Conflict with the cops: Celtic supporters set to stage protest outside police station | OneFootball

Celtic supporters were unable to enjoy their last match before the international break. A 3-2 defeat at the hands of their bitter Glasgow rivals is never easy to take, even if it has little impact on the Scottish Premiership table.

It could be worse though. What if they had been on their way down London Road en-route to Celtic Park, only to be kettled by a host of cops while being denied access to food and bathroom privileges for five hours? Well that’s exactly what happened on the day of the derby.

The Green Brigade

The police specifically targeted the Green Brigade, a controversial ultras group who are known for enhancing the Celtic Park atmosphere with their continuous singing and impressive tifo displays.

Recently the group faced criticism for honouring Bik McFarlane, a former member of the Provisional IRA who recently passed away. They also stole the headlines for starting the ‘Show Israel the red card’ movement, which made its way across the globe.

However, the issue the police stated was responsible for their drastic actions was the Green Brigade’s continued use of pyrotechnics in the stadium. Flares may look great, but footballing authorities have always banged on about how dangerous they are.

As a result, 90 supporters weren’t allowed to gain entry to the stadium. Having your team ship nine goals in three matches against your rivals is bad enough, especially considering Rangers have been poor domestically this season. Worse still, you don’t even get to use the match ticket you’ve paid for.

The police’s demands

According to the Green Brigade, supporters could only be freed by the police if they complied with a full body search, gave their personal details and showed their ID. They also had to remove anything which could conceal their identity including hats, scarves and sunglasses. All of this was filmed by the cops.

Afterwards the fans who refused to comply were reported, so their names will be on record. Quite an extreme response considering the issue was, well, the prospect of a few pyros being set off.

There’s a question about safety, but flares are used all the time inside Scottish football grounds and stories of supporters being harmed by them are few and far between. The police used their powers to treat a specific group of soccer fans differently to how they would a normal citizen and that’s not okay.

The upcoming protest

Celtic face Hearts on Saturday and it will be no surprise if more supporters are not allowed to enter the stadium. The Green Brigade are set to be joined by fellow ultras group Bhoys Celtic, as well as a number of fans, to protest outside the police station near Celtic Park. What could possibly go wrong?

This is likely to cause more disruptions, but if the police hadn’t used disproportionate measures in the first place to stop what isn’t that big of an issue, this wouldn’t be happening.

Flares undoubtedly add to the atmosphere, but if they’re going to be banned, as they technically are by law, the punishment needs to come from the Scottish FA.

Have a conversation, outline your stance and instead of getting the police to abuse people’s fundamental human rights, issue bans for the supporters who fall foul of the ban on pyrotechnics.

Whether such a ban ought to exist is up for debate anyway. However, if that’s the decision they’ve made, it’s better to deny people entry to the stadium with a given notice, rather than stopping them on the day because of suspicions.

Treat fans fairly

The Green Brigade have caused their fair share of problems throughout their 19 year history. They’ve cost Celtic countless money in fines and are one of the most political supporters groups in soccer.

However, unless they post a serious threat, there is no real issue. Rangers supporters set off flares during the match anyway. How come they weren’t stopped by the police? Plus, nobody was reported hurt, so it’s not like it’s worth harassing supporters.

The bottom line is that soccer fans should not be targeted. The consequence of failing to adhere to this is a protest which is probably going to cause even more conflict.