www.irishtimes.com
A Ballymena man had his ear bitten off during what appeared to be a sectarian attack in the Co Antrim town, it was revealed today.
The 21-year-old, wearing a Rangers FC top, was walking his dog when he was targeted by two men, one of whom was wearing Celtic colours of green and white stripes.
The PSNI said the victim of the attack was near the Waveney Youth Centre on the Doury Road on Wednesday evening when he was approached.
He alleged both men made sectarian remarks, including calling him an Orange Bastard, before assaulting him.
During the struggle his left ear was bitten off, said police.
The man took his ear to hospital where doctors managed to sew it back on.
Police appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them.
One of the assailants was described as being about 5ft 4in in height and of a medium build. He was wearing a green and white striped top. The other man was shorter and wearing blue jeans and blue top.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
When Homer insults us it's only friendly slagging
http://www.irishtimes.com/
It’s tempting to conclude that Irish culture has entirely lost its traditional touchiness. It is certainly true that a combination of confidence, a post-modern sensibility in which everything is viewed ironically and a degree of realism about ourselves (we do drink a lot, after all) has changed our ideas of insult. But it is clearly not true that our shoulders are now chip-free zones.
Last year, for example, the Government, via our consul general in the UK, formally protested to the Scottish administration over the singing by Glasgow Rangers fans of a song that includes the line, “The Famine is over, why don’t you go home?” The “you” are the fans of the rival Glasgow Celtic club, and through them, the descendants of Irish immigrants in general. A Rangers fan was subsequently prosecuted for breaching the peace for singing the song.
The Famine Song is actually relatively mild by the standards of some of the sectarian bile that pours out from the stands, but it was evidently judged to be especially outrageous because it mentions the Famine. What was forgotten is that it was Celtic fans who brought the Famine into it in the first place, by adopting the ersatz Famine balled The Fields of Athenry as their anthem.
Why is The Famine Song a matter of state, while The Simpsons is a good laugh? Because the point about the politics of affront is that what really matters is not who’s being insulted, but who’s doling out the insults.
This has always been the way on an intimate level – a friend making fun of you is slagging; an enemy saying exactly the same thing is an assault. We choose whether or not to be offended, and that choice, in a culture where accusations of insult are so damaging, is a kind of power. In our sophisticated mode Homer and Bart are friends of ours and can say what they like.
In our tribal mode, Rangers fans are not, and therefore can’t.
It’s tempting to conclude that Irish culture has entirely lost its traditional touchiness. It is certainly true that a combination of confidence, a post-modern sensibility in which everything is viewed ironically and a degree of realism about ourselves (we do drink a lot, after all) has changed our ideas of insult. But it is clearly not true that our shoulders are now chip-free zones.
Last year, for example, the Government, via our consul general in the UK, formally protested to the Scottish administration over the singing by Glasgow Rangers fans of a song that includes the line, “The Famine is over, why don’t you go home?” The “you” are the fans of the rival Glasgow Celtic club, and through them, the descendants of Irish immigrants in general. A Rangers fan was subsequently prosecuted for breaching the peace for singing the song.
The Famine Song is actually relatively mild by the standards of some of the sectarian bile that pours out from the stands, but it was evidently judged to be especially outrageous because it mentions the Famine. What was forgotten is that it was Celtic fans who brought the Famine into it in the first place, by adopting the ersatz Famine balled The Fields of Athenry as their anthem.
Why is The Famine Song a matter of state, while The Simpsons is a good laugh? Because the point about the politics of affront is that what really matters is not who’s being insulted, but who’s doling out the insults.
This has always been the way on an intimate level – a friend making fun of you is slagging; an enemy saying exactly the same thing is an assault. We choose whether or not to be offended, and that choice, in a culture where accusations of insult are so damaging, is a kind of power. In our sophisticated mode Homer and Bart are friends of ours and can say what they like.
In our tribal mode, Rangers fans are not, and therefore can’t.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Evil beyond belief
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/SPL/Rangers Thursday, 19 March 2009
It’s shocking but no longer surprising that the under classes who follow Celtic Football Club have once again shamed themselves, the organisation they support and indeed humanity with their latest sick stunt. Following hard on the heels of the truly nauseating “Poppy Day” fiasco, Celtic fans thought it funny to wave pizza boxes at Rangers fans at Larne Ferry Terminal and at other locations around Great Britain. Their sick stunts were of course in reference to the Masserene Army barracks murder by IRA cowards of two British soldiers who were going out to collect pizzas that had been delivered.
Predictably, the Celtic media machine immediately went on the defensive, an unnamed spokesman declaring “We have received absolutely no report of this incident whatsoever. However, as a club open to all since it’s formation in 1888, Celtic stands firmly against all forms of bigotry and sectarianism
Where do you start with inane tosh like that? First they infer the incidents never happened. Then they propagate their “open to all” fable. Well it did happen (as the photograph below proves) and not just in one location. That’s a fact. I’ll leave those shameful events and the increasingly despicable actions of Celtic fans for now as I’m sure they’ll be well covered elsewhere.
Not one single complaint from a Scottish politician - wonder why?
It’s the tiresome “open to all since 1888” drivel that really needs to be challenged. As the cowards of the Scottish media wouldn’t dare, let’s examine the matter ourselves.
Perhaps the same spokesman could explain to us all how a business managed to exist for 106 years with a “Roman Catholic-only” board of directors in a country that is 85% non-Roman Catholic? Perhaps he’d further like to explain why a manager (who happened to be Protestant) who brought them their greatest triumphs was offered a job selling club football pools instead of on their board?
Celtic Football Club was formed for sectarian reasons and thus introduced bigotry to Scottish Football. Don’t take my word for it; try the words of football historian and Celtic supporter Bill Murray from his book “The Old Firm”:
“But as well as concern for the suffering poor, brother Walfrid was also prompted by a fear that Protestant soup kitchens might tempt young Catholics into apostasy. Moreover he was equally worried about the dangers of young Catholics meeting Protestants in their place of employment or leisure, particularly during the years after leaving school which he considered the most dangerous as far as "religious duties" were concerned. A Catholic football club then, could serve the dual purpose of easing the pain in starving stomachs at the same as it kept young Catholics together in their leisure time, free from the temptations of Protestants and Protestantism. The aims of his helpers may have been more prosaic, but when the circular announcing the formation of a Catholic club in the East End of Glasgow was circulated in January 1888, its religious foundations were stressed".
That the founder of Celtic Football Club was dead-set against Catholics mixing with Protestants is not up for debate. If that’s not a demonstration of bigotry of the worst type then God knows what is. Celtic and their apologists are wrong to misrepresent the truth behind the clubs’ formation. To neglect the sectarian aspect of the founding of the club is tantamount to revising history. Presenting a partial truth whilst neglecting the whole truth is not only misleading, it is a contributory factor in perpetuating the myth, eagerly seized on by those whose have no qualms about history being re-written, that Celtic were founded solely for charitable reasons. This lack of historical accuracy seems to be a deliberate omission of an uncomfortable truth.
Celtic may have fielded several non-Catholic players over the years, and this is frequently used as a defence against sectarian accusations, however this seems to have been inconsistent with the wishes of their founder. One non-Catholic player, Celtic legend Tommy Gemmell, explained in his book “Lion Heart” that a bad game could provoke angry words from team-mates; “What do you expect of an Orange bastard? They would say it directly to you, and they were not having a joke or a laugh”.
Tommy gives the real truth about the bigotry
Does that comment suggest Celtic is an inclusive club? I don’t think so. And let’s not forget that had Walfrid got his way Gemmell may never have appeared in a Celtic jersey in the first place.
Allow me to repeat the Celtic spokesman’s claim of “a club open to all since it’s formation in 1888”. This quote is nothing more than a bare-faced lie. If you can get a hold of legendary Celtic manager Willie Maley's book he clearly states that it was documented in the Celtic structure that you had to be of Irish Catholic origin to play for the club. They moved away from this policy for one reason and for one reason only, that being that they couldn't get eleven players good enough to consistently compete with Rangers.
Let’s move on to the “charity” fairy story. Perhaps Celtic’s very own Goebbels could explain to us where a poor Marist Brother found the money to build a ground complete with dog track whilst covertly offering illegal financial inducements to Hibernian’s Roman Catholic footballers to join the newly founded Celtic? The uncomfortable truth is that as well as being founded for sectarian reasons, Celtic Football Club was set up to make money from the poor Glasgow Irish. The delicious irony is that the only recipients of Celtic charity were the capitalist families who got rich off the backs of their own kind. Indeed the first grandstand to be built at Celtic Park was “The Glass Stand”. Yep, the Glass family built their own grandstand and charged a shilling entrance fee to their fellow Roman Catholic Celtic fans. Further, the Glass family kept all the profits for the next 30-odd years. Celtic charity at it’s very best!
Celtic managed to buy the ground, build a stadium with two grandstands and a velodrome (cycle track), and have an exhibition match between Hibernian and Renton played on the ground before they themselves took to the field a month or so later. The opposition was a Rangers second XI, known as “The Swifts”. Half of the Celtic team had been Hibs players the month before, the other half had been Renton players.
The six middle class Roman Catholic businessmen that founded and funded the club offered substantial remuneration to the better players of both Renton and Hibs, so long as they were Catholic of course. Hibs folded (later to reappear) and Renton faded quickly into junior football obscurity. Charitable eh?
This quote from “The Origins of Hibernian” defines the situation re the formation of Celtic to a tee:
“Some Irish Catholic leaders however could see some of the danger signs, as it was becoming apparent in these meetings that some of the men coming to the fore were business-minded with hints that personal gain rather than charitable aims were uppermost in their thoughts…………the businessmen, a builder from Donegal named John Glass and Pat Welsh, a tailor who had left Ireland under furtive circumstances (he was a Fenian on the run from Ireland for murder, helped to escape by Willie Maley’s father) 20 years previously. These men had seen the earning potential of a professional football club, and their subsequent methods of achieving their aims was to prove catastrophic for Hibernian Football Club.
It’s a great pity that the Hibs men were so trusting, as John Glass and his partners were already making their own plans and these included financial inducements being offered to the best players in the Hibernian side that they might join Glasgow Celtic for the following season.
Even if Hibs had wished to take Celtic on like for like, they could not do so, the very being of Hibernian was that every penny earned went to charitable causes, Celtic had undertaken no such principles.
John Glass had recognised the massive financial rewards that would ensue from professional football. The game had gone professional in England sometime before, and Scotland was about to follow, all the same the way he set about using the loyalties of the Irish immigrant population left a sour taste in many a mouth.”
As Jim Royle might say “Charity? My Arse!”
Of course the bad smell of militant Irish Republicanism and its sectarian undertones was also to taint the formation of Celtic. Walfrid's co-recruitment agent was a Fenian, Pat Welsh, on the run from Ireland having murdered a policeman. Choice company for a man of the cloth. This would of course be the same Walfrid that Celtic history books clearly document as leading the singing of Irish rebel songs in St Mary's Parish Hall, Glasgow, in November 1887. The opening ceremony for Celtic Park saw the convicted Fenian, Land Leaguer, gun-runner and “embittered Irish Nationalist who was anti-British to the backbone” Michael Davitt lay the first piece of turf. Again, the words of historian Bill Murray:
“It (Celtic Football Club) recognises Ireland as the country of its spiritual origins,
and although today it has lost all formal contacts with Irish politics, in its early days it was closely associated with the fight for Irish Home Rule.”
And of course the anti-British bigotry and hatred that came with it.
In summary, Celtic Football Club was founded in 1888 as an Irish Roman Catholic sectarian and political entity, by a priest of dubious Christian morality and wealthy "businessmen" whom it would seem had few values if any. Their aims were to prevent apostasy and social-cohesion with the mainly Protestant host community in Glasgow……..and to make money. The rich Roman Catholic families that bankrolled the project were also Scottish footballs first unreconstructed capitalists, out to rip the poorest of the poor for as much as they possibly could.
The same founders proceeded to “entice” the best of Hibernian’s Roman Catholic players using bribery (at a time when football was strictly amateur) and emotional-blackmail. These Hibs players, who were "superstars" of their time, abandoned Edinburgh for the fledgling Roman Catholic club in Glasgow. This "poverty-stricken" Celtic also had an all-purpose, state of the art stadium to play in which was well in advance of anything owned by of their rivals. It was firmly in place for the ex-Hibs players’ arrival, as well as their illegal under the counter wages. But not before Celtic had gratefully accepted a sizeable cash donation from naive Hibernian officials towards the expenses of forming the new club.
A few other questions Mr. Celtic Spokesman may care to answer:
1. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whom former Chairman Fergus McCann once described as being infested with “Celtic-minded Catholic bigots” ?
2. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who in 2001 had to ban their staff from using a sectarian term commonly used in Ulster by Republicans to decry Protestants?
3. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who allowed Irish Republican Patricia Ferns to sing the IRA anthems and refer to Rangers fans as “animals” at Celtic Park on 29th May 2005?
4. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whom allowed mock appearance of the Pope blessing all four corners of the stadium at the same game?
5. Is this the all inclusive Celtic whose Chief Executive Jock Brown told of being presented with a list of staff who were Catholic, a move he described as “sinister and undesirable” ?
6. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who were the only club in the United Kingdom to remember our war dead with a minutes applause as opposed to the traditional and respectful silence, fearful their hate-filled fans would disrupt proceedings?
7. Is this the same all-inclusive Celtic whose captain mouthed the words “orange bastards” at the Rangers dug-out?
8. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who were the only club in Britain not to have a minutes silence for victims of the Omagh bomb?
9. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who employed a former fanzine editor whose production featured a cartoon family called “The Dirty Orange Bastards”?
10. Is this the same all-inclusive club whose fans regularly sing a song featuring the line “Soon there’ll be no Protestants at all”?
11. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whose fans perpetrated the worst incident of racism ever witnessed in a British sporting arena on the 2nd January 1988?
12. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whose under class shouted “IRA” and “Free the Prisoners” at Fir Park during a minutes silence for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Disaster?
I really could go on all day, but I think by now I may have proved Mr. Celtic Spokesman’s “all-inclusive” claims have about as much credence as Bishop Richard Williamson’s “no holocaust” claims!
Today’s newspapers feature a headline article where former Scottish Tory Leader has called for changes in the way anti-sectarian laws work in football. Amongst his comments Mr. McLetchie states:
“Whilst on one side of the sectarian divide in Scotland, it clearly applies in practice to malice directed towards people of the Roman Catholic faith, the contrary sectarian behaviour in Scotland is primarily expressed in practice through the glorification of Irish nationalism and terrorism against the British state.”
Glorification of Irish Nationalism? Terrorism against the British State? Who on earth could he be referring to? Whoever it is, they certainly couldn’t be considered to be “all inclusive” by any stretch of the imagination.
It’s shocking but no longer surprising that the under classes who follow Celtic Football Club have once again shamed themselves, the organisation they support and indeed humanity with their latest sick stunt. Following hard on the heels of the truly nauseating “Poppy Day” fiasco, Celtic fans thought it funny to wave pizza boxes at Rangers fans at Larne Ferry Terminal and at other locations around Great Britain. Their sick stunts were of course in reference to the Masserene Army barracks murder by IRA cowards of two British soldiers who were going out to collect pizzas that had been delivered.
Predictably, the Celtic media machine immediately went on the defensive, an unnamed spokesman declaring “We have received absolutely no report of this incident whatsoever. However, as a club open to all since it’s formation in 1888, Celtic stands firmly against all forms of bigotry and sectarianism
Where do you start with inane tosh like that? First they infer the incidents never happened. Then they propagate their “open to all” fable. Well it did happen (as the photograph below proves) and not just in one location. That’s a fact. I’ll leave those shameful events and the increasingly despicable actions of Celtic fans for now as I’m sure they’ll be well covered elsewhere.
Not one single complaint from a Scottish politician - wonder why?
It’s the tiresome “open to all since 1888” drivel that really needs to be challenged. As the cowards of the Scottish media wouldn’t dare, let’s examine the matter ourselves.
Perhaps the same spokesman could explain to us all how a business managed to exist for 106 years with a “Roman Catholic-only” board of directors in a country that is 85% non-Roman Catholic? Perhaps he’d further like to explain why a manager (who happened to be Protestant) who brought them their greatest triumphs was offered a job selling club football pools instead of on their board?
Celtic Football Club was formed for sectarian reasons and thus introduced bigotry to Scottish Football. Don’t take my word for it; try the words of football historian and Celtic supporter Bill Murray from his book “The Old Firm”:
“But as well as concern for the suffering poor, brother Walfrid was also prompted by a fear that Protestant soup kitchens might tempt young Catholics into apostasy. Moreover he was equally worried about the dangers of young Catholics meeting Protestants in their place of employment or leisure, particularly during the years after leaving school which he considered the most dangerous as far as "religious duties" were concerned. A Catholic football club then, could serve the dual purpose of easing the pain in starving stomachs at the same as it kept young Catholics together in their leisure time, free from the temptations of Protestants and Protestantism. The aims of his helpers may have been more prosaic, but when the circular announcing the formation of a Catholic club in the East End of Glasgow was circulated in January 1888, its religious foundations were stressed".
That the founder of Celtic Football Club was dead-set against Catholics mixing with Protestants is not up for debate. If that’s not a demonstration of bigotry of the worst type then God knows what is. Celtic and their apologists are wrong to misrepresent the truth behind the clubs’ formation. To neglect the sectarian aspect of the founding of the club is tantamount to revising history. Presenting a partial truth whilst neglecting the whole truth is not only misleading, it is a contributory factor in perpetuating the myth, eagerly seized on by those whose have no qualms about history being re-written, that Celtic were founded solely for charitable reasons. This lack of historical accuracy seems to be a deliberate omission of an uncomfortable truth.
Celtic may have fielded several non-Catholic players over the years, and this is frequently used as a defence against sectarian accusations, however this seems to have been inconsistent with the wishes of their founder. One non-Catholic player, Celtic legend Tommy Gemmell, explained in his book “Lion Heart” that a bad game could provoke angry words from team-mates; “What do you expect of an Orange bastard? They would say it directly to you, and they were not having a joke or a laugh”.
Tommy gives the real truth about the bigotry
Does that comment suggest Celtic is an inclusive club? I don’t think so. And let’s not forget that had Walfrid got his way Gemmell may never have appeared in a Celtic jersey in the first place.
Allow me to repeat the Celtic spokesman’s claim of “a club open to all since it’s formation in 1888”. This quote is nothing more than a bare-faced lie. If you can get a hold of legendary Celtic manager Willie Maley's book he clearly states that it was documented in the Celtic structure that you had to be of Irish Catholic origin to play for the club. They moved away from this policy for one reason and for one reason only, that being that they couldn't get eleven players good enough to consistently compete with Rangers.
Let’s move on to the “charity” fairy story. Perhaps Celtic’s very own Goebbels could explain to us where a poor Marist Brother found the money to build a ground complete with dog track whilst covertly offering illegal financial inducements to Hibernian’s Roman Catholic footballers to join the newly founded Celtic? The uncomfortable truth is that as well as being founded for sectarian reasons, Celtic Football Club was set up to make money from the poor Glasgow Irish. The delicious irony is that the only recipients of Celtic charity were the capitalist families who got rich off the backs of their own kind. Indeed the first grandstand to be built at Celtic Park was “The Glass Stand”. Yep, the Glass family built their own grandstand and charged a shilling entrance fee to their fellow Roman Catholic Celtic fans. Further, the Glass family kept all the profits for the next 30-odd years. Celtic charity at it’s very best!
Celtic managed to buy the ground, build a stadium with two grandstands and a velodrome (cycle track), and have an exhibition match between Hibernian and Renton played on the ground before they themselves took to the field a month or so later. The opposition was a Rangers second XI, known as “The Swifts”. Half of the Celtic team had been Hibs players the month before, the other half had been Renton players.
The six middle class Roman Catholic businessmen that founded and funded the club offered substantial remuneration to the better players of both Renton and Hibs, so long as they were Catholic of course. Hibs folded (later to reappear) and Renton faded quickly into junior football obscurity. Charitable eh?
This quote from “The Origins of Hibernian” defines the situation re the formation of Celtic to a tee:
“Some Irish Catholic leaders however could see some of the danger signs, as it was becoming apparent in these meetings that some of the men coming to the fore were business-minded with hints that personal gain rather than charitable aims were uppermost in their thoughts…………the businessmen, a builder from Donegal named John Glass and Pat Welsh, a tailor who had left Ireland under furtive circumstances (he was a Fenian on the run from Ireland for murder, helped to escape by Willie Maley’s father) 20 years previously. These men had seen the earning potential of a professional football club, and their subsequent methods of achieving their aims was to prove catastrophic for Hibernian Football Club.
It’s a great pity that the Hibs men were so trusting, as John Glass and his partners were already making their own plans and these included financial inducements being offered to the best players in the Hibernian side that they might join Glasgow Celtic for the following season.
Even if Hibs had wished to take Celtic on like for like, they could not do so, the very being of Hibernian was that every penny earned went to charitable causes, Celtic had undertaken no such principles.
John Glass had recognised the massive financial rewards that would ensue from professional football. The game had gone professional in England sometime before, and Scotland was about to follow, all the same the way he set about using the loyalties of the Irish immigrant population left a sour taste in many a mouth.”
As Jim Royle might say “Charity? My Arse!”
Of course the bad smell of militant Irish Republicanism and its sectarian undertones was also to taint the formation of Celtic. Walfrid's co-recruitment agent was a Fenian, Pat Welsh, on the run from Ireland having murdered a policeman. Choice company for a man of the cloth. This would of course be the same Walfrid that Celtic history books clearly document as leading the singing of Irish rebel songs in St Mary's Parish Hall, Glasgow, in November 1887. The opening ceremony for Celtic Park saw the convicted Fenian, Land Leaguer, gun-runner and “embittered Irish Nationalist who was anti-British to the backbone” Michael Davitt lay the first piece of turf. Again, the words of historian Bill Murray:
“It (Celtic Football Club) recognises Ireland as the country of its spiritual origins,
and although today it has lost all formal contacts with Irish politics, in its early days it was closely associated with the fight for Irish Home Rule.”
And of course the anti-British bigotry and hatred that came with it.
In summary, Celtic Football Club was founded in 1888 as an Irish Roman Catholic sectarian and political entity, by a priest of dubious Christian morality and wealthy "businessmen" whom it would seem had few values if any. Their aims were to prevent apostasy and social-cohesion with the mainly Protestant host community in Glasgow……..and to make money. The rich Roman Catholic families that bankrolled the project were also Scottish footballs first unreconstructed capitalists, out to rip the poorest of the poor for as much as they possibly could.
The same founders proceeded to “entice” the best of Hibernian’s Roman Catholic players using bribery (at a time when football was strictly amateur) and emotional-blackmail. These Hibs players, who were "superstars" of their time, abandoned Edinburgh for the fledgling Roman Catholic club in Glasgow. This "poverty-stricken" Celtic also had an all-purpose, state of the art stadium to play in which was well in advance of anything owned by of their rivals. It was firmly in place for the ex-Hibs players’ arrival, as well as their illegal under the counter wages. But not before Celtic had gratefully accepted a sizeable cash donation from naive Hibernian officials towards the expenses of forming the new club.
A few other questions Mr. Celtic Spokesman may care to answer:
1. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whom former Chairman Fergus McCann once described as being infested with “Celtic-minded Catholic bigots” ?
2. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who in 2001 had to ban their staff from using a sectarian term commonly used in Ulster by Republicans to decry Protestants?
3. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who allowed Irish Republican Patricia Ferns to sing the IRA anthems and refer to Rangers fans as “animals” at Celtic Park on 29th May 2005?
4. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whom allowed mock appearance of the Pope blessing all four corners of the stadium at the same game?
5. Is this the all inclusive Celtic whose Chief Executive Jock Brown told of being presented with a list of staff who were Catholic, a move he described as “sinister and undesirable” ?
6. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who were the only club in the United Kingdom to remember our war dead with a minutes applause as opposed to the traditional and respectful silence, fearful their hate-filled fans would disrupt proceedings?
7. Is this the same all-inclusive Celtic whose captain mouthed the words “orange bastards” at the Rangers dug-out?
8. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who were the only club in Britain not to have a minutes silence for victims of the Omagh bomb?
9. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic who employed a former fanzine editor whose production featured a cartoon family called “The Dirty Orange Bastards”?
10. Is this the same all-inclusive club whose fans regularly sing a song featuring the line “Soon there’ll be no Protestants at all”?
11. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whose fans perpetrated the worst incident of racism ever witnessed in a British sporting arena on the 2nd January 1988?
12. Is this the same all inclusive Celtic whose under class shouted “IRA” and “Free the Prisoners” at Fir Park during a minutes silence for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough Disaster?
I really could go on all day, but I think by now I may have proved Mr. Celtic Spokesman’s “all-inclusive” claims have about as much credence as Bishop Richard Williamson’s “no holocaust” claims!
Today’s newspapers feature a headline article where former Scottish Tory Leader has called for changes in the way anti-sectarian laws work in football. Amongst his comments Mr. McLetchie states:
“Whilst on one side of the sectarian divide in Scotland, it clearly applies in practice to malice directed towards people of the Roman Catholic faith, the contrary sectarian behaviour in Scotland is primarily expressed in practice through the glorification of Irish nationalism and terrorism against the British state.”
Glorification of Irish Nationalism? Terrorism against the British State? Who on earth could he be referring to? Whoever it is, they certainly couldn’t be considered to be “all inclusive” by any stretch of the imagination.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Celtic fans accused of pizza box taunts
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/Celtic-fans-accused-of-pizza.5081563.jp
Published Date: 18 March 2009
SPORTS Minister Gregory Campbell is to write to his counterpart in the Scottish administration to make a joint call for firm action against sectarianism at Rangers v Celtic matches.
The DUP MP spoke out after he heard allegations that Celtic fans were waving empty pizza boxes at Rangers fans in places including Larne in a reference to the Masserene Army barrack murder of two soldiers who were going out to collect pizzas.
Final
The incident was said to have happened before the Cooperative Insurance Cup Final on Sunday.
Celtic Football Club, Bally-mena Shamrock Celtic Supporters Club, the PSNI, and an SDLP councillor from Larne all said they were unaware of any such taunts.
The game finished 2-0 to Celtic.
Last night Mr Campbell said he had been contacted by a number of people about "pizza box incidents".
"It appears a number of people saw Celtic fans waving pizza boxes at the actual game and a number saw them doing the same at the ferry and at the airport.
"Given the widespread and universal condemnation of the murders it seems a lot of these fans have a lot to learn. I think it is imperative for the club to condemn the incidents and distance themselves from them. Celtic also need to call for anyone with information about the incidents to pass that onto the PSNI."
Reports
Last night a statement from Celtic FC said they had received "absolutely no report or evidence of this incident whatsoever".
"However, as a club open to all since its formation in 1888, Celtic stands firmly against all forms of bigotry and sectarianism".
Mr Campbell said he planned to write to his Scottish counterpart to agree plans to eliminate sectarianism from Rangers v Celtic matches.
"Given the context of what has happened in the last few days, and the sensitivity of the issue, I think it needs to be done."
A PSNI spokesman said no incidents involving pizza boxes had been reported to them.
Rangers fan Robert Purdy contacted the News Letter to give details about his experience of "sectarian Celtic fans waving pizza boxes".
The 25-year-old from Newtownabbey said he was leaving his friends to the boat in Larne on Sunday morning when "a crowd of more than 10 Celtic fans carrying pizza boxes started waving them blatantly in our faces and mocking the death of the two soldiers in Antrim".
"They were shouting things like, 'who ordered the pizza'."
Confrontation
Robert, who was also wearing a Rangers top in preparation for catching a plane to Glasgow for the game, said he was minded to get out of his car and confront the Celtic fans, "only there were too many of them".
"There were around 10, possibly more, in the group. But one of the fellas in our group, who was not wearing any colours, approached the men with pizza boxes to see what they were doing.
"They thought he was a Celtic fan and started talking to him.
They told him they were from Ballymena.”
SDLP councillor Martin Wilson, who attended the game, said he saw no instances of sectarianism on either the ferry or during the game.
A spokesman for Ballymena Shamrocks Supporters Club contacted the BBC to say their members were not involved in any sectarian incident at Larne.
In a message read out on the Stephen Nolan show the spokesman added that their members had travelled on the Stena HSS from Belfast.
Published Date: 18 March 2009
SPORTS Minister Gregory Campbell is to write to his counterpart in the Scottish administration to make a joint call for firm action against sectarianism at Rangers v Celtic matches.
The DUP MP spoke out after he heard allegations that Celtic fans were waving empty pizza boxes at Rangers fans in places including Larne in a reference to the Masserene Army barrack murder of two soldiers who were going out to collect pizzas.
Final
The incident was said to have happened before the Cooperative Insurance Cup Final on Sunday.
Celtic Football Club, Bally-mena Shamrock Celtic Supporters Club, the PSNI, and an SDLP councillor from Larne all said they were unaware of any such taunts.
The game finished 2-0 to Celtic.
Last night Mr Campbell said he had been contacted by a number of people about "pizza box incidents".
"It appears a number of people saw Celtic fans waving pizza boxes at the actual game and a number saw them doing the same at the ferry and at the airport.
"Given the widespread and universal condemnation of the murders it seems a lot of these fans have a lot to learn. I think it is imperative for the club to condemn the incidents and distance themselves from them. Celtic also need to call for anyone with information about the incidents to pass that onto the PSNI."
Reports
Last night a statement from Celtic FC said they had received "absolutely no report or evidence of this incident whatsoever".
"However, as a club open to all since its formation in 1888, Celtic stands firmly against all forms of bigotry and sectarianism".
Mr Campbell said he planned to write to his Scottish counterpart to agree plans to eliminate sectarianism from Rangers v Celtic matches.
"Given the context of what has happened in the last few days, and the sensitivity of the issue, I think it needs to be done."
A PSNI spokesman said no incidents involving pizza boxes had been reported to them.
Rangers fan Robert Purdy contacted the News Letter to give details about his experience of "sectarian Celtic fans waving pizza boxes".
The 25-year-old from Newtownabbey said he was leaving his friends to the boat in Larne on Sunday morning when "a crowd of more than 10 Celtic fans carrying pizza boxes started waving them blatantly in our faces and mocking the death of the two soldiers in Antrim".
"They were shouting things like, 'who ordered the pizza'."
Confrontation
Robert, who was also wearing a Rangers top in preparation for catching a plane to Glasgow for the game, said he was minded to get out of his car and confront the Celtic fans, "only there were too many of them".
"There were around 10, possibly more, in the group. But one of the fellas in our group, who was not wearing any colours, approached the men with pizza boxes to see what they were doing.
"They thought he was a Celtic fan and started talking to him.
They told him they were from Ballymena.”
SDLP councillor Martin Wilson, who attended the game, said he saw no instances of sectarianism on either the ferry or during the game.
A spokesman for Ballymena Shamrocks Supporters Club contacted the BBC to say their members were not involved in any sectarian incident at Larne.
In a message read out on the Stephen Nolan show the spokesman added that their members had travelled on the Stena HSS from Belfast.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Oops, touched a nerve perhaps?
Oh dear. It seems this column might have upset some of those lovely, charming and utterly adorable Celtic fans.By Ian O'Doherty, Irish Idependent
You may recall that ISpy wrote last week about 'jokes' posted on a Celtic message board celebrating the murder of two soldiers in the North.
Well, apparently, you're not allowed to point out that maybe these brave Celts would like to share some of those jokes with the dead soldiers' army colleagues.
This prompted a barrage of support from Celtic fans who were embarrassed that fellow fans would engage in such cowardly actions and they wanted to express how sorry they were about the whole affair.
Actually, that's not true. They went mental
A sample of the correspondence: "Here fatboy if you hate Celtic fans so much why don't you take a trip over Glasgow on matchdays and tell us to our faces.Donj't just site there behind your crumbfilled keyboard at that filthy fascist rag spouting like hardman,you know where our ground is,get your big fat shitey arse over."
Obviously, this column isn't worthy of cleaning up such wonderful copy, so we printed it as it arrived.
Thank you, mattynor@yahoo.co.uk for sharing your thoughts with the nation; you really are a testament to the club you support.
Friday, March 13, 2009
And the Glasgow Celtic Won’t be There!
http://thatsireland.com/2007/08/17/and-the-glasgow-celtic-wont-be-there/
I assume they’re going to rewrite the old Hail Hail song to end with:
We don’t care if we’re playing at all
What the hell do we care?
For it’s all we know
That there’s going to be a show
And the Glasgow Celtic won’t be there!
Last night, a group of Irish Celtic fans went to Dalymount Park to celebrate their Irishness by cheering a Swedish Member of the British Empire, who was playing for a Swedish club against an Irish club, because that Swedish MBE used to play for a British club that has Irish connections:
Hail, Hail, the Celts Aren’t Here!
They brought a huge Celtic flag, and a tricolour with the Celtic crest on it, to a match in which Celtic were not playing (Drogheda Utd. against Helsingborg in a UEFA Cup match); they sang Celtic songs throughout the match; and they moved around the terraces to stay as close as they could to the Swedish object of their Celtic affections, Henrik Larsson MBE.
Let’s be fair here. A lot of Irish people follow Celtic, which is a British football club, because of its Irish connections. They feel a sense of tribal identity with the mostly Roman Catholic Irishness of Celtic football club. And that’s fair enough. Only you can define your cultural identity.
Celtic happen to play good football, but that is beside the point. Many other British, European or world football clubs play better football, and the Irish Celtic fans don’t follow those teams. Essentially, Irish Celtic fans follow Celtic because of their Irishness.
What the Hell do We Care?
Again, fair enough. Support whoever you want, for whatever reason you want. But if you do choose your football team because of its Irishness, why would you support a Swedish team playing against an Irish team?
I know, I know, it’s because Henrik Larsson MBE was playing for the Swedish team, and he used to play for Celtic. Yes, we remember you all jumping up and down and cheering when Larsson scored.
But why was Larsson playing for Helsingborg? Because he feels a sense of local identity that made him want to end his career playing for his home town team.
Oh, the irony.
Come on, the Drogs!
By the way, Drogheda drew 1-1, and still have an outside chance of winning the away leg. Come on, the Drogs!
Like this? Please spread the word…
I assume they’re going to rewrite the old Hail Hail song to end with:
We don’t care if we’re playing at all
What the hell do we care?
For it’s all we know
That there’s going to be a show
And the Glasgow Celtic won’t be there!
Last night, a group of Irish Celtic fans went to Dalymount Park to celebrate their Irishness by cheering a Swedish Member of the British Empire, who was playing for a Swedish club against an Irish club, because that Swedish MBE used to play for a British club that has Irish connections:
Hail, Hail, the Celts Aren’t Here!
They brought a huge Celtic flag, and a tricolour with the Celtic crest on it, to a match in which Celtic were not playing (Drogheda Utd. against Helsingborg in a UEFA Cup match); they sang Celtic songs throughout the match; and they moved around the terraces to stay as close as they could to the Swedish object of their Celtic affections, Henrik Larsson MBE.
Let’s be fair here. A lot of Irish people follow Celtic, which is a British football club, because of its Irish connections. They feel a sense of tribal identity with the mostly Roman Catholic Irishness of Celtic football club. And that’s fair enough. Only you can define your cultural identity.
Celtic happen to play good football, but that is beside the point. Many other British, European or world football clubs play better football, and the Irish Celtic fans don’t follow those teams. Essentially, Irish Celtic fans follow Celtic because of their Irishness.
What the Hell do We Care?
Again, fair enough. Support whoever you want, for whatever reason you want. But if you do choose your football team because of its Irishness, why would you support a Swedish team playing against an Irish team?
I know, I know, it’s because Henrik Larsson MBE was playing for the Swedish team, and he used to play for Celtic. Yes, we remember you all jumping up and down and cheering when Larsson scored.
But why was Larsson playing for Helsingborg? Because he feels a sense of local identity that made him want to end his career playing for his home town team.
Oh, the irony.
Come on, the Drogs!
By the way, Drogheda drew 1-1, and still have an outside chance of winning the away leg. Come on, the Drogs!
Like this? Please spread the word…
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Irish journalist views on the Celtic supporters
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/those-charming-men-1669772.html
Written by Ian O'Doherty from Irish Independent
"Second only to Scousers, Celtic fans carry more chips on their shoulder than a branch of McDonald's.
Quick to express any sense of offence, they exhibit a sense of entitlement that would make a Cork man blush with shame.
And still they wonder why we hate them.
Well, if you're looking for a good example, how about Celtic fans' web message board, the huddleboard.com, which has really been covering itself in glory -- by gloating over the murder of those two soldiers in Northern Ireland.
After one fan posted a picture of a gun made out of pizza dough, another posted: "Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently, they are making a killing."
The website refused to remove the comments, saying they don't censor or editorialise.
Which is fair enough -- but will any of these brave Celtic fans dare to drop by the Massereene Barracks to share their sophisticated wit with the grieving squaddies?"
Written by Ian O'Doherty from Irish Independent
"Second only to Scousers, Celtic fans carry more chips on their shoulder than a branch of McDonald's.
Quick to express any sense of offence, they exhibit a sense of entitlement that would make a Cork man blush with shame.
And still they wonder why we hate them.
Well, if you're looking for a good example, how about Celtic fans' web message board, the huddleboard.com, which has really been covering itself in glory -- by gloating over the murder of those two soldiers in Northern Ireland.
After one fan posted a picture of a gun made out of pizza dough, another posted: "Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently, they are making a killing."
The website refused to remove the comments, saying they don't censor or editorialise.
Which is fair enough -- but will any of these brave Celtic fans dare to drop by the Massereene Barracks to share their sophisticated wit with the grieving squaddies?"
Celtic yobs in sick taunts
By GERRY DUFFY
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article2311845.ece
SICK Celtic fans sparked fury by mocking the execution of two hero soldiers on a supporters’ website.
Yobs on unofficial Hoops page the Huddleboard made vile ‘jokes’ about the killings of sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at the Massereene barracks at Antrim.
The brave pair were killed as they shielded two pizza delivery workers.
Vile
But one twisted nut even posted a picture of a pizza shaped like a gun and made a string of vile ‘gags’ about the atrocity.
And a fan — with the username McFly — posted the message: “Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently they are making a killing.”
Another sicko added: “It was goodfellas that delivered instead.”
But the insults angered fellow fans on the site. One wrote: “Pretty childish, and exactly what people who dislike Celtic in Ireland point toward when they are slagging the club... somewhat embarrassing actually.”
Last night Army chiefs said they were “saddened” by the slurs.
A spokesman said: “We are extremely saddened that anyone would take the killing of two young men so lightly as to make fun of the incident on the internet.
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“This is not a matter to be laughed about. I’m sure those who are making these jokes would not find it so funny had their own loved ones been hurt or killed.”
Celtic also hit out at the yobs. A spokesman said: “We utterly condemn violence and sectarianism in any form.”
No one from the Huddleboard was available for comment.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article2311845.ece
SICK Celtic fans sparked fury by mocking the execution of two hero soldiers on a supporters’ website.
Yobs on unofficial Hoops page the Huddleboard made vile ‘jokes’ about the killings of sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at the Massereene barracks at Antrim.
The brave pair were killed as they shielded two pizza delivery workers.
Vile
But one twisted nut even posted a picture of a pizza shaped like a gun and made a string of vile ‘gags’ about the atrocity.
And a fan — with the username McFly — posted the message: “Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently they are making a killing.”
Another sicko added: “It was goodfellas that delivered instead.”
But the insults angered fellow fans on the site. One wrote: “Pretty childish, and exactly what people who dislike Celtic in Ireland point toward when they are slagging the club... somewhat embarrassing actually.”
Last night Army chiefs said they were “saddened” by the slurs.
A spokesman said: “We are extremely saddened that anyone would take the killing of two young men so lightly as to make fun of the incident on the internet.
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“This is not a matter to be laughed about. I’m sure those who are making these jokes would not find it so funny had their own loved ones been hurt or killed.”
Celtic also hit out at the yobs. A spokesman said: “We utterly condemn violence and sectarianism in any form.”
No one from the Huddleboard was available for comment.
Celtic fan posed online as 18 year-old to get young girls to strip on webcam
http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/Published Date: 10 March 2009
A MIDDLE-AGED man posed as a teenage boy to lure young girls into internet friendships before begging them to strip in front of a webcam.
Paul Quinn, 41, managed to convince one 15-year-old to take her clothes off and begged another aged 16 to do the same.
Although the girls had never seen him, one was able to identify him by a Celtic FC tattoo he boasted about.
And when police raided his Midlothian home they found a huge haul of child pornography on his computers – including video clips saved from the girls' webcams.
Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court Quinn admitted possession of indecent photographs of children.
He also admitted making indecent pictures as well as two charges relating to pestering the two youngsters.
Fiscal depute Melanie Ward told the court how Quinn signed up to a social networking website and designed a fake profile for himself in September 2007.
She said he claimed his name was Paul Wilson and that he was aged just 18 years old.
Under this bogus identity he struck-up friendships with teenage girls before asking them to strip in front of webcams.
Miss Ward said: "On a number of occasions he asked her to remove her clothing.
"He did not show her who he was and having been repeatedly asked to do so, although she was very uncomfortable she did on one occasion do it (strip)."
Disturbed, the young girl came forward to police after becoming concerned at the demands he was making of her.
Although Quinn had never told the girl his real name or his age, Miss Ward said the youngster had learned certain information about him which helped police to identify him.
She said this included a Celtic tattoo on his arm.
Miss Ward said police were able to trace Quinn and in November last year they raided his Windsor Square home in Penicuik.
A total of four hard drives were seized and examined and officers found 553 still images of children aged between six and 10 years old, as well as 85 video clips.
Some of the files recovered were rated at the highest level on the scale police use to measure depravity.
And some of the clips turned out to be his internet encounters with youngsters.
Miss Ward added: "Some of the items were in fact created by him through his webcam and these are him having direct contact with persons under the age of 16."
His solicitor, Nigel Bruce, said his client was not "grooming" the girls and did not intend to meet them.
He added that Quinn, who was previously jailed over similar offences, insists he has a "problem" that needs to be dealt with.
Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie QC deferred sentence for background reports and Quinn will return to court next month.
Quinn was placed on the sex offenders register and held in custody after no application for bail was made.
A MIDDLE-AGED man posed as a teenage boy to lure young girls into internet friendships before begging them to strip in front of a webcam.
Paul Quinn, 41, managed to convince one 15-year-old to take her clothes off and begged another aged 16 to do the same.
Although the girls had never seen him, one was able to identify him by a Celtic FC tattoo he boasted about.
And when police raided his Midlothian home they found a huge haul of child pornography on his computers – including video clips saved from the girls' webcams.
Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court Quinn admitted possession of indecent photographs of children.
He also admitted making indecent pictures as well as two charges relating to pestering the two youngsters.
Fiscal depute Melanie Ward told the court how Quinn signed up to a social networking website and designed a fake profile for himself in September 2007.
She said he claimed his name was Paul Wilson and that he was aged just 18 years old.
Under this bogus identity he struck-up friendships with teenage girls before asking them to strip in front of webcams.
Miss Ward said: "On a number of occasions he asked her to remove her clothing.
"He did not show her who he was and having been repeatedly asked to do so, although she was very uncomfortable she did on one occasion do it (strip)."
Disturbed, the young girl came forward to police after becoming concerned at the demands he was making of her.
Although Quinn had never told the girl his real name or his age, Miss Ward said the youngster had learned certain information about him which helped police to identify him.
She said this included a Celtic tattoo on his arm.
Miss Ward said police were able to trace Quinn and in November last year they raided his Windsor Square home in Penicuik.
A total of four hard drives were seized and examined and officers found 553 still images of children aged between six and 10 years old, as well as 85 video clips.
Some of the files recovered were rated at the highest level on the scale police use to measure depravity.
And some of the clips turned out to be his internet encounters with youngsters.
Miss Ward added: "Some of the items were in fact created by him through his webcam and these are him having direct contact with persons under the age of 16."
His solicitor, Nigel Bruce, said his client was not "grooming" the girls and did not intend to meet them.
He added that Quinn, who was previously jailed over similar offences, insists he has a "problem" that needs to be dealt with.
Sheriff Elizabeth Jarvie QC deferred sentence for background reports and Quinn will return to court next month.
Quinn was placed on the sex offenders register and held in custody after no application for bail was made.
MP question Celtic fans' IRA chanting
Is pro-IRA chanting a taboo subject for authorities? asks Spratt
South Belfast DUP MLA Jimmy Spratt has expressed his disappointment at the response from SPL Chairman Lex Gold to concerns he had about sectarian chants at a recent Celtic game and is now raising the matter with Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond. During a game on 2 November, several instances of sectarian chanting could be heard emanating from the Glasgow Celtic support. Commenting, Mr Spratt said:
"Having heard several pro-IRA chants from Glasgow Celtic supporters during live TV coverage of their teams recent game versus Hearts, I wrote to the Chairman of the SPL, Lex Gold, outlining my disgust at what I had heard and asking what specific action he intended to take to address pro-IRA chanting.
Having received his response, I must say I am considerably underwhelmed at how the SPL intend to deal with this specific example of sectarianism in football. While I appreciate that the SPL have certain rules designed to address unacceptable conduct, and welcome that being the case, the fact that Mr. Gold chooses to shy away from dealing with this specific matter of pro-IRA chanting is regrettable.
In recent weeks much has been made in the media and by the authorities surrounding the so called ‘Famine Song’. Surely the media and authorities should be making specific reference to pro-IRA chanting, as in essence it is the glorification of a terrorist organisation who murdered over 1800 people in the course of a campaign which had sectarianism at its very core. By refraining from doing so, certain sections of the media, and authorities, only deepen the suspicion held by many that pro-IRA chanting by Celtic supporters is a taboo subject to which a blind eye is repeatedly turned.
I condemn any form of sectarian singing, regardless of who it emanates from. What is clear though is that there is a continuing problem with sectarianism among Glasgow Celtic supporters who glorify the IRA through chants and songs.
Due to the seriousness of the problem I have pressed Mr Gold to outline specific action he intends to take to highlight this particular problem, and have again raised it with the Scottish First Minister Alec Salmond. It is times for real action on this matter and I would urge those in positions of authority to make clear it will not be tolerated."
South Belfast DUP MLA Jimmy Spratt has expressed his disappointment at the response from SPL Chairman Lex Gold to concerns he had about sectarian chants at a recent Celtic game and is now raising the matter with Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond. During a game on 2 November, several instances of sectarian chanting could be heard emanating from the Glasgow Celtic support. Commenting, Mr Spratt said:
"Having heard several pro-IRA chants from Glasgow Celtic supporters during live TV coverage of their teams recent game versus Hearts, I wrote to the Chairman of the SPL, Lex Gold, outlining my disgust at what I had heard and asking what specific action he intended to take to address pro-IRA chanting.
Having received his response, I must say I am considerably underwhelmed at how the SPL intend to deal with this specific example of sectarianism in football. While I appreciate that the SPL have certain rules designed to address unacceptable conduct, and welcome that being the case, the fact that Mr. Gold chooses to shy away from dealing with this specific matter of pro-IRA chanting is regrettable.
In recent weeks much has been made in the media and by the authorities surrounding the so called ‘Famine Song’. Surely the media and authorities should be making specific reference to pro-IRA chanting, as in essence it is the glorification of a terrorist organisation who murdered over 1800 people in the course of a campaign which had sectarianism at its very core. By refraining from doing so, certain sections of the media, and authorities, only deepen the suspicion held by many that pro-IRA chanting by Celtic supporters is a taboo subject to which a blind eye is repeatedly turned.
I condemn any form of sectarian singing, regardless of who it emanates from. What is clear though is that there is a continuing problem with sectarianism among Glasgow Celtic supporters who glorify the IRA through chants and songs.
Due to the seriousness of the problem I have pressed Mr Gold to outline specific action he intends to take to highlight this particular problem, and have again raised it with the Scottish First Minister Alec Salmond. It is times for real action on this matter and I would urge those in positions of authority to make clear it will not be tolerated."
Celtic pitch invader gets jail term and ban
The Scotsman
Published Date: 22 November 2008
By CLARE BAILLIE
A TEENAGE pitch invader who disrupted play during Celtic's Champions League match against Manchester United has been jailed for six months.
John Murphy, 18, was also banned from national and international football matches for five years, one of the longest such orders imposed in Scotland.
Play had to be stopped during the first half when Murphy, from Glasgow, went on to the pitch during the clash at Celtic Park on 5 November.
Murphy, a Celtic fan, admitted breaching the peace and being drunk in a sports ground when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier this month.
Last Thursday, Celtic were fined £42,430 by Uefa for the invasion and for the late start to the game, which ended 1-1.
Sentencing Murphy yesterday, Sheriff Linda Ruxton branded his behaviour "dangerous and irresponsible".
She said: "You interrupted a high-profile match and created a situation which might easily have provoked serious public disorder.
"Furthermore, you brought Scottish football generally and Celtic Football Club in particular into disrepute and your behaviour caused the club to be fined a substantial amount."
Defence agent Eddie Robertson said his client had been given a ticket to the match by a friend and was not a Celtic season ticket holder.
He said Murphy had been drinking since about 11am on the day of the game and could not remember anything of the incident. He said his client had written to Celtic Football Club to apologise for his behaviour.
Published Date: 22 November 2008
By CLARE BAILLIE
A TEENAGE pitch invader who disrupted play during Celtic's Champions League match against Manchester United has been jailed for six months.
John Murphy, 18, was also banned from national and international football matches for five years, one of the longest such orders imposed in Scotland.
Play had to be stopped during the first half when Murphy, from Glasgow, went on to the pitch during the clash at Celtic Park on 5 November.
Murphy, a Celtic fan, admitted breaching the peace and being drunk in a sports ground when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier this month.
Last Thursday, Celtic were fined £42,430 by Uefa for the invasion and for the late start to the game, which ended 1-1.
Sentencing Murphy yesterday, Sheriff Linda Ruxton branded his behaviour "dangerous and irresponsible".
She said: "You interrupted a high-profile match and created a situation which might easily have provoked serious public disorder.
"Furthermore, you brought Scottish football generally and Celtic Football Club in particular into disrepute and your behaviour caused the club to be fined a substantial amount."
Defence agent Eddie Robertson said his client had been given a ticket to the match by a friend and was not a Celtic season ticket holder.
He said Murphy had been drinking since about 11am on the day of the game and could not remember anything of the incident. He said his client had written to Celtic Football Club to apologise for his behaviour.
Celtic fans in mass brawl
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/7746524.stm
Men banned after football fight
Aberdeen Sheriff Court
The fight after the game landed the men in court
Four men involved in a mass brawl after a televised match between Aberdeen and Celtic have been banned from football grounds for a total of seven years.
Hugh Fraser, Kevin Allan, Grant Molloy and Stephen Rodgers were involved in a fight outside Aberdeen's Gordon Hotel.
Fraser, of Stonehaven, Allan, of Cambuslang, Molloy, of Yoker, and Rodgers, of Bathgate, admitted breach of the peace.
They also received community service orders at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Celtic supporters Fraser, 21, Allan, 22, and Molloy, 21, were each banned from games for two years and given 180 hours of community service after the incident involving dozens of rival fans outside the hotel in Wellington Road in February last year.
'Blackened name'
Rodgers, 22, was banned for one year and given 140 hours of community service.
Sheriff David Hall told them: "Your behaviour was nothing short of disgraceful.
"The public are rightfully concerned with regards to groups of males such as yourselves causing public disorder.
"You all purport to be supporters of Glasgow Celtic Football Club, clearly this event blackened their name."
A fifth man who admitted breach of the peace, Alexander Holland, 24, of Hamilton, had his sentence deferred until December.
Aberdeen lost the game 2-1 to Celtic at Pittodrie.
Men banned after football fight
Aberdeen Sheriff Court
The fight after the game landed the men in court
Four men involved in a mass brawl after a televised match between Aberdeen and Celtic have been banned from football grounds for a total of seven years.
Hugh Fraser, Kevin Allan, Grant Molloy and Stephen Rodgers were involved in a fight outside Aberdeen's Gordon Hotel.
Fraser, of Stonehaven, Allan, of Cambuslang, Molloy, of Yoker, and Rodgers, of Bathgate, admitted breach of the peace.
They also received community service orders at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Celtic supporters Fraser, 21, Allan, 22, and Molloy, 21, were each banned from games for two years and given 180 hours of community service after the incident involving dozens of rival fans outside the hotel in Wellington Road in February last year.
'Blackened name'
Rodgers, 22, was banned for one year and given 140 hours of community service.
Sheriff David Hall told them: "Your behaviour was nothing short of disgraceful.
"The public are rightfully concerned with regards to groups of males such as yourselves causing public disorder.
"You all purport to be supporters of Glasgow Celtic Football Club, clearly this event blackened their name."
A fifth man who admitted breach of the peace, Alexander Holland, 24, of Hamilton, had his sentence deferred until December.
Aberdeen lost the game 2-1 to Celtic at Pittodrie.
Celtic fan was IRA terrorist
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/article2116482.ece
By OLIVER HARVEY
Chief Feature Writer, in Dublin
Published: 10 Jan 2009
WITH her woolly Celtic FC hat pulled down over her greying hair, Rose Dugdale seems typical of the pensioners braving the cold on her drab Dublin housing estate.
It is only when the elderly mother’s voice slips into an upper-class English accent that she reveals another life lived.
For the 67-year-old in the scruffy jacket and combat trousers is English heiress Dr Bridget Rose Dugdale — who became an IRA terrorist, art heist mastermind and the world’s most wanted woman.
When The Sun tracked down the former debutante to her modest, pebble-dashed Dublin semi, the one-time Provo bandit queen snapped in a posh accent: “Clear off, right. I’m not answering questions.”
It is hardly surprising the woman her neighbours know simply as Rose declined to talk about the past. It was 35 years ago this April the millionaire’s daughter and her IRA pals were behind the biggest art heist the world had ever seen.
The four-strong gang pistol-whipped Sir Alfred Beit at his stately home 20 miles south of Dublin and made off with 19 Old Masters then worth £8million.
With her Provo lover Eddie Gallagher, Dugdale also hijacked a helicopter and dropped bombs in milk churns as it hovered over a police station in Northern Ireland. They failed to go off.
Her journey from English society rose to Irish fighting rebel was the ultimate act of revolt for a daughter of The Establishment.
Dugdale was brought up on a rambling country estate, went to finishing school and as a debutante was “presented” to the Queen.
Yet on April 26, 1974, the pampered rich girl who once had a governess and a trust fund became the world’s most wanted fugitive. It was a warm spring night and about 9.30pm when Dugdale knocked on the door of Russborough House, County Wicklow, home of diamond magnate Sir Alfred Beit.
Adopting a French accent and in a black wig and make-up, she said her silver Ford Cortina had broken down. Seconds later she was joined by three men brandishing revolvers.
Beit was hit on his head with a gun and he and wife Clementine were tied up with stockings in the library. The gang stole historic paintings by Gainsborough, Rubens, Goya and Vermeer.
The first member of the Irish police force, or Gardai, at the scene was young Sergeant Sean Feeley.
Now 64, he exclusively told The Sun: “Dugdale was in charge, telling the gang which pictures to take. She pointed up at the walls and said, ‘That one, that one’. She had been in the house before as a guest.
“Sir Alfred was the first person I met. He had blood streaming out of the back of his head where he had been hit by a gun.”
Sean said the Provos had welcomed Dugdale despite her Establishment background after she proved herself a daring operator.
He added: “Despite being an English heiress, the IRA took her on board. Four weeks earlier she had taken part in a bombing from a helicopter.” The art thieves demanded the release of sisters Dolours and Marian Price, jailed for their part in an IRA bombing, plus £500,000 in exchange for their haul.
After eight days a massive hunt led the Gardai to a rented cottage in Glandore, County Cork, where they found Dugdale — and the paintings.
She was arrested, charged and later sentenced to nine years jail after pleading “proudly and incorruptibly guilty” in court.
She also got a nine-year concurrent sentence for helping to hijack the helicopter for the police station raid.
Dugdale was pregnant with her terrorist lover Gallagher’s child. He and accomplice Marian Coyle kidnapped Dutch industrialist Dr Tiede Herrema and demanded the release of Dugdale and two other terrorists.
The kidnappers were traced to a house in Monasterevin, County Kildare, and a two-week siege began.
Gallagher — who had held a gun to Herrema’s head — finally gave himself up and was sentenced to 20 years. On January 24, 1978 Dugdale and Gallagher were married in the chapel of Limerick Prison as three-year-old son Ruairi looked on. The newlyweds were allowed a five-hour honeymoon inside one of the cells before the groom was returned to the maximum-security prison at Portlaoise, 60 miles away.
Dugdale was released in 1980 after serving six years of her sentence.
Gallagher left prison in 1990 but after 14 years inside their relationship didn’t survive.
Today the ex-kidnapper runs a hostel and stables in his hometown of Ballybofey, County Donegal.
A police source told The Sun: “The last we heard the couple’s son Ruairi was in Holland.”
Dugdale’s crime spree was a world away from the privilege of her upper-class upbringing.
Born in 1941, her father Lieutenant Colonel Eric Dugdale ran a successful syndicate at insurers Lloyd’s. Her mother Caroline came from a wealthy family who made their money in cotton. The family home — Dugdale had an older sister and younger brother — was a 600-acre farm near Axminster, Devon. They also owned a Georgian townhouse in London’s Chelsea where Dugdale was looked after by a French governess.
Dugdale admits her childhood was “very, very happy”. School was Miss Ironside’s — a private academy for ladies in London. Later she attended finishing school in Europe.
In 1958 she was one of the last of the debutantes — where upper-class girls were “presented” to the Queen before being launched into the four-month “season” of glittering balls in the hope of snaring a rich husband.
The lavish season cost today’s equivalent of £120,000 and provoked rebellion from Dugdale.
She later described her coming out ball as “one of those pornographic affairs which cost what 60 old-age pensioners receive in six months”.
A picture from that time at St Anne’s College, Oxford University, shows an attractive woman, her styled blonde hair tucked under her mortar board, with piercing eyes and a gleaming smile.
She later became a Doctor of Philosophy after studying in the US and London University and became a government economist. In 1972 she met ex Guardsman and petty criminal Wally Heaton, who described himself as a “revolutionary socialist”. The two made frequent trips together to Northern Ireland, to march in political demonstrations.
Dugdale had finally found her cause. She knew that on the night of June 6, 1973, her parents would be away from their Devon estate.
With Heaton she stole paintings and antiques worth £82,000.
She was caught and got a two-year suspended sentence. At her trial Dugdale told her father: “I love you, daddy, but I hate everything you stand for.”
Today she lives in a two-bedroom semi and drives a 15-year-old Toyota.
Neighbour William Rothwell, 76, said last night: “Of course we know who she is but we don’t exactly ask her how the art world is doing. She’s very friendly and well-liked.”
Dugdale is involved with Dublin Community Television and her enthusiasm for the Irish Republican cause seems undimmed.
Speaking to back a motion at a 2007 Sinn Fein conference she said with a slip of the tongue: “I’m here in support of the revolution — I mean the resolution.”
Stomping round yesterday in her thick-soled boots, it seems the renegade debutante is still rebelling.
Celtic fan in the dock for armed robbery
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1048430?UserKey=
By Jamie Buchan
Press & Journal
Published: 27/01/2009
A Celtic fan accused of trying to rob a north-east grocery store with a knife claimed he was at home that night watching his team on TV, a trial heard yesterday.
Steven Cassie described the match to police, telling them Celtic had won 1-0 and even named the scorer but detectives told him that Rangers, not Celtic, had been playing that night.
Cassie, 27, of 7 Arisaig Drive, Fraserburgh, is accused of attempting to rob the Spar in the town’s St Modan’s Place on January 31 last year.
He denies the charge at Peterhead Sheriff Court.
A jury of nine women and six men heard that Cassie told police he had mostly spent the night of the alleged crime at the house he shared with Christopher Slater.
Giving evidence on day two of the trial, Sergeant David Crowther, of Grampian Police, said Cassie was “adamant” during an interview that he had been watching Celtic.
Cassie also told the former detective constable that he had left the house at about 6.30pm to visit his mother, Gloria Dimmock. When police called her to check, she said it was after 9pm before he came.
The jury heard that at about 8.40pm, a man wearing a hood and hiding his face with a scarf, walked into the Spar and demanded money from a shop assistant.
One employee told the court she thought the would-be robber was tanned and possibly Asian or Chinese.
Sgt Crowther said that on the store’s CCTV, the raider could be seen wearing a light, checked shirt under a blue sports jacket. He said police found a similar shirt at Cassie’s home, but no jacket.
They also seized six knives in a kitchen cutlery drawer, but witnesses in the shop said they could not identify any of them as the one that was used by the masked man.
Cassie’s housemate, Mr Slater, initially told police that he had stayed at home with Cassie that night. When police told him he had been spotted in a lane near the shop that evening, he admitted he was there with Cassie.
He told police that Cassie had been planning to rob a drug dealer, but the dealer never showed up. He then went home, leaving Cassie standing in the lane.
In the witness box yesterday, Mr Slater, 39, said he could only “vaguely remember” the police interview. He said his memory had been hampered by a drink and drug problem. Asked if he lied to police, he told fiscal depute Felicity Primrose: “I might have done. I would have sold my soul to get out of the police station.”
After being shown film of the interview, when he told police Cassie was going to rob the drug dealer “because that’s the kind of guy he is”, Mr Slater said: “I’m shocked and sickened by that answer. Who am I to say that about anybody?”
The trial, before Sheriff Marysia Lewis, continues.
By Jamie Buchan
Press & Journal
Published: 27/01/2009
A Celtic fan accused of trying to rob a north-east grocery store with a knife claimed he was at home that night watching his team on TV, a trial heard yesterday.
Steven Cassie described the match to police, telling them Celtic had won 1-0 and even named the scorer but detectives told him that Rangers, not Celtic, had been playing that night.
Cassie, 27, of 7 Arisaig Drive, Fraserburgh, is accused of attempting to rob the Spar in the town’s St Modan’s Place on January 31 last year.
He denies the charge at Peterhead Sheriff Court.
A jury of nine women and six men heard that Cassie told police he had mostly spent the night of the alleged crime at the house he shared with Christopher Slater.
Giving evidence on day two of the trial, Sergeant David Crowther, of Grampian Police, said Cassie was “adamant” during an interview that he had been watching Celtic.
Cassie also told the former detective constable that he had left the house at about 6.30pm to visit his mother, Gloria Dimmock. When police called her to check, she said it was after 9pm before he came.
The jury heard that at about 8.40pm, a man wearing a hood and hiding his face with a scarf, walked into the Spar and demanded money from a shop assistant.
One employee told the court she thought the would-be robber was tanned and possibly Asian or Chinese.
Sgt Crowther said that on the store’s CCTV, the raider could be seen wearing a light, checked shirt under a blue sports jacket. He said police found a similar shirt at Cassie’s home, but no jacket.
They also seized six knives in a kitchen cutlery drawer, but witnesses in the shop said they could not identify any of them as the one that was used by the masked man.
Cassie’s housemate, Mr Slater, initially told police that he had stayed at home with Cassie that night. When police told him he had been spotted in a lane near the shop that evening, he admitted he was there with Cassie.
He told police that Cassie had been planning to rob a drug dealer, but the dealer never showed up. He then went home, leaving Cassie standing in the lane.
In the witness box yesterday, Mr Slater, 39, said he could only “vaguely remember” the police interview. He said his memory had been hampered by a drink and drug problem. Asked if he lied to police, he told fiscal depute Felicity Primrose: “I might have done. I would have sold my soul to get out of the police station.”
After being shown film of the interview, when he told police Cassie was going to rob the drug dealer “because that’s the kind of guy he is”, Mr Slater said: “I’m shocked and sickened by that answer. Who am I to say that about anybody?”
The trial, before Sheriff Marysia Lewis, continues.
Celtic fan jailed for drug smuggling
In February Celtic fan McAdam, 41 – on bail pending the outcome of his appeal against conviction – begged judges to give him his passport back so that he could follow his team to Barcelona for a crucial Champions League match.
His request was turned down.
A BUSINESSMAN who helped smuggle a multi-million pound consignment of cocaine into Scotland had his jail sentence cut by two years – because he has faced years of worry in prison.
James Mair, 43, from Cumnock ran a transport business which played a key part in the plan to import half a tonne of the drug, with a street value of £24.7 million.
But defence QC Gordon Jackson told appeal judges in Edinburgh that Mair was “just a courier” and that his 18 year jail term was too long.
“I am not suggesting it is not a serious thing to be,” he said.
He went on: “But he is not the person who has control, the main drug dealer.”
Lord Clarke, sitting with Lord Penrose, disagreed.
But the judges also heard that Mair’s appeal had been held up because another man – also jailed for 18 years – is still trying to challenge his conviction.
Mair had faced many years of uncertainty, said Mr Jackson.
The judges agreed and cut Mair’s sentence to 16 years because of the “very significant time” he had waited to discover what his jail term would be.
The trial in 2003 heard that the cocaine was hidden in bales of raw rubber shipped from Panama and backed by bogus faxes to account for the importation, using the name of Mair’s company.
Customs officers, suspicious because of the unusual nature of the cargo, discovered the cocaine, swapped it for sand, then followed the consignment before making arrests.
Mair and William Grant from Bothwell, Lanarkshire, were jailed for 18 years.
Two accomplices who played lesser roles were also jailed.
David Frew from Kilmarnock was sentenced to 12 years and Sean McAdam, also from Kilmarnock, was jailed for 10 years.
His request was turned down.
A BUSINESSMAN who helped smuggle a multi-million pound consignment of cocaine into Scotland had his jail sentence cut by two years – because he has faced years of worry in prison.
James Mair, 43, from Cumnock ran a transport business which played a key part in the plan to import half a tonne of the drug, with a street value of £24.7 million.
But defence QC Gordon Jackson told appeal judges in Edinburgh that Mair was “just a courier” and that his 18 year jail term was too long.
“I am not suggesting it is not a serious thing to be,” he said.
He went on: “But he is not the person who has control, the main drug dealer.”
Lord Clarke, sitting with Lord Penrose, disagreed.
But the judges also heard that Mair’s appeal had been held up because another man – also jailed for 18 years – is still trying to challenge his conviction.
Mair had faced many years of uncertainty, said Mr Jackson.
The judges agreed and cut Mair’s sentence to 16 years because of the “very significant time” he had waited to discover what his jail term would be.
The trial in 2003 heard that the cocaine was hidden in bales of raw rubber shipped from Panama and backed by bogus faxes to account for the importation, using the name of Mair’s company.
Customs officers, suspicious because of the unusual nature of the cargo, discovered the cocaine, swapped it for sand, then followed the consignment before making arrests.
Mair and William Grant from Bothwell, Lanarkshire, were jailed for 18 years.
Two accomplices who played lesser roles were also jailed.
David Frew from Kilmarnock was sentenced to 12 years and Sean McAdam, also from Kilmarnock, was jailed for 10 years.
Footballer attacked by Celtic fans
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/4627244.stm
Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands claims he has been attacked twice by Celtic supporters.
The Dane, who is out of contract in the summer, also revealed that he now refuses to go out in Glasgow alone.
Lovenkrands, who has scored 10 goals in eight games, told The Sun: "I've twice been hit by Celtic fans when going out having fun.
"If I want to go out, I never go alone. Most of the time I have one of my Scottish friends, Matt, with me."
Lovenkrands says he will only go out in public with his "minder" by his side.
"He is my Scottish shadow and he's helped me with good advice about where to go and not to go at certain times," he said.
Lovenkrands is currently considering his future at Rangers, with clubs in England and the Continent showing interest.
Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands claims he has been attacked twice by Celtic supporters.
The Dane, who is out of contract in the summer, also revealed that he now refuses to go out in Glasgow alone.
Lovenkrands, who has scored 10 goals in eight games, told The Sun: "I've twice been hit by Celtic fans when going out having fun.
"If I want to go out, I never go alone. Most of the time I have one of my Scottish friends, Matt, with me."
Lovenkrands says he will only go out in public with his "minder" by his side.
"He is my Scottish shadow and he's helped me with good advice about where to go and not to go at certain times," he said.
Lovenkrands is currently considering his future at Rangers, with clubs in England and the Continent showing interest.
Introducing Celtic Chairman John Reid
John Reid - Sex Pest!! But hey let's blame the drink.
REID 'THE SEX PEST'
By Bob Roberts Deputy Political Editor Bob.Roberts@Mirror.Co.Uk
The Mirror
14/05/2007
Claim he badgered young MP
HOME Secretary John Reid pestered a Labour minister for sex, it was claimed yesterday.
He twice drunkenly propositioned Dawn Primarolo, 52, when she was a young MP, it was reported.
Both times she rejected him but did not report him to Labour's leadership.
An ally of Mr Reid's said yesterday:
"The John of years ago is a very different man to now. When you drink you hurt lots of people."
A spokesman for Treasury Minister Primarolo said: "She is recovering from surgery and can't comment."
According to a newspaper, the first incident allegedly happened during an All-Party trip to Germany in 1989. A source claimed Mr Reid phoned the bar "and invited Ms Primarolo to his room. She said, 'Why would I want to go?'
"He replied, 'You are grown-up. I'm waiting for you.' She said, 'I'm disgusted' and banged down the phone."
A second incident is said to have occurred in 1994, before he gave up drink. A witness said: "John lurched up and said to Dawn, 'I want sex, I want to f*** you, you want it as well'."
MP Jean Corston told friends she informed then Labour leader John Smith.
Mr Reid was said to have given him an envelope with his resignation and said if he misbehaved again, he should open it.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/tm_headline=reid--the-sex-pest-&method=full&objectid=19098434&siteid=89520-name_page.html
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The day leadership rival John Reid propositioned the young Brown ally Dawn Primarolo - and never drank again
By SIMON WALTERS
Daily Mail
Last updated at 20:54 13 May 2007
Dawn Primarolo was 'distressed' by filthy John Reid
John Reid's surprise decision last week to scrap his plans to challenge Gordon Brown prompted a welter of speculation in Westminster.
Just days before, as bruiser Mr Reid was positioning himself to take on the Chancellor, his enemies in the Labour Party were queueing up to reveal why they considered him a liability.
Their accounts centred on drink-fuelled indecent proposals he allegedly made to one of Mr Brown's closest allies, Treasury Minister Dawn Primarolo.
And the claims are thought to have been one of the reasons Mr Reid pulled out of the Labour leadership contest and announced he is to resign as Home Secretary when Tony Blair steps down next month.
Mr Reid is said to have asked Ms Primarolo to go to bed with him during a Parliamentary trip to Berlin when he phoned her at a hotel bar from his room.
And later at a bar in the Commons he is alleged to have told her: "I want sex with you" and "You want it too."
Both times, an outraged Ms Primarolo, who is married to union official Ian Ducat, told Mr Reid to stop pestering her.
Mr Reid declined to comment yesterday and a spokesman for Ms Primarolo said: "She is recovering from major surgery and is not in a position to comment on this or any other issue."
The first of Mr Reid's obscene proposals - both of which are thought to have been made when he had been drinking - happened during an All-Party Defence Study Group visit to Germany shortly after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
At the time Mr Reid was married to his childhood sweetheart Cathie, who died in 1998. Ms Primarolo was 35 and had been in the Commons for only 18 months.
A Labour source said: "We had all been out to dinner at an Army officers' mess. We were in the bar. The phone was near and the barman said 'It's for Ms Primarolo.'
"It was John. He invited her up to his room. She said: 'Why on earth would I want to go to your room?'
"He said, 'I think you are grown-up enough to know what for. I'm waiting for you, the door is open.'
"She said 'I am absolutely disgusted' and banged down the phone.
"She thought it was Ian - whom she married shortly after the Berlin trip ringing her. She blew him off the phone and said 'How dare you speak to me like that.'"
Ms Primarolo told friends it was not the first time Mr Reid had "pestered" her.
But she refused to complain to Party chiefs, insisting she could "handle" him and had told him to leave her alone.
The second incident, shortly before the death of then Labour leader John Smith in 1994, when Mr Reid was Shadow Defence Secretary, was witnessed by several people.
One said: "John came lurching up and said to Dawn 'I want to have sex with you, I want to fuck you, you want it as well."
Ms Primarolo's friend and neighbouring Bristol Labour MP Jean Corston intervened and, according to a source, told Mr Reid:
"You are a disgusting creature. Get away from her," adding: "That's it, I'm going to report him."
Ms Corston, who is now a Baroness, told colleagues she raised the matter with John Smith, commenting: "It won't be happening again."
One Labour insider said: "Dawn was on the verge of tears. She said Reid had been harassing her over a period of years and had propositioned her in the bar. It was very painful for her."
When Mr Reid was summoned by the Labour leader, he gave Mr Smith a sealed envelope containing his resignation and told him that if he misbehaved again, Mr Smith should open it.
Mr Reid was true to his word, gave up alcohol overnight and rose fast through the Labour ranks.
He has since spoken of his battle with the bottle, saying: "I didn't have a problem with alcohol, I loved it. I decided the best thing I could do was not to drink.
"The best way for me to make sure that circumstances would never arise is just to stop something completely. I'm a hundred per cent guy."
The Labour-supporting Guardian newspaper said last year that in his younger days Mr Reid was a 'huge womaniser' who regularly went 'partying with a succession of girls until 4am, returning to his wife at dawn."
It added: "Drunk one day in the Commons he tried to force his way on to the floor to vote. When an attendant stepped forward to stop him, he threw a punch."
Mr Reid married his second wife, Brazilian film-maker Carine Adler in 2002, three years after introducing himself at a party with the words: "I've been admiring your arse."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-454473/The-day-leadership-rival-John-Reid-propositioned-young-Brown-ally-Dawn-Primarolo--drank-again.html
Celtic supporter gets jailed for 3 1/2 years for sectarian attack
http://www.clydebankpost.co.uk/articles/1/33639
A Celtic supporter tried to stamp a Rangers fan’s “brains out” over a throw-away comment made after an Old Firm clash.
Brazen thug Robert Murray, 22, pursued two Rangers supporters onto Singer train station before brutally attacking one of them in front of horrified passengers, in the wake of a Celtic defeat.
Witnesses pleaded for Murray — who was wearing a Celtic top — to stop his sustained attack.
Murray’s co-accused, Neil Crombie, 23, had his plea of not guilty to assault accepted by the Crown at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Paul Ayre, fiscal depute, said: “The Old Firm game [had been] on and [the victim] was in the area around the town centre having travelled from a friend’s house where they watched the game.
“Neither the victim or his friend displayed football colours — both had consumed alcohol and [the victim] was heavily under the influence.
“At 6.40pm, as they were approaching Singer railway station, they noted a group of youths hanging around the bus shelter and as they passed them one of them punched [the victim].
“They had enough wits to get away and made their way into the railway station.”
The friends darted across the railway tracks to try and escape the mob as a train approached the west-bound platform, but Murray and two others crossed the footbridge and cut them off and attacked. When the train pulled in the two Rangers fans got on board.
Mr Ayre continued: “Eventually [Murray] managed to get on and he punched [the victim] who fell to the ground.
“All witnesses then say he started stamping on the head of [the victim] — some said [the blows] landed on the head or body.”
Murray then jumped off the train at Singer and it pulled out of the station.
An off-duty nurse attended to the unconscious victim and an ambulance was called to Dalmuir station.
Mr Ayre added: “It was more luck than anything else that [the victim] did not suffer any fractures, just bruising.”
Murray admitted assault to injury on the train at Singer station on August 31 last year.
Tom Maguire, defending, said “The [victim] and his friend were not known to [Murray].
“They passed by — it is accepted they were much the worse for drink — and they passed comment which Murray’s group took as an insult.
“As Murray went over the footbridge the complainer came to him and encountered him on the stairs — they went to the train and he has regrettably pursued him.”
Sentencing, Sheriff Simon Fraser said; “I’m not going to waste words on you Murray.
“You have an appalling record going back six years — possessing a knife, assault, assaulting police, assault with a knife — countless assaults.
“Now you try and stamp someone’s brains out.”
As Murray stood grinning, Sheriff Fraser continued: “You’re just thug and you’re going to be treated like a thug.”
Murray, currently in Greenock prison, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, to commence once his current jail for a separate offence — term has ended.
A Celtic supporter tried to stamp a Rangers fan’s “brains out” over a throw-away comment made after an Old Firm clash.
Brazen thug Robert Murray, 22, pursued two Rangers supporters onto Singer train station before brutally attacking one of them in front of horrified passengers, in the wake of a Celtic defeat.
Witnesses pleaded for Murray — who was wearing a Celtic top — to stop his sustained attack.
Murray’s co-accused, Neil Crombie, 23, had his plea of not guilty to assault accepted by the Crown at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Paul Ayre, fiscal depute, said: “The Old Firm game [had been] on and [the victim] was in the area around the town centre having travelled from a friend’s house where they watched the game.
“Neither the victim or his friend displayed football colours — both had consumed alcohol and [the victim] was heavily under the influence.
“At 6.40pm, as they were approaching Singer railway station, they noted a group of youths hanging around the bus shelter and as they passed them one of them punched [the victim].
“They had enough wits to get away and made their way into the railway station.”
The friends darted across the railway tracks to try and escape the mob as a train approached the west-bound platform, but Murray and two others crossed the footbridge and cut them off and attacked. When the train pulled in the two Rangers fans got on board.
Mr Ayre continued: “Eventually [Murray] managed to get on and he punched [the victim] who fell to the ground.
“All witnesses then say he started stamping on the head of [the victim] — some said [the blows] landed on the head or body.”
Murray then jumped off the train at Singer and it pulled out of the station.
An off-duty nurse attended to the unconscious victim and an ambulance was called to Dalmuir station.
Mr Ayre added: “It was more luck than anything else that [the victim] did not suffer any fractures, just bruising.”
Murray admitted assault to injury on the train at Singer station on August 31 last year.
Tom Maguire, defending, said “The [victim] and his friend were not known to [Murray].
“They passed by — it is accepted they were much the worse for drink — and they passed comment which Murray’s group took as an insult.
“As Murray went over the footbridge the complainer came to him and encountered him on the stairs — they went to the train and he has regrettably pursued him.”
Sentencing, Sheriff Simon Fraser said; “I’m not going to waste words on you Murray.
“You have an appalling record going back six years — possessing a knife, assault, assaulting police, assault with a knife — countless assaults.
“Now you try and stamp someone’s brains out.”
As Murray stood grinning, Sheriff Fraser continued: “You’re just thug and you’re going to be treated like a thug.”
Murray, currently in Greenock prison, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years, to commence once his current jail for a separate offence — term has ended.
Celtic fan faces jail for armed robbery
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/12/06/old-firm-plunge-fan-faces-jail-for-armed-robbery-86908-20949729/
Dec 6 2008 By Paul O'Hare
A CELTIC fan who plunged from the top tier of a stand during an Old Firm game is facing a lengthy jail term for a spate of armed robberies.
Alexander Rafferty, 42, admitted raiding five bookmakers in Glasgow, brandihing a claw hammer and a knife.
The thug, who has previous convictions for dishonesty and public disorder, was nailed by DNA left at the crime scenes.
Rafferty hit the headlines in May 1999 when he tumbled from the top tier of the Jock Stein Stand at Celtic Park.
Medics were amazed to find the dad-of-one was unhurt after the 40ft fall - apart from a broken nose.
On Tuesday, the High Court in Glasgow heard Rafferty targeted five bookmakers during a 16- day crime spree.
The pipe layer, of Cupar, Fife, admitted the raids which left staff traumatised.
The court heard that in two of the bookies, he smashed through security screens using the hammer.
Rafferty admitted robbing Ladbrokes in Queen Street, Glasgow, of £380 on May 2 this year.
On May 9, he raided William Hill's in Argyle Street, threatened to stab the cleaner with a knife and made off with £635.
Then on May 17, he attempted to rob Tote Bookmakers in Cambridge Street and William Hill's in Gordon Street, before raiding Ladbrokes in Union Street, all Glasgow, and making off with cash.
Judge Lord Hodge told Rafferty he was calling for background reports and an assessment of the risk he poses to the public.
Sentence was deferred until January at the High Court in Edinburgh and Rafferty was remanded in custody.
After his fall from the stand, Rafferty - known as Aco - achieved cult status among Celtic fans Some had the legend "Aco Cannae Fly" printed on their Hoops tops.
Rafferty claimed he left his seat to buy a pie but somehow tripped over his feet and tumbled over the barrier.
Millions of TV viewers saw him waving from his stretcher seconds after Rangers took a two-goal lead.
Speaking at the time, Rafferty said: "The first thing the medical people asked me was, 'Anything broken?' But I just said, 'Only my heart.'"
Rafferty was later banned for life by security bosses.
A source said: "Aco was always a bit of a headbanger. He was blind drunk when he fell.
"The ban had no effect on him whatsoever and he still followed Celtic, home and away."
Dec 6 2008 By Paul O'Hare
A CELTIC fan who plunged from the top tier of a stand during an Old Firm game is facing a lengthy jail term for a spate of armed robberies.
Alexander Rafferty, 42, admitted raiding five bookmakers in Glasgow, brandihing a claw hammer and a knife.
The thug, who has previous convictions for dishonesty and public disorder, was nailed by DNA left at the crime scenes.
Rafferty hit the headlines in May 1999 when he tumbled from the top tier of the Jock Stein Stand at Celtic Park.
Medics were amazed to find the dad-of-one was unhurt after the 40ft fall - apart from a broken nose.
On Tuesday, the High Court in Glasgow heard Rafferty targeted five bookmakers during a 16- day crime spree.
The pipe layer, of Cupar, Fife, admitted the raids which left staff traumatised.
The court heard that in two of the bookies, he smashed through security screens using the hammer.
Rafferty admitted robbing Ladbrokes in Queen Street, Glasgow, of £380 on May 2 this year.
On May 9, he raided William Hill's in Argyle Street, threatened to stab the cleaner with a knife and made off with £635.
Then on May 17, he attempted to rob Tote Bookmakers in Cambridge Street and William Hill's in Gordon Street, before raiding Ladbrokes in Union Street, all Glasgow, and making off with cash.
Judge Lord Hodge told Rafferty he was calling for background reports and an assessment of the risk he poses to the public.
Sentence was deferred until January at the High Court in Edinburgh and Rafferty was remanded in custody.
After his fall from the stand, Rafferty - known as Aco - achieved cult status among Celtic fans Some had the legend "Aco Cannae Fly" printed on their Hoops tops.
Rafferty claimed he left his seat to buy a pie but somehow tripped over his feet and tumbled over the barrier.
Millions of TV viewers saw him waving from his stretcher seconds after Rangers took a two-goal lead.
Speaking at the time, Rafferty said: "The first thing the medical people asked me was, 'Anything broken?' But I just said, 'Only my heart.'"
Rafferty was later banned for life by security bosses.
A source said: "Aco was always a bit of a headbanger. He was blind drunk when he fell.
"The ban had no effect on him whatsoever and he still followed Celtic, home and away."
Celtic goalkeeper attacks fellow player
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2214583.ece
The Sun
By ROBERT GRIEVE and ROGER HANNAH
07/02/2009
SunSport can reveal the Celtic stars had to be pulled apart by stunned team-mates in a sensational training ground barney.
McGeady clashed with the Holy Goalie on the pitch at the club’s Lennoxtown base on Thursday afternoon.
It looked like the fracas was sorted out after the pair screamed and bawled at each other.
However tempers boiled over again when McGeady and Boruc reached the dressing room.
And the Polish keeper lashed out at the winger, landing a blow to his left eye.
Gaffer Gordon Strachan confirmed an altercation took place, but tried to play it down.
And he revealed no action will be taken against either player.
Strachan laughed and said: “There was nothing untoward which we’ve not seen before on a football field or a training field.”
Both players trained together yesterday and are set to face Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup today.
Strachan added: “We’ve all shouted and screamed on a training field and that’ll not change.
“It’s only shouting and screaming and all the boys were absolutely fantastic this morning.
“I’ve seen loads of things happen on the training field and not been far away from the action a few times myself, don’t worry about that. I could always run, though.
“There won’t be any action taken against anyone. We’re all fine, we’re okay. Everyone was in good spirits this morning, smashing spirits.”
McGeady and Boruc have been no strangers to controversy this season.
In December McGeady was fined two weeks wages and suspended by the club for a fortnight after being involved in a dressing room bust-up with Strachan.
That looked set to end the 22-year-old’s Hoops career when he threatened to appeal the decision.
But after consultation with the Scottish PFA, the Republic or Ireland star accepted the punishment.
McGeady returned to the Celtic side with Strachan insisting the matter was resolved.
Boruc also breached club rules earlier this season and was fined £50,000 for breaking a late-night curfew during pre-season training.
He hit the headlines again when he was pictured smoking, drinking and cavorting with his new girlfriend while back in Poland recovering from a knee injury.
The Sun
By ROBERT GRIEVE and ROGER HANNAH
07/02/2009
SunSport can reveal the Celtic stars had to be pulled apart by stunned team-mates in a sensational training ground barney.
McGeady clashed with the Holy Goalie on the pitch at the club’s Lennoxtown base on Thursday afternoon.
It looked like the fracas was sorted out after the pair screamed and bawled at each other.
However tempers boiled over again when McGeady and Boruc reached the dressing room.
And the Polish keeper lashed out at the winger, landing a blow to his left eye.
Gaffer Gordon Strachan confirmed an altercation took place, but tried to play it down.
And he revealed no action will be taken against either player.
Strachan laughed and said: “There was nothing untoward which we’ve not seen before on a football field or a training field.”
Both players trained together yesterday and are set to face Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup today.
Strachan added: “We’ve all shouted and screamed on a training field and that’ll not change.
“It’s only shouting and screaming and all the boys were absolutely fantastic this morning.
“I’ve seen loads of things happen on the training field and not been far away from the action a few times myself, don’t worry about that. I could always run, though.
“There won’t be any action taken against anyone. We’re all fine, we’re okay. Everyone was in good spirits this morning, smashing spirits.”
McGeady and Boruc have been no strangers to controversy this season.
In December McGeady was fined two weeks wages and suspended by the club for a fortnight after being involved in a dressing room bust-up with Strachan.
That looked set to end the 22-year-old’s Hoops career when he threatened to appeal the decision.
But after consultation with the Scottish PFA, the Republic or Ireland star accepted the punishment.
McGeady returned to the Celtic side with Strachan insisting the matter was resolved.
Boruc also breached club rules earlier this season and was fined £50,000 for breaking a late-night curfew during pre-season training.
He hit the headlines again when he was pictured smoking, drinking and cavorting with his new girlfriend while back in Poland recovering from a knee injury.
Celtic fans in frame for attack on youth at Oasis concert
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-19175680.html
Evening Times
August 8, 2000
Stuart Wilson
THE hunt for the thugs who attacked a teenager before an Oasis concert has switched to Glasgow.
Police in Edinburgh now believe the group of around eight men and two women did not come from England, as first thought.
Officers claim witnesses who saw some of the group wearing Manchester United tops wrongly believed the group to be from south of the border.
Lothian and Borders officers say the group was made up of Celtic fans who attacked the boy because he was in a group that was waving a Union Flag they were taking to the Oasis concert at Murrayfield Stadium later that day.
Attention is focusing on one man, in particular, who had two Irish tricolour flags tattooed on his right shoulder blade and is believed to have come from Glasgow.
The 17-year-old victim, from Easterhouse, is still "serious but stable" in a special head injuries unit at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, after being attacked on July 29.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We have re- interviewed witnesses to this attack and we now believe the gang came from Glasgow.
"There was a bit of confusion because some of them were wearing English club strips, but we now know they had Glasgow accents.
"One was around 5ft 4ins, had short brown hair and was of stocky build. He was wearing a grey T-shirt, which he took off to go fighting. On his right shoulder blade he had a distinctive tattoo of two Irish tricolour flags crossed over each other.
"We think this man and others were probably Celtic fans from Glasgow."
Police believe the victim was standing in a group of Oasis fans where one person was holding a Union Flag.
Added the spokesman: "We think words were exchanged between the two groups and that is when the fight broke out."
Five of the men in the gang are thought to be in their late 20s, with two in their early 20s. There were also two women in the group - one of whom had dyed peroxide hair that was black at the roots.
The fight broke out in the grounds of Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Edinburgh, where fans had gathered to party before the concert at Murrayfield.
The thugs ran through the crowd hitting anyone they came across.
The Easterhouse teenager was hit on the head while a 20-year-old woman suffered a cut to her mouth.
The teenager was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for his injury and then discharged.
But after he returned home to Glasgow, he again felt ill again and his parents took him to the Southern General Hospital. He underwent surgery for his head injury two days later.
The police spokeswoman added: "This was a vicious attack and we would appeal to anyone who recognises the descriptions of the tattooed man or who has any other information on this incident to contact us."
Evening Times
August 8, 2000
Stuart Wilson
THE hunt for the thugs who attacked a teenager before an Oasis concert has switched to Glasgow.
Police in Edinburgh now believe the group of around eight men and two women did not come from England, as first thought.
Officers claim witnesses who saw some of the group wearing Manchester United tops wrongly believed the group to be from south of the border.
Lothian and Borders officers say the group was made up of Celtic fans who attacked the boy because he was in a group that was waving a Union Flag they were taking to the Oasis concert at Murrayfield Stadium later that day.
Attention is focusing on one man, in particular, who had two Irish tricolour flags tattooed on his right shoulder blade and is believed to have come from Glasgow.
The 17-year-old victim, from Easterhouse, is still "serious but stable" in a special head injuries unit at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, after being attacked on July 29.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We have re- interviewed witnesses to this attack and we now believe the gang came from Glasgow.
"There was a bit of confusion because some of them were wearing English club strips, but we now know they had Glasgow accents.
"One was around 5ft 4ins, had short brown hair and was of stocky build. He was wearing a grey T-shirt, which he took off to go fighting. On his right shoulder blade he had a distinctive tattoo of two Irish tricolour flags crossed over each other.
"We think this man and others were probably Celtic fans from Glasgow."
Police believe the victim was standing in a group of Oasis fans where one person was holding a Union Flag.
Added the spokesman: "We think words were exchanged between the two groups and that is when the fight broke out."
Five of the men in the gang are thought to be in their late 20s, with two in their early 20s. There were also two women in the group - one of whom had dyed peroxide hair that was black at the roots.
The fight broke out in the grounds of Donaldson's School for the Deaf in Edinburgh, where fans had gathered to party before the concert at Murrayfield.
The thugs ran through the crowd hitting anyone they came across.
The Easterhouse teenager was hit on the head while a 20-year-old woman suffered a cut to her mouth.
The teenager was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for his injury and then discharged.
But after he returned home to Glasgow, he again felt ill again and his parents took him to the Southern General Hospital. He underwent surgery for his head injury two days later.
The police spokeswoman added: "This was a vicious attack and we would appeal to anyone who recognises the descriptions of the tattooed man or who has any other information on this incident to contact us."
Celtic fans in the frame for woman's train attack
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-12835275.html
Evening News - Scotland
August 12, 2002
DRUNKEN yobs who assaulted a city woman on a train are thought to have been Celtic fans masquerading as bank workers.
The woman was travelling alone when a crowd of men shouted abuse at her before groping her as she tried to flee the carriage.
It was understood the attackers were part of a group who had booked on to the London to Edin-burgh train as a delegation from the Bank of Scotland. But today it emerged the attackers are thought to have been Celtic supporters travelling back from a pre-season friendly game in London.
It is believed a Celtic-supporting Bank of Scotland employee had used his position to block-book a train carriage . Police are investigating claims the booking was for members of an Capital-based Celtic supporters club.
Many train firms are reluctant to take block-bookings from groups of football fans, but are happy to take such bookings from banks.
One fan, who does not want to be named but is a member of an Edinburgh-based Celtic supporters' club, admitted: "The tickets were booked through one of our members who is an employee at the Bank of Scotland."
The woman, who lives in the New Town and is in her mid-50s, reported the incident to British Transport Police when the 18.30 service from Kings Cross pulled in at Waverley on July 14.
A British Transport Police spokesman said inquiries were ongoing. He added that no charges have yet been brought.
Evening News - Scotland
August 12, 2002
DRUNKEN yobs who assaulted a city woman on a train are thought to have been Celtic fans masquerading as bank workers.
The woman was travelling alone when a crowd of men shouted abuse at her before groping her as she tried to flee the carriage.
It was understood the attackers were part of a group who had booked on to the London to Edin-burgh train as a delegation from the Bank of Scotland. But today it emerged the attackers are thought to have been Celtic supporters travelling back from a pre-season friendly game in London.
It is believed a Celtic-supporting Bank of Scotland employee had used his position to block-book a train carriage . Police are investigating claims the booking was for members of an Capital-based Celtic supporters club.
Many train firms are reluctant to take block-bookings from groups of football fans, but are happy to take such bookings from banks.
One fan, who does not want to be named but is a member of an Edinburgh-based Celtic supporters' club, admitted: "The tickets were booked through one of our members who is an employee at the Bank of Scotland."
The woman, who lives in the New Town and is in her mid-50s, reported the incident to British Transport Police when the 18.30 service from Kings Cross pulled in at Waverley on July 14.
A British Transport Police spokesman said inquiries were ongoing. He added that no charges have yet been brought.
STV & Sky Sports presenter attacked by Celtic fans
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-18657182.html
The Scotsman
May 15, 1998
STEPHEN BREEN
JIM White, the presenter of television's Scotsport, was attacked by Celtic fans outside Parkhead stadium on Saturday shortly after the Glasgow club clinched the Premier League title.
About 15 supporters punched, kicked and spat on him as he tried to get into his car in the club car park an hour after the match.
Some of the fans damaged the car by kicking it and banging on the windows as White and two Scottish Television colleagues tried to drive away, his spokesman said yesterday.
White suffered bruising and was so badly shaken that he had to cancel a charity appearance at a British Lung Foundation function in Glasgow on Saturday evening. White is a well-known Rangers supporter whose pro-Rangers gaffes have antagonised Celtic fans.
Malcolm Brown, a spokesman for White, said: "Jim White was with another STV reporter and a cameraman and they were trying to put equipment in the car when they were confronted by about 15 so- called Celtic supporters. "Jim White was the only one attacked, but it was a violent attack. He was kicked, punched and spat upon and was particularly badly shaken up. He was bruised and fairly badly battered.
They managed to get into the car and it was attacked, but they managed to drive off." White did not report the incident to Strathclyde Police or Celtic because he did not "want to make it worse for himself," added Mr Brown. "The way Jim is looking at it is that it is in the past, he wishes it had never happened, but it was unfortunate that it did happen. "He was bruised, but nothing was broken although it was traumatic.
I am sure anyone would say it was a fairly despicable and cowardly attack and the people he feels sorry for are the people he has helped out in the past few years at the British Lung Foundation. The people who did it should look at themselves and be disgusted with themselves."
White was due to compere the Red Balloon Ball at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on Saturday but the organiser was informed at 6:55pm that he had taken ill. He carried out the same function for the charity last year.
Mr Brown, of the public relations firm, Carnegie Sports International, added: "That was fairly short notice, but Jim was bruised, battered and in a fairly shocked state and did not feel up to it."
Despite the attack, White presented Scotsport on Sunday.
Jill MacRae, the Scottish manager of the British Lung Foundation, discovered from The Scotsman only yesterday that White had been attacked. She said: "We were told at 6:55pm that he had taken ill, but we didn't have any details. Everyone just assumed that he was feeling blue because Rangers had lost {the league}, but that is obviously very unfair because he was poorly. "This is awful. This should have been a fairly happy event for everyone, but this has happened to him. I don't know why he was picked upon, but he is a public figure."
The Scotsport anchorman is nicknamed Jim "Red, Blue and" White because of his allegiance to Rangers.
On Radio Clyde in February he caused controversy after Rangers scored against Dunfermline when he said: "Let's hope they score some more goals."
An STV spokeswoman confirmed the attack yesterday. She said: "As a company, we are extremely concerned about what has happened to Jim. It is certainly not what we would expect at Celtic Park."
A Celtic spokesman said: "We are disappointed to hear of this incident and will give our full assistance to the appropriate authorities." It is understood the club will contact White to express to him its concern about the attack.
The Scotsman
May 15, 1998
STEPHEN BREEN
JIM White, the presenter of television's Scotsport, was attacked by Celtic fans outside Parkhead stadium on Saturday shortly after the Glasgow club clinched the Premier League title.
About 15 supporters punched, kicked and spat on him as he tried to get into his car in the club car park an hour after the match.
Some of the fans damaged the car by kicking it and banging on the windows as White and two Scottish Television colleagues tried to drive away, his spokesman said yesterday.
White suffered bruising and was so badly shaken that he had to cancel a charity appearance at a British Lung Foundation function in Glasgow on Saturday evening. White is a well-known Rangers supporter whose pro-Rangers gaffes have antagonised Celtic fans.
Malcolm Brown, a spokesman for White, said: "Jim White was with another STV reporter and a cameraman and they were trying to put equipment in the car when they were confronted by about 15 so- called Celtic supporters. "Jim White was the only one attacked, but it was a violent attack. He was kicked, punched and spat upon and was particularly badly shaken up. He was bruised and fairly badly battered.
They managed to get into the car and it was attacked, but they managed to drive off." White did not report the incident to Strathclyde Police or Celtic because he did not "want to make it worse for himself," added Mr Brown. "The way Jim is looking at it is that it is in the past, he wishes it had never happened, but it was unfortunate that it did happen. "He was bruised, but nothing was broken although it was traumatic.
I am sure anyone would say it was a fairly despicable and cowardly attack and the people he feels sorry for are the people he has helped out in the past few years at the British Lung Foundation. The people who did it should look at themselves and be disgusted with themselves."
White was due to compere the Red Balloon Ball at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on Saturday but the organiser was informed at 6:55pm that he had taken ill. He carried out the same function for the charity last year.
Mr Brown, of the public relations firm, Carnegie Sports International, added: "That was fairly short notice, but Jim was bruised, battered and in a fairly shocked state and did not feel up to it."
Despite the attack, White presented Scotsport on Sunday.
Jill MacRae, the Scottish manager of the British Lung Foundation, discovered from The Scotsman only yesterday that White had been attacked. She said: "We were told at 6:55pm that he had taken ill, but we didn't have any details. Everyone just assumed that he was feeling blue because Rangers had lost {the league}, but that is obviously very unfair because he was poorly. "This is awful. This should have been a fairly happy event for everyone, but this has happened to him. I don't know why he was picked upon, but he is a public figure."
The Scotsport anchorman is nicknamed Jim "Red, Blue and" White because of his allegiance to Rangers.
On Radio Clyde in February he caused controversy after Rangers scored against Dunfermline when he said: "Let's hope they score some more goals."
An STV spokeswoman confirmed the attack yesterday. She said: "As a company, we are extremely concerned about what has happened to Jim. It is certainly not what we would expect at Celtic Park."
A Celtic spokesman said: "We are disappointed to hear of this incident and will give our full assistance to the appropriate authorities." It is understood the club will contact White to express to him its concern about the attack.
Celtic carjack knife thugs attack woman driver
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-182589956.html
Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)
August 11, 2008
Byline: By Craig McDonald
A WOMAN was terrorised at knifepoint by carjackers in a busy street yesterday.
The 28-year-old victim's ordeal began as she was getting into her grey Vauxhall Astra convertible.
Two youths jumped in and threatened her with a blade before the woman was forced from her car.
The pair attempted to drive off - but smashed into a car, fence and van parked nearby before running away.
The incident happened in Glasgow's south side around noon, yards from busy Holmlea Park, Cathcart, which was packed with children.
Detectives were last night hunting the attackers.
One eyewitness said: "The woman was getting into her car and was just taking the roof down.
"She climbed in the driver's seat and these two characters ran over.
"One got in the passenger side and grabbed her as she grappled with her seatbelt. He produced a knife, and as the woman screamed, he shoved her out of the car. The other guy got in the driver's side and they drove off, with the car doing a wheel spin.
"The car hit another car and then sped on, hit a fence and ended up smashing into a white van."
The woman was not injured, although she was left badly shaken.
The first suspect is described as white, around 5ft 7in tall, aged 15 to 19. He is slim with short, dark hair. He was wearing a Celtic tracksuit.
The other youth is described as white, around 5ft 5in tall, in his midteens, slim, with short, brown hair.
Detective Constable Omar Sheikh said: "This was a particularly frightening ordeal for this woman.
"I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident to contact police."
Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)
August 11, 2008
Byline: By Craig McDonald
A WOMAN was terrorised at knifepoint by carjackers in a busy street yesterday.
The 28-year-old victim's ordeal began as she was getting into her grey Vauxhall Astra convertible.
Two youths jumped in and threatened her with a blade before the woman was forced from her car.
The pair attempted to drive off - but smashed into a car, fence and van parked nearby before running away.
The incident happened in Glasgow's south side around noon, yards from busy Holmlea Park, Cathcart, which was packed with children.
Detectives were last night hunting the attackers.
One eyewitness said: "The woman was getting into her car and was just taking the roof down.
"She climbed in the driver's seat and these two characters ran over.
"One got in the passenger side and grabbed her as she grappled with her seatbelt. He produced a knife, and as the woman screamed, he shoved her out of the car. The other guy got in the driver's side and they drove off, with the car doing a wheel spin.
"The car hit another car and then sped on, hit a fence and ended up smashing into a white van."
The woman was not injured, although she was left badly shaken.
The first suspect is described as white, around 5ft 7in tall, aged 15 to 19. He is slim with short, dark hair. He was wearing a Celtic tracksuit.
The other youth is described as white, around 5ft 5in tall, in his midteens, slim, with short, brown hair.
Detective Constable Omar Sheikh said: "This was a particularly frightening ordeal for this woman.
"I would urge anyone who witnessed the incident to contact police."
Celtic fans threatens to blow up neighbours
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-72779162.html
A CELTIC fan was jailed for three months yesterday for terrorising his neighbours after his team's 6-2 victory over Rangers.
Boozed-up Stephen Hamilton, 41, threatened to blow up the block of flats he shared in Ardrossan, Ayrshire, last August.
One neighbour, John Hughes, told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court: "He said he was going to leave the gas on and blow the place up."
Unemployed Hamilton denied making the threat, shouting, swearing and playing sectarian music.
But jailing him, Sheriff Thomas Croan said: "It is a matter of regret I am only allowed to impose a sentence of three months."
A CELTIC fan was jailed for three months yesterday for terrorising his neighbours after his team's 6-2 victory over Rangers.
Boozed-up Stephen Hamilton, 41, threatened to blow up the block of flats he shared in Ardrossan, Ayrshire, last August.
One neighbour, John Hughes, told Kilmarnock Sheriff Court: "He said he was going to leave the gas on and blow the place up."
Unemployed Hamilton denied making the threat, shouting, swearing and playing sectarian music.
But jailing him, Sheriff Thomas Croan said: "It is a matter of regret I am only allowed to impose a sentence of three months."
Celtic fan attempts fraud
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17934861.html
THE suspicions of an Edinburgh golf professional have helped jail a man for two years and recover £160,000 in cash.
John McFarlane, of the prestigious Prestonfield Club in Edinburgh, told a Sheriff Court he suspected something was not right when Brian McSorley turned up for a round of golf wearing a Celtic football top and jogging trousers.
However, he let 26-year-old McSorley, from Greenock, play after he agreed to buy a sweater and trousers from the club shop.
But as the inexperienced player struggled to get off the first tee, the club pro checked inside the holdall he had left behind and was shocked to find it filled with bank notes.
By the time police arrived at Prestonfield, McSorley had already fled, but he was soon tracked down to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edinburgh.
Officers revealed that they found McSorley lying on a bed in the £250-a-night hotel surrounded by the cash.
Mr McFarlane, 38, told Greenock Sheriff Court: "I agreed to look after a holdall for the guy.
Tattoos
"Obviously, I had doubts about him when he turned up wearing a Celtic top and athletics trousers.
"He also had tattoos and didn't look like the type we get at the club. I had second thoughts again when I saw him swing wildly and miss.
"His bag was blocking my path to the kettle and I couldn't believe how heavy it was when I moved it.
"Then I was astonished when I peeked inside and saw all this cash."
The court was told that McSorley had gone on a £10,000 spending spree after finding the cash lying in a bag in a Greenock Cemetery. A charge that he had stolen the money in a break-in was dropped.
McSorley's defence lawyer, Lorenzo Alonzi, said that the find had proved irresistible for his client, who was not used to such sums of money.
He said: "He was faced with temptation and he could not resist."
However, the unemployed accused was found guilty and jailed for two years for reset.
THE suspicions of an Edinburgh golf professional have helped jail a man for two years and recover £160,000 in cash.
John McFarlane, of the prestigious Prestonfield Club in Edinburgh, told a Sheriff Court he suspected something was not right when Brian McSorley turned up for a round of golf wearing a Celtic football top and jogging trousers.
However, he let 26-year-old McSorley, from Greenock, play after he agreed to buy a sweater and trousers from the club shop.
But as the inexperienced player struggled to get off the first tee, the club pro checked inside the holdall he had left behind and was shocked to find it filled with bank notes.
By the time police arrived at Prestonfield, McSorley had already fled, but he was soon tracked down to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Edinburgh.
Officers revealed that they found McSorley lying on a bed in the £250-a-night hotel surrounded by the cash.
Mr McFarlane, 38, told Greenock Sheriff Court: "I agreed to look after a holdall for the guy.
Tattoos
"Obviously, I had doubts about him when he turned up wearing a Celtic top and athletics trousers.
"He also had tattoos and didn't look like the type we get at the club. I had second thoughts again when I saw him swing wildly and miss.
"His bag was blocking my path to the kettle and I couldn't believe how heavy it was when I moved it.
"Then I was astonished when I peeked inside and saw all this cash."
The court was told that McSorley had gone on a £10,000 spending spree after finding the cash lying in a bag in a Greenock Cemetery. A charge that he had stolen the money in a break-in was dropped.
McSorley's defence lawyer, Lorenzo Alonzi, said that the find had proved irresistible for his client, who was not used to such sums of money.
He said: "He was faced with temptation and he could not resist."
However, the unemployed accused was found guilty and jailed for two years for reset.
Another drug dealing Celtic fan jailed
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-135953835.html
A CELTIC supporter has been jailed for a year after thumping a Rangers fan in a pub brawl.
Richard Deane punched Trevor Brister after being taunted.
The men clashed after watching last November's CIS Cup quarter-final - which Rangers won - in Perth's Sandeman Bar.
Dad-of-three Deane, 31, smashed his rival in the face and left him with a broken bone. At Perth Sheriff Court yesterday, Deane, of Perth, admitted punching Brister, 30, to his severe injury.
His sentence will begin at the end of a four-year term he is currently serving for drug dealing.
A CELTIC supporter has been jailed for a year after thumping a Rangers fan in a pub brawl.
Richard Deane punched Trevor Brister after being taunted.
The men clashed after watching last November's CIS Cup quarter-final - which Rangers won - in Perth's Sandeman Bar.
Dad-of-three Deane, 31, smashed his rival in the face and left him with a broken bone. At Perth Sheriff Court yesterday, Deane, of Perth, admitted punching Brister, 30, to his severe injury.
His sentence will begin at the end of a four-year term he is currently serving for drug dealing.
Celtic fan with 94 previous convictions attacks fellow Celtic fan
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171730038.html
Northampton Chronicle and Echo (Northampton, England)
November 24, 2007
The owner of a dangerous Rottweiler which tore off part of a man's face at a Northampton pub has been jailed and banned from keeping dogs for 20 years.
Andrew Davidson, 56, left his Rottweiler called Gangster tied up in the garden of the Ecton Brook pub while he went inside to get a drink.
Northampton Crown Court heard that the 12-stone dog, also called Celtic, had been banned from inside the pub by the landlord as it had previously tried to bite customers.
Michael Waterfield, prosecuting, said Joe Clancy had been trying to calm the dog down because there were children playing in the pub garden just as Davidson returned to the table.
Witnesses told police how they heard the dog's owner say 'boo' before it lunged at the 33-year-old warehouse supervisor from Cotton End and ripped off his upper lip and part of his nose.
Mr Waterfield said: "The dog's reaction was to bite Mr Clancy in the face. Not surprisingly, blood was pouring from the wounds and a piece of the top lip was bitten off."
Mr Clancy, who vaguely knew Davidson as a fellow Celtic football fan, had to undergo reconstructive surgery and may be disfigured for life from the attack which happened on July 7.
Davidson, who has 94 previous convictions, was jailed for six months and disqualified from having a dog until 2027.
Judge Charles Harris QC said: "There is some evidence that you provoked the dog into acts of aggression."
Davidson, of Prentice Court, Goldings pleaded guilty to being in control of a dangerous dog on July 7.
The court heard the Rottweiler has since been destroyed.
Richard Holloway, defending, said Davidson had only had the dog for a short while after taking it from friends who had found it too aggressive.
Mr Clancy said after the hearing, he said: "I didn't really want to see him sent to prison. The main thing I wanted was to see him banned from having animals to stop this from happening again.
"The prison side of it, well, that's his affair. I'm not too bothered."
Northampton Chronicle and Echo (Northampton, England)
November 24, 2007
The owner of a dangerous Rottweiler which tore off part of a man's face at a Northampton pub has been jailed and banned from keeping dogs for 20 years.
Andrew Davidson, 56, left his Rottweiler called Gangster tied up in the garden of the Ecton Brook pub while he went inside to get a drink.
Northampton Crown Court heard that the 12-stone dog, also called Celtic, had been banned from inside the pub by the landlord as it had previously tried to bite customers.
Michael Waterfield, prosecuting, said Joe Clancy had been trying to calm the dog down because there were children playing in the pub garden just as Davidson returned to the table.
Witnesses told police how they heard the dog's owner say 'boo' before it lunged at the 33-year-old warehouse supervisor from Cotton End and ripped off his upper lip and part of his nose.
Mr Waterfield said: "The dog's reaction was to bite Mr Clancy in the face. Not surprisingly, blood was pouring from the wounds and a piece of the top lip was bitten off."
Mr Clancy, who vaguely knew Davidson as a fellow Celtic football fan, had to undergo reconstructive surgery and may be disfigured for life from the attack which happened on July 7.
Davidson, who has 94 previous convictions, was jailed for six months and disqualified from having a dog until 2027.
Judge Charles Harris QC said: "There is some evidence that you provoked the dog into acts of aggression."
Davidson, of Prentice Court, Goldings pleaded guilty to being in control of a dangerous dog on July 7.
The court heard the Rottweiler has since been destroyed.
Richard Holloway, defending, said Davidson had only had the dog for a short while after taking it from friends who had found it too aggressive.
Mr Clancy said after the hearing, he said: "I didn't really want to see him sent to prison. The main thing I wanted was to see him banned from having animals to stop this from happening again.
"The prison side of it, well, that's his affair. I'm not too bothered."
Celtic fan jailed for attack on man at funeral
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-182055653.html
Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) August 1, 2008
A MOURNER was jailed yesterday for knocking out a man for dancing at a relative's wake.
Richard Deane said he had lashed out because of the "insensitive behaviour" of his victim Stephen Gallacher.
Gallacher was knocked cold with a single blow and suffered a broken nose as well as needing four stitches near an eye.
He had been dancing in front of members of a funeral party after they arrived at Bar Retreat in Perth on May 23.
Charmaine Cole, prosecuting, told the town's sheriff court CCTV showed Gallacher dancing and then Deane walking past.
She added: "The accused was seen to punch him on the head and walk away. As a result, the complainer hit his head off the bar before falling to the ground."
Deane, of Perth, admitted attacking Gallacher, who he knew, and was jailed for two months.
David Holmes, defending, said Gallacher was not part of the funeral party.
He said: "The behaviour in the funeral party was restrained. The complainer was asked to temper his behaviour but did not listen.
"He was dancing and dancing and my client walked past. It was his recollection that something was said and that's when he reached the end of his tether."
In 2005, Celtic supporter Deane was jailed for a year for attacking a Rangers fan following an Old Firm match.
Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) August 1, 2008
A MOURNER was jailed yesterday for knocking out a man for dancing at a relative's wake.
Richard Deane said he had lashed out because of the "insensitive behaviour" of his victim Stephen Gallacher.
Gallacher was knocked cold with a single blow and suffered a broken nose as well as needing four stitches near an eye.
He had been dancing in front of members of a funeral party after they arrived at Bar Retreat in Perth on May 23.
Charmaine Cole, prosecuting, told the town's sheriff court CCTV showed Gallacher dancing and then Deane walking past.
She added: "The accused was seen to punch him on the head and walk away. As a result, the complainer hit his head off the bar before falling to the ground."
Deane, of Perth, admitted attacking Gallacher, who he knew, and was jailed for two months.
David Holmes, defending, said Gallacher was not part of the funeral party.
He said: "The behaviour in the funeral party was restrained. The complainer was asked to temper his behaviour but did not listen.
"He was dancing and dancing and my client walked past. It was his recollection that something was said and that's when he reached the end of his tether."
In 2005, Celtic supporter Deane was jailed for a year for attacking a Rangers fan following an Old Firm match.
Sectarian Celtic fan given five years for glass attack.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-92958208.html
Daily Mail (London)
October 12, 2002
A CELTIC supporter who carried out a brutal sectarian attack on a Rangers fan was yesterday jailed for five years.
Jeffrey Robertson, 38, hit Martin McNair in the neck with a pint glass, severing his jugular vein.
Mr McNair bled so severely he lost about half the blood in his body.
Solicitor Advocate Murray Macara told the High Court in Glasgow that Robertson claimed he was regularly subjected to sectarian abuse after moving from Dundonald, Ayrshire, to Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, last year.
He said he was laughed at because he supported Celtic and his Celtic shirts were defaced and spat on as they hung on the washing line.
On the night of the attack he had gone to a dance at the local Lodge Ladywell Masonic club wearing a Celtic top.
He claimed he was subjected to a number of sectarian remarks and taunts before he struck Mr McNair with the glass.
Sentencing, judge Lord McEwan told him: 'You have pleaded guilty to a very serious matter which, regrettably, once again seems to have been set against a background of religious hostility between two football teams, which is deeply distressing.' Robertson had admitted assaulting Mr McNair to his severe injury and the danger of his life.
Daily Mail (London)
October 12, 2002
A CELTIC supporter who carried out a brutal sectarian attack on a Rangers fan was yesterday jailed for five years.
Jeffrey Robertson, 38, hit Martin McNair in the neck with a pint glass, severing his jugular vein.
Mr McNair bled so severely he lost about half the blood in his body.
Solicitor Advocate Murray Macara told the High Court in Glasgow that Robertson claimed he was regularly subjected to sectarian abuse after moving from Dundonald, Ayrshire, to Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, last year.
He said he was laughed at because he supported Celtic and his Celtic shirts were defaced and spat on as they hung on the washing line.
On the night of the attack he had gone to a dance at the local Lodge Ladywell Masonic club wearing a Celtic top.
He claimed he was subjected to a number of sectarian remarks and taunts before he struck Mr McNair with the glass.
Sentencing, judge Lord McEwan told him: 'You have pleaded guilty to a very serious matter which, regrettably, once again seems to have been set against a background of religious hostility between two football teams, which is deeply distressing.' Robertson had admitted assaulting Mr McNair to his severe injury and the danger of his life.
Drug dealing Celtic fan jailed
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-88299083.html
The Mirror (London, England)
July 4, 2002
Byline: JAMES TAIT
A CELTIC fan was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday after being caught with £15,000 of drugs before a big match.
Anthony Holmes, 30, was on his way to see his team playing Sunderland at Celtic Park when he was nabbed in a pub near the ground after a tip-off.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Holmes, of Dundee, went to collect the parcel of drugs at the Springfield Vaults pub.
But police found the drugs courier locked in a toilet holding the cocaine.
Holmes was jailed after he admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine on July 24 last year.
The Mirror (London, England)
July 4, 2002
Byline: JAMES TAIT
A CELTIC fan was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday after being caught with £15,000 of drugs before a big match.
Anthony Holmes, 30, was on his way to see his team playing Sunderland at Celtic Park when he was nabbed in a pub near the ground after a tip-off.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that Holmes, of Dundee, went to collect the parcel of drugs at the Springfield Vaults pub.
But police found the drugs courier locked in a toilet holding the cocaine.
Holmes was jailed after he admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine on July 24 last year.
Celtic supporters club run by hoodlums
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-65625496.html
Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)
October 1, 2000 - Lavery, Charles
A SCOTS couple who fronted a money-laundering pub in Ireland for a notorious underworld boss are now running the Celtic Supporters' Club in Glasgow.
John and Mary Hughes ran the Paradise Bar in Donegal, Ireland, after buying it with £120,000 cash provided by Glasgow's "Licensee", Thomas McGraw.
The couple ran the pub until February 1998 when Irish police raided it after a lengthy surveillance operation.
Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau has tough powers to confiscate property or assets they believe to be the proceeds of criminal activity. Suspects must then prove in court that they obtained the assets legitimately.
In this case, the authorities re-sold the pub six months after they seized it for almost double the price the Hughes paid.
That profit was then frozen in the Irish system for seven years in case of any appeal.
Now John Hughes, 59, and wife Mary are running the Celtic Supporters' Club at 1524 London Road, Glasgow.
In a licence granted by Glasgow Sheriff Court, John Hughes is listed as chairman, while Mary is named as treasurer.
William Graham, also known as Finbar O'Brannigan, is a member of the committee, too, despite a number of previous convictions for violence and sex offences.
Graham caused a furore last season when he barred Sunday Mail writer Hugh Keevins from an official Celtic FC press conference at the club.
Police have lodged a letter in the file which states that they have no objection to the granting of the liquor and gaming licence, which is now valid until next year at the earliest.
The Irish resort of Donegal seems a million miles from Glasgow's grim gangland scene.
But officers involved in the Criminal Assets Bureau inquiry were thrown headlong into investigating one of Scotland's most notorious gangs as part of the far-reaching inquiry.
The focus of the investigation at that time was that the Paradise Bar was used as a front for money-laundering by McGraw to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Police were so concerned about the links that they closed down the bar and later re-sold it.
John and Mary Hughes were arrested and their home and pub raided, but they were later released without charge.
They also gave evidence at a major drugs trial in July 1998 at which McGraw walked free from charges that he masterminded a major cannabis smuggling ring.
Crown witnesses John and Mary were believed to have been relocated at that time by Strathclyde Police's witness protection programme.
Of the 10 men who stood trial three, including gang lord John Healey, were jailed for a total of 24 years.
McGraw, who made his fortune from ice cream vans in Glasgow's tough housing schemes, walked away with a not proven verdict.
John and Mary Hughes have been involved in the licensed trade business for decades in and around Glasgow.
A lifelong Celtic fan, Hughes has rubbed shoulders in the past with some of the club's greats, including Dixie Deans, Lou Macari and even celebrity supporter, Rod Stewart.
He used his Celtic connections to entice Bertie Auld and Jimmy Johnstone to the opening of a football pavilion for Donegal's local team.
Celtic and Scotland memorabilia adorned the walls of his pub, including a signed Scotland strip from ex-Celtic captain Paul McStay. Former Celtic midfielder Phil O'Donnell also attended the pub's opening night.
Hughes even persuaded Coronation Street actors Sean Wilson (Martin Platt) and Peter Armitage (Bill Webster) to attend the gala opening in Donegal.
In February 1998, John and Mary Hughes were interviewed by police over bank accounts they had opened in Ireland for McGraw.
They said they had known McGraw for years and considered him a friend. They admitted they had opened a bank account at the Allied Irish Bank on his behalf and John Hughes told police he had personally introduced McGraw to the bank's manager.
They said they had wanted to retire to Ireland and McGraw had given them the £120,000 to buy the bar. Mary Hughes bought the pub in her own name and said the cash from McGraw was simply a loan.
But officers could find no re-payment documentation. Hughes told officers she believed McGraw would simply take over the pub when they died or retired.
John Hughes added that he travelled to Glasgow on a number of occasions and took cash from McGraw back to Ireland to deposit in the new account.
The sums involved were believed to be well in excess of £100,000.
The couple said they believed it was McGraw trying to avoid paying tax on his UK income and were oblivious to any allegations of laundering drugs cash.
McGraw also gave the couple £67,000 to refurbish the Paradise Bar, but, again, there was no mechanism for them to make repayment.
Last night, Hughes and his wife were not at home for comment.
A spokesman for the Celtic Supporters' Association, who stressed the Glasgow and West of Scotland Supporters' Club was a separate organisation, claimed the couple had resigned.
But according to a licence granted just two weeks ago, they are still the club's chairman and treasurer.
The spokesman added : "I understand John and Mary Hughes have resigned. I do not know where they are."
Asked about the Paradise Bar and whether the Association members were aware of the couple's background with McGraw, the spokesman replied: "No comment."
He added: "We rent them the space, what they do with it is up to them.
"As long as they pay the rent, we are happy.
"I can only imagine the club hasn't got around to changing the details on the licensing application. Maybe they resigned, but it was too late to change the names on the licence."
A police insider said: "They are well known for their links to McGraw.
"It raises serious questions about whether the club is being run in an appropriate manner.
"I know the police have these two on their intelligence files, and they were keeping an eye on them.
"McGraw is the man the police want, so anybody connected to him will be looked at very closely."
Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)
October 1, 2000 - Lavery, Charles
A SCOTS couple who fronted a money-laundering pub in Ireland for a notorious underworld boss are now running the Celtic Supporters' Club in Glasgow.
John and Mary Hughes ran the Paradise Bar in Donegal, Ireland, after buying it with £120,000 cash provided by Glasgow's "Licensee", Thomas McGraw.
The couple ran the pub until February 1998 when Irish police raided it after a lengthy surveillance operation.
Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau has tough powers to confiscate property or assets they believe to be the proceeds of criminal activity. Suspects must then prove in court that they obtained the assets legitimately.
In this case, the authorities re-sold the pub six months after they seized it for almost double the price the Hughes paid.
That profit was then frozen in the Irish system for seven years in case of any appeal.
Now John Hughes, 59, and wife Mary are running the Celtic Supporters' Club at 1524 London Road, Glasgow.
In a licence granted by Glasgow Sheriff Court, John Hughes is listed as chairman, while Mary is named as treasurer.
William Graham, also known as Finbar O'Brannigan, is a member of the committee, too, despite a number of previous convictions for violence and sex offences.
Graham caused a furore last season when he barred Sunday Mail writer Hugh Keevins from an official Celtic FC press conference at the club.
Police have lodged a letter in the file which states that they have no objection to the granting of the liquor and gaming licence, which is now valid until next year at the earliest.
The Irish resort of Donegal seems a million miles from Glasgow's grim gangland scene.
But officers involved in the Criminal Assets Bureau inquiry were thrown headlong into investigating one of Scotland's most notorious gangs as part of the far-reaching inquiry.
The focus of the investigation at that time was that the Paradise Bar was used as a front for money-laundering by McGraw to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Police were so concerned about the links that they closed down the bar and later re-sold it.
John and Mary Hughes were arrested and their home and pub raided, but they were later released without charge.
They also gave evidence at a major drugs trial in July 1998 at which McGraw walked free from charges that he masterminded a major cannabis smuggling ring.
Crown witnesses John and Mary were believed to have been relocated at that time by Strathclyde Police's witness protection programme.
Of the 10 men who stood trial three, including gang lord John Healey, were jailed for a total of 24 years.
McGraw, who made his fortune from ice cream vans in Glasgow's tough housing schemes, walked away with a not proven verdict.
John and Mary Hughes have been involved in the licensed trade business for decades in and around Glasgow.
A lifelong Celtic fan, Hughes has rubbed shoulders in the past with some of the club's greats, including Dixie Deans, Lou Macari and even celebrity supporter, Rod Stewart.
He used his Celtic connections to entice Bertie Auld and Jimmy Johnstone to the opening of a football pavilion for Donegal's local team.
Celtic and Scotland memorabilia adorned the walls of his pub, including a signed Scotland strip from ex-Celtic captain Paul McStay. Former Celtic midfielder Phil O'Donnell also attended the pub's opening night.
Hughes even persuaded Coronation Street actors Sean Wilson (Martin Platt) and Peter Armitage (Bill Webster) to attend the gala opening in Donegal.
In February 1998, John and Mary Hughes were interviewed by police over bank accounts they had opened in Ireland for McGraw.
They said they had known McGraw for years and considered him a friend. They admitted they had opened a bank account at the Allied Irish Bank on his behalf and John Hughes told police he had personally introduced McGraw to the bank's manager.
They said they had wanted to retire to Ireland and McGraw had given them the £120,000 to buy the bar. Mary Hughes bought the pub in her own name and said the cash from McGraw was simply a loan.
But officers could find no re-payment documentation. Hughes told officers she believed McGraw would simply take over the pub when they died or retired.
John Hughes added that he travelled to Glasgow on a number of occasions and took cash from McGraw back to Ireland to deposit in the new account.
The sums involved were believed to be well in excess of £100,000.
The couple said they believed it was McGraw trying to avoid paying tax on his UK income and were oblivious to any allegations of laundering drugs cash.
McGraw also gave the couple £67,000 to refurbish the Paradise Bar, but, again, there was no mechanism for them to make repayment.
Last night, Hughes and his wife were not at home for comment.
A spokesman for the Celtic Supporters' Association, who stressed the Glasgow and West of Scotland Supporters' Club was a separate organisation, claimed the couple had resigned.
But according to a licence granted just two weeks ago, they are still the club's chairman and treasurer.
The spokesman added : "I understand John and Mary Hughes have resigned. I do not know where they are."
Asked about the Paradise Bar and whether the Association members were aware of the couple's background with McGraw, the spokesman replied: "No comment."
He added: "We rent them the space, what they do with it is up to them.
"As long as they pay the rent, we are happy.
"I can only imagine the club hasn't got around to changing the details on the licensing application. Maybe they resigned, but it was too late to change the names on the licence."
A police insider said: "They are well known for their links to McGraw.
"It raises serious questions about whether the club is being run in an appropriate manner.
"I know the police have these two on their intelligence files, and they were keeping an eye on them.
"McGraw is the man the police want, so anybody connected to him will be looked at very closely."
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Rabid Celtic fan supports hero's murders
http://news.sky.com/ Orla Chennaoui, Sky News correspondent
This young father says appeared on Sky News wearing the Celtic away shirt saying supports the attacks.
One 20-year-old father voices the kind of support for the attacks that politicians are insisting barely exists.
"Two Brits get shot in the barracks and they say, just two hours before they go to Afghanistan.
"So what, I don't care... I agree with it. I tell you what my mum always said to me when I was younger 'I ought to join the IRA, I ought to join'.
"I wanna join them. I wanna die for my country," he sad
Celtic yobs in sick taunts
By GERRY DUFFY
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article2311845.ece
SICK Celtic fans sparked fury by mocking the execution of two hero soldiers on a supporters’ website.
Yobs on unofficial Hoops page the Huddleboard made vile ‘jokes’ about the killings of sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at the Massereene barracks at Antrim.
The brave pair were killed as they shielded two pizza delivery workers.
Vile
But one twisted nut even posted a picture of a pizza shaped like a gun and made a string of vile ‘gags’ about the atrocity.
And a fan — with the username McFly — posted the message: “Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently they are making a killing.”
Another sicko added: “It was goodfellas that delivered instead.”
But the insults angered fellow fans on the site. One wrote: “Pretty childish, and exactly what people who dislike Celtic in Ireland point toward when they are slagging the club... somewhat embarrassing actually.”
Last night Army chiefs said they were “saddened” by the slurs.
A spokesman said: “We are extremely saddened that anyone would take the killing of two young men so lightly as to make fun of the incident on the internet.
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“This is not a matter to be laughed about. I’m sure those who are making these jokes would not find it so funny had their own loved ones been hurt or killed.”
Celtic also hit out at the yobs. A spokesman said: “We utterly condemn violence and sectarianism in any form.”
No one from the Huddleboard was available for comment.
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/article2311845.ece
SICK Celtic fans sparked fury by mocking the execution of two hero soldiers on a supporters’ website.
Yobs on unofficial Hoops page the Huddleboard made vile ‘jokes’ about the killings of sappers Mark Quinsey, 23, and Patrick Azimkar, 21, at the Massereene barracks at Antrim.
The brave pair were killed as they shielded two pizza delivery workers.
Vile
But one twisted nut even posted a picture of a pizza shaped like a gun and made a string of vile ‘gags’ about the atrocity.
And a fan — with the username McFly — posted the message: “Dominos Special Offer for British Soldiers. Buy one pizza, get a second topped for free. Apparently they are making a killing.”
Another sicko added: “It was goodfellas that delivered instead.”
But the insults angered fellow fans on the site. One wrote: “Pretty childish, and exactly what people who dislike Celtic in Ireland point toward when they are slagging the club... somewhat embarrassing actually.”
Last night Army chiefs said they were “saddened” by the slurs.
A spokesman said: “We are extremely saddened that anyone would take the killing of two young men so lightly as to make fun of the incident on the internet.
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“This is not a matter to be laughed about. I’m sure those who are making these jokes would not find it so funny had their own loved ones been hurt or killed.”
Celtic also hit out at the yobs. A spokesman said: “We utterly condemn violence and sectarianism in any form.”
No one from the Huddleboard was available for comment.
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