Friendly announced…with Belfast loyalist team?

By: Matt | June 22nd, 2008

While another Championship year last year, the board, coaching staff, and team in general made some moves that baffled the mind and confused even the most advanced scholar of philosophy (I shall be changing my major in school to Transfer Rumors Philosophy. I shall not try to interpret what a rumor is, but why it has come to be and for what purpose it serves. I will also minor in Strachan squad selection and nursing to revive myself after I see Chris Killen starting in our first Champions League match this season…) Yet, it is been an announcement of a friendly that has confused me the most. It has been announced that a Celtic XI will be traveling to East Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 23rd to face Glentoran FC. Celtic last played there in 1963.
To some, this might seem like a regular friendly with a smaller club in a proximate area. This assertion does not take into account the Glentoran fan base, which is to be put nicely, pro-British. Glentoran are notoriously known as one of Belfast’s “Big Two” with Linfield, not exactly the ~~Old Firm~~, I mean the Celtic-Rangers rivalry. Linfield is much more well known for their loyalist ties and near fascist fan base, but an element of this still exists in the Glentoran support. Without getting into each side of the conflict, I think both sides of the Northern Ireland debate would agree that a match like this is asking for trouble. When you get both sides together in one stadium, you will hear all the songs, slogans, and such. For a board trying to distance themselves from sectarianism that is often associated (though many times unfairly, but that is for another day), why would you schedule a match where you are almost guaranteed songs that you do not want to hear and possibly crowd trouble? I do not have an answer for this question.

I do not agree with the board’s attempts to censor certain songs that use to be sung at Parkhead in the past. These songs are often called sectarian, when in reality they simply talk about Ireland’s history, a country that will be forever linked with Celtic because of the nature of the club’s founding. However, there is an extreme element in the support of Celtic. Whether you agree with these people and groups or not, a fixture like this is inviting them to attend and for a club trying to become more of a business commodity it is a head scratching move. But becoming a business commodity is not what Celtic should be about. It should be a link to the Glasgow Irish to their past, and dispersed Irish all over the world. It should welcome any person of any race, creed, nationality, etc. It should represent not only the beautiful game, but a beautiful family of green and white clad brothers and sisters. We can’t forget the past, we must make the present the best for every supporter and player of the club, and we must prepare for a future that no one can predict. As the Green Brigade said best…

TAL!