The Celtic Trust, has issued a response to First Minister Humza Yousaf’s critique of Celtic fans celebrating their recent SPFL title victory in the Trongate area of the city.
Thousands of fans attended the celebrations, which were marred by a few isolated incidents. These incidents have been seized upon by certain media outlets and political figures, who are attempting to tarnish the reputation of Celtic fans by associating them with the unruly scenes witnessed during the lockdown.
Since Saturday evening, the media has been crafting a narrative that paints Celtic fans in a negative light. While it was expected that there would be reports criticizing fans for littering and similar misdemeanors, the tone of the coverage has taken a decidedly sinister turn.
In response to this, The Celtic Trust released a statement on social media this evening: “A bizarre intervention from the First Minister. Celtic and other clubs have already taken a lead in proactively seeking permission to create fan zones. These requests are consistently knocked back by councils and the police with very little explanation.
“The hypocrisy we are witnessing after Saturday’s party which was, contrary to a developing narrative, of a celebratory and joyful nature is clear. The scenes are similar to other events held during the year including concerts which do not receive anywhere near the same reaction.
“Missing from the developing narrative repeated by a number of politicians and political commentators is that Celtic fans actively supported the clean up of the Trongate with the area cleared of rubbish within a few hours thanks to the efforts of those fans and Council workers.
“Questions must also be asked as to why the Council were unprepared with a lack of bins and public toilets available for fans to use. This is in contrast to other events where facilities are sufficiently provided and similar size, albeit, different crowds are catered for.
”This season is not the first time fans have gathered in huge numbers in the Trongate to celebrate. Moving forward it would be sensible if the Council and police learnt from their counter-parts elsewhere in Europe where fan celebrations are facilitated and seen as normal.”
Earlier today, Celtsarehere reported on the First Minister’s comments. The absence of an official platform for Celtic fans, due to the club’s ongoing refusal to cooperate with different initiatives, has left supporters to make their own arrangements. This marks the third occasion that Celtic fans have gathered in that part of the city, and each time, the aftermath has seen the fans subjected to harsh criticism.
As The Celtic Trust astutely points out, why has there been no effort to facilitate supporters’ celebrations? Why haven’t any lessons been learned from the previous two gatherings about how best to manage the influx of fans in Glasgow?
Instead of persistently condemning football fans, why not engage with them? Why not explore the best ways to handle these situations and embrace the festive atmosphere that these moments can bring to the city?
Only ten arrests ehh. That’s ten to many. Hoops supporters are world famous for their not aggressively gatherings.
Unless it was ten arrests for public urination.
Still ten more than it should be.
On treble day, why not make for the Celtic way and the concourse under the John Stein stand?
And police yourself, no one has ever been arrested for over celebration. Let that be the honour of the Sevconiana legions.
And yes, no dancing on top of Paddie wagons, unless the driver and all its passengers are called Paddie.