Famine song is racist, says Celtic chief Reid

Published on Sunday 28 September 2008 22:31

CELTIC chairman John Reid condemned as "racist" one of the songs chanted by Rangers fans at the recent Old Firm derby, just hours before it was heard again at a game.

The Famine Song was sung yesterday when Rangers took on Hibernian, as Mr Reid condemned it as "racist and deeply offensive".

The former Northern Ireland Secretary has written to Celtic fans about the controversy that erupted after the song was chanted during Rangers' 4-2 victory at Parkhead on 31 August.

The Ibrox club has since asked its fans to refrain from singing the song, which refers to the famine that killed an estimated one million people in the 1840s and set in motion a mass migration of Irish people.

It includes the line: "The famine's over, why don't you go home?"

Rangers also sought guidance from Strathclyde Police on the matter with a view to making singing the song an arrestable offence, although the Rangers Supporters Trust defended the chant, saying it was not racist, and no worse than any other football song.

Mr Reid said: "Few of those who sing this song will have stopped to think that famine is non-sectarian and the millions of people who died or were forced into mass emigration – some of them to Scotland – were from all faiths and traditions within Ireland.

"We should condemn racism and sectarianism without fear or favour wherever they arise. That is an essential part of Celtic Football Club's ethos."

Lothian and Borders Police reported no trouble at the match despite the song.