Do the Crime, Do the Time

Another European match, another UEFA fine for Celtic seemingly coming up, due to the selfish, self-indulgent student union politicking by the Green Brigade.

Think that's harsh? Check out their website where they say this about themselves:

With a vibrant and somewhat controversial history, the Green Brigade aim to fuse together Ultra culture with politics in the stands of Celtic Park and beyond. This aspect has led to many conflicts with the police, security and the Club itself over the years, yet remain the core foundations of the group which has continued to enjoy support from the wider Celtic family.

This group, which does contribute greatly to the atmosphere inside Celtic Park, is not merely a group of diehard Celtic fans willing to stand, jump up and down and sing for 90 minutes. They have an overtly political agenda and their very purpose is to thrust it upon the rest of us. They know full well their politicising of their support for Celtic will get the club into bother, but apparently (if this statement on their website is anything to go by) they are proud of it.

Now as Celtic fans, with a section all of their own and recently given a shiny new makeover to meet their special requirements, I have no problem with them at all.

I don't even have a problem with their politics, very little of which I share. What I do have a problem with is their imposition of their politics on the rest of us. They present their political opinions, which they take every opportunity to display for all to see in the stadium, as somehow intrinsic to the Celtic identity. This goes further online at least, where any dissent over their politics is met with aggression, abusiveness and bullying, if not by the group itself, but by people who associate themselves with it.

I've taken so much heat on Twitter this past week for saying there should be no pro-Palestinian protest at the Happoel match.

I've been told I can't possibly be a Celtic fan. One Green Brigade affiliate told me on behalf of the entire Celtic support that I am, "not welcome."

I've been told to "Get tae f***," and been called "A right-wing Catholic nut-job," Imagine that - anti-Catholic abuse from a Celtic fan! Here's someone else they would no doubt have thought a "right-wing Catholic nut-job:

That's just a flavour of the abuse I've taken from people associated with the Green Brigade (and I know they don't speak for the organisation, but they seem fairly typical of their type). I'm thick-skinned enough to take it. In moments of weakness I give as good as I get, though I feel awful for descending to the level of the Timtafada political wing of our support.

If you step out of line, you will come under attack. Some of them launch straight into a tirade of abuse, others initially try to reason with you. But when you are not swayed by their arguments, they soon resort to the abuse too.

As a support, we are being bullied into line. We're being told that the Green Brigade's left-wing politics is part and parcel of being a Celtic supporter and what makes you a Celtic supporter is not merely a love of the club, but embracing certain left-wing causes. Deviance from just one is social death.

Anyway, having spent the best part of a week, along with the moderate majority of our support, many of whom are not afraid to speak out, warning that a pro-Palestinian protest would bring us yet another punishment from UEFA, it was with some amusement that I watched the reaction unfold on Twitter last night.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about the fine. Quite the opposite. What makes me laugh is the ridiculous reaction from the Timtafada to a punishment they were well warned of.

Now one of the things that was endlessly repeated over the course of the past week, was that you were a, "Panty-wetter" if you were worried about a UEFA fine. "F*** UEFA," we were endlessly told, "who cares if we get a fine?"

Well, evidently, the Timtafada cares as they whinged incessantly about the unfairness of the UEFA punishment they wilfully and knowingly brought down on the club.

So we've established one thing at least. Like the similarly in denial Sevco fans, they do care. Like all narcissistic, self-indulgent brats, they long to be loved. They basked for almost 24 hours in the love of the pro-Palestinian movement, then reacted with bewilderment when they realised UEFA didn't love them or their display. They simply can't understand why UEFA have a problem with their display.

Here are eight objections that I have seen constantly on Twitter last night and this morning in no particular order:

1. "There's nothing political about waving a national flag." This the equivalent of the defender caught in the act of raking his studs down the back of the forward's calf then pulling an innocent face, arms outstretched as the referee races towards him with his hand in his back pocket to pull out the yellow card. "What did I do wrong?" he pleads? "I only waved a Palestinian flag," as if this was not clear as day a political demonstration to publicise the Palestinian cause. Celtic, thanks to the Green Brigade, have been caught bang to rights. You weren't just waving a flag.
2. "It's an absurd rule, so it's absurd to punish Celtic." This may well be true. Maybe it is an absurd rule, but that is to spectacularly miss the point. It is the rule and if you break it, you will be punished for it. They were told beforehand. They were well-warned and they said they didn't care. So don't now complain about being punished for something you did in the full knowledge we would be punished for it! Here you may be told "rules are made to be broken." A mindless soundbite. You break the rules, you get punished for it.
3. "Ajax fans fly the Israeli flag." This is classic whataboutery. Some history re Ajax, which I'm positive can't be news to many people - Ajax have a strong affiliation with Amsterdam's Jewish population. Just like Celtic fans can fly Irish tricolours and it is not a political statement but a celebration of our identity, so too can Ajax supporters fly Israeli flags. It's not a political statement.
4. "It's an attack on our freedom of expression." This is kind of the trump card. "I've got a right to express my support for Palestine and UEFA can't take it away from me." Well, the good news is, they don't. UEFA are not stopping you from waving a Palestinian flag to your heart's content outside the ground. But inside the ground, it is their competition, their rules. When you buy a ticket for any football match, you are in effect agreeing a contract between yourself and the organisers. Check any ticket stub next time you buy one. You accept their rules as a condition of entry. So if you don't like UEFA's rules because you feel they are taking away your right to freedom of expression, there's a very simple solution to your problem - don't attend. No one is forcing you to buy a ticket. If you feel the rule is unfair, lobby UEFA to get it changed. Don't go in and deliberately break the rule, then complain when the rules are enforced.
5. "Barcelona fans fly the Catalan flag." More whataboutery. Yes they do. And Barcelona has been punished for it. Next!
6. "UEFA held a minute's silence for Nelson Mandela and that was a political statement." Arguably it is, although I think you'd be hard pushed to find anyone who did not take a broadly positive view of the achievements of Nelson Mandela. But the rules do not prohibit UEFA from making political points. They decide what is, and is not, appropriate in their competitions. As a former Head of State of South Africa, and an almost universally-respected figure of monumental historical importance, it was hardly unexpected that UEFA would ask for silences on his death at their matches.
7. "It wasn't political, it's standing up for the oppressed." That's not how UEFA see it. The problem for the Green Brigade here is that like all leftists, they seek to portray politics in moralistic terms. Then they can vilify anyone who doesn't agree with them as nasty, evil bigots. There are two sides to the Palestinian conflict and this was a demonstration in support of one side, which seeks the destruction of the other. What makes it overtly political for me is, that there are many oppressed peoples around the world. To give just three current examples, the Tibetans, Yemenis and Kurds. Last season, Celtic played Fenerbahce, surely an ideal opportunity for the Green Brigade to show their support for the Kurdish people, treated as third class citizens in Turkey, denied statehood and subject to unfair imprisonment and aerial bombing. Did the Green Brigade wave Kurdish flags en masse to highlight their plight? Muslim-on-Muslim oppression I suspect, may just not be sexy enough for them.
8. "Israel is an apartheid state like South Africa was. The world of sport united in standing against them." This one is just hysterical nonsense. Roughly 20% of the population of Israel is Arab Muslim (Palestinian). They enjoy equal rights in Israel. They have their own political parties, they can vote freely, they have access to exactly the same educational and health institutions as Jewish and Christian citizens. There are high-ranking Arab-Israeli army generals, Arab supreme court judges (one of whom handed a former Israeli PM a custodial sentence), university professors etc. There are no laws in the state of Israel which treat Arab citizens differently from Jewish Actually, there is one - unlike Jewish citizens, Arab Muslim citizens of Israel are not subject to conscription into the armed forces, although they are free to serve if they so desire. Arab-Israelis enjoy far greater rights in Israel than Jews enjoy anywhere else in the Middle East. In fact, Palestinian citizens of Israel enjoy far greater rights than Palestinian residents in any other Middle Eastern country. Israel is not an apartheid state. It is in fact the only functioning liberal democracy in the region. It is not perfect, but certainly preferable to the surrounding Islamist dictatorships which want to wipe it from the map.

Just as an aside, another thing that made me laugh out loud in midweek was the people complaining about the Daily Record reporting on their protest. Honestly, they hold a demo to publicise the Palestinian cause, then complain when a paper... well... publicises it!

And of course to top it off, they insisted they didn't care if UEFA fined the club, then when UEFA charge the club, they have a tantrum about how corrupt and despicable UEFA are for... er... charging the club.

So when you hear Green Brigade sympathisers complaining about the club being fined by UEFA because they insisted on doing what they wanted to do and put their desires above the interests of the club, remind them of the old adage - if you do the crime, you do the time. Just stop crying about it.