Post by ruth on Mar 23, 2014 18:05:30 GMT -5
Ruth Leadbetter
Is Old Firm Rivalry Getting the Best of Football?
“This sort of behaviour is utterly unacceptable.”- Alex Salmond.[1]
The rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has been a continuous battle for generations and has since became one of the biggest rivalry‘s in Scottish football. When these two team’s clash, people act too violently. Their actions have serious consequences and should be stopped. However, some may say that this “behaviour” is a good thing;
“We obviously have our differences on the park, that’s the beauty of the game.”- Ally McCoist[2]
Although rivalry may fuel more desire and effort for players to do their team proud and beat their opponent, too much will spark anger issues towards each other and situations on and off the park will become difficult to tackle;
“Last week, First Minister Alex Salmond was forced to intervene after the shameful on-field and touchline scenes at Celtic Park fuelled 200 violent or antisocial crimes, 40 incidents of domestic violence and left an 18-year-old girl in hospital with serious head injuries. A further 32 arrests were made within the stadium. On the pitch: three Rangers players were red carded, 13 yellow cards shown, three of them Celtic players.”[3]
The consequences that are occurring because of how much hatred these two nemesis’ have for each other has gotten too far. There must be blockades put up to stop these despicable crimes from ever happening again. The fact that there is so many people attacking each other after these games is wrong, not just in the football world, but on the earth as a whole.
What is the main cause of this divide? Simple. Religion.
“New figures released this weekend by the Scottish government show that religious hate crime in Scotland rose by 10% in the past year, with 60% committed by under-30s. A third of the charges related directly to football and 58% were against Catholics, 37% against Protestants.”[4]
No one needs to act this way due to different beliefs. The religious divide and the extreme lengths that these fans are willing to go to must be shown the red card immediately before everyone else see how extreme they are being and follow in their footsteps.
Luckily, some Rangers and Celtic fans don’t want to be a part of such a divide;
“John Hynd had received death threats simply for joining a website campaigning against the sectarian divide in the west of Scotland. “I used to be a bigot,” he says. “I’d go to the game - I’m a Rangers fan - and happily be singing Billy Boys along with my dad and his friends. Then I just thought, ‘Hold on a minute. I’ve got Catholic friends. I’m going out with a Catholic. I don’t want to be up to my knees in Fenian blood like the song says. I don’t want this.”
His stand has not only estranged him from his staunchly Protestant family but, after posting his phone number in a message on the site, he received calls from a man threatening to kill him. Hynd is only 16.”[5]
The religious divide is tearing apart families and putting innocent people’s lives in danger. This divide is taken too seriously. It is destroying what should be a sport that unites people but instead it is tearing them apart from their families and friends. People who are trying to stand up for what is right are being punished by others who are too caught up in this “game”. This isn‘t fair. Nothing is fair about this anymore.
Not only is it tearing families and friends apart by choice, but is also forcing people to lose their loved ones;
“Mark had watched Celtic’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle at Celtic Park.
As he walked home with two friends along London Road, they were subjected to sectarian abuse from Rangers fans standing outside a pub.
Campbell ran up behind Mark, who was wearing a Celtic top, screamed: “Ya Fenian b******” and slashed his throat.
The murder was witnessed by fans, women out shopping with their children and people in cars and buses.”[6]
Not only was this a horrific crime to commit over such a divide but it also has exposed so many innocent people, including children, to a terrorising sight that they should have never witnessed. It has left two parents without a child, something that should never have to be experienced. This “religious divide” has come too far. People should not be getting murdered because of a top that they choose to wear, a team that they choose to support, a belief that they choose to have. Mark’s killer didn’t stop to think if he was Catholic, people are no longer caring due to the divide, they are just using it as an excuse to fulfil they’re selfish and traumatising acts. The day when this is stopped could not come soon enough.
Their crimes are taking over the whole of the football world. It is no longer spiteful rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, but has now spread to other football teams. Fans of other teams are choosing sides and joining in on this ridiculous behaviour;
“During Celtic’s win over Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh, a supporter tried to attack Lennon in front of the dugout, and the manager defended himself with some vigour.”[7]
No one should feel unsafe about going to a football game, especially a manager who should be greatly protected and isolated from fans. The football we see now is not what it should be. Violence is all we see now. It must be shown the red card.
Steps are being taken to stop this madness, but only outside of the clubs. The work needs to start from the inside to succeed, if the leaders of the clubs don’t put the necessary cautions in place to help finalise these issues once and for all then the violence will just become even more out of their possession than it already is, as the spokesperson from a Glasgow-based anti-sectarian charity pleads:
“That a person attempts to assault a football manager and is consequently charged assault based on religious prejudice; that parcel bombs and live ammunition are sent in the post and unsavoury chants are heard in a stadium, indicates that this is no laughing matter. The day when sectarianism is a forgotten part of Scotland’s history cannot come soon enough. It must be stopped.”[8]
Although people are attempting to stop this immature behaviour that fans are displaying, the steps are not effective as the managers of the clubs, the people the fans look up to as idols, need to tackle them down and show that this behaviour is unacceptable and is destroying the goodness of the clubs. The only way the fans will listen is if the steps start to be taken from the inside of the clubs, the clubs are like a tribe and all the fans will do is follow whatever the leaders say as people just want to fit into the clubs that they like. The leaders of these clubs are the managers and they must show that this sectarianism the fans are pursuing is anything but being loyal and that it just puts shame to what the clubs have worked hard to earn.
Football is no longer what it’s supposed to be. Football is no longer somewhere people come together. Football is no longer something people enjoy. If the rest of the footballing world continues to follow in Celtic and Ranger’s path, there is going to be no one left supporting anyone. Everyone’s fuelled with anger and rage which has been ignited by their religious differences. We are living in a world where people turn against each other for what they believe.
Bibliography.
[1]- www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13368945
[2]- www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1379069/Ally-McCoist-slams-sent-bomb-Neil-Lennon.html
[3]- www.scotsman.com/news/the-old-firm-the-great-divide-1-1529938
[4]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/20/teenage-football-fan-sectarian-violence
[5]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/20/teenage-football-fan-sectarian-violence
[6]- www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/sectarian-killer-jason-campbell-back-1104047
[7]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/13/neil-lennon-assault-death-threat
[8]- www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/13/neil-lennon-assault-death-threat
Is Old Firm Rivalry Getting the Best of Football?
“This sort of behaviour is utterly unacceptable.”- Alex Salmond.[1]
The rivalry between Celtic and Rangers has been a continuous battle for generations and has since became one of the biggest rivalry‘s in Scottish football. When these two team’s clash, people act too violently. Their actions have serious consequences and should be stopped. However, some may say that this “behaviour” is a good thing;
“We obviously have our differences on the park, that’s the beauty of the game.”- Ally McCoist[2]
Although rivalry may fuel more desire and effort for players to do their team proud and beat their opponent, too much will spark anger issues towards each other and situations on and off the park will become difficult to tackle;
“Last week, First Minister Alex Salmond was forced to intervene after the shameful on-field and touchline scenes at Celtic Park fuelled 200 violent or antisocial crimes, 40 incidents of domestic violence and left an 18-year-old girl in hospital with serious head injuries. A further 32 arrests were made within the stadium. On the pitch: three Rangers players were red carded, 13 yellow cards shown, three of them Celtic players.”[3]
The consequences that are occurring because of how much hatred these two nemesis’ have for each other has gotten too far. There must be blockades put up to stop these despicable crimes from ever happening again. The fact that there is so many people attacking each other after these games is wrong, not just in the football world, but on the earth as a whole.
What is the main cause of this divide? Simple. Religion.
“New figures released this weekend by the Scottish government show that religious hate crime in Scotland rose by 10% in the past year, with 60% committed by under-30s. A third of the charges related directly to football and 58% were against Catholics, 37% against Protestants.”[4]
No one needs to act this way due to different beliefs. The religious divide and the extreme lengths that these fans are willing to go to must be shown the red card immediately before everyone else see how extreme they are being and follow in their footsteps.
Luckily, some Rangers and Celtic fans don’t want to be a part of such a divide;
“John Hynd had received death threats simply for joining a website campaigning against the sectarian divide in the west of Scotland. “I used to be a bigot,” he says. “I’d go to the game - I’m a Rangers fan - and happily be singing Billy Boys along with my dad and his friends. Then I just thought, ‘Hold on a minute. I’ve got Catholic friends. I’m going out with a Catholic. I don’t want to be up to my knees in Fenian blood like the song says. I don’t want this.”
His stand has not only estranged him from his staunchly Protestant family but, after posting his phone number in a message on the site, he received calls from a man threatening to kill him. Hynd is only 16.”[5]
The religious divide is tearing apart families and putting innocent people’s lives in danger. This divide is taken too seriously. It is destroying what should be a sport that unites people but instead it is tearing them apart from their families and friends. People who are trying to stand up for what is right are being punished by others who are too caught up in this “game”. This isn‘t fair. Nothing is fair about this anymore.
Not only is it tearing families and friends apart by choice, but is also forcing people to lose their loved ones;
“Mark had watched Celtic’s 2-1 win over Partick Thistle at Celtic Park.
As he walked home with two friends along London Road, they were subjected to sectarian abuse from Rangers fans standing outside a pub.
Campbell ran up behind Mark, who was wearing a Celtic top, screamed: “Ya Fenian b******” and slashed his throat.
The murder was witnessed by fans, women out shopping with their children and people in cars and buses.”[6]
Not only was this a horrific crime to commit over such a divide but it also has exposed so many innocent people, including children, to a terrorising sight that they should have never witnessed. It has left two parents without a child, something that should never have to be experienced. This “religious divide” has come too far. People should not be getting murdered because of a top that they choose to wear, a team that they choose to support, a belief that they choose to have. Mark’s killer didn’t stop to think if he was Catholic, people are no longer caring due to the divide, they are just using it as an excuse to fulfil they’re selfish and traumatising acts. The day when this is stopped could not come soon enough.
Their crimes are taking over the whole of the football world. It is no longer spiteful rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, but has now spread to other football teams. Fans of other teams are choosing sides and joining in on this ridiculous behaviour;
“During Celtic’s win over Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh, a supporter tried to attack Lennon in front of the dugout, and the manager defended himself with some vigour.”[7]
No one should feel unsafe about going to a football game, especially a manager who should be greatly protected and isolated from fans. The football we see now is not what it should be. Violence is all we see now. It must be shown the red card.
Steps are being taken to stop this madness, but only outside of the clubs. The work needs to start from the inside to succeed, if the leaders of the clubs don’t put the necessary cautions in place to help finalise these issues once and for all then the violence will just become even more out of their possession than it already is, as the spokesperson from a Glasgow-based anti-sectarian charity pleads:
“That a person attempts to assault a football manager and is consequently charged assault based on religious prejudice; that parcel bombs and live ammunition are sent in the post and unsavoury chants are heard in a stadium, indicates that this is no laughing matter. The day when sectarianism is a forgotten part of Scotland’s history cannot come soon enough. It must be stopped.”[8]
Although people are attempting to stop this immature behaviour that fans are displaying, the steps are not effective as the managers of the clubs, the people the fans look up to as idols, need to tackle them down and show that this behaviour is unacceptable and is destroying the goodness of the clubs. The only way the fans will listen is if the steps start to be taken from the inside of the clubs, the clubs are like a tribe and all the fans will do is follow whatever the leaders say as people just want to fit into the clubs that they like. The leaders of these clubs are the managers and they must show that this sectarianism the fans are pursuing is anything but being loyal and that it just puts shame to what the clubs have worked hard to earn.
Football is no longer what it’s supposed to be. Football is no longer somewhere people come together. Football is no longer something people enjoy. If the rest of the footballing world continues to follow in Celtic and Ranger’s path, there is going to be no one left supporting anyone. Everyone’s fuelled with anger and rage which has been ignited by their religious differences. We are living in a world where people turn against each other for what they believe.
Bibliography.
[1]- www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13368945
[2]- www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1379069/Ally-McCoist-slams-sent-bomb-Neil-Lennon.html
[3]- www.scotsman.com/news/the-old-firm-the-great-divide-1-1529938
[4]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/20/teenage-football-fan-sectarian-violence
[5]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/nov/20/teenage-football-fan-sectarian-violence
[6]- www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/sectarian-killer-jason-campbell-back-1104047
[7]- www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/13/neil-lennon-assault-death-threat
[8]- www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/may/13/neil-lennon-assault-death-threat