Sectarianism Could Be Quickly Ended - If The Will Was There

THE BACKGROUND noise in Scottish football this week has been the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the usual suspects – as they defend the indefensible – the disgusting sectarian abuse which Stevie Clarke, the Kilmarnock manager, was forced to endure at Ibrox on Wednesday night.

 Stevie Clarke - was right to speak-out

Why, we even had the unedifying spectacle of Rangers supremo, Dave King – you know, the man described by a South African judge as: “A glib and shameless liar,” glibly and shamelessly assuring the compliant stenographers and churnalists of the tame Glasgow media that: Rangers will do all they can to stamp out this kind of behaviour. Aye right.

I first set foot inside Ibrox in 1960, a section of their support relished being: “Up to our knees in Fenian blood,” and described everyone not of the blood red, white and blue as: “dirty Fenian bastards,” back then. There was nothing remotely new or original about the abuse Clarke suffered.

What is new and unsettling is, the current regime at Ibrox, like the one before it, presided over by Charles Green, appears to the non-aligned, to be pandering to the lowest common denominator among Ra Peepil, and almost encouraging such sectarian misbehaviour.

Given that, nearly 60 years ago, when I first entered Ibrox to watch football, anti-Catholic institutionalised bigotry was far-more prevalent in mainstream Scottish society than today: for instance, the likes of the young Paul McBride QC, would have found it far-harder to get into the College of Advocate than he eventually did some two or three decades later. So, maybe we have come some ways down the road in that sectarian bigotry is now more-obvious around Ibrox than in general life Scottish life.

Of course, the GASL (Glib and Shameless Liar) knows he can say what he likes about rooting-out and ending bigotry around his club, he will never be held to account by the supine Scottish press. He might bewail how difficult it might be to end sectarianism, but, he would be glibly and shamelessly telling lies.

Rangers could end sectarianism and bigotry at Ibrox fairly quickly, if they genuinely wanted to. And here's how.

Rangers claim to have over 43,000 season ticket holders – which is equivalent to 86% of the capacity of Ibrox. If we assume, having made the commitment to support the club, these are the fans most-likely to turn up at every game, we have to assume – 86% of the fans at every game are season ticket holders, and known to the club.

Therefore, Rangers may not know the identity of every fan inside the ground on any given night – but they know who 86% of them are.

These fans have paid for their seat, so, whether or not they turn up, Rangers have the cash. So, whenever there is an outbreak of sectarian singing or abuse at the ground, the club simply says, something like: “Following the outbreak of unacceptable behaviour at the game between Rangers and X, the following ten per cent of our season ticket holders will lose season ticket holder privileges for the next three games,” this is followed by a list of the suspended season ticket holders being published.

I don't think it would take too many matches, before sectarian singing was a thing of the past at Rangers. Even if, in fact more-so if, you were one of the season ticket holders who didn't engage in sectarian singing – and, let's be honest, from the noise levels, many do – you would not be too-happy if you were banned for three games, while perhaps, the guy behind you who was singing but, because of the luck of the draw wasn't banned, got it.

I reckon, in very short order, the Rangers support would self-police, single-out the real hard-core bigots who would not shut-up, and they could be permanently banned. The club could also go further and ban some of the “Party” songs.

Of course, singing about being: “Up to our knees in Fenian blood” is totally unacceptable, as is the old FTP chant or add-on to the songs. But, in all honestly, what has 'The Sash' or 'Derry's Walls' got to do with Scottish football, or Scottish history for that matter? Get shot.

An Gorta Mor – the Irish Famine of 1845 to 1849 is held up as the reason so-many Irish left the Emerald Isle, many to settle in the East End of Glasgow. From the ranks of those displaced persons, arose Celtic Football Club in 1888.

Paddy left Ireland as a babe-in-arms, in 1849. By 1888, when Celtic was formed, he was 39, perhaps married and living in poverty in the East End of Glasgow, he is still pure Irish. His son, born that year is first-generation Scots-Irish. His son, born say in 1918 is second-generation Scots-Irish; his son, born in 1949 is third-generation Scots-Irish; his son, both in 1979 is fourth-generation Scots-Irish.

His son, perhaps a member of the Green Brigade, is therefore fifth-generation Scots-Irish, far-more Scottish than Irish. He was born in a Scottish National Health Service hospital, he has grown-up under the welfare state and enjoys a quality of life which his great-great-grandfather, that babe-in-arms who arrived in Glasgow in 1849 could never have imagined.

Scots wonder, why does he chant “Up the RA,” in support of a terrorist organisation vilified even in Ireland? Why does he so-lustily sing Amhran na bhFiann (The Soldier's Song)? Only a small percentage of him is “Irish”, is it any wonder so-many Scots, and not just Rangers supporters call him a “Plastic Paddy”?

The Celtic club management trade shamelessly on their Irish heritage, and, while there is nothing wrong with remembering who you are and where you came from, come on:

• Celtic, your ground is in Glasgow.
  
  
• The vast majority of your fan base is Scottish.
  
  
• You play in the Scottish Professional Football league?
  
  
• You are under the authority of the Scottish Football Association.
  
  
• You are not an Irish club – you are Scottish.

In part two of this blog – I will expand on what I think can be done to end sectarianism.