|
|
|
Celtic Fans Protest Appointment Of Warmonger John Reid as Chairman ALAN PATTULLO Stop
appointment of John Reid - online petition - sign here The club's supporters have a proud history of solidarity with oppressed peoples throughout the world. The invasion of Iraq has resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Many Celtic supporters believe Mr Reid's appointment is contrary to our heritage. ------------------------------------------------ A SATISFYING 3-0 win over Dundee United which returned Celtic to the top of the league could not hide the rumbles of discontent at Parkhead on Saturday, in what was Dr John Reid's first match as chairman-elect. As reported in these pages yesterday flyers were distributed to those arriving at the stadium directing them to an internet petition on which they could register their protest against the election of Reid, the former defence secretary perceived as having a pivotal role in the Iraq war. Jeanette Findlay, chair of the Celtic Supporters' Trust, backed the movement against Reid, and explained that the response is in keeping with the club's history of supporting oppressed people throughout the world, something born from the club's own roots in the working class and largely Catholic east end of Glasgow district. It has most obviously flared in the terracing support for the Republican cause in Ireland.
"There has always been a sympathy at Celtic for the plight of oppressed people," she said, and it is true the club present an image in which some fans glorify to the extent that Palestinian flags have been spotted flying in the stands at Parkhead. There is also the sense, identified by football writer Kevin McCarra, that putting on a green and white scarf provided some with a curious feeling of moral superiority. But how strongly this survives Celtic's present-day position as a power house in the British game, and their thrusting ambitions on a European stage, is an interesting debate, particularly in the week that Celtic entertain the aristocrats of AC Milan in the Champions League. Tomorrow evening Celtic Park will be full of fans who have paid top prices for tickets to see a game that is emblematic of how the current football world is split between the rich and the poor. But, then, even the most cursory tours of the official Celtic website reveals the social conscience which exists at the club. The Celtic Charity Fund was formed at the initiative of former owner Fergus McCann, someone normally characterised as a hard-nosed businessman. "Over the last century, Celtic Football Club has developed into a thriving business and has a proud name and heritage known throughout the world," explains the website. "In 1994 the Club was taken over by new management who sought to maximise Celtic's potential as a football club and business but also, importantly, to recognise Celtic's social dimension, with a return to supporting charitable causes in the line with the founding principles of the Club. In 1995, 'Celtic Charity Fund' was formed with the aim of revitalising Celtic's charitable traditions." The fact they needed revitalising hints that Celtic had lost their way since the club's inception by Brother Walfrid, the Marist Brother of Irish origin who wished the club to be a source for good amid the social deprivation that existed in Glasgow's east end in the late 19th century. Even when the club thought they might be doing the right thing it was hard to avoid wandering into the moral maze which so often snares politicians. Tom Campbell, the respected Celtic historian, yesterday contemplated the issue of Reid's imminent appointment as chairman, to be ratified at an agm next month, and recalled a time when the club stood accused of rank hypocrisy after agitating for all the European Cup first-round ties of the 1969/70 season to be re-drawn. Celtic had been paired with the Hungarian club Ferencvaros at the height of the Cold War and chairman Bob Kelly insisted Celtic could not possibly travel to the east of Europe in such sensitive political times. "Bob Kelly's own hopes of getting a knighthood were boosted by the fact he threatened to withdraw Celtic from the European Cup because they were drawn against Ferencvaros of Hungary," said Campbell. "As a result the European Cup had to be re-drawn, and Celtic got St-Etienne instead. But some Celtic fans were quick to point out that Celtic had toured the United States when that country was busy bombing the hell out of Vietnam." Celtic, though, have long adopted a broad outlook, and pre-World War One were embarking on tours of Europe. Willie Maley, the club's longest-serving manager and a Royalist to boot, often boasted about the fact Celtic operated more unemployed gates than any other club. He also observed that Celtic were there to "help the lame dog over the stile", an ethos which some fans tapped into at the weekend. "I think the idea of people being killed in Iraq makes it a very emotional issue," continued Campbell. "But John Reid is as qualified as any candidate in the sense that he is a football fan, has an interest in Celtic and has a fair amount of clout. That can't help but do Celtic some good. It was the same with Brian Quinn. He was deputy governor of the Bank of England - that strikes me as being as establishment as it gets. And I didn't hear too many complaints about him and the job he did." This dichotomy has snagged at Celtic almost since the club's inception. The fans want success but it could be said to have come at a moral cost as players sweep into Parkhead in jeeps, their blacked-out windows providing a useful screen to hide the awful poverty that surrounds the club's stadium to this day. "Our charitable impulse is, I think, very good," said Campbell. "And I think the impulse comes from the supporters themselves, rather than the club. They have collections outside the ground regularly for people who are on strike. "There is a genuine quality about it. But, even after the club were formed in 1888, within a very short period of time several Catholic Irish businessmen from the emerging middle class saw the opportunity to make money themselves, and although the charitable ideals were not abandoned the club became a limited liability company. These two contrasting strands have been evident ever since."
|
|
|
| PRISON
PLANET.com Copyright © 2002-2007 Alex Jones
All rights reserved.
|
Yahoo! MyWeb
