lies and spin in the media with some of the defending of the indefensible quite disgusting.
Even worse, those at the thick of it, rather than be condemned by their fan chiefs and fellow fans for shaming their club are being supported.
The Celtic Trust have now started a campaign to “free the Amsterdam 2”
http://www.celtictrust.net/index.php?func=d_home_article&id=449
The brass neck takes some beating, to pardon a pun
Bear in mind that the two in custody are charged with seriously assaulting a police officer
This must be the most shameless support on the planet
Bill
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