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A ten-year-old boy on a Rangers bus was struck by a bottle thrown by rival fans before Sunday's Old Firm clash. The incident happened on Nutberry Court, near Cathcart Road in Glasgow’s south side, before the weekend’s league cup semi-final at Hampden. The attack took place when a Rangers minibus travelling to the game was surrounded by Celtic fans hurling abuse at around 12.30pm. A door on the minibus was opened and a bottle thrown inside. It struck the young supporter who needed hospital treatment as a result. The ten-year-old was taken to Glasgow’s Yorkhill Hospital where it is understood he received treatment for a broken jaw and three missing teeth before he was later released. Officers have now launched an investigation to catch those responsible. The man who threw the bottle is described as white, 5 ft 11 in height, of heavy build and was wearing green clothing and possibly a white beanie hat. Kenneth MacEwan, Cathcart CID, said on Monday: "This was an appalling assault on the boy who was with his dad and fellow supporters going to his first Celtic v Rangers game. "He never got to the match but instead was detained overnight in hospital and has a facial injury and teeth missing. "We do believe that this was football related. "Yes, it would appear that the bottle was deliberately thrown at the mini bus, however, we don't think the boy was specifically targeted as such. "Obviously Cathcart Road was very busy at this time so plenty people would have been about when this happened. I would appeal to them or indeed any of the group which we believe the man was with, to contact police." Police made 37 arrests over trouble related to Sunday's Old Firm clash. Celtic and Rangers clashed at Hampden in Sunday's league cup semi-final in the first meeting between the two sides in almost three years. Police confirmed on Monday they made 37 arrests in relation to the powderkeg match. A total of 23 of those arrested are expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday, 12 of those for alleged sectarian breach of the peace, A further 11 people have been reported to the procurator fiscal and three were handed fixed penalty notices. http://news.stv.tv/west-central/308852-ten-year-old-boy-on-rangers-bus-hit-by-bottle-before-old-firm-clash/ -
https://www.facebook.com/rangersfansboard
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Seems the Newcastle supporters think he doesn't get a chance because he fell out with the coaching staff.
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Another record for Deadline Day? Five players to boost the squad, are you a happy Bear?
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RST Statement on Old Firm Violence 3rd February 2015 The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is extremely concerned at some of the incidents surrounding the Old Firm game at the weekend. We spoke last week about our fears that certain elements in the Celtic support were using the internet to raise sectarian tension ahead of the fixture. Sadly our concerns appear to have been well founded. First of all, we would like an explanation of how the Green Brigade were once again allowed to bring an offensive, sectarian banner into the game? This group has previous for openly supporting Irish Republican terrorism, disrupting Remembrance Day, and overt sectarian behaviour. If a Rangers fan group consistently disgraced our club with offensive, sectarian banners, we would expect the club to take decisive action. Not only does Celtic Football Club tolerate the Green Brigade, they encourage them and facilitate their displays. The use of the term “Hun” on the banner in question, despite some apologists in Scottish politics and the media playing down its significance, is clearly sectarian. Its origins in Northern Ireland are well known. All anti sectarian charities acknowledge that it is a sectarian term. We will not accept it as 'banter'. Furthermore, the use of the term “monkeys” to describe Rangers fans on another Green Brigade banner has clear parallels with historic racist language. The purpose of the terms used by the Green Brigade - “monkeys” and “huns” - is to dehumanise Rangers fans. In addition to the Green Brigade, we highlighted the likes of Phil MacGiollabhain, Angela Haggerty and others using dehumanising language online ahead of the fixture. Rangers fans are described regularly as “the klan”, references are made to “Stalag Sevco” and “fascists”. Again the clear purpose is to characterise Rangers fans as less than human or liken them to the worst elements of humanity – in other words, fair game for the hard of thinking who the writers seek to, and in some cases successfully, influence. The effect of this is clear. A ten year old Rangers fan bottled by Celtic fans who forced their way onto a Rangers supporters’ bus. Another Rangers fan assaulted outside a pub by Celtic fans and hospitalised with possible brain damage. Nacho Novo once again threatened online. Curiously, instead of accurate media reporting, we see some outlets refer to the perpetrators as “rival fans”. It is quite clear that a minority of morons in the Celtic support are listening to, and acting on, the bile churned out by MacGiollabhain, Haggerty and the Green Brigade. Instead of ineffective legislation which produces inconsistent and at times bizarre outcomes, the Scottish government should be educating the next generation of Old Firm fans on why sectarianism is not acceptable. In addition, they should be clamping down on the online hate campaign waged by certain individuals and dealing with the type of organised, premeditated sectarianism perpetrated by groups like the Green Brigade. The overwhelming majority of Old Firm fans, and indeed all Scottish football fans, are decent people who love their club. They are often targeted for disgraceful treatment and demonised whilst the real culprits are ignored. We thank the Celtic fan who started a collection for the young Rangers fan attacked at the weekend. We hope his club and the police will start to take the actions of online hate-mongers and the disgraceful, sectarian Green Brigade seriously and belatedly deal with them. - See more at: https://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-statement-on-old-firm-violence/#sthash.JOxr8LGc.dpuf
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By Donald MacLeod, 1 February 2015 8.03am. New York may have locked down in preparation for a “Snowmaggedon” that never came, but sadly in Glasgow it seems we are in great danger of doing the very same thing Not over dodgy weather forecasting, I might add, but over “dodgy” football fixtures – particularly those between bitter Old Firm/New Co Firm (what does it matter) rivals Celtic and Rangers. This afternoon, in case you’ve been living on Mars, sees the rare return of those footballing titans, who will square up to each other at Hampden. It’s a game which will have the winner earning the right to play against the victor of yesterday’s New Firm match in the final of the Scottish League Cup, but is one that will probably be remembered not for the football but for all the wrong reasons. The media hyperbole and Police Scotland’s overzealous, and at times totally paranoid, approach to the build-up of this game has made sure of that. So much so that the other semi-final, again between two bitter rivals, had barely been given a mention. I pointed this out to my Head of Marketing, an avid and disillusioned bluenose, and he hadn’t a clue there was even a game on. The fact that 40,000-plus fans with cash to spend were about to descend on Glasgow from the North East of Scotland in the early hours of Saturday morning had totally escaped his notice! Time had stopped for him, as it had for many in this city. Sunday was all that mattered. Police Scotland see it rather differently. They have already rounded up known hooligans in both cities and all eyes, ears, CCTV and handcuffs were not just focused on today’s big match but yesterday’s as well. But was another inhospitable ring of steel thrown around the the city to greet all those arriving from the north really the best way to protect and promote the city. It seems so wrong on so many levels. The hysterical hype and threats of severe punishments being exacted on those caught up in the fervour and crossfire of both games, but especially today’s, has reached epic proportions. Not only do we have both sets of fans being warned to be on their best behaviour or else, which is understandable given their past acrimonious encounters, but the players and managers have been as well. Celtic players have been banned from tweeting. Many pubs and clubs have also been told they will face the full force of the law and possible loss of licence if they are captured serving someone who is a wee bit too merry or who bursts into song. Fans have even been told that they cannot now take a flag or banner into the stadium unless they are also carrying a fire safety certificate! Come on, it’s becoming ridiculous! Do we really need such a heavy sledgehammer to crack so few bigoted nuts? We are not only driving football further into the gutter with our OTT hype but crippling business at the same by scaring non-football fans, shoppers, tourists, students, diners, clubbers and residents away from the city. Fear is being used here as a tactic to intimidate and deter and that is feeding the frenzy and creating yet more animosity Glasgow shouldn’t be closed off or be a place to be feared. It should be open and welcoming to all! If we regard ourselves as an open, free and tolerant society then we shouldn’t allow ourselves to become the exact opposite – closed, restrictive and intolerant every time the Old Firm are thrown together. Of course the full force of the law should be applied to those who cause trouble. The book should be thrown at them and the key chucked away. But the vast majority of fans aren’t troublemakers and neither is the general public – and all those trying to eke out a living in very trying times shouldn’t be treated as if they are. http://www.sundaypost.com/news-views/columnists/donald-macleod/over-the-top-old-firm-hype-will-penalise-the-city-1.818620
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...ahead of much-anticipated Ibrox EGM 07:42, 1 February 2015 By Scott McDermott KING landed in Glasgow last night as he attempts to galvanise support ahead of the EGM but the former Rangers director won't be at Hampden for the League Cup semi-final against Celtic. DAVE KING jetted into Glasgow last night – but WON’T attend Rangers’ League Cup clash with Celtic at Hampden today. The former Ibrox director flew in from South Africa and will spend a week in the UK to galvanise support ahead of the much-anticipated Ibrox EGM. King will attempt to convince the club’s shareholders in Scotland as well as its investors in London to back his bid to remove the current Ibrox regime. The Rangers board have until Friday to announce a date for the EGM. King believes he can gain 51 per cent of votes to eject chairman David Somers, chief executive Derek Llambias, finance director Barry Leach and James Easdale from the top of the marble staircase. King’s wants himself, ex-director Paul Murray and former brewery boss John Gilligan to take over. And he’s hoping his latest visit will ensure his group – along with the Three Bears consortium headed by motor mogul Douglas Park and the Ibrox fans – have the required support. MailSport understands that King will decline the chance to be at Hampden for this afternoon’s Old Firm derby. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/battle-rangers-steps-up-dave-5082369
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The Rangers Supporters Trust wishes to express its concern at what we consider to be a clear attempt by some online elements of the Celtic support to incite trouble ahead of an Old Firm game which already has the potential to be a powder keg fixture. We, along with the vast majority of the Rangers support, noted with some amusement the recent advert taken out by Celtic supporters in a once respected Sunday newspaper. However, what has followed makes us considerably more uneasy. There is now no question that a hardcore element of the Celtic support are not content with the troubles which have plagued our club over the past few years. For them, Rangers Football Club, and by extension its fans, must cease to exist. Whether this stems from an inferiority complex amongst part of a generation who had to live through Nine-In-A Row, or whether it is down to a more ingrained bigotry, a fierce football rivalry is not sufficient for these people. We are extremely concerned that the rhetoric and hatred spewed out by the likes of Phil MacGiollabhain, Angela Haggerty, Paul Brennan’s CQN website and others, is a deliberate attempt to try to stoke sectarian fires and incite violence at the upcoming fixture. One need only view the reaction of some Celtic fans to the recent blog by MacGiollabhain entitled “The ****** Blood Festival” to see how these people operate. MacGiollabhain himself has never challenged the assertion that he is “tarred with a sickening sectarian brush” and he has willing servants in Miss Haggerty, CQN and several other online Celtic sites. We urge all sane Celtic fans to ignore their bile. We hope the upcoming fixture will be fiercely contested. We hope, despite being clear underdogs, that Rangers will win. We also hope that fans of both teams will be able to travel to and watch the match safely. We hope that Police Scotland, as well as policing the day effectively, will take careful note of those who continue to try to incite violence at the upcoming fixture. It would be an odd legal system that arrested people for singing songs but ignored hate speech and incitement of violence. Should the worst happen, we hope the full force of the law will be brought to bear not only on the perpetrators of any trouble but also those who encourage it online. Rangers and our fans have many challenges to face in the months and years ahead. Challenges which are considerably more important to our long term future than this upcoming Old Firm game. We urge Rangers fans to stay safe, behave in a way which can make us all proud of our club and enjoy their day." - See more at: http://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-concerns-over-upcoming-old-firm-game/#sthash.dvHYDWc2.dpuf
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Celtic Fans Open to Ridicule Over Rangers “Old Firm” Claims – by Rob Atkinson. http://roblufc.org/2015/01/30/celtic-fans-open-to-ridicule-over-rangers-old-firm-claims-by-rob-atkinson/
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The Sun have dropped the Old as in Old Firm to make it the Firm. Do these nuts care about selling papers.
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In days of old when football was football and only a few anoraks could tell you the names of the club board, the idea of an Old Firm game playing a supporting role in a day of sport would have the wee men in white coats heading in your direction. However that is how I am viewing this Sunday's mouth-watering line-up, and it is a sign of how much trouble our beloved club is in that it has come to this at all. The reality of a league cup semi final against our greatest rivals at Hampden would normally have me all fired up for weeks, and I cannot remember ever going into a domestic semi-final or final without the confidence that our heroes will emerge victorious. Indeed in any other time I would be eyeing up this fixture as the first course in another possible treble, and at the very least the chance to deny that other mob their chance of a treble. This Sunday we have the England v Australia ODI cricket final from Perth, WA, which starts in the wee small hours of Sunday morning. While England will be rightfully underdogs against the home team, this cricketing equivalent of an OF match will have plenty of spice and aggression and entertainment. At the time where that match is reaching boiling point, we then move to Melbourne for the Australian Open tennis final between our own Andy Murray and (probably) Novak Djokovic. These two have played 4 Grand Slam finals between them, each winning two each, and this could be an absolute belter of a match and one I am looking forward to immensely. Of course if Stan Wawrinka wins the SF (at time of writing it is a close match in the 4th set) it pits the defending champion against Murray, who has reached the Oz Open on 3 previous occassions, only to come up short each time against Djokovic and Federer. Then we have the football with our own match at 1.30, and a potentially attractive match between two good footballing sides in Southampton and Swansea at 4pm, and a double header from Spain involving Sevilla v Espanyol & a good looking clash between Barca & 6th placed Villarreal. By the time we have all had our football fix for the day, the biggest sporting event in the USA takes over with the Superbowl, this year between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in what promises to be a clash between the best attacking (or offense in USA lingo) team (New England) and the best defence (Seattle), with all the razzmatazz and colour this event brings. When the Vince Lombardi trophy is handed out around 3am, it will signal the end of a near 24 hours of non-stop sporting action for tv viewers, with 3 cup finals, a semi-final, and some good league action along the way. I for one cant wait for it all to start, and I just hope above all hope that what would, in any other era, be the main event for me at 1.30 in the south side of my home town amongst these global events attracting the best part of a billion viewers, and is on Sunday a bit part story, doesnt spoil this day of all sporting days. So come on England, Murray, Rangers for a treble that would have me positively gushing and have me remembering the 1st of February 2015 as a unique day when all that is good with the world was put right. -
McDowell giving nothing away on our style of play. I think we know. -
Can any bears tell me a good pub/club to watch the old firm game on Sunday down for chelsea Man City game on Saturday need a good atmosphere for old firm game cheers
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From the Record. And what is allowed.
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Even on the Gersnet we may have spies.
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...Celtic and Rangers fans ridicule police safety warning ahead of Old Firm clash. FANS who take flags to Sunday's League Cup semi final will be asked to prove they are fireproof by showing safety certificates to police. FOOTBALL fans taking flags to Sunday’s Old Firm clash at Hampden will have to show safety certificates proving they are fireproof, it was revealed yesterday. Celtic and Rangers fans have also been told all banners will be inspected before being allowed into the stadium. Any banners or flags judged to have provocative, sectarian or objectionable messages or images will be confiscated. It’s understood police will return the banners to their owners after the powder keg League Cup semi-final. Celtic tweeted the warning to their fans and also told them that canes supporting flags must be a certain size or come with a safety certificate. Celtic fan liasion officer John Paul Taylor said: “All banners will be subject to inspection and must be fire retardant material. Take a certificate if you have one.” An insider said: “This is not a new requirement but it’s being enforced due to the background of the teams playing. Police are being extra cautious.” Fans took to social media to mock the rules for attending the sell-out match, which will see the bitter rivals meet for the first time in three years. Chaznoon tweeted: “Fireproof? Really?! In a non-smoking stadium? It’ll be no shell suits next!” Another user, Croppybhoy69, said: “I take two flags to home games. No certificate ever asked for. Police are ridiculous.” And Rodfather67 mocked the conditions imposed by Police, saying: “Obviously they are all proper militia fire retardant issue.” Celtic have advised fans to attend their local fire station with their flags and firefighters will be able to check them and issue a safety certificate. Police refused to comment. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/prove-your-flags-wont-burn-5062138
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ByPAUL THORNTON The Sun Published: 18 minutes ago CHEEKY Celtic fans are planning to light the blue-touch paper on next week’s long-awaited Old Firm clash - with a full page ad explaining why Rangers are a new club. Sections of the Hoops support have clubbed together to take out the message in a Sunday newspaper one week before the tie. The lengthy message sets out why some Celts reckon the Gers are a different outfit from their historic rivals following the oldco’s liquidation in 2012. After organising through forums and supporter sites a group of dozens of fans have clubbed together a four-figure sum to place the statement. The message states: “As Celtic supporters, we regrettably recognise that our club had an association with Rangers (1872) through the collective descriptive term, The Old Firm. We believe this term is now redundant following the liquidation of Rangers (1872). “On 1st February Celtic supporters will support our team in the semifinal against a new club, which came into being in 2012. “This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs and the purpose of this statement is to place our position on record so that Celtic supporters can enjoy the occasion for what it is and without playing any part in what we see as the Rangers ‘club continuation’ fiction.” The stunt is sure to wind-up Bears who were buoyed by Lord Nimmo Smith’s report which saw Rangers retain their titles in 2013. At the end of December SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster firmed-up that view when he insisted the team were “absolutely” the same club. He said: “It’s the same club, absolutely. “The member club is the entity that participates in our league and we have 42 member clubs. “Those clubs may be owned by a company, sometimes it’s a Private Limited Company, sometimes it’s a PLC, but ultimately, the company is a legal entity in its own right, which owns a member club that participates in the league. “It was put to bed by the Lord Nimmo Smith commission some while ago – it’s the same club.” Bosses at the paper where the ad is due to run contacted Police Scotland to make sure it would not spark trouble between the supports. Last night the force said: “We are aware of the advert.” Rangers declined to comment. But Union of Fans spokesman Chris Graham said: “We’ve been over this time and time again. The football authorities have said it’s the same club and Lord Nimmo Smith has said it’s the same club. “I don’t think Rangers fans are paying any special attention to the online crackpots among the Celtic support who continue to put forward this notion. I’d have thought they’d have better things to spend their money on.”
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...now there's just hatred and bitterness. KEITH looks forward to this weekend's game and tries to see through the nastiness and petty squabbles that surround it. IN the endless search for rational thinking on the subject of Scottish football – and on Celtic and Rangers in particular – social media is seldom an ideal starting point. A digital breeding ground for card-carrying bampots and extremists of all denominations, it never ceases to amaze just how much rancid hostility and barking insanity can be squeezed into 140 characters or less. Often it is a place where the very dullest of wits go to be unburdened and emptied out on to a screen. More often than not, as will without doubt be the case this week and beyond, it quickly degenerates into online loutishness and a feeding frenzy for the terminally unhinged. Already, the build-up is dominated by anger and insults. This, of course, is not to say every Old Firm fan who lurks around on the internet must slaver and breathe through the mouth. Absolutely not. On the contrary, some of them are fiendishly clever. Every now and then one will pop up quite unexpectedly on Twitter and manage to succinctly nail it. Like the Rangers fan who, when discussing what lies ahead at Hampden this weekend, offered up the following: “There’s no rivalry any more. Just hatred. It’s sad.” That’s the truth, right there. As much as these two clubs and their followers might posture and growl at one another – no matter how many full-page newspaper ads they might take out in the coming days – the reality is their two teams are about to engage in a phoney war. What was once a formidable sporting rivalry is now a fading memory. This fixture is the headline act in Scottish football’s odditorium. Yes, it may well be watched in big numbers but only because it holds all the fascination of a modern-day freak show. As a newspaper man of more than 25 years, there was nothing quite like the adrenalin rush of a Glasgow derby. The ferocity of the occasion made it completely compelling. Then, on top of all that, came the Larssons and Laudrups, de Boers and Di Canios – men whose skills would light up and shine like a thing of beauty making it easier to ignore the surrounding ugliness. Now that’s all there is left. The Great Ibrox Implosion of 2012 and events since have ravaged Rangers and reduced them to a state of irrelevance. There is no contest between these two clubs. None at all. It is hard to imagine Ronny Deila’s Celtic not winning this League Cup semi-final and winning comfortably. His team is stronger and more talented than Rangers in pretty much every department. It ought to be really quite straightforward. But even if it is not – even if somehow Rangers were to spring up and catch Celtic cold with the kind of sucker punches that floored Chelsea and Manchester City over the weekend – in a wider context nothing much will really change. Deila might find his relationship with Celtic fans so badly damaged that no amount of post-match fist-pumping from Pittodrie to Rugby Park can fix it. But, even so, he will deliver the club’s fourth successive league title. The summer would then be used to debate whether Deila deserves another shot at qualifying for the Champions League. Even if the general consensus is “no” then Celtic will go on about their business just the same, only with a new man in charge. That’s the worst case scenario at Parkhead. The Champions League remains Celtic’s be all and end all. Over at Ibrox, meanwhile, a once great footballing rival continues to eat its own feet off. The worst that can happen to Rangers fans is that their team might be humiliated. Maybe annihilated. But again nothing really changes. Nor for that matter would a victory, as far fetched as it might seem. Chances are they would be wiped out in the Final by either a resurgent Aberdeen or an equally thriving Dundee United. And even if by some miracle this rudderless, managerless team, which cannot stay out of harm’s way in the Championship, went on to actually lift the League Cup then so what? They’ll be looking inwards because before they can aspire to competing against their neighbours, first they must fix their own house. Where Rangers are concerned, there will be another meeting at Hampden this week which is of far greater significance to the club’s future. And it will take place tomorrow, not out on the pitch but on the sixth floor. Mike Ashley will not attend but his lawyers will be there, or at least they’ll be on the other end of a conference call, as the SFA’s judicial panel gets down to the business of dealing with the Sports Direct tycoon’s interest in all matters Ibrox. His legal representatives will ask for more time – possibly months – to fully consider the charges which centre around their man’s influence in the boardroom. The SFA’s lawyers will argue that no such lengthy delay is necessary to prepare Ashley’s case. It is likely that the whole process will be stalled for two to four weeks. Meanwhile, Ashley is expected to further tighten his stranglehold with another wad of emergency cash, as much as £10million – a great deal more than Rangers require in order to survive until new shares are released. This entire deal appears to be designed to suit Ashley more than to satisfy the needs of a club that may find itself saddled with a huge debt mountain to one man. These are the issues Rangers must tackle before they are even remotely ready to go toe to toe with their city rivals. And even though clarity may be provided when the shareholders vote at an egm a few weeks from now, potentially smashing the current regime and rebuilding the boardroom, there are no quick fixes. For the time being then, this rivalry has had its day. But the hatred rages on. If only it were confined to the land of the hashtag. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion/sport/keith-jackson-celtic-v-rangers-5043134
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I'm going to be in the US next weekend, can anyone advise if it will be shown?
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Betting been suspended by Paddy Power Magath.
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Surprised nobody posted this for a wee bit of footy chat amidst the boardroom and financial chaos. Our old pal Craig Thomson, the news just keeps getting better!
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http://supportersnotcustomers.com/2015/01/20/why-scotland-needs-rangers/
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... in his ET interview My headline makes for a good signature. If anything, those currently trying to oust the board have learned (the hard way) that the key is in having enough shares. Let#s hope this goes through, Murdoch sounds rather confident and you'd hope King has done this because he IS confident of success. -
https://twitter.com/jimwhite Jim White @JimWhite 41s42 seconds ago Kenny McDowall has resigned as Rangers caretaker manager, citing personal reasons for stepping down. #Rangers
