Celtic release statement amid worries about Old Firm v Rangers
Celtic have released a bitter statement that takes a couple of swipes at Rangers, without even mentioning the Scottish Premiership champions.
After Gers fans took to the streets of Glasgow to celebrate winning title number 55 last weekend, politicians have mooted the possibility of the Old Firm derby on March 21 being postponed.
Celtic, on Friday, released a statement to absolve themselves from any blame surrounding those celebrations.
On their official website, the statement read: “Celtic FC can confirm that the Club will participate in a multi-agency meeting to discuss preparations for our match on March 21.
“The Scottish Government has already made clear to Celtic that it does not in any way associate the scenes last weekend with Celtic or our supporters. Although Celtic and our supporters are desperate to get back to Celtic Park to support the team, the Club and our supporters are of course mindful of the risks associated with public gatherings at this important time.
“The Club has been clear in our messaging to our supporters of the importance of staying at home in line with applicable guidance throughout the pandemic. We have communicated regularly around our fixtures and our supporters have worked with the Club responsibly – the celebrations after our historic nine in row title triumph last summer and after our unprecedented quadruple treble Scottish Cup win in December are two key examples of that.
“We will re-emphasise that message for this fixture as we have done during the season and we are sure that our supporters will work with the Club while the restrictions remain in place.
“Given the damage caused to Club property recently, the Club has already taken steps to enhance security and protection of our property at Celtic Park and the Club is happy to work with those attending the meeting to ensure that any additional protection necessary will be in place for the match in question.”
Bitter and hypocritical
We had to have a laugh at the line which says” our supporters are of course mindful of the risks associated with public gatherings”.
Which set of supporters gathered outside Celtic Park calling for Neil Lennon to be sacked earlier this season? Which set of supporters visited Parkhead to celebrate beating Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final?
While there was criticism aimed at Celtic and their supporters, there was nothing quite like the scale of criticism there has been aimed at Rangers for their fans taking to the streets at the weekend.
It was expected and no matter what Rangers did or said, it would not have stopped anything. It’s not as though Steven Gerrard and James Tavernier were calling for supporters to go to Edminston Drive and celebrate in a mass gathering.
There’s no way the Old Firm should be called off later this month, as much as Celtic might want it to be.
It’s a dead rubber tie now between a team that has already won the league and one that is destined to finish well behind in second place.
Celtic’s statement is hilarious to read. The fact they cannot even name us is absolute comedy gold.
In other Rangers news, this BBC Sportsound pundit has shared a major claim about Allan McGregor’s contract situation.