Roddt Forsyth was now just on Morning Ireland. He said that we canât call it sectarian because we donât know the guyâs motives. He also claimed we have to be careful about calling it sectarian because that has been a west of Scotland problem. He went on to say the heightened tension might be because âof so many Old Firm games.â
Sweeping the problems under the carpet.
I think Rangers and Celtic should set up a work exchange program and have Walter Smith and Lennon switch sides for a while.
OâNeill was also the victim of a vicious media campaign and was also the target of some sickening chants and had his property regularly attacked.
All because he was an Irish Catholic managing Irelandâs biggest club.
The difference between Lennon and OâNeill is Lennon is now in his tenth year service with Celtic and the more he refuses to roll over to bigotted Scottish society they more they try to make him. Martin OâNeill was every bit as defiant as Neil and make no doubt about it, if he was still in the Celtic hot seat today - things would have escalated to the same degree. I pray for his safety every morning.
Shut the hell up!
Good statement from Celtic today:
FOLLOWING the events during the game against Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday night, Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell has made the following statement.
âLast nightâs appalling attack on Neil Lennon brings shame on Scottish football and again highlights the fact that Scottish society must address fundamental and serious issues which lead to outrages of this kind.
"Apart from last nightâs events, this week alone we have seen seven people arrested at our Training Ground following an alleged firearms incident and I can also confirm that this morning (Thursday) another package arrived at Celtic Park which appears to contain ammunition. This has been removed and taken by Police for further forensic tests. We are the only Club to be the subject of such vile, sustained and relentless attacks.
"It is intolerable that any football club, or individual, going about their lawful business in the name of sport should be subjected to this ongoing campaign of hatred and intimidation. This is Scotlandâs shame and it is high time Scotland addressed it.
"Since moving here a decade ago, Neil Lennon has had to endure prejudice and violence both as a player and manager, having suffered no such problems elsewhere. In doing so, he has displayed a strength of character and resilience which deserve respect from all who oppose the campaign of intimidation against him.
"He is a man who is proud to be the Celtic manager and is someone who simply wants to be able to carry out his role in the same way as every other football manager can. Clearly, Neil will continue to receive every support and protection from Celtic Football Club.
âWe are deeply appreciative of the intensive police efforts to address the criminal offences that have come to light. All right-minded people will surely condemn these actions but, as a society, we must also address the underlying factors that lead to such behaviour.â
Interview with Lawwell:
mms://play.wm.celticfc.servecast.net/celticfc/2010/freeview/2011-05-12_PL_iv2.wmv
Iâve been told that on newstalk tonight, john giles said Lennon brings all this hassle on himself.
Can anyone confirm this ?
i cant confirm this mate
That old dinosaur is somewhat out of touch.
Maybe Lennon can take over England, word is Capello has handed in his notice
A quick search on Twitter has a few mentions of him supposedly making that comment. He can fuck off and die, the cunt.*
dont remember the vicious media attacks against the OBE. Then again I wouldnt be reading Scottish papers.
Its Michael OâNeill that manages Ireland biggest football club. Easy mistake to make.
Scotland is obviously a horrible little place but Irish people shouldnt be worrying about it.
Prayer :rolleyes:
A decent article from the Scotsman:
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/theoldfirm/John-Kelly-Scotland39s-Shame-is.6767358.jp?articlepage=3
The seeping wound that is Scotlandâs Shame
Published Date: 13 May 2011
By John Kelly
The past few months have exposed the poisonous reality of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic prejudice in this countryâs society.
RECENT events have exposed the seeping wound that is Scotlandâs Shame, illuminating the countryâs ongoing problems with the ills of ethno-religious prejudice.
Often confusingly labelled âsectarianismâ, ethno-religious prejudice, particularly of the anti-Catholic variety, is still alive and (literally) kicking in 2011.
Just hours after Celtic manager Neil Lennon was physically assaulted by an opposing fan, to the apparent delight of many fans in the stadium, two people were arrested by police in connection with a supected letter bomb sent to the football coach.
While these arrests were being made, police were called to investigate yet another suspicious package addressed to the Northern Irishman.
Whilst Scotland is not Ulster minus the bullets and the fact that the problem has improved in the last thirty or so years, mixed marriages, increasing secularism, equitable employment practices and an increasingly internationalist outlook in Scotland, have not, it seems, led to the same level of cultural shifts in beliefs and behaviour.
Cultural shifts emerge out of residual legacies and these behavioural shifts lag behind the statistical facts and figures that paint a different picture of demographic harmony.
In other words, the times are changing and fewer people define themselves in everyday life as religiously separate, and alongside this so are the attitudes changing, but the attitudes are lagging behind.
Yet, while sociologist Bert Moorhouse once noted the Glasgow derby provided a convenient whiff of primitive savagery that titillated Scotlandâs southern neighbours, he failed to highlight the nauseating reality that sections within Scottish society foam equally at the mouth for such ârivalryâ. But is it simply a football problem?
It is patently flawed to revert to lazy soundbites about the problems of the Old Firm and the west coast when this year we have witnessed the hatred and intolerance transcend these much-maligned borders.
In addition to a politician and a QC - albeit both with Celtic FC connections - receiving letter bombs, Cardinal Keith OâBrien, Scotlandâs most senior Roman Catholic clergyman and an Irish cultural-political organisation have also received bullets and a letter bomb in the post.
This is, of course, in addition to Celtic players Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt - both Northern Irish Catholics - receiving bullets in the post. The choice of targets here is revealing and tells us a lot about the essence of ethno-religious prejudice in Scotland.
A cursory analysis of the targets reveals the common denominators to be one or some of the following combination; high profile Roman Catholic in Scotland, Celtic FC connection, Irish. This hits at the heart of the issue.
Forget the nonsensical half excuses, peddled by those who should know better, that Lennon âbrings it on himselfâ, that âheâs a fiery characterâ or that he âhas to shoulder part of the blameâ.
h to his new profession - shared by many other determined coaches, yet never precipitating such reactions - Lennon has done nothing wrong except to refuse to behave like the Irish Catholics of previous generations in Scotland and âkeep the heid doonâ.
As others have noted in relation to racist societies, for many, racism becomes a normal pathology.
There are shades here of the McPherson Reportâs findings of institutional racism within Londonâs Metroploitcan Police, and the English Police Complaints Commissionâs findings on institutional disabilism in England.
Rather than sections of Scotland being purposely anti-Irish Catholic, there is a lack of acknowledgment that the problem exists accompanied by a lack of strategic organisation to deal with it.
For example, in response to the mass choruses of anti-Irish Catholic signing witnessed clearly at the recent Scottish League Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill described the event as a "wonderful advert for Scotland and âthe final we all wanted to seeâ.
Additionally, it is revealing that it is the European governing body UEFA and not any of its Scottish counterparts - or indeed Scottish members - that have been most active in dealing with the anti-Catholic chanting of a section of Rangers fans.
Recent events have buried the myth that anti-Irish Catholic bigotry no longer exists or that it is a symptom of paranoid fantasists.
Sadly, however, as weâve seen with the Lennon affair, like the disabled and black minorities in England, the victim is either not acknowledged as a victim or if he is, heâs held responsible and told to change his behaviour.
The elephant in the room has this year been exposed and it is that sections of Scottish society still harbour a culturally ingrained antipathy or sleeping bigotry towards Celtic, Catholics and Irishness, particularly when these three intersect, and it can result in the naked hatred Neil Lennon has been dealing with for large parts of his time in Scotland.
It is true that football, for some reason, tends to provide the type of setting many deem to be appropriate for such prejudiced behaviour and this is due to two main factors.
First, football fans by their nature try to antagonise their opponents and this often results in derogatory chanting against a sporting rival (or besting an âOtherâ as sociologists call it).
Linked to this is the desire by many football fans, in an age of increasing uncertainty around what authentic fandom constitutes, to prove their credentials. Sociologists call this trying to make gains in distinction.
Second, in making gains in distinction and proving oneâs self as an authentic fan, supporters tend to engage in group behaviour, in what psychologists may call social desirability behaviours.
In other words, we end up with groups of supporters behaving at football matches in ways that they would never dream of in other social situations in the belief that this is not only acceptable, but down right desirable. Moreover, they react according to the situation and play up to certain stereotypes.
Hence the reason we see many more Union Flags and Red Hand of Ulster flags in the Hearts end when they play Celtic (and Hibs to a lesser extent) and also why we hear many more Irish rebel songs from Celtic fans when Celtic play Rangers or Hearts.
Unfortunately, like homophobia and sexism, ethno-religious bigotry is still deemed fair game in many a football stadium and supportersâ bus and this is part of a wider cultural shift that is still in the process of modernising.
One should add, of course, that ethno-religious prejudice is only one of a number of prejudices one can be exposed to around British football matches.
In trying to deal with racial and disabled minority prejudices in England, stakeholders have realised that they need to recognise and understand the problem in the first place. At the heart of any solution to equalising uneven power relationships is the need to expose prejudice and celebrate difference.
Different identities are legitimate and rather than attempt to tell others how to think, we should try to understand why others think the way they do.
At the heart of any difference should also be tolerance. This is why the ethno-religious difference needs to be separated from political difference.
Political identity has at its heart the need to best the âOtherâ. Religious and ethnic identities should not be celebrated by besting the âOtherâ or there is the danger that Neil Lennon may not be the last to experience such naked bigotry in Scotland.
⢠Dr John Kelly is a lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at the Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Health Sciences in The Moray House School of Education University of Edinburgh
Ah stop :lol:
I believe that in prayer, thousands of tims around the world keep Neilâs guardian angel on his toes.
You donât remember something you wouldnât have been paying any attention to? :rolleyes: Alright Sherlock Holmes.
Shams are a magnificent football club and deserve much respect and admiration, but they rank behind Celtic in terms of success, honour, fanbase and profile.
My duty of care extends to the Irish diaspora worldwide, even little weasels like you.
Quality, youâre one funny cunt to be fair to you. 
Thatâs a splendid article by Dr John Kelly. 
I think itâs very clear that peopleâs view on Neil Lennon conclusively confirms what kind of person they are.
Ian Holloway is a splendid individual:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMACRA_QT2I
I donât care what Kenny Dalglish did for Celtic before I was born. He is a fucking cunt. I hope heâs an absolute failure next season and I wish him nothing but misery. Bigoted, Scottish cunt that he is.
Shamrock Rovers are Irish though mate. If following an Irish football club meant so much to you follow them. Glasgow Celtic with John Reid at the helm and their overt support of the British armed forces are part of the British establishment. Their location might also be a clue, Glasgow, UK.
Glasgow Celtic do not represent the Irish diaspora. In saying all that I hope Neil Lennon and his family remain safe. In his first management gig he has improved things a lot. His abrasive personality has provoked scumbags but the blame should remain with the sectarian scum and not a man trying to do his best.
:rolleyes:
what an inane statement. you expect some sort of plaudits for this?
âfair whack to KIB man, he is good at pissing off the Celtic fans but at the end of the day he doesnt hope lenny is killedâ :rolleyes: