Brown has no regrets over his backing of Tonev in racism row
Scott Brown has sidestepped any talk of regret over his decision to back Aleksandar Tonev over the events that led to the Celtic winger being found guilty of racially abusing Shay Logan in August 2014.
The circumstances surrounding the incident have left a section of the Aberdeen support in uproar that new manager Stephen Glass has signed up Brown as a playercoach ahead of next season - a move that will bring to a close his 14 years at Parkhead.
It forced the Pittodrie club’s chairman Dave Cormack this week to defend his capture. He maintained there was no issue between Brown and Logan loaned to Hearts this week and that supporting Tonev did not make Brown guilty of the racism that eventually earned the Bulgarian a seven-match ban in October 2014.
The Celtic captain stated throughout the months it took for a decision to be reached in the case that the club’s “whole dressing room believe” Tonev and that the squad “know he doesn’t come in and lie”.
On-field racism has become a vexing issue once more following the racial abuse that Glen Kamara suffered when Rangers played Slavia Prague last month, which led Brown to win universal praise for his public gesture of support of the midfielder before the teams’ derby a fortnight ago.
However, despite the Ondrej Kudela and Kamara situation having clear parallels with what took place between Tonev and Logan - no other players hearing directly what was said by the accused - the 35-year-old departing Celtic captain is reluctant to rethink his stance over Tonev in 2014.
“It’s a very hard thing, because you have one player saying he got racially abused, and then you’ve got a teammate that says he didn’t say it,” said Brown of the events with Tonev. “It’s hard because we’ve had players in the past
It seems weird to the point of inconceivable that next season Scott Brown will be smashing into tackles on opponents wearing Celtic colours.
It is May 2007 since he last did that, as a Hibs player just before he moved to Glasgow’s east end in a £4.4 million deal that paved the way for Brown to claim 22 honours and become Celtic’s second most decorated captain after Lisbon Lion Billy Mcneill.
The decision to accept a twoyear player-coach deal to be part of a new era at Aberdeen under Stephen Glass - Brown’s old Easter Road team-mate and close friend - means this scene is about to be played out in the not-too-distant future.
The 35-year-old midfielder may have made his peace with ending his playing relationship with a club for whom he has been the squad heartbeat, but that doesn’t mean he has entirely got his head straight on all that his surprise switch will entail.
“I’ve never really thought about playing against Celtic – I will be now…” said Brown. “I’m still under contract at Celtic and I’ll need to make sure I’m fit and available for every game to make sure we have a good finish to the season. We’ve got a huge game against Falkirk [tomorrow] and we need to get into the next round of the Scottish Cup.
“The sad thing is I won’t get to say my goodbyes in front of 60,000 fans. They’ve been a huge part of my journey over these last 14 years and I’ve got a lot of love for them. I wouldn’t be here winning trophies without them.
"This season has been hard for everyone, and we’ve certainly
found it hard having no fans in the ground. It has just shown what the fans bring to Celtic Park.”
When he plays at the stadium the next time it houses supporters, all but a tiny knot of them will be hoping his team falls flat. Not that there won’t be affection that cascades down from the home stands. He can’t know just what the split will be between the forever grateful and those
that will feel spurned and prepared to dish it out to a new rival. “I’ll worry about that when it happens,” Brown said.
His more immediate concern going into next season will be getting onside an Aberdeen support that contains factions not ready to forgive Brown for the many brouhahas he has been involved in with them and their team.
“It doesn’t matter where you go, you always need to win
over the fans. I did that at Hibs and Celtic. Whenever I cross that white line I always give 110 per cent,” he said. “I want to win games of football and I enjoy the challenge. I’m sure there’s still a few Hibs and Celtic fans who don’t appreciate the way I play or the way I go about my business. But as long as I work hard and do my talking on the park, I don’t need to worry about the rest.”
Brown says that the two-year
contract offered by Aberdeen was a deal he “couldn't turn down” and admits the current uncertainty at Celtic played its part in his decision.
"I got offered another year at Celtic,” he confirmed. "For me, to have that fresh start with someone I know, trust and respect fully, and maybe sitting in at Celtic to the end of the season not sure what to do or who is coming in - I think that played on my mind as well.”