Party's Over

I've been reading up on the Green Brigade recently, the self-styled group of Celtic fans who are trying to use Celtic Football Club and its matches as a platform for their political views.

A quick search of the internet provides an insight into how the members of the Green Brigade view themselves, such as little pen portrait in italics below in which the group claims to enjoy the backing of the wider Celtic support.

Now like most ridiculous claims the Green Brigade has no evidence to back this up, but their juvenile antics are now damaging Celtic's reputation and I would say that the vast majority of fans are fed up with this tiny band of zealots who regard themselves as bigger than the club they claim to support.   

Because unlike Celtic FC which has a board of directors and a variety of club officials who work to rules and regulations that hold them to account for what they do or say - the Green Brigade is accountable to no one but itself.

I can't find a single name or email address of anyone who claims to speak for the Green Brigade although I imagine its self-appointed leaders are known to Celtic FC and public authorities such as Police Scotland.

Anyway, they sound to me like some kind of out of control trade union branch which claims to speak for the wider membership yet does nothing of the kind - because this elite 'ultra' group, by definition, speaks for itself and no one else.

In Scotland, there are plenty of opportunities for people to organise and promote political events, mainstream or otherwise, but what is not legitimate is for this small group of people to try and hijack Celtic football matches for their own narrow political ends. 

So if you ask me, the club should give the Green Brigaders short shrift and tell that the party is well and truly over. 

Introduction

The Green Brigade were formed in the summer of 2006 resulting from a break away from the Jungle Bhoys that began the previous year. The core aims of the group are to inject colour, create an atmosphere and provide vocal backing to the team, an aspect of Celtic Park that has rapidly decreased since the re development of the stadium to an all seater.

As a politically orientated Ultras group, the use of banners, tifo and pyro, both home and away, are fundamental to our presence at matches. The continuation, in some cases resurrection, of Celtic and traditional Irish songs are also at the heart of the group. Despite problems in the past from police, security and the club in their attempts to curtail and water us down, the Green Brigade continues to enjoy the support and backing of the Celtic support on the whole. This has allowed the group to flourish with popularity rising each year.

Our method of support goes against the clubs ideals which aim to market games as more of a family day out. Undisputedly this has caused a rapid decrease in the level of noise and atmosphere within the ground compared to the standing areas of the stadium that were taken away during Celtic Parks redevelopment in the 90′s.

As a reaction to this, the Green Brigade advocates standing and vocal support throughout the duration of the game in our section, area 111. The Green Brigade development has been influenced by the Ultras groups present in Europe that have no counterpart in British football.

As a club deeply rooted with Irish culture and history, the group expresses solidarity with Irish republican politicians and activists in their efforts to reunite the six occupied counties with the republic. The suppression and criminalisation of Irish republican songs by the government that was strongly objected by many Celtic supporters groups including the Green Brigade has revealed the narrow mindedness and clouded judgement of those in charge.

The hollow arguments and lack of competency in how the Bill was carried through into law has shown complete disregard and ignorance, resulting in the black shadow of sectarianism being cast over our Irish heritage and culture. Despite this, the Green Brigade will continue to retain our proud Irish identity within Scotland, whilst strongly supporting Scotland’s right to independence and self determination separate from the United Kingdom.