Jim Traynor, 10/11/08 - Daily Record
STOP clapping. Silence. Please. What was that all about on Saturday?
Only in Scotland could observing a minute's silence for those who fell in battle for their country become such an issue.
God Almighty, millions died and some of us have to agonise over how they should be remembered. Pathetic, isn't it?
And it would be so easy to blame the SPL. After all, everything is their fault.
From the warming, or indeed cooling of the planet depending on which mad scientists you believe, to the state of the economy, Lex Gold and his little helpers are responsible for so many of the world's ills.
The SPL are incapable of making the correct calls. They exist, I suspect, to take the heat off that SFA lot along the Hampden corridor.
But even though we should be used to their Inspector Clouseau approach to management by now, the SPL's refusal to order their clubs to observe a minute of silence at the weekend should be remembered as one of their most disgraceful and possibly cowardly acts.
And yet, it was a simple matter because the way we remember our war dead in this country is through a minute's silence. That's it. Silence, not hand clapping. Just silence.
The deep, sombre quiet on Remembrance Day is a source of comfort to all those who lost fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and comrades in the First and Second World Wars and who today are still losing loved ones in far away places with unpronounceable names.
Frankly, the SPL had no right to suggest anything different and I can only assume they did so because they didn't want to place Celtic in an awkward situation. That shouldn't have been any of their concern. They should have considered nothing other than the feelings of all the many millions in this country who will fall silent again tomorrow on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.
But having been given the choice Celtic opted for a minute's applause before their match against Motherwell and it should be stressed that just about every fan inside Celtic Park applauded.
Of course they did because like the vast majority of football fans they are decent people and were always going to remember the dead. It's just a pity the SPL and Celtic didn't have a little more faith in them.
They would, I'm sure, have observed the silence almost to a man with a small number refusing.
Had they called out or jeered then only they, and not the club, would have been shamed. In fact, Celtic would have deserved enormous credit for having done the right thing and the handful who would have tried to ruin the silence could have been flushed out.
That would have been a good thing and would not have brought condemnation on the club.
But by opting for the applause Celtic set themselves apart. They also left themselves open to all sorts of accusations and didn't help their own cause by saying they went for the applause because that's the way things are done at Celtic Park and around Europe.
Applauding has become fashionable but at this time of the year it is hardly appropriate.
There is only one proper way to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and that is by falling silent.
Nothing is more poignant than that silence and it wasn't Celtic's place, or the SPL's, to change that unless they had canvassed their fans and asked them what they preferred.
A handful of Celtic's Irish fans did exercise their right to protest against the wearing of poppies and the minute of remembrance on Saturday but they were ignored by the masses.
As protests go, this one was pretty feeble with some of those taking part looking more than a little embarrassed.
And that enforces the belief that Celtic should have been bold enough and confident enough in all the terrific work they are doing to weed out the last of those fans who still want to laud the IRA and cling to the past.
We all know they are there and it's silly to deny their existence.
They could and should have been outed on Saturday and that would have been another step forward for us all in this country.
The chance was lost, however, and you have to wonder what Celtic's chairman was thinking on Saturday. Does John Reid really believe applause is the correct way to remember the country's fallen?
Surely not. After all, the former Secretary of State for Defence was one of the highest-ranking politicians who sent the British Army to fight in a war that should never have been started.
He's no longer in the Government but the troops are still in Iraq and Afghanistan and the dead count gets higher.
So what does Reid think is the appropriate way? Has he ever stood at the Cenotaph and applauded? Does he think all those voters who elected him MP for Airdrie and Shotts would agree with a minute's applause?
You have to doubt very much if Reid feels applause was appropriate on such a solemn occasion but, actually, Reid did observe silence. He hasn't said a word about Celtic's decision to break ranks and that's unusual for aman who likes to talk.
Perhaps he would care to explain his silence some time. Maybe he'll let everyone know if he thinks Celtic did the right thing.
Come on John, speak up. You might even be applauded for it.
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