Bigot Watch
Once again Rangers visit Fir Park and we are subjected to the usual load of bile that we have come to expect from these eejits. One of the most annoying abuses that they carry out is the use of the Union Flag, and the red hand of Ulster. I am not sure what these have to do with a game in the SPL, even the English fans no longer use the Union Flag as their badge of dishonour and now thankfully have adopted the cross of St. George. So why do the Gers fans hold on to this flag?
They then also adorn this with delightful slogans about the UVF and other terrorist organisations in N. Ireland, again you have to ask what has this to do with the SPL? Why in these times of peace negotiations etc in that Province is this tolerated in West of Scotland. It took the police almost an hour to do anything about it, in fact it looked as if they only asked the bigot with it to wrap it up and put it out of sight, why was he not ejected from the ground, at least? Would this shake the Scottish establishment to the core?
They always claim it is the minority who sing the sectarian songs at Ibrox, well ALL of that minority must have been at the game at Fir Park on St. Patrick's Day. It looked to me as there were few dissenting voices in either the Main or South Stands. What are the clubs doing about it, not a lot from what I can see, I believe that Rangers have removed the Season Tickets from a few bigots at Ibrox, this smacks of a sop to the Media, as it allows them to say that they have done something about it. Can anyone say that there is only a handful of bigots attend Ibrox (or Sellic Park) every week, I don't think so.
This game came just after events when our local MP made Motherwell and its surrounding areas look like a breeding ground for this idiocy, when he postponed the visit of the Irish PM to Carfin Grotto. Citing that this could have been inflammatory and lead to violence and riots in North Lanarkshire!! What is he actually doing to make sure that these entrenched attitudes are changed? Has he spoken in Parliament about, put down a motion to discuss it etc. etc. I don't think so…
Maybe its time our Politicians did do something about it, I read in a Sunday Herald article (Sunday 11th March) that Donald Gorrie (Lib Dem MSP) was trying to make Sectarianism a criminal offence in a similar fashion to racism. He has failed to get any support from either side of the house in this quest, he did claim that the Labour Party in Scotland was a Catholic stronghold, maybe didn't help his argument much. But maybe this guy has a point, and maybe we should all be writing to our MPs and MSPs demanding to know what their action plan is to stem this cancer in our society.
In conclusion, to move the argument away from the Old Firm I was amazed to hear Hearts fans jeering Celtic's Lennon after his abuse in N. Ireland. What has any of this to do with Hearts (or the SPL again)? Are they just living up to their names as the Cousins of William after all.
Graham Barnstaple
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