Fair Comment
A lot has been written in recent days about the ugly scenes which followed Hibernian Football Club's famous and historic win over Glasgow Rangers in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final.
Brian Monteith writing in The Scotsman made a lot of sense and as a Hibernian supporter he made no attempt to underplay the seriousness of the thuggish behaviour of fellow Hibs fans who invaded the pitch, intimidated, jolted and spat at Rangers players, and vandalised the pitch along with its goal posts and nets.
Nor did Brian Monteith turn a blind eye to the Rangers fans (as did Rangers FC in the club's official response) who set off dangerous flares during the match and indulged, yet again, in their sectarian abuse of rival fans.
The fact that Brian Monteith is a former Conservative MSP should not devalue what he has to say, but sadly that's not the case if comments on social media are anything to go by.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/brian-monteith-cup-final-marred-by-thugs-and-security-failures-1-4135027
Brian Monteith: Cup final marred by thugs and security failures
Police line up to shepherd the fans off the Hampden pitch, but should they have acted quicker to ensure that what began as a cup celebration didn t turn into something uglier? Picture: SNS
By BRIAN MONTEITH - The Scotsman
AFTER waiting 114 years, Hibs fans saw their celebrations overshadowed by scenes of violence, writes Brian Monteith
Two instances that I witnessed before Saturday’s Scottish Cup final between Rangers and Hibernian summed up the good and the bad of what afflicts Scottish football but does not attach itself to rugby or any other sport.
The first was when my wife and I, together with my sons and a few douce upstanding Edinburgh figures, were sitting out on the lawn of a Glasgow hotel finishing our beers minding no-one’s business other than our own. It was then that three coaches of Rangers supporters parked immediately outside, and the contents spilled out on to the street and we became the subject of some chanting and taunts.
