Glasgow Celtic Supporters Thread
- Thread starter noelyf
- Start date
always in our hearts and Prayers Reamonn,RIP
noelyf
VIP Member
NORMALLY mascot places are taken by small children but 6ft4ins Snoop is desperate to lead out the team when they walk out for the glamour Champions’ League tie next Tuesday.
HIP HOP superstar Snoop Dogg is begging Celtic to let him be a mascot when the Hoops take on Italian champions Juventus.
The rapper, who now calls himself Snoop Lion after converting to Rastafarianism, said he’s desperate to get a ticket for the glamour Champions’ League tie next Tuesday.
And he says if he can’t get his hands on a brief, he’ll settle for leading out the team.
His plea comes just months after we revealed how he wanted to invest in Celtic and sign “his man” David Beckham for the Parkhead club.
During an interview in Dubai last week, Snoop donned a Celtic scarf and revealed he is desperate to get to the Juventus tie.
He said: “It’s the one I need to go to. It’s the game we’ve been waiting for.
“I need tickets but I want to walk out with the team like a little kid with the banner. Yes, yes, make it happen.
“Hail, hail the Celts are here. Yabadabadoo!”
After being told he might end up sitting beside Celtic superfan Rod Stewart, he added: “Do you think I’m sexy?”
Snoop was first snapped wearing a Hoops shirt in 2005, though some fans doubt his allegiance to the team as he often wears replica kit of sports clubs from around the world.
But last year the Sunday Mail revealed that the rapper was a true fan following Celtic’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona in November.
We told how Snoop planned to invest in the club and had even asked Beckham for advice.
Snoop, a fan of his home city basketball team the LA Lakers, told reporters in Dubai: “I fell in love with the club and what better way to show my support than to be a part of it.
“I just want to learn more about it and I figured if I become a part of it, I’ll do that.”
“I love sports, I’m athletic. All around the world there are different sports that dictate that part of the world you live in – and I just want to be a part of it.”
And his involvement could bring a splash of showbiz glamour to Parkhead.
He added: “I have got a big interest in soccer. It’s not new for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams.
“I haven’t really thought how much to put in.
“I don’t need to run the club but I’d like enough of a percentage to get me on the board and be heard.
“I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things.
“I am passionate about my sport. The boxes at Celtic would never be the same once I have hosted a party there.”
HIP HOP superstar Snoop Dogg is begging Celtic to let him be a mascot when the Hoops take on Italian champions Juventus.
The rapper, who now calls himself Snoop Lion after converting to Rastafarianism, said he’s desperate to get a ticket for the glamour Champions’ League tie next Tuesday.
And he says if he can’t get his hands on a brief, he’ll settle for leading out the team.
His plea comes just months after we revealed how he wanted to invest in Celtic and sign “his man” David Beckham for the Parkhead club.
During an interview in Dubai last week, Snoop donned a Celtic scarf and revealed he is desperate to get to the Juventus tie.
He said: “It’s the one I need to go to. It’s the game we’ve been waiting for.
“I need tickets but I want to walk out with the team like a little kid with the banner. Yes, yes, make it happen.
“Hail, hail the Celts are here. Yabadabadoo!”
After being told he might end up sitting beside Celtic superfan Rod Stewart, he added: “Do you think I’m sexy?”
Snoop was first snapped wearing a Hoops shirt in 2005, though some fans doubt his allegiance to the team as he often wears replica kit of sports clubs from around the world.
But last year the Sunday Mail revealed that the rapper was a true fan following Celtic’s 2-1 victory over Barcelona in November.
We told how Snoop planned to invest in the club and had even asked Beckham for advice.
Snoop, a fan of his home city basketball team the LA Lakers, told reporters in Dubai: “I fell in love with the club and what better way to show my support than to be a part of it.
“I just want to learn more about it and I figured if I become a part of it, I’ll do that.”
“I love sports, I’m athletic. All around the world there are different sports that dictate that part of the world you live in – and I just want to be a part of it.”
And his involvement could bring a splash of showbiz glamour to Parkhead.
He added: “I have got a big interest in soccer. It’s not new for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams.
“I haven’t really thought how much to put in.
“I don’t need to run the club but I’d like enough of a percentage to get me on the board and be heard.
“I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things.
“I am passionate about my sport. The boxes at Celtic would never be the same once I have hosted a party there.”
Come on the Snoop Dogg.What a Celtic fan 
Again Noely, roflmao roflmao
noelyf
VIP Member
[h=5]
From the Green Brigade
As ever the Green Brigade will have a tifo in place for the Juventus match next Tuesday.
The pre-match tifos at Celtic Park have grown to become an anticipated and welcome addition to the overall occasion and atmosphere and this is as much down to everyone who participates as it is to us.
Therefore, once again, all we ask is for everyone involved to please participate fully and to help us pull off a tifo fitting for the occasion which will hopefully help boost the atmosphere and in turn spur on the team that little bit more.
This is undoubtedly the biggest match that we've faced in years and its down to all supporters to play their part from the start. We do make a difference and its our responsibility to back the team to the hilt and hassle the opposition as much as possible.[/h]
From the Green Brigade
As ever the Green Brigade will have a tifo in place for the Juventus match next Tuesday.
The pre-match tifos at Celtic Park have grown to become an anticipated and welcome addition to the overall occasion and atmosphere and this is as much down to everyone who participates as it is to us.
Therefore, once again, all we ask is for everyone involved to please participate fully and to help us pull off a tifo fitting for the occasion which will hopefully help boost the atmosphere and in turn spur on the team that little bit more.
This is undoubtedly the biggest match that we've faced in years and its down to all supporters to play their part from the start. We do make a difference and its our responsibility to back the team to the hilt and hassle the opposition as much as possible.[/h]
pokeraldo7
Newbie
handpicked by platini himself worse than that kruat ******* that done the first leg in turin the last time
nevermind keep the faith HH
nevermind keep the faith HH
noelyf
VIP Member
[h=2]
John's aiming to be a clever Bhoy
[/h] By: Paul Cuddihy on 13 Feb,
IN 40 years of the Mastermind quiz programme, ‘Celtic’ has never been chosen as the specialist subject by any contestant. That’s all about to change this Friday when John Savage appears on the show. The Hoops fan from Polmont will be answering questions put to him by Mastermind quizmaster, John Humphrys, on Celtic.
The show goes out this Friday (February 15) on BBC2 at 8pm, and John’s hoping there will be plenty of fellow Celts cheering him on as he tries to progress to the next round.
“The show was recorded down in Salford back in September,” John told the Celtic View, “and I was up against three other contestants whose specialist subjects were the singer Ian Dury, the Red Army 1941-1945 and the life and work of Gerald Durrell.
“I originally applied online and then the programme got in touch with me. There was a phone interview and I had to answer 20 general knowledge questions.
“Then, once I got through that, I was invited through to the BBC in Edinburgh for an interview and another 15 questions. And after getting through that, I was on the programme.
“It’s all general knowledge questions they ask. You don’t get anything on your specialist subject until you’re actually there to record the programme that will be on TV.
“I hadn’t thought about was my specialist subjects at first because when you apply you have to give three specialist subjects up front so they know what you would do if you got through the different rounds.
“It’s also an administration thing for scheduling the programmes so that they don’t have four people on all answering questions about sport.
“So I hadn’t really prepared what my specialist subjects would be – the only one I’d thought about was Celtic. So I chose The Third Reich and also 1970s UK chart music.”
Celtic fan John, who is originally from Bo’ness, now lives in Polmont with his wife, Lynne, and son, Andrew. And he was delighted to be able to answer questions on Celtic.
“The only reason I got to do Celtic as a broad subject was because it’s never been done before in 40 years of Mastermind,” he explained. “So you can’t do the same subject within three years, so it would be at least another three years before anyone would be allowed to do Celtic again.”
And John didn’t find the experience of being in front of the camera and knowing that millions of people will be watching him an unnerving one.
“I wasn’t nervous in the slightest,” John said. “I just went into it thinking, if I win, I win and if I get beat, I get beat. I wasn’t worried or nervous at all, so when I got on the set, it didn’t faze me at all.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to wear the Hoops! You’re not allowed to wear any football top or anything with a logo on it. But I had a pair of Celtic cufflinks that my uncle left me, and also a replica medal of Lisbon, which I wore on a chain under my shirt, for good luck.”
And everyone will have to tune in to this Friday’s episode of Mastermind to find out if John manages to get through to the next round, but it’s guaranteed that it will be the first time that many cries of ‘C’mon the Hoops!’ will be shouted at the TV screen during the quiz show.
Mastermind is on BBC2 this Friday, February 15 (8pm).
celticfc.net
John's aiming to be a clever Bhoy
[/h] By: Paul Cuddihy on 13 Feb,
IN 40 years of the Mastermind quiz programme, ‘Celtic’ has never been chosen as the specialist subject by any contestant. That’s all about to change this Friday when John Savage appears on the show. The Hoops fan from Polmont will be answering questions put to him by Mastermind quizmaster, John Humphrys, on Celtic.
The show goes out this Friday (February 15) on BBC2 at 8pm, and John’s hoping there will be plenty of fellow Celts cheering him on as he tries to progress to the next round.
“The show was recorded down in Salford back in September,” John told the Celtic View, “and I was up against three other contestants whose specialist subjects were the singer Ian Dury, the Red Army 1941-1945 and the life and work of Gerald Durrell.
“I originally applied online and then the programme got in touch with me. There was a phone interview and I had to answer 20 general knowledge questions.
“Then, once I got through that, I was invited through to the BBC in Edinburgh for an interview and another 15 questions. And after getting through that, I was on the programme.
“It’s all general knowledge questions they ask. You don’t get anything on your specialist subject until you’re actually there to record the programme that will be on TV.
“I hadn’t thought about was my specialist subjects at first because when you apply you have to give three specialist subjects up front so they know what you would do if you got through the different rounds.
“It’s also an administration thing for scheduling the programmes so that they don’t have four people on all answering questions about sport.
“So I hadn’t really prepared what my specialist subjects would be – the only one I’d thought about was Celtic. So I chose The Third Reich and also 1970s UK chart music.”
Celtic fan John, who is originally from Bo’ness, now lives in Polmont with his wife, Lynne, and son, Andrew. And he was delighted to be able to answer questions on Celtic.
“The only reason I got to do Celtic as a broad subject was because it’s never been done before in 40 years of Mastermind,” he explained. “So you can’t do the same subject within three years, so it would be at least another three years before anyone would be allowed to do Celtic again.”
And John didn’t find the experience of being in front of the camera and knowing that millions of people will be watching him an unnerving one.
“I wasn’t nervous in the slightest,” John said. “I just went into it thinking, if I win, I win and if I get beat, I get beat. I wasn’t worried or nervous at all, so when I got on the set, it didn’t faze me at all.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to wear the Hoops! You’re not allowed to wear any football top or anything with a logo on it. But I had a pair of Celtic cufflinks that my uncle left me, and also a replica medal of Lisbon, which I wore on a chain under my shirt, for good luck.”
And everyone will have to tune in to this Friday’s episode of Mastermind to find out if John manages to get through to the next round, but it’s guaranteed that it will be the first time that many cries of ‘C’mon the Hoops!’ will be shouted at the TV screen during the quiz show.
Mastermind is on BBC2 this Friday, February 15 (8pm).
celticfc.net
I thought Celtic were outstanding last night Noël
Really stupid mistakes put them under severe pressure
And an A**SS Hole of a referee :celticspin:
Really stupid mistakes put them under severe pressure
And an A**SS Hole of a referee :celticspin:
noelyf
VIP Member
STATEMENT FROM THE GREEN BRIGADE
Towards the end of 2012, the Green Brigade announced a two-match boycott of Celtic Park due to the continued police harassment of our members. We hoped to highlight the extent of our ill-treatment and perhaps force the police into a re-think regarding their bully boy tactics. Sadly the harassment has actually worsened since then, leading up to the events of yesterday which left the group with little choice but to leave the stadium before kick-off.
It has reached the stage where our very existence is under serious threat as fans will not continue to pay £500+ to be treated like criminals.
After the disappointment of Tuesday night, we had made it our intention to thank the team for their efforts and once again back them to the hilt. However, it was clear that the police, and indeed club officials, were not going to allow this to happen.
Even before we had even got near Celtic Park, the police had tracked us down at the CSA on London Road. They took our merchandise off of people who had recently purchased it and questioned the staff as to why our members were allowed in the building.
As we approached the stadium and began to enter, some members were told that they were to leave as they had received a football banning order. No warning or explanation was given.
Others were greeted by a message at the turnstile after swiping their card that read “suspended for one game.” Again, without any warning or explanation as to why this was the case. These ‘’bans’’ were at the behest of the club and not the police, for reasons still unknown.
We were then approached by a Celtic steward who advised us to be wary when entering the section, as he was advised by Strathclyde Police that they intended to arrest some of our members, and that they were in possession of a ‘wanted’ list with names and pictures of the unfortunate fans who were to be singled out.
It was at this point that we decided that we were putting our own members at risk by entering the stadium. As we made our way to the exits, one Focus officer, Tommy McCrindle, was grinning from ear to ear, goading the group into a reaction that fortunately he never got.
It would seem that the police and indeed the club have upped the ante even further in recent weeks. The facts are;
- We are now 10 members down since the turn of the year.
- We have had two members arrested and charged over the ‘zombie’ banner that was unfurled at the Norwich friendly. One of those members was arrested at a busy airport in front of family on arrival from holiday.
- The first of those charged had his first court appearance last week. This was laughed out of court but not before the stress and inconvenience of telling family members, taking time off work and missing big matches.
- Numerous members’ have been harassed at their homes in recent weeks, another clear tactic of intimidation.
This is all done under the say-so of Strathclyde Police’ FoCus unit. Celtic supporters have the same police officers following them week in, week out. This allows them to become familiar with the names and faces of our fans. It would appear that they use this familiarity to try to intimidate us even further. Simple things like name-dropping partner’s names or family members’ names has become an all too common theme. It’s all part of the bullying nature of this unit.
The aforementioned McCrindle actually has on his social networking site that his job description is “full-time Fume-a-pest & termite control.” McCrindle was also in the midst of controversy following the Juventus game, as three members were arrested to be charged with a minor breach of the peace which quickly became offensive behaviour at the football, leading to banning orders being made a part of said members bail conditions.
McCrindle even went as far as to attempt to pressure the Procurator Fiscal in to ensuring that one of the accused would not even be granted bail. The sad thing is that it’s our money that pays this man’s wages, whilst also affording this unit countless ‘’working holidays’’ to places like Amsterdam, Barcelona and Moscow.
After the last boycott, Peter Lawwell and Neil Lennon publicly expressed their desire to meet with us to iron out any issues we may have. We decided that this was something which we should try to use, so contacted them via a private email about this almost immediately. Sadly, they were ‘too busy’ but would contact us when they were ready.
We’re still waiting on them getting back to us about that particular email, although we did receive one prior to the Juventus game with an agenda that in no way mentioned any of the concerns that we outlined. We advised that we weren’t prepared to discuss anything any further with them until our initial request was granted. We are still no further forward with that and as a result, any relationship with the club has completely disintegrated.
Since this relationship has broken down the ticket office has become entirely uncooperative with us whilst the chief steward with whom we had a good working relationship with has been moved post.
We have never met with Neil Lennon before but have had numerous dealings with Lawwell in recent years. At almost every meeting, he has made promises that were never kept so this is nothing new. He met our members to discuss the fall-out over the “Let’s go to War banner” that depicted Lennon setting fire to Ibrox and had “Huns FC” written on the stadium.
This led to charges and court cases which lasted 18 months for 3 of our members. We had met with Lawwell to discuss this and to see if he could lend his support to the case. Lawwell advised us that he thought the charge was ‘a joke’ and it was his opinion that the term ‘huns’ was in no way offensive. Furthermore, he went onto say he’d be happy for the club to defend us in court.
We were clearly delighted with this. However, when our lawyer contacted him about this a few weeks down the line, Lawwell denied all knowledge of the meeting and refused to comment any further. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a senior member of Celtic security, David Brannan, was used as a prosecution witness.
We have heard in the last couple of weeks of meetings involving Lawwell and other Celtic fan groups. At these meetings, Lawwell has made no secret of the fact that he intends to see the end of the group sooner rather than later. He was quoted as saying that he would “give them enough rope to hang themselves.” We were told that Lawwell used CCTV footage of the section to pinpoint who he felt the ringleaders were and picked out a member as someone who ‘had to go’.
We have also been informed that other fans groups may have attended similar meetings with Peter Lawwell and if this were the case, we would find it extremely disheartening that we were not informed of the club’s intentions by other Celtic fans. At this stage however Celtic’s agenda seems clear – They are intent on finishing the group off.
Our decision not to attend yesterday’s match was not something that we had planned. We simply felt that it was a decision that had to be made purely to protect our own members and those within 111. It has now gotten to the stage whereby members of our group live in constant fear of the police showing up at their homes or workplace with a trumped up charge, or to be told that they are banned from football matches as they approach the gates of 111.
Now, more than ever, the continued support of the rest of the Celtic fans is appreciated immensely. We cannot stress enough that if things do not change for the better, the group will be unable to continue to attend matches to support the club that we all love.
Towards the end of 2012, the Green Brigade announced a two-match boycott of Celtic Park due to the continued police harassment of our members. We hoped to highlight the extent of our ill-treatment and perhaps force the police into a re-think regarding their bully boy tactics. Sadly the harassment has actually worsened since then, leading up to the events of yesterday which left the group with little choice but to leave the stadium before kick-off.
It has reached the stage where our very existence is under serious threat as fans will not continue to pay £500+ to be treated like criminals.
After the disappointment of Tuesday night, we had made it our intention to thank the team for their efforts and once again back them to the hilt. However, it was clear that the police, and indeed club officials, were not going to allow this to happen.
Even before we had even got near Celtic Park, the police had tracked us down at the CSA on London Road. They took our merchandise off of people who had recently purchased it and questioned the staff as to why our members were allowed in the building.
As we approached the stadium and began to enter, some members were told that they were to leave as they had received a football banning order. No warning or explanation was given.
Others were greeted by a message at the turnstile after swiping their card that read “suspended for one game.” Again, without any warning or explanation as to why this was the case. These ‘’bans’’ were at the behest of the club and not the police, for reasons still unknown.
We were then approached by a Celtic steward who advised us to be wary when entering the section, as he was advised by Strathclyde Police that they intended to arrest some of our members, and that they were in possession of a ‘wanted’ list with names and pictures of the unfortunate fans who were to be singled out.
It was at this point that we decided that we were putting our own members at risk by entering the stadium. As we made our way to the exits, one Focus officer, Tommy McCrindle, was grinning from ear to ear, goading the group into a reaction that fortunately he never got.
It would seem that the police and indeed the club have upped the ante even further in recent weeks. The facts are;
- We are now 10 members down since the turn of the year.
- We have had two members arrested and charged over the ‘zombie’ banner that was unfurled at the Norwich friendly. One of those members was arrested at a busy airport in front of family on arrival from holiday.
- The first of those charged had his first court appearance last week. This was laughed out of court but not before the stress and inconvenience of telling family members, taking time off work and missing big matches.
- Numerous members’ have been harassed at their homes in recent weeks, another clear tactic of intimidation.
This is all done under the say-so of Strathclyde Police’ FoCus unit. Celtic supporters have the same police officers following them week in, week out. This allows them to become familiar with the names and faces of our fans. It would appear that they use this familiarity to try to intimidate us even further. Simple things like name-dropping partner’s names or family members’ names has become an all too common theme. It’s all part of the bullying nature of this unit.
The aforementioned McCrindle actually has on his social networking site that his job description is “full-time Fume-a-pest & termite control.” McCrindle was also in the midst of controversy following the Juventus game, as three members were arrested to be charged with a minor breach of the peace which quickly became offensive behaviour at the football, leading to banning orders being made a part of said members bail conditions.
McCrindle even went as far as to attempt to pressure the Procurator Fiscal in to ensuring that one of the accused would not even be granted bail. The sad thing is that it’s our money that pays this man’s wages, whilst also affording this unit countless ‘’working holidays’’ to places like Amsterdam, Barcelona and Moscow.
After the last boycott, Peter Lawwell and Neil Lennon publicly expressed their desire to meet with us to iron out any issues we may have. We decided that this was something which we should try to use, so contacted them via a private email about this almost immediately. Sadly, they were ‘too busy’ but would contact us when they were ready.
We’re still waiting on them getting back to us about that particular email, although we did receive one prior to the Juventus game with an agenda that in no way mentioned any of the concerns that we outlined. We advised that we weren’t prepared to discuss anything any further with them until our initial request was granted. We are still no further forward with that and as a result, any relationship with the club has completely disintegrated.
Since this relationship has broken down the ticket office has become entirely uncooperative with us whilst the chief steward with whom we had a good working relationship with has been moved post.
We have never met with Neil Lennon before but have had numerous dealings with Lawwell in recent years. At almost every meeting, he has made promises that were never kept so this is nothing new. He met our members to discuss the fall-out over the “Let’s go to War banner” that depicted Lennon setting fire to Ibrox and had “Huns FC” written on the stadium.
This led to charges and court cases which lasted 18 months for 3 of our members. We had met with Lawwell to discuss this and to see if he could lend his support to the case. Lawwell advised us that he thought the charge was ‘a joke’ and it was his opinion that the term ‘huns’ was in no way offensive. Furthermore, he went onto say he’d be happy for the club to defend us in court.
We were clearly delighted with this. However, when our lawyer contacted him about this a few weeks down the line, Lawwell denied all knowledge of the meeting and refused to comment any further. As if that wasn’t bad enough, a senior member of Celtic security, David Brannan, was used as a prosecution witness.
We have heard in the last couple of weeks of meetings involving Lawwell and other Celtic fan groups. At these meetings, Lawwell has made no secret of the fact that he intends to see the end of the group sooner rather than later. He was quoted as saying that he would “give them enough rope to hang themselves.” We were told that Lawwell used CCTV footage of the section to pinpoint who he felt the ringleaders were and picked out a member as someone who ‘had to go’.
We have also been informed that other fans groups may have attended similar meetings with Peter Lawwell and if this were the case, we would find it extremely disheartening that we were not informed of the club’s intentions by other Celtic fans. At this stage however Celtic’s agenda seems clear – They are intent on finishing the group off.
Our decision not to attend yesterday’s match was not something that we had planned. We simply felt that it was a decision that had to be made purely to protect our own members and those within 111. It has now gotten to the stage whereby members of our group live in constant fear of the police showing up at their homes or workplace with a trumped up charge, or to be told that they are banned from football matches as they approach the gates of 111.
Now, more than ever, the continued support of the rest of the Celtic fans is appreciated immensely. We cannot stress enough that if things do not change for the better, the group will be unable to continue to attend matches to support the club that we all love.
pokeraldo7
Newbie
this is scandalous m8
put this in the evening times hh
put this in the evening times hh
noelyf
VIP Member
[h=1] Neil Lennon wants end to Green Brigade rift
[/h]
Tuesday 19 February 2013
CELTIC manager Neil Lennon wants to ward off “unnecessary conflict” between the club and the Green Brigade fans’ group.
Celtic have had at times an uneasy relationship with the vociferous and political section of the Parkhead support, who boycotted Saturday’s 6-2 SPL win over Dundee United at Parkhead, due to what they claimed to be “the continued police harassment of our members”.
The fans’ group released a lengthy statement airing their grievances which they say has led to a situation where “any relationship with the club has completely disintegrated”.
Within the statement was criticism of Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell and manager Lennon for allegedly not addressing their concerns.
Celtic responded with a statement which promised that “each incident or complaint will be investigated” while also saying: “Accusations suggesting that the club is in some way involved in targeting supporters are ludicrous. These accusations have absolutely no foundation whatsoever and, of course, are very disappointing.”
Ahead of tonight’s visit to St Johnstone in the SPL, Lennon, who has often backed the Green Brigade for the noise and colour they bring to home games especially, was looking for a resolution. He said: “I have had no direct contact [with Green Brigade]. We did make an offer to speak to them a while back but they never came forward.
“There is no need for all this unnecessary conflict between any group of supporters and the club because we are moving well on and off the field.
“The club have always maintained an open stance on it, that if anyone has a legitimate complaint the club will look at it and deal with it as best they can and that has never changed.
“They [Green Brigade] are an important part of the club, they have brought an energy and a freshness to the stadium and I have been quite supportive of that.
“However, there is no collusion between the club or any of the authorities to dampen that. Our main concern is health and safety within the ground.”
Strathclyde Police last night responded to the fans’ accusations. Deputy Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson said: “We are aware of claims by a specific group of Celtic fans of police harassment.
“We would actively encourage anyone who thinks they have been unfairly targeted to report their concerns to us and be confident that a thorough investigation will be carried out.”
[/h]
Tuesday 19 February 2013
CELTIC manager Neil Lennon wants to ward off “unnecessary conflict” between the club and the Green Brigade fans’ group.
Celtic have had at times an uneasy relationship with the vociferous and political section of the Parkhead support, who boycotted Saturday’s 6-2 SPL win over Dundee United at Parkhead, due to what they claimed to be “the continued police harassment of our members”.
The fans’ group released a lengthy statement airing their grievances which they say has led to a situation where “any relationship with the club has completely disintegrated”.
Within the statement was criticism of Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell and manager Lennon for allegedly not addressing their concerns.
Celtic responded with a statement which promised that “each incident or complaint will be investigated” while also saying: “Accusations suggesting that the club is in some way involved in targeting supporters are ludicrous. These accusations have absolutely no foundation whatsoever and, of course, are very disappointing.”
Ahead of tonight’s visit to St Johnstone in the SPL, Lennon, who has often backed the Green Brigade for the noise and colour they bring to home games especially, was looking for a resolution. He said: “I have had no direct contact [with Green Brigade]. We did make an offer to speak to them a while back but they never came forward.
“There is no need for all this unnecessary conflict between any group of supporters and the club because we are moving well on and off the field.
“The club have always maintained an open stance on it, that if anyone has a legitimate complaint the club will look at it and deal with it as best they can and that has never changed.
“They [Green Brigade] are an important part of the club, they have brought an energy and a freshness to the stadium and I have been quite supportive of that.
“However, there is no collusion between the club or any of the authorities to dampen that. Our main concern is health and safety within the ground.”
Strathclyde Police last night responded to the fans’ accusations. Deputy Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson said: “We are aware of claims by a specific group of Celtic fans of police harassment.
“We would actively encourage anyone who thinks they have been unfairly targeted to report their concerns to us and be confident that a thorough investigation will be carried out.”
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