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