WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
It’s Rangers’ turn to crow a decade after the ‘Broonie’
Now we know what unites Rangers and Celtic fans.
When Glen Kamara was racially abused by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela there was an upswelling of support towards a man who had his dignity damaged by degenerate behaviour.
Ev e r y wo r d of he a r t f e l t condemnation, each expression of sympathy, vouched for human compassion on a joint basis.
This afternoon, to my way of thinking, should be a time to reflect on what happened at Ibrox during that Europa League tie last month and ponder on what people can learn from it in terms of what divides Rangers and Celtic fans.
If Ibrox was open to the public this afternoon for the Scottish Cup tie between the clubs what would the atmosphere be like?
Go on. Be honest. It wouldn’t be about the dignity of your fellow man at the opposite end of the ground, that’s for sure.
There would be no respect for background and no attempt to embrace diversity.
And certainly no interest in cupping hands over mouths to avoid being detected while denigrating fellow human beings.
Before anyone asks, it would be the same atmosphere if the game was being played at Celtic Park.
The problem, even more illogical after the circumstances of Kamara’s trauma, is that we don’t put sectarianism into the same bracket as racism.
We see it, heaven help us, as banter and part of our culture – whatever that means.
But it’s surely time now to take a trip around our personal taboo and see if we can resume post-pandemic football in the 21st century without going back to the pre- pandemic behaviour of the primitive sort that started in the 19th century.
Otherwise the abhorrent case of Kamara and a man exposed as a racist will have taught us nothing.
I get the depth of the rivalry between the teams and I am not daft enough to suggest it should be diluted, even when it is completely irrational.
When Scott Brown instinctively introduced the piece of choreography exclusive to him, the “Broonie” at Ibrox 10 years ago, it’s no exaggeration to say it split public opinion.
If you were a Celtic fan it was a visual symbol of superiority and a signal of not being diminished by adversity.
For a decade his gesture of defiance in front of Rangers’ El Hadji Diouf was copied by supporters and patented as the Celtic captain’s signature movement.
But, i f you were a Rangers supporter, what Brown did was needlessly provocative, inflammatory and gratuitously aggressive in tone.
Fast forward to the first weekend in March this year.
Rangers’ manager Steven Gerrard clearly gets the Old Firm rivalry.
He came from a divided city in Liverpool and understands the value of ruling a divided city in Glasgow.
The Celtic fans saw him hanging out of a dressing- room window acknowledging the fans who had gathered to celebrate the win over St Mirren that put one hand on the league trophy.
Fast forward 24 hours, following
Celtic’s draw at Tannadice. The same outraged fans saw Gerrard leaning out of a chauf feur- driven car whi le f ist pumping the people outside Rangers’ training complex in celebration of 10- in- a- row having been stopped and they then accused him of being unprofessionally demonstrative.
Illegal and insensitive in the midst of a pandemic which demands social distancing?
Without doubt.
Would the Celtic fans have done it if 10-in-a-row had been won?
You bet.
The fans of both clubs live in a world of what goes around comes around.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, so long as it’s not accompanied by behaviour out of place in civilised society.
Broonie’s homily in the Huddle this afternoon might make mention of dressing-room windows and fist pumping by those revel l ing in Celtic’s misery.
If it helps solidify a defence with more holes than Rab C Nesbitt’s vest then the tactic will have proved valid.
Television close- ups will show every vein in Scott’s neck and head protruding as he delivers his pre-match address.
Brown’s eventual successor as skipper will, by comparison, look and sound like a man taking your lunch order.
But will those Brown is cajoling break free from the Huddle able to meet the demands he has made of them? Gerrard has, on the other hand, the league title, but his record in cup competition over the course of his three-year stay at Ibrox has been as poor as it is impoverished.
He’s held a hairbrush over the top of his head more often than he’s held up a cup.
The only certainty is just one set of arms can be fully extended in celebration today
Because one man’s eulogy will be another man’s epitaph.
Meanwhi le, stand by for a pyrotechnic presentation somewhere near you when the game is finished, since we are now in the era of alfresco afters.
Fireworks wi l l not demean your dignity.
We should keep it that way.
The prob we don’lem sect t is aria put sam nism e in as brac raci ket sm