Is it Cold in His Shadow?

By: Matt | April 2nd, 2008

bhoycott I hope you all enjoyed my little joke yesterday and I hope no one freaked out and had to be rushed to the hospital after fainting. After that little joke, it is back to serious business. One of the most interesting aspects of the Celtic-Rangers rivalry is that a large aspect of the rivalry is found off the pitch. Most of these aspects have been discussed to the point where everyone knows most of the arguments and everyone has a response for everything. Nothing really new or changing over the years. Yet, both Celtic and Rangers fans are guilty of going to extreme measures to slag off their hated rivals. One of the most controversial type of insult has come out of the Rangers camp. I do not want to say exactly what it is and most people are aware of what it is, but I will say it involves trying to tarnish the legacy of legendary Celtic manager Jock Stein. If you are unaware of the controversy and want to know what it is leave a comment and I will email you, however it is important to know that the slogan for this is “Big Jock Knew”.

There are certain facts in the Celtic-Rangers rivalry that are pretty indisputable. Rangers fans are quick to point out their larger total of league titles, while Celtic fans will respond with Celtic’s victory in the European Cup. The latter seems to be a big one, there’s not much that can trump being the champions of Europe and it doesn’t seem likely that either Celtic or Rangers will be able to be victors of the current Champions League format. However, this recent libelous campaign by Rangers fans is seemingly an attempt to besmirch the name of Jock Stein and that famous team. It is an attempt to discount the accomplishments and, at least to me, it seems that they are doing it by promoting a sick practice that is not connected to Mr. Stein or the Celtic FOOTBALL CLUB (emphasis on the Football Club aspect, which Mr. Stein was the head of at the time). However, this type of campaign is not really surprising given the rivalry between the clubs.

There has been debate between Celtic fans on how to respond to this campaign. Some have said to ignore the campaign and not dignify this shite with any response. Others have moved to some response, as seen in the Rangers game last Saturday. The banner in question, I thought was very good and straight into the point. This topic has mostly been ignored by the Scottish media, quite disgustingly. I do not make secret that I think Celtic do not get a fair shake with the Scottish media and the SFA. I think a clear case of that was the coverage of the banner in question. As you can see, the picture appeared in The Daily Record and the caption says “Big Jock Crew” which seems awfully similar to the sick slogan being used to try and tarnish Stein’s legacy.

For the longest time, the club has been silent on the matter. Whether not to give credit to it or to avoid conflict, the club has just given general statements opposing these slogans. However after the Record’s caption, the club has released another statement saying,
“As the club stated at the recent AGM, this is a poisonous, repugnant, despicable and cowardly campaign. Jock Stein was a great of Scottish football and this campaign is absolutely disgraceful.

“The club did not want to dignify the issue with a detailed response and, having discussed this fully with the Stein family, they have been content to let us deal with it.

“However, it is necessary for Celtic Football Club to respond publicly and assure our supporters that this is something we take extremely seriously.

“Clearly, we abhor this poisonous campaign which is merely a sickening attempt to tarnish the name of one of the greatest figures in Scottish football history. Celtic Football Club will continue to tackle this issue whenever it arises.

“With regard to the newspaper involved, the club has discussed this issue with their senior management, who have assured us that they are regretful as to what has happened and that they will be taking action.”

I am glad that the club is finally taking a stand in defending Stein’s name. I hope that there is some actions taken against the Record. They have been silent for far, as they should be trying to defend their best manager of all time and probably the best manager in Scottish history. I do not know how many Scottish or British readers I have, but I would beg you to join in the boycott of the Daily Record. I would also encourage North American readers to join in as well, not buying or even visiting the Record’s website. I am not asking you as Celtic fans, and I would hope those who do not wish to promote child abuse, libel, and wish to not besmirch the name of a legendary man not involved with the shit that certain supporters are accusing do the same. This is not a Celtic thing, this a Scottish football thing that needs to be stopped.