It feels like we’ve been back in the pre-Rodgers era this week after we safely navigated through to the next round of Champions League qualification.
Instead of celebrating and looking forward to the next game against Rosenborg, the Celtic fans are embroiled in a massive debate about the GB’s use of banners.
The Celtic family is huge, and the people in it come from all walks of life so you’re never going to get an overwhelming consensus to anything that happens at the club but this particular issue seems to evoke the most primitive emotions and sees Celtic fans turning on each other at both ends of the scale.
So who’s right and who’s wrong? In our opinion, there is no black and white in this case. It also depends on what question is being asked.
In all honesty, when I saw the display, I thought nothing of it. It wasn’t till I logged on to twitter the next morning that I saw the amount of attention it had received. Attention from quarters that usually shy away from condemning anything and turn a blind eye to bigger issues in our game. Maybe, the fact it didn’t flash on my radar is naivety on my part and opportunism on others for noticing.
Nonetheless, it opened a can of worms and seen Celtic charged by UEFA not just for the ‘illicit banners’ but other tedious reasons.
That’s when we ask the question, what was gained by the GB throwing up this banner?
Very little is the answer.
Liberate your mind and give your soul expression bellows out at Celtic Park every other week and we pride ourselves as a fanbase who are more open minded than some in the West of Scotland. We praise the GB for their atmosphere, ‘most’ of their banners and their dedication to the club – which is fantastic. They are well organised, intelligent and noisy.
The faux outrage from the usual suspects has exacerbated this situation; we even got a line from the Orange order who were ‘disgusted’ by the banner – my irony meter is now on the blink.
Forget them though. Ignore anyone outside the club who you feel, rightly or wrongly are criticising this banner and look within.
While I salute the GB for their commitment and their cleverness at times, they must not have been naive as myself and would have known they were putting Celtic straight in the firing line with UEFA. I have no doubt that if the GB were allowed to defend themselves in front of UEFA, they would deliver a robust and well thought out retort to the charge levied against them, I’m afraid UEFA just does not care. It’s a binary system; you’re guilty or not guilty, it’s black and white with no room for shades of grey. In that format, Celtic are guilty and we will have to deal with whatever comes our way.
This is where the GB need to box clever.
Celtic are at the mercy of UEFA which is very strict on clubs of a certain level. Even the fine handed out to The Rangers last week seemed bogus to me. But it’s their house, and while we live in their house, we have to abide by their rules.
Maybe one day, their obtuse approach to many fan related issues will improve, but right now we are under the microscope and stand to lose much more than we gain from banners like Wednesday night.
Whether you agree with the banner or not, the UEFA charge puts it into sharp focus and as I asked before – what was gained from holding it aloft?
The banners of last season like ‘go all in’ was so spectacular and well put, this seemed like a hastily put together jab at the opposing support who we should have just laughed at rather than engage in any ‘Republican retort.’
Some say if we want all the good things that the GB bring we must support them on issues like this; I wholeheartedly disagree. Celtic fans and the GB must grow, learn and perhaps be a little less stubborn in their approach to what they do.
