Celtic reaction: Fans need to face facts over Green Brigade, Rodgers joins O’Neill in racking up first circuit feat

Celtic’s 2-1 win at home to St Mirren allowed Brendan Rodgers’ side to retain a five-point Premiership advantage after completing their opening set of fixtures. Inevitably, though, the club’s ban for the Green Brigade loomed large over proceedings.

The section which usually holds the Green Brigade during the 2-1 win over St Mirren. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Fans need to face facts over Green Brigade

The Bhoys ultras group are housed diagonally opposite from the north curve where the 200 Green Brigade members were absent through having their season tickets suspended. Out of the sightline of the press box in the main stand. News filtered through rapidly on social media, though, that they had left their positions early in protest at the Green Brigade ban, having earlier displayed a banner taking aim at Police Scotland.

They released a statement stating the reasons given by the club for taking action against the Green Brigade were “a smokescreen”. It would appear, like so many others, they have chosen to ignore the boorish, loutish behaviour of the Green Brigade, at away matches in particular - over which there are no end of testimonials - in choosing to conclude the show of solidarity with the Palestinians at last Wednesday’s Atletico Madrid encounter account for their exile. This has become an erroneous narrative. Ordinarily I’m not one to divulge private conversations, but it is worth doing so on this occasion. That is because prior to the events at the Champions League encounter, I was told by a Celtic official that the Green Brigade’s day of reckoning over their conduct on matchdays was coming.

Now, it is entirely understandable for Celtic supporters, and indeed any fair-minded persons with a shred of humanity, to despair that support for a people being subjected to genocidal warfare in the Gaza Strip should be considered so contentious. Entirely understandable too that UEFA’s prohibiting of any political expression, and Celtic’s desperation as a club that their fanbase desist from, should be perceived as exposing gross double standards. It could be no other way when both organisations have practically fallen over themselves to display Ukrainian flags and express solidarity with the plight of those people. A vexing issue that should not be conflated with what has underpinned Celtic’s breakdown in relations with the Green Brigade. A group, it should not be forgotten, to which they have issued bans - in some form - in 2013, 2017 and 2019. Even their apologists couldn't contrive to attribute all those explusions to support for the Palestinian cause. Equally, it seems to have escaped the Bhoys that they were able to take their places at Celtic Park last night - until they chose to vacate them - despite appearing to have taken a full part in the show of solidarity with the Palestinians the week before.

Moreover, the Bhoys’ claim over the Celtic board’s “hypocrisy” in “celebrating the cultural and political tendencies of our fanbase when it suits their commercial agenda” is a puzzler. Must have missed those mugs and leisure wear emblazoned with Up The ‘Ra, If You Hate the Royal Family and Free Palestine on them…And, indeed, on those cultural and political tendencies, it is worth recalling a certain John H McLaughlin, a member of Celtic’s first committee back in 1887, who, along with John Glass, was central to realising Brother Walfrid’s vision for a football club. Fairly or otherwise, he is cited as pushing through the end of the club as a charitable organisation to become a limited company - payng dividends to directors - in the 1890s. Ahead of putting noses out of joint among the mainly Irish nationalist Celtic support through his strong backing of the British government over the Boer war, considered by this community to be an example of the imperialism and colonialism under which they had been oppressed. Plus ça change...

Rodgers joins O’Neill in first circuit forcefulness

It is 24 seasons since the current 38-game, 12-team set-up was introduced to the Scottish top flight. In that period, there have been only seven times when at the once-round-the-block, 11-game mark, Celtic have remained unbeaten. Courtesy of nine wins and two draws, this season has provided them with their latest such unbeaten sequence. And Brendan Rodgers has form on this front, since it follows on from such a circuit in 2016-17 - when he claimed the treble without a domestic loss - and 2017-18. Of the other four, Martin O’Neill was also responsible for three: 2000-01, 2001-02 and 2003-04. Neil Lennon is the only other Celtic manager in the past 23 years to boast such a run from the start of a league season without suffering a defeat, which came in 2013-14.