Tis time of the year for Hoops to make a few sacrifices
YESTERDAY used to be for the Druids but health and safety has cramped their style, what with limitations on human offerings to the Sun. How they must envy Shakhter Karagandy, who go for ritual disposal of a goat when they need a slice of luck.
The Shakhter slashers were obviously a goat short when they lost the second leg of their playoff at Celtic Park, but now that we’ve edged past the shortest day, it’s Celtic’s turn to consider who to sacrifice. They have already wielded the knife on their erstwhile glee club, the Green Brigade.
Mind you, the Green Brigade, Celtic’s self-styled ultras, pressed the blade to their throat by provocative slogans. UEFA have decreed a prohibition on political banners inside stadia.
There’s a case for arguing that during the most recent round of Champions League UEFA’s display of banners referring to Nelson Mandela: ‘Madiba – the world will never forget’, was a breach of their own policy. However, this is a nuanced debate, as opposed to Green Brigade’s contribution in 2011, when Celtic were away to Udinese in the Europa League.
They came up with a banner which read: ‘F*** UEFA.’ Like every other group of fans at some time or other, Celtic supporters have sung and chanted in the Key of F about whatever has irked them at the time.
But the decision to display a banner which confronted the governing body so blatantly could only have one outcome, although the fine would be paid by Celtic, not the perpetrators. As I pointed out some time ago that the Green Brigade had an agenda from the start.
They had plans for us – specifically that you should be a citizen of a 32-county Gaelic-speaking Marxist republic, in close contact with the Gaelic-speaking Marxist Scottish republic which they also espouse. And there is a boycott list of multinational companies.
If you care, you may think that recent legislation by the Scottish Parliament aimed at eradicating sectarianism from football is unwieldy and illogical – the prompt for the Green Brigade’s banner comparison of William Wallace and Bobby Sands at the game against AC Milan.
There is a legitimate debate to be had. However, the banners could have been waved outside the ground with no UEFA sanction. The tin lid was slammed shut on their antics when Celtic went to Motherwell a week ago. Flares were thrown and seats trashed. The allegedly repressive Scottish police were entirely absent when fans smashed the place up.
The Green Brigade’s whimper is there is a younger faction that takes things too far. That rings a bell.
As Monty Python immortalised it – the People’s Front of Judea vs the Judean People’s Front. Splitters!
In the meantime, if there are to be songs sung in Europe next season, Neil Lennon has to sacrifice some players and acquire fresh blood. This week a couple of suspicions hardened into likelihoods.
Joe Ledley is set on going elsewhere. Georgios Samaras too. If they do, it will be with fond farewells.
As for the Green Brigade, the lesson is this. If you continually butt your heads against the supposed objects of your affection, sooner or later you will get their goat. And you know what happens then…