"The Media are Ganging Up on the Green Brigade"

[Joe O'Rourke]

[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]I got a call from my mate Tucker this morning; it was regarding a couple of pieces in the rag they call the Daily Record; apparently one was a letter from a guy in the North of Ireland who said I didn’t represent him; just to reassure him; I never asked to represent him.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]The second was an article by that famous journalist James Traynor; he has a dig at me; nothing unusual there; but the real annoying thing about this arrogant journalistic nobody is; he tries to slaughter the Celtic Support; and in particular; “The Green Brigade”.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]In his article he refers to the GB as an “Obnoxious stubborn bunch”, “Halfwits, and Half-baked activists in hoodies; he further states “They are a bunch of silly wee boys who are being easily led by one or two who fancy themselves as Parkhead politicos”.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]If the GB are so offensive why does the stats released by the Government prove otherwise? Of the 47 arrests for sectarian offences at Celtic park; 14 were amongst the home support; out of 1,000,000 home fans; that works out at 1 in every 71,428; the other 33 arrests were for visiting fans; out of 35,000 visiting fans; that works out at 1 in every 1,060; and incidentally; 22,500 of those visiting fans came from one team.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]I have met with several different representatives of the GB; and I would love to see them in an open debate with Traynor; then he would see if they were silly wee boys; I might add; there are quite a few female members in the GB as well.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]The main reason for Traynor’s rant; and that of his media mafia friends the previous day; Keevins and Waddell; was that we had the audacity to refuse to meet with Assistant chief Constable Campbell Corrigan.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]Let me once again clarify the position. Jeanette Findlay and I had contacted Celtic Head of Operations Ronnie Hawthorn after the heavy handed and brutal handling of the supporters within the GB section at the match against Hibs on October 29th.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]Ronnie told us that we would have to talk to the Match Commander Eddie Smith as it was a police operation outside his remit for security; Ronnie said he would arrange a meeting. We were then informed that Mr Smith would not meet with us because he was unhappy with some of the comments made about him in some web sites; but he would send a junior officer.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]That was completely unacceptable; so we contacted his superior at London Road Police Office, Chief Superintendent Wayne Mawson. He said he would be happy to meet with us; but would not discuss the specifics of the match on October 29th; again there was no point in meeting in those circumstances.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]It was then put to us through the Club that ACC Corrigan wanted to meet with us to discuss all the issues concerning the Celtic support; the events of October 29th could be part of that agenda; and nothing was off limits.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]We had provisionally agreed we would meet with ACC Corrigan on Friday November 18th; but following comments attributed to him in the Record; we felt it would be inappropriate to meet under those circumstances.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]The comments appeared to say that we were being summoned by the ACC to be told exactly what the position was; in fact he was quoted as saying “We need dialogue with the supporters to put down a marker that we are not going to accept this anymore”; a telling off in other words.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]There is some doubt as to whether ACC Corrigan actually made the comments in the first place. The Record had three exclusive stories that week concerning Celtic and their supporters.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]The person who handles press releases for Strathclyde police is a guy called Rob Shorthouse; his Facebook page carries a picture of him and Sneaky Sally; there are several unsavoury comments by him which can be viewed quite openly online; not exactly impartial.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]It may well be that we will eventually sit down with ACC Corrigan; that will be a decision taken by him and the Celtic supporters groups; we certainly won’t be asking for permission from Traynor, Keevins, or Waddell.[COLOR=#000000:61b2dd5f]Ironically Traynor in the latter part of his article gives support to a bunch of Motherwell fans who were thrown out of Pittodrie for being on their feet having a good time; I wonder if he would support the GB in the same circumstances.

[Guest]

Is that fat nonentity still writing for the Daily ranker?
Do any Celtic fans actually read the rag?
Jabba Traynor could only get employment in Scotland; likewise Keevins and Waddell who I believe is where he is because his big brother got him the job.
These people have no journalistic integrity or ability, and rely on appealing to a rump of ranker supporters as their core customers.
Like rankers their days are numbered.

[Guest]

I totally agree with everything that you have said the G.B. are true celtic supporters who have given the supporters a willingness to all sing together all through the match.
I for one iam enjoying the singing at all the matches, but at Celtic park it is a fabulous feeling following the Green Brigade in song and the place is rocking.
I have been following the Hoops since 1962 and i thank the Green Brigade for giving the supporters there voice back again. Hail Hail to the G reen Brigade.


Tommy
St James Celtic Supporters
Coatbridge

[Guest]

Why do you people read these newspapers? I nearly fell off my chair when I heard Keevins refer to Celtic Fans as Fundamentalists and now it's a Political Wing?. To my mind he's strongly implying Celtic Fans are Terrorists.

Use your strength, stop buying these newspapers; listening and phoning up the radio phone ins, you can't get any point in at all as long as people like Delahunt got his dodgy finger on the cut off button.

[Guest]

media ganging up on the green brigade lol away you go and bile ya heid ya muppet NO THEY WERE FOUND OUT EVEN YOUR OWN MANAGER SAYS IT MUST STOP ,now away you like agood boy and get something for your paranoia W.A.T.P G.I.R.U.Y

[Fife Bhoy]

The demonization of the Green Brigade seems to be part of the Strathclyde Police effort to win funding for their anti-sectarian initiatives which seem decidedly one-sided.

The man in the van is one Assistant Chief Constable Campbell Corrigan who praised the behaviour at the recent CIS Cup Final and told the BBC:
"[I:7879beec]I think the atmosphere at the ground was excellent and the match was a great advert for our football. I hope that this atmosphere is replicated across the force[/I:7879beec]”

The hapless Corrigan has won world-wide fame, not for his policing but for his ham-acting. He did a pantomime typing sketch video, which has had about half a million hits on YouTube and has drawn scathing comments from all over the globe.

[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQJtQcMcYmU"][COLOR=#009900:7879beec]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQJtQcMcYmU[/COLOR:7879beec][/URL:7879beec]

Can you guess how such a person could be the second-in-command at one of the biggest police forces in Europe?

[Guest]

Joe it's about time the Heads at Celtic ban this rag from the ground. The story on Anthony Stokes a couple of days ago was a disgrace. They should have been booted into touch after that. They should also come out in support of the GB and ban Traynor immediately. They don't have to agree with the GB politics but they know it's them that get's the atmosphere at the games going.
Keep up the stellar work yourselves and the trust are doing believe me mate the fans everywhere appreciate it.
HH Gert

[Guest]

Traynor is an absolute disgrace and his piece yesterday should be the straw the broke the camels back. What I don't understand is why Peter Lawell is not banging on the door of our PR dept to demand they fight back and defend our supporters. Like someone else touched on earlier this is the same ACC Campell Corrigan who said last years league cup final was a "great advert for our game" even though it's probably the most hate filled vile atmosphere I've ever experienced from that lot. The reason for that was they expected to get hammered so gave us the ful anti-catholic party tunes from beginning till the end in defiance. Yet nobody from the media picked up on this - one thing they also neglect to think about is the fact that the 20'000 cretins that were in their end must have been season ticket holders as there is no public sale for cup final tickets so they can't blame that on chelsea fans like Manchester. The GB are made up of around 500 people from 60'000.

You only have to read Traynor's article on The Famine Song when he declared if the government stopped them singing it they would be denied their right to free speech. He also suggested it was merely banter and if we didn't like it "we should leave Scotland and go home".

Even if you agree or disagree with what the GB sing they have not broken any laws as the bill is still to be finalised - yet they are demonised in the press. Where were the press and the police during the last 100 years when they had a sectarian signing policy? Even last season when tensions were so high that our managers life was at stake every picture of our manager regardless of the content of the story displayed a man who was angry with a contorted face and in doing so pandered to the clowns that buy the paper in dressing up NL as some sort of angry hate figure. When NL challenges a referee or decison you find the term "blasts" "rages" etc when it's Terry Butcher it's passion.

The GB can't sing their songs but our police force can allow a sectarian organisation to march through our streets antagonising catholics and stopping outside chapels whilst allowing them to publically voice their bile and cause major disruption all through the summer.


We now have recently published figures that show an alarming level of sectarian attacks on catholics from this wee bigoted country even though they only account for 16% of the population and the fact it's mainly those under 30 shows this is still a major problem today as it always has been in my lifetime - yet we are told those days are gone. Doesn't seem that way to me!

Traynor isn't even some deluded columnist he's the sports editor which says it all. This rag shouldn't be allowed near CP and the likes of Traynor & Jackson aka Ran*ers puppets shouldn't be allowed inside the door.

I also notice that lot are getting chased for a measly £3k through the courts I wonder when the DR will be sending the hearse nd undertaker for the R.I.P Rang*rs photoshoot?


Pigs will fly first.

[Guest]

oh, the worlds against us. PATHETIC!

[Guest]

Keep it lit at paradise, come on the green brigade, see you's at old firm in Dec HAIL HAIL