When Gordon Strachan, caught by the Sky TV cameras, finished his 20-yard dash along the rain-soaked Celtic Park track to celebrate his side’s last-minute winner in their 2-1 triumph against Champions League holders AC Milan last week, he must have shuddered at the scene that followed. A fan ran on to the pitch and confronted the visitors’ Brazilian goal-keeper, Dida, to mar the victory party.
It would have been understandable if the Celtic manager permitted himself a flash-back to the day he too was attacked on the same pitch – and with considerably more force than Dida. It happened on November 8, 1980, as Aberdeen, under Alex Ferguson, travelled to Glasgow to tweak the nose of one half of the Old Firm in their own backyard, something Fergie relished, whether it be at Parkhead or Ibrox.
But it was not the 2-0 victory for Aberdeen that made the headlines. It was the unprovoked attack on Strachan by Celtic fan John Poderis. Journalist Jack Webster, author of Aberdeen’s official histories, recalls the scene: “It happened on the left-hand side of the pitch as you look from the main stand. Gordon was operating on the Aberdeen right wing beside the old Jungle, which was really a corrugated roof on an enclosure, where the most die-hard Celtic fans congregated.
“The supporter raced out of the Jungle, with the law in pursuit, but they couldn’t catch him, and, in Glasgow parlance, Gordon got a right doing. Nothing could justify that attack, although I suppose in a perverse way it was a tribute to his ability as a footballer, because the Old Firm fans couldn’t stand watching him take their teams apart.”
Later Strachan admitted he had a panic attack when he considered what the consequences might have been: “You start thinking of all the possibilities. What if he had had a knife in his hand?” Celtic were fined £1,000 by the Scottish Football Association for the pitch invasion. Strachan, who a quarter of a century later was appointed Celtic manager, said: “It was a campaign of hate that spilled over on to the field of play.”
Graphically describing the incident, he said: “I had gone on a run up the park, beating three or four players and having a shot at goal. As I made my way back I saw a chap coming over the wall of the Jungle. It seems a bit incredible now, but this fellow actually passed two police officers on the way. I turned and thought I had better pay attention to [Celtic player] Tommy Burns when I next saw the guy wandering about in the centre circle. He had a bottle with him, but it fell out of his hand. I tried to concentrate on the game, but the next thing I knew he was beside me and launching his attack.
“I covered my face, but he got me by the neck and pulled me to the ground. A big chap he was, too. Luckily my teammates Doug Rougvie and Doug Bell were smartly on hand to save me from further damage, and the Celtic players came to my rescue as well. I was completely shaken by the experience and might as well have come off the park. I was walking about in a daze.
“My wife, Lesley, was in the stand that day, paying her first visit to Celtic Park, so you can imagine what impression she got of the place. We are kidding ourselves if we think there is only a small minority of people who approve of that kind of action.”
In this instance the Celtic fans soon turned against the attacker, however. After receiving death threats he lost his job, fled to England, split from his wife and hit the bottle. To add insult to injury, his only son is a Rangers supporter. Now living in a Salvation Army hostel in London, Poderis, who was fined £140 and banned for life from watching Celtic, says: “I would like to tell Gordon it was nothing personal and I apologise.
“If I could, I would turn back the clock on this incident, but I can’t. It has had a big impact on my life, but there is nothing I can do about it. Now I just get by and take each day as it comes.”
Four years later Celtic were involved in another flashpoint concerning the Jungle, in a Cup Winners’ Cup game against the Austrian side Rapid Vienna. This time they were unfairly pilloried. It began, as it was to end, badly for Celtic. They lost 3-1 in Vienna, with substitute striker Alan McInally red-carded and a booking for captain Danny McGrain also ruling him out the return game on November 7, 1984. However, by half-time in the second leg Celtic had clawed back the deficit to lead by aggregate on the away goals rule.
The third Celtic goal on 68 minutes was the catalyst for the trouble. When the Rapid keeper, Karl Ehn, fumbled a shot by Frank McGarvey, Burns scooped the ball into the net. The Austrian players protested bitterly and two minutes later Reinhard Kienast was sent off for a blatant kick at Burns.
There was a l5-minute delay after another clash between Burns and Ehn, and Rapid’s Rudolf Weinhofer went down poleaxed, claiming he had been hit by a bottle thrown from the Jungle. To add to the drama, Peter Grant missed a penalty.
Television highlights showed that Weinhofer had not been hit by a bottle, although he left the ground with his head swathed in bandages. Red Cross man Eddie McGarrell, a first-aid attendant with 35 years’ experience, helped Weinhofer when he fell to the ground and submitted a report to Celtic that said: “I saw no sign of bleeding, bruising or any other injury affecting the player, and he was fully conscious.”
When Uefa’s disciplinary committee pronounced judgment, it was nearly a clean sweep for Celtic. They were fined £4,000 for two bottles thrown, but Rapid were fined £5,000 for their on-field behaviour, Kienast was banned for four games and coach Otto Baric was given a three-match touchline suspension. Weinhofer’s claim that he had been struck by a bottle was dismissed.
Rapid successfully appealed. A third game was scheduled for Old Trafford. It ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Glasgow side, but much worse was an attack by a Celtic fan on Rapid’s keeper, Herbert Feurer, followed by another kicking the scorer, Peter Pacult. Celtic were fined £17,000 and ordered to play their next home European game behind closed doors.
As Celtic wait for the verdict from Switzerland on last week’s fan attack, they can only hope that Uefa shows more common sense than it did in 1984.
Rodger Baillie
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