GLF77: Graham doesn't support either of them!
THE OLD FIRM FALL OUT
I know this fanzine is all about Motherwell but I feel it would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the after effects of the recent Scottish Cup Replay between the gruesome twosome. The game saw 12 people booked, three sent off and the coaches behaving like children.
As I watched the game I thought it was a poor advert for Scottish football with no-one being capable of passing the ball or taking time to pick out a pass (just another Scottish game really). Even worse was the behaviour of the players which tested ref Calum Murray from start to finish. After the game I heard the pundits telling us it was a magnificent spectacle and a game everyone would be talking about. What they forgot to add was this was for all the wrong reasons!
Was the game bad enough to demand intervention by the Scottish Government and the Police, or was it just handbags at dawn and was blown out of proportion.
For me it was somewhere inbetween and action does need to be taken to calm the fixture down and many people have a responsibility in making sure this happens;
The clubs themselves – after this game they both issued statements but took no responsibility for their actions, and chose to blame the other side. It is time they looked in the mirror and took responsibility for the actions of their players, coaches and fans. As I have said here for a long time I would love to see the two of them stop pandering to the Unionist or Irish lowest common denominator they both have. Stop the Irish/Colonial songs before games and get back to being Scottish – pipe dream I know but this would definitely help.
The SPL and SFA – surely there has to be something done to plan the timing of the fixtures to ensure there is no opportunity for binge drinking before the game. They also need to make sure the people who do break the rules are hammered, eg Bougherra for his constant pulling down of the ref’s arms when he was showing a card (although the ref should have sent him off at the time). It took an age for him to get called for a disciplinary.
The Media – Press & TV need to stop treating it as two tribes going to war & get back to looking at it as a football match. When Sky preview the game they constantly show high tackles, red cards & precious little football! We could also do without the 10 day build up to each game, when other domestic games (and even Rangers' trip to Lisbon) get lost in the hype for the fixture.
The Police – I know it’s difficult but they need to be serious about arresting people for sectarian acts. But they do appear to have a random approach to it at the moment for what I can pick up BUT maybe if they went in a bit more heavy handed and took out a more and more each time we would see the pathetic singing and taunting stop.
Or even better the two of them could leave the SPL and join a League somewhere else and leave us all to get on without these two dragging us back to the 17th Century or whatever…..
Before anyone asks I don’t support either of them!!!
Graham Barnstaple
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