Regarding his article about Rangers versus Celtic from November 2004
Hi Vincent,
I usually have a browse of your newspaper as I find yourself and Martin Breheny to be two of the most knowledgable and informative GAA writers. I generally have a peek at your Tuesday column aswell to see your take on whatever sporting event grasped your attention over the weekend. However, I must say I was quite shocked to read some of the sentiments expressed today.
Iâll start with the one I found most offensive, Martin OâNeill and how âhe swam with the rotten tideâ. If showing solidarity and standing side by side with a player who had been racially abused throughout the game by a baying mob is swimming with a rotten tide then let us see that tide more often. As a Celtic fan I found it one of the most uplifting shows of defiance I have ever seen. If the England manager had ran onto the pitch in Spain last week, grabbed Cole and Wright-Phillips and paraded them to the English fans, heâd be up for a knighthood but because itâs Glasgow Celtic, itâs incitement to riot.
I, like most Celtic fans, also disapprove of the term âOld Firmâ. We donât want to be associated with our âsporting competitorsâ from Ibrox Park. Just to witness the vitriol and bile before the game was surreal. The stadium announcer playing âSimply the Bestâ then pausing it for the mob to add in the extra bits from the UVF version, Dambusters, Rule Britannia etc. Unashamedly geeing up the mob for the events that followed namely the abuse of Neil Lennon.
Now we all know Lennon is competitive, niggly, not shy of mouthing off on the field and other players like Robbie Savage get booed from time to time for this. But Lennon has been roundly booed in the majority of grounds in Scotland for the 4 1/2 years heâs represented the Hoops. Only teams that also have a Catholic tradition like Dundee Utd and Hibs have refrained from this behaviour. This leads me to believe that Lennon isnât booed because heâs niggly rather because heâs an Irish Catholic who wonât lie down and bow to this mob. This was totally and utterly confirmed when young McGeady came on with 15 minutes left and they jeered his every touch also. Why? Because he turned his back on Scotland to play for us? Not a chance - most of the Ibrox crew donât give a damn about Scotland like indeed a lot of Celtic fans also. This young lad was also racially abused because of his background and religion.
In the face of this adversity and in this poisonous atmosphere Lennon gave an absolutely superb display (It makes me sick listening to Dunphy and Giles and their âall his does is stand there and roll it sidewaysâ jibes - I wonder did they see this performance from a man who was voted Celtic player of the year last season by the fans ahead of Larsson, Sutton, Petrov et al). Sure he was his usual tempestuous self and wasnât shy about voicing his opinions to a Rangers side that set out to pinch, elbow (you mention Rae yourself - he did that at least another 4 occasions in the first half alone), play-act and cheat their way to victory. Maybe he did spit on a scarf that was thrown at him but remember these allegations are coming from these very fans who barrack him every time he plays because of his religion, I wouldnât be too sure.
In this context and after the disappointment of the defeat I was proud of the Celtic manager as he dragged Lennon to the Celtic end. His message was clear: âYou can try to put us down all you like but we will keep coming back. You will never beat usâ. Neil Lennon signified this message on Saturday. And so did Martin OâNeill. This defeat is just the spark that Celtic need and the provocation and spite that came out of Ibrox will only ensure that Celtic retain the title next summer.
A few other minor points. Remember Cetic fans were given a special Fair Play award by UEFA for their behaviour not too long ago and this was also favourably mentioned by FIFA. Celtic fans are welcomed whereever they go and theyâve been throughout Europe over the past few seasons. So I think itâs blatantly obvious that the vast majority of Celtic fans have a âsprig of civilityâ. Rangers fans on the other hand are a different breed and many other teamsâ supporters will testify to that. Apparently both Champions League ties with ManU last year were not very pleasant occasions. Going back a few years we experienced them at Dalymount Park too. So I take grave exception to being contrasted to your average Rangers supporter.
As to the players behaviour, sure Thompson and Sutton deserved to be sent off for their indiscipline (Lovenkrands is Danish by the way) but up until Saturday Celtic were top of the fair play league in Scotland. I wonder did the vitriolic atmosphere emanating from the stands have anything to do with the way the game panned out. Remember Thompson was sent off for a retaliatory offence also.
In conclusion I just donât understand how Martin OâNeill can be criticised for his actions on Saturday. To me it showed togetherness, strength and defiance - all traits that should be admired in a manager and team, and traits portrayed by Lennon also.
At this stage the anti-Celtic article is too easy to write. In fact itâs lazy journalism on many occasions.
Yours in sport,
Bandage
His reply:
Bandage,
Thanks for the e-mail which I have to say is sufficiently articulate to put some of us in the sportswriting fraternity to shame.
You make a pretty compelling defence of Martin OâNeill and, indeed, Neil Lennon, not shying away from the fact that Lennon can be âniggly and not shy of mouthing off.â I donât doubt for a second that Lennon is subjected to horrendous abuse but I would make the point that, as a senior pro, he didnât deal with it particularly well on Saturday. In my opinion, he would certainly have been sent off but for the fact that the referee was probably loathe to reduce Celtic to eight players.
It seemed to me that, in his gesture at the end, OâNeill was effectively endorsing Lennonâs attitude which - certainly in the last ten minutes of the game - was not particularly professional. That said, I can see why - as a Celtic supporter - you would be warmed by such a show of defiance, given the provocation undoubtedly involved.
My feeling is that the match, from start to finish, was one of the most unpleasant I have seen in quite some time, with an inordinate amount of mouthing and goading (I felt from both sides). I have been to quite a number of Celtic-Rangers games over the years and I have to say I think the occasion brings out the worst in both sets of supporters. Youâre probably right that Celtic fans shouldnât be put in the same bracket as the Rangers yobs. After all, they charmed the city of Seville when a reputed 60,000 travelled for last yearâs UEFA Cup final. But the blue shirts take them to another place.
As for âRule Britanniaâ being played on the tannoy at half-time, I think itâs fair to say that some of the songs played at Celtic Park across the years have probably been equally insensitive. In both instances, it shouldnât be tolerated.
All that said, I cannot deny your point that - for Celtic fans - Martin OâNeillâs gesture will be seen as something inspiring and may well create added unity in the dressing-room. I just feel it would have been more noteworthy had Lennon been more professional. You may consider that an ignorant view Bandage and I donât deny the possibility that you could be right. What have we but opinions?
Anyway, thanks again for the e-mail. For what itâs worth, yours was one of the more pleasant ones received.
Regards, Vincent.