Police officers sectarianism shame
by - at 2010-08-21 04:03:50

A police officer has been accused of chanting pro-IRA slogans during a night out with his uncle.

Christopher Halaka, an officer with Strathclyde Police, was arrested in Perth after being reported by an off-duty officer from a neighbouring force.

Mr Halaka appeared at Perth Sheriff Court to face a charge of committing a sectarian breach of the peace on 27 December.

The officer, who denies the charges, has not been suspended from duty.

If convicted, he could be sacked from his job at Strathclyde Police and even be given a prison sentence.

Mr Halaka, 31, is alleged to have been in Perth with his uncle Laurence Winters on a night out which lasted until the early hours the next day.

At about 0300 GMT, after a city centre nightclub closed, the pair are accused of being involved in a disturbance near the taxi rank in Mill Street.

The alleged sectarian abuse was reported to Tayside Police by off duty Pc Ian Cameron.

Witnesses claimed that Mr Halaka, from Falkirk, and 43-year-old Mr Winters, from Perth, were chanting pro-IRA statements. They were also said to be singing Irish folk songs, including the Fields of Athenry.

They were arrested and taken to the the divisional police HQ in Perth.

Mr Halaka pled not guilty to a charge of breaching the peace in a racially aggravated manner on 28 December 2009.

He also denied conducting himself in a disorderly manner, shouting and swearing, and chanting a slogan containing sectarian phrases in Perth's Mill Street.

Mr Winters, a pest controller, was not in court but denied the same charges.

Both men are scheduled to go on trial in connection with the incident next month.

BBC, 19th August

You would not get away with it in any other walk of life
by - at 2010-08-17 16:26:13

It was an offer he could not refuse … and Aiden McGeady has revealed exclusively to Sport Times how the lure of Moscow became irresistible after he tired of life in Glasgow.

“I was getting fed up with the city,” said McGeady as he prepared to jet out to embark on a new life in the Russian capital. “I wanted to leave. Nothing against Celtic. It is Glasgow.

“If you are not a footballer, it is a great city to live in. There are loads of things to do and the people are very friendly but, as a footballer, it can be a nightmare. When you are out everybody either wants to shake your hand and praise you – or they want to have a go at you.

“If you have a bad result, then even going to the shops is difficult. You are hiding your face as you go past a group of people because you know they will shout at you. Moscow is bigger and maybe I can disappear into it a wee bit.”

McGeady could not hide at away grounds in Scotland; he did not even try. His decision to play for the Republic of Ireland made him a target for abuse.

“There are a lot of horrible places in Scotland for that type of thing – Tynecastle, Ibrox obviously is always going to be bad with the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, Motherwell, Falkirk,” he said.

“Some fans there hate everything Celtic stand for and everything I stand for as an Irish Catholic playing for Celtic. But you enjoy going to those places because it makes it even better when you win.”

McGeady said the abuse began in the warm-ups before games “with all sorts of stuff being shouted at you, even from little kids”.

He added: “Fair enough, you can have a shout at somebody. Every footballer expects that, but some of the stuff ... you would not get away with it in any other walk of life.”

He has never regretted his decision to choose to play for the Republic of Ireland. “When I made my debut for Celtic there was a huge fuss made about it. Now I am fed up talking about it,” he said.

“I am not afraid to make decisions. If I feel it is the right thing to do, then I will do it. It is that simple. And I will live with the consequences. I have lived with the Ireland thing now for years. Yes, it turned people against me, but I am not there to be anybody’s mate.”

Evening Times, 17th August

Scottish football bigotry and Aiden McGeady exit
by - at 2010-08-17 03:31:00

AIDEN McGeady has revealed he had to get out of Glasgow because he feared for his safety. McGeady flies to Russia tomorrow to start his new life at Spartak Moscow after quitting Celtic in a jaw-dropping £9.5million deal.

In a searingly honest and hard-hitting interview, McGeady tells of his life in the public eye where he was the victim of death threats and constant abuse that soured his view of his home city and threatened to turn him into a paranoid wreck.

Now he can't wait to get away from the vitriol that engulfed him during his seven years in the Glasgow goldfish bowl and said:

"Moscow is a huge city and it will be possible to have a degree of privacy.

"Glasgow really is a goldfish bowl and it's one of the things I'm glad to be getting away from.

"Neil Lennon said to me I might miss the adulation Celtic players get but I'm not so sure. I'll be away to find out if that's true, I suppose.

"My view is I need a break from it. I've had my experiences of Glasgow and I do need a change.

"There is always someone wanting to have a go at you.

"I got into a few fights in the past and wish I hadn't.

"I let my guard down a few times and it cost me.

"But some of the verbal abuse I had to take was really out of order. Because I'm a footballer, people think they are entitled to say what they like and get away with it.

"I'm talking about grown men here. They would shout, 'I hate you' or 'I'm gonna kill you, wee man'.

"There was also a lot worse but I'm not going to go into that.

"I'd just try to walk away. Looking back on it now, it was very embarrassing for the guys who had a go.

"People want to have an opinion on how footballers should live, asking 'what's he doing in a nightclub?' They think you shouldn't go for a drink and should live life like a monk.

"I'm entitled to a night out and a bit of fun. I'm a young man.

"With the benefit of hindsight, I'd probably be more cautious now. At times I didn't help myself. But I became paranoid, very wary of people looking over at me.

"Yet some of them would come over and be brand new, wish me all the best. There were times I misjudged things but the goldfish bowl does that to you. I just wish I had been maturer, quicker."

McGeady wasn't the only who was worried. His then Hoops boss, Gordon Strachan, also had his concerns as players such as Scott Brown, Darren O'Dea and Derek Riordan all became involved in city-centre brawls.

Neil Lennon was also badly beaten up and Strachan decided to act. Events were spiralling out of control so much he banned his players from socialising in Glasgow.
McGeady doesn't expect trouble in Moscow but knows his every move on the pitch will be scrutinised as the critics wait for him to flop. He said: "People do seem to like to be negative in Scotland. I know people are saying, 'Oh, I wouldn't go to Russia' and 'that's not a place to live and play football'.

"Some people have written it. Some have said it to my face. Some have said it behind my back, no doubt.

"However, Russian football is strong and competitive.

"They pay big money to attract top players and many of them will then move for a profit, some are sold for around £20m to the English Premier League.

"How many players have left the SPL for that size of fee?

"I'm not wanting to be disrespectful to the SPL but it is inferior to the Russian League.

"I think going to Russia, to play for the biggest club in the country, will bring my game on, playing with technically gifted footballers.

"But, hey, people will want to see me fail. People do want to see me fail. I need to prove them wrong. I'm very positive about it all."

McGeady didn't just fear for his life in Scotland. He also feared for his talent.
The Republic of Ireland star reckoned his ability was in danger of being stifled in the SPL - a league he believes is getting worse.

It had been on the gifted winger's mind for about a year to look for a new challenge. England was his preferred destination and at different times Aston Villa, Birmingham, Spurs, Everton and Sunderland wanted him but £8m was their valuation.

Spartak came in and blew them all out the water with their stunning bid and it meant McGeady either stayed at Celtic for another year or moved to Moscow.

The Glaswegian, who won three SPL titles as well as two Scottish Cups and two League Cups at Parkhead, said: "It was about January time I made up my mind about wanting to leave.

"If Birmingham had a bid accepted I thought I might have gone there.

"I felt as a team we weren't playing great and the standard of the SPL was going down. My own game was maybe not progressing as it should have been and I might have hit a plateau. I needed a fresh challenge. Teams always doubled up on me and it left me frustrated."

McGeady didn't believe he was receiving fair comment from so-called experts who criticised his every move.

He added: "I felt I was in a no-win situation. If I didn't turn it on against St Mirren or Kilmarnock then I'd get slaughtered. If I did rip it up on the pitch then it was just expected of me. I was on a hiding to nothing.

"It's also mentioned time and time again I do not have an end product.

"But I set up plenty of goals from crosses. It's there in the stats and stats don't lie.

"People need to open their eyes and not just see what they want to see."

Daily Record, 17th August

Sectarian songs spark violence
by - at 2010-08-12 12:08:04

A female Celtic fan was injured by a flare after violence broke out during a pre-season friendly match.

The incident was one of several flashpoints which led to 20 arrests as the Glasgow giants took on Lincoln City on Saturday.

Two Scots fans, Stuart Stanley, 32, of Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, and Adam Pollock, of Pollok, were held in custody over the weekend before being charged with fighting in the street and freed on bail yesterday.

Both will appear at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on August 17.

Five fans, including the girl, were injured as a result of the violence and all received hospital treatment before they were released.

Police said a St George’s flag was set on fire outside the Golden Cross pub before the match started and tensions were also heightened by pro-IRA chants.

A smoke grenade was set off and, after the game, there were a number of scuffles involving rival fans.

More than 1000 Celtic fans travelled to the Sincil Bank Stadium to see their side cruise to a 4-1 victory.

Twelve of those arrested were locals and the remaining eight are believed to have been visiting Celtic supporters.

PC Andy Pearson said: “There was some disorder outside the Golden Cross pub and some after the match.

“A lot of it came from the inflammatory nature of the songs from the Celtic fans. Many of the incidents were fuelled by alcohol.”

Before kick-off, police had to deal with fights between two Celtic fans and another brawl in the away end of the ground. Police were also called to several fights in the town’s High Street.

Lincoln City are managed by ex-Celtic striker Chris Hutton.

Evening Times, 27th July 2010

Forfar Chairman says Campbell will retain post
by - at 2009-12-15 11:36:43

Forfar Chairman Neil Wilson has announced that Dick Campbell’s job is safe despite being caught in the middle of a sectarian expose.

Campbell, who has also managed at Cowdenbeath, Brechin City, Partick Thistle and Ross County joined Rangers fans for a drink on Tuesday while on business in Spain.

When questioned by the News of The World on Friday about his involvement in leading the loyalist song Derry's Walls in a Seville pub, Campbell denied any involvement despite video evidence of the event.

He told the News of the World: "Dear, dear, dear, they can tell you what they want . . . but I don't ken what Derry's Walls is.

"I wasn’t singing. I don't know where you are coming from. I went to a pub with Rangers fans. They sing Rangers songs.

Speaking on Monday, Forfar chairman Neill Wilson said Campbell’s behaviour was unacceptable and would not be tolerated.

“He is extremely contrite,” Wilson said. “I think this has been partly alcohol related. There was no evil intent.

“Forfar itself has no truck with this outdated sectarian nonsense. The football club is exactly the same. Forfar is not a place or a team that has ever been bothered with sectarianism.”

Despite these strong words, Wilson made it clear that Campbell would not lose his job with the third division team.

He said: “There are no plans to replace the manager. That’s across the board.

“I don’t think it will affect the way he does his job. It may affect him out with his football life at Forfar but I don think there will be a great affect in Forfar itself.

“He is one of the best managers we have had and like I said, there are no plans to replace him.”


http://sport.stv.tv/football/144412-dick-campbells-job-safe-despite-sectarian-song-incident/

Turning a blind eye to bigotry
by - at 2009-10-21 20:00:57

Following Sunday's Old Firm game at Ibrox I find myself with a highly unusual dilemma on my hands, which is this: should a journalist report a supporter for indulging in bigoted or racist chanting?

Since the tousy affair at Ibrox, which Rangers won 2-1, I have received a number of e-mails from people after I mentioned in my column yesterday in The Times that a Rangers supporter sitting directly behind me in the main stand at Ibrox had twice bawled "F*** the Pope" during some of the home supporters' communal singing.

Bigoted chanting is an old sore with Rangers FC and its support, and the club makes weekly tannoy requests urging fans to report other supporters who indulge in such antics. Rangers even advertise a telephone number by which supporters can file such complaints with details (where the offender sits, etc). As you can imagine, the so-called "grassing" hotline is hardly popular among those Rangers diehards, for whom songs about Popes, Fenians and the rest of it is both a right and a privilege.

But journalists getting involved? It is one thing for someone in my position to report it and comment on it, but quite another to wade in and become an active participant. And yet more than one correspondent has written to me since Sunday and said something such as: "Go on then Graham ... let's see if you've got the guts to do it."

In fact, Sunday at Ibrox was no exceptional symptom of the Old Firm's bigotry problem - that is, if you are used to these things and simply accept that the droning choristers will not be able to help themselves. And in this regard, Rangers as a club are between a rock and a hard place.

Uefa has already punished Rangers for the bigoted antics of its supporters in 2006, an episode which proved excruciating for the club's directors. Yet since then, while some of Rangers' efforts to cure the problem have definitely slackened off, more and more people are commenting that the old Ibrox ills are creeping back. The Rangers pre-match anthem, Simply the Best, is now embarrassingly hijacked by throngs of supporters, who apply their own offensive lyric to the tune, as was the case once more on Sunday.

In my own specific experience on Sunday, a Rangers fan sitting behind my press position in the main stand was chanting so loudly and excitedly - and offensively - that it simply became a distraction. It was also quite sad when I turned round to look at him: he was youngish, maybe 18 or 19, and highly animated by events on the pitch, and in every other way quite a respectable-looking bloke.

It always comes back to the same dilemma: what can be done? Thousands of Rangers fans on Sunday afternoon repeatedly let rip with their popular refrain "we hate Celtic - fenian bastards", precisely the sort of language which caused Uefa to punish the club in 2006. Yet are Rangers, their stewards or the police supposed to wade in and apprehend hundreds of fans? It just isn't feasible.

Yet Rangers have gone mute on this subject, thanks in the main to local Scottish media pressure easing on them: not a cheep, not an utterance of condemnation from the club in recent times about such songs. Rangers are currently practising a cowardice on the subject which will once more return to haunt them. And it all remains cringe-making for those legions of decent Rangers fans who just wish the tribes of oafs in their midst would either be muzzled, or removed, or both. The club's image remains in the gutter.

I may or may not report my main stand miscreant to Rangers. In all honesty, I'm loath to. And in any case, the way Rangers are copping out of all this at the moment, would they be in the slightest bit interested?

The Times, 6th October 2009

Judges agree football racism is unacceptable
by - at 2009-07-07 00:57:54

The controversial Famine Song sung by some Rangers fans is racist, appeal court judges have ruled.

The Justiciary Appeal Court upheld a conviction against William Walls over his conduct at a Rangers away match against Kilmarnock last year.

The 20-year-old's defence counsel, Donald Findlay QC, had argued the song was free speech.

But Lord Carloway said the lyrics called on people to leave Scotland because of their racial origins.

Walls was found guilty of breach of the peace, aggravated by religious and racial prejudice, at Kilmarnock District Court in December.

The offence related to his behaviour at Rangers' away match at Kilmarnock on 9 November, where he sang the Famine Song.


(Famine Song lyrics) are racist in calling upon people native to Scotland to leave the country because of their racial origins
Lord Carloway

Rangers has asked fans to not to sing the song, which refers to the famine that killed an estimated one million people in Ireland in the 1840s.

Last month, Walls launched a appeal against his conviction.

He was represented by Rangers' former vice-chairman, Donald Findlay, who resigned from the Ibrox club in 1999 after he was filmed singing sectarian songs.

During the appeal, Mr Findlay argued that a football match was "an organised breach of the peace" and for many supporters "an exchange of pleasantries in the form of abuse is part and parcel of going to the game".

He also argued that the Famine Song - which contains the chorus "the famine is over, why don't you go home" - was not racist, but an expression of political opinion permitted under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Offensive sentiment

But Lord Carloway, who heard the appeal with temporary judges Alastair Dunlop QC and Brian Lockhart QC, said: "Presence inside a football stadium does not give a spectator a free hand to behave as he pleases. There are limits and the appellant's conduct went well beyond those limits."

Referring to the Famine Song, the senior judge said: "The court does not consider that the lyrics of this refrain bear any reasonable comparison to those of 'Flower of Scotland' or indeed 'God Save the Queen'.

"Rather they are racist in calling upon people native to Scotland to leave the country because of their racial origins. This is a sentiment which... many persons will find offensive."

Lord Carloway added that the appeal judges had no difficulty in accepting the sheriff's conclusion that singing the song's chorus "displays malice and ill-will towards people of Irish descent living in Scotland".

BBC news, 19th June 2009

Glasgow football bar condemned for sectarianism
by - at 2009-06-03 12:56:01

A (Glasgow) South Side bar condemned for sectarianism faces closure.

The Glaswegian Bar, in Bridge Street, lost its licence after allegations of sectarian behaviour, intimidation of licensing standards officers and local residents, and ineffectual management.

The court heard that on one occasion the arrival of the licensing officers was announced by the DJ over the speaker system as The Noise Police'.

This was followed by customers shouting obscenities about the Pope to the tune of Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline while the officers waited to speak to management.

It was claimed that "officers reported the atmosphere to be openly hostile towards them and noted that the management provided little or no assistance, causing officers to report the noise and leave".

Nearby residents complained about the singing of sectarian songs.

The court heard residents had also "been subjected to intimidating and aggressive behaviour from patrons".

One Glasgow councillor who objected to The Glaswegian getting a new licence said he could not speak publicly against the bar through fear of reprisal.

According to the licensing officers, the intimidation meant that no resident would come forward as a witness.

Sources say that licensing officers would only attend the venue - the subject of 40-plus complaints - with police protection and that it is a well-known rendezvous point for Rangers casuals.

Craig Bruce, of Rosemount Taverns, owners of The Glaswegian, said the company was "very disappointed with the outcome" and was considering its position.

It is likely the bar will appeal, leaving it free to operate in the interim.

The Evening Times, 3rd June

Ibrox support still singing racist and bigoted songs
by - at 2009-05-27 23:52:56

It used to be said, with some justification, that it was only media comment and pressure that really led to the bigotry problem at Rangers being addressed by the club and the football authorities. In which case, on the basis of Saturday at Ibrox, it is time for that period of scrutiny to recommence.

A couple of years ago some of the truly offensive chants from the Rangers hymnal were expunged following Uefa’s intervention, but after Saturday’s Old Firm experience, the Rangers problem is evidently boiling away again. Recurring bigoted or racist themes were all too apparent in many songs sung by a section of the Ibrox support, and it looks like this is set to embarrass the club all over again.

Rangers – yes, with Uefa holding a bayonet to the club’s head – took strong action over its fans’ singing a couple of years ago, but both the club and the Scottish media have held back since in a joint effort which, it was hoped, would help the problem to ebb away.

It was Rangers who specifically asked that we in the media cooperate with this “cooling off” period, and most of us have happily gone along with it, to a degree. I’m afraid, however, that the policy appears doomed.

On Saturday thousands of Rangers fans even hijacked their club’s own prematch anthem, The Best, to pollute it with sectarian language. Throughout the game, with the Celtic supporters’ Irish flags goading them on, much of the dreaded preUefa repertoire of bigoted dirges were unleashed. For some reason the phrase “fenian bastards” remains much cherished in chant and song at Ibrox.

Sir David Murray, the Rangers chairman, and Martin Bain, the club’s chief executive, and Kenny Scott, the club’s head of security, have all summed up this type of singing in one word: “embarrassing”. Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, and Ally McCoist, the club’s assistant manager, have also made statements pleading with Rangers supporters to stop singing such stuff. Much of this has been in vain.

As crass as it sounds, now we hear reports of fans’ campaigns on one or two of the demented internet sites to have The Billy Boys brought back at Rangers games. Apparently, the song is alive and well on the trains and buses going to matches.

Rangers FC need to be on guard against this whole embarrassment resurfacing again. Evidently, the club still has this choral poison in its midst.

The Times, 11th May

Man faces life ban from Celtic games
by - at 2009-05-12 15:48:03

A CELTIC fan today broke down in tears and apologised for waving an IRA flag at an Old Firm game.

Celtic supporter Aaron Laing, from Peterhead, sparked outrage when he was spotted with the flag at Ibrox on Saturday.

The 21-year-old from Peterhead said today: “It was a drunken mistake. I’m far from a thug. I haven’t heard from the club but I love Celtic more than anything. I am very, very sorry.”

It was understood Aaron, known as Anzie, now faces a life ban from Celtic Park and Grampian Emerald Celtic Supporters’ Club.

And it emerged the Peterhead man had been dating Celtic manager Gordon Strachan’s niece, Ellis Paterson, 17. She is the daughter of Grampian Emerald Celtic Supporters’ Club president Dave Paterson.

Speaking outside his Aberdeenshire home, Aaron said: “I would like to say sorry to my girlfriend and to her family. I’m being portrayed as a thug.”

Wiping away tears, he claimed the flag did not belong to him.

The Peterhead man added: “It was on the seat next to me – I held it up and as soon as I realised, I put it down. I am ashamed of myself.”

However Grampian Emerald Celtic Supporters Club president Mr Paterson today said: “We are a family club, we encourage youngsters to come along and we absolutely do not condone this sort of thing.”

Police in Glasgow today confirmed they received a complaint about the incident and had launched an investigation.

Aaron was photographed waving an Irish tricolour with “IRA” scrawled over the front as he watched Saturday’s match at Ibrox, which Celtic lost 1-0.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said: “We have received a complaint in relation to this incident. Inquiries are ongoing.”

A Celtic spokesman said: “If identified as a season-ticket holder, this individual will be treated in the strongest terms and banned for life.”

Evening Express, 12th May

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