Celtic Release Positive Supporter Statement

Celtic has released an official statement regarding the UK Government’s proposed guidelines for fans travelling to matches. The guidelines, issued by the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain, have been met with widespread criticism for their draconian measures and blatant infringement on civil liberties.

Celtic FC’s Official Statement:

“Celtic FC are closely monitoring the proposed new rules for fans travelling to matches on public hire vehicles, which have been issued by the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.

Celtic has discussed these proposals with groups representing the interests of supporters travelling to matches, including the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Supporters’ Clubs and our supporters’ groups in Ireland.

The Club shares our supporters’ serious concerns that these proposed measures would do nothing more than demonise football fans, unnecessarily targeting one particular sport and its supporters.

Supporters are the lifeblood of the game, with thousands each weekend contributing positively to the sport in Scotland, yet these proposals would negatively affect a large proportion of supporters travelling to matches.

Celtic will engage robustly with the consultation process, outlining the Club’s deep concerns with the proposals consulted upon.”

The statement comes as a breath of fresh air for fans who have been feeling increasingly marginalised and criminalised by the authorities. Celtic has rightly pointed out that these proposals do nothing but demonise football fans, targeting one particular sport and its supporters. The club has also assured fans that it will engage “robustly” with the consultation process, outlining its deep concerns.

This is a football issue that transcends club loyalties. Fans from all clubs must stand united to oppose these measures. The consultation is calling for responses from relevant stakeholders, which includes every fan who has ever cheered for their team, bought a ticket, or travelled to an away game.

However, it’s crucial to point out that while Celtic’s statement is welcome, the club could be doing more in general to prohibit the incredibly intrusive and archaic way that Police Scotland are already treating supporters. The relationship between fans and authorities has been fraught for years, and it’s high time that clubs like Celtic take a more proactive role in defending the rights and freedoms of their supporters.

Celtic’s statement is a promising start, but there’s more work to be done. The club, along with its fans, needs to be at the forefront of the fight against these oppressive measures. Only then can we hope to protect the beautiful game from becoming a police state.

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Martin O’Neill serves up harsh Rangers reality as Celtic legend predicts Hoops Champions League chances

The Hoops icon can’t see a way back for Gers even this early in the title race

Martin O’Neill has handed Rangers virtually no chance of winning the Premiership title, just FOUR games into the new season.

Michael Beale’s men have made a poor start to the campaign, with many Gers fans now turning against him after losing the Old Firm derby to Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday. It did the Englishman zero favours at all and Rangers now sit four points behind their arch-rivals in the league. Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers also went into the game knowing he was under a little bit of pressure from his supporters but O’Neill says that beating Gers will ‘work wonders’ for the Northern Irishman in the season ahead, while also painting a bleak picture in terms of Rangers’ title ambitions.

The 71-year-old former Celts supremo told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “That was a big result for Celtic at the weekend… a good result for Brendan in particular, too.

“When you look at the circumstances in which he left the football club, not every Celtic fan was best pleased with the reappointment of him. But matches like that can work absolute wonders for a manager trying to cement their place back in the hearts of the fans.

“But that win against Rangers is huge in the title race, even this early in the season. As for Rangers… what a bad couple of days for them; getting knocked out of Champions League qualifying, in terms of prestige it’s bad enough, but also the finance side of things, it’s a huge blow to them.

“Celtic have the upper hand over them in that respect, and they’re four points clear of them in the league – Celtic should be able to go on and win that title now, you would expect.”

O’Neill knew what it took to guide Celtic deep into European competitions – particularly past the group stage at the very least – whether it be the Champions League or the UEFA Cup.

And reacting to his old side’s draw in Europe’s premier competition this season, where they were drawn with Feyenoord, Atletico Madrid and Lazio, O’Neill reckons Celtic have what it takes to get out of Group E.

He predicted: “The draw for the Champions League has been made, and while you’re never going to get it easy, things could have been much more difficult for them.

“They’re going to give themselves a great chance of making the knockout stage, and that would be huge, because Celtic thrive on those European nights. Things haven’t been so good in recent years in terms of results in Europe, so it would be great if they could rectify that this season.”