They never fail to amuse

Deary me, this could get out of control quite quickly, which is a shame because I know Celtic will suffer

A position of credibility

'The Trust has a long and noble record of fighting racism and sectarianism in all it’s forms and therefore speaks from a position of credibility and strength in rejecting these slurs'.

What world does this pondlife inhabit?

Ach, it's just "typical banter" apparently.

How did they manage to write this with a straight face?

The strange and sad thing is that they 100% totally believe what they put out in their moronic statements.

If Celtic had a supporters trust similar to this shower of amoebas I would be embarrassed beyond belief, not to mention a bit upset.

Indeed. Do you remember yon twat that was the "official spokesman of the Tartan Army"? JIngs.

Err, in what way?

Like in most ways negative stories about Rangers are reported in our media, and just like on here as a double act

Perhaps if the IRA songs and the other savoury delights ceased, you might find that the joint criticism would also. You see, you seem to assume that the the "diddy" fans are somehow colluding to protect Rangers in all of this. Whilst the unbiased truth - no axe to grind, no religion to give a f**k about, is that whilst Rangers fans are bang out of order for singing that song, you guys really are no better.

The Fields of Athenry is one thing. f**k King Billy and Queen Bess is quite another.

I actually think there is a growing appetite to sort this out once and for all - finally draw up some standards of behaviour which OF fans in particular, and diddy fans also, have to adhere to.

We have seen on this board and other club boards that OF fans will, naturally in a way, choose to jump up and down and point at the other's songs whilst suggesting theirs are the cutting edge of new age humour and satire. The neutrals shake their head at both.

We need the authorities to try and define what is and is not acceptable at a football ground. No doubt this will be an organic process and will attract grumbles from both sides - it may be that we need a sub committee of the SPL to consider behaviour inside grounds.

You might be right, and I would hope through time and given whats happened in NI we could celebrate our historical and present links in a much more acceptable manner to the rest of the Scottish population. For lots I suspect no links would only be acceptable



Celtic fans rarely sing anything sectarian to my knowledge, they do sing about the IRA and I think this is why we are lumped in with Rangers. I've never accused "diddy" fans as colluding to protect Rangers, just it's too easy to lump us in together for the same reasons. I remember whenever the Rangers signing policy was mentioned before angers signed Catholics, it was either done in a jokey embarrassed way, or just the "religious" divide

Why is it so difficult

Which Celtic songs would you ban?

Anything and everything to do with supporting terrorism. Whisper it, but the Fields of Athenry is cracking.

Then I cannot agree with you

Haven't been to CP for a while, so don't know what the current songbook is.

I heard the Novo song got an airing at the OF game.

As Freud says also, any of the 'RA songs also, designed to give little men a wee chubby at how cunning they are. they are an outlawed terrorist organisation in Great Britain.

Of course that leaves dubiety about the likes of BOTOB, which relates not to the Provisionals but their predecessors.

Nae taste. I love shambolic self pitying folk songs.

Alltogether...."Oh Flower of SCot...."

Ah. I see what you mean.

You'd ban the Novo song?

Oh absolutely. I think it is utterly vile. Manages to incorporate wishing the death of an opposition player with a nice wee shoehorning in of an IRA terrorist bullet, to give the singer a wee chubby on that score too.

I'd love to know why you wouldn't?

I detest the little sack of sh*t as much as the next guy but I would stop short of wishing him dead or singing a song that would infer that I wished he was dead.

There a debate about it on CM which if I remember correctlky your on It's sung by a very small minority and there was boo's when it was started at Fir park I'm led to believe, I never heard it in the south stand lower to be honest. It's a truely awful song song that should embarrass every Celtic fan at so many levels, but ban it, why, because it's objectionable?

I would hope Celtic and Celtic supporters apply pressure to the singers to stop this stupid and pretty disgusting song

Because as much as I hate it, others don't, and I'd hate for tyhe majority at Celtic park to be able to "ban" songs they don't like , stop maybe, never ban

That's the point. What are the criteria for banning songs? How do you think Novo feels when he hears that song?

Falkirk have a history of this as well, with a Norrie McCathie song in our semi recent past, sung by a few mindless fans, which thankfully petered out. That was quite clearly unacceptable, and I would have been happy to see that banned also.

So you don't think it's up to the educated to enlighten the dim witted knuckle dragging scumbags that tarnish the clubs name then?

What is the difference?

You would have banned it, why? because it's disgusting? who decides that and where do you stop





Yes I do, by our disapproval, not by banning





Civil liberties I'd suggest

Oh my sides!!

The committee of songs I am suggesting we need



No such thing as freedom of speech in the UK, as your chairman knows all too well.

You'd ruin football, a great part of it is the get it up you factor against the other team, that is likely to include abusive songs etc, you cannot take that out of football



Of course there is

This is the point I raised yesterday with regards to the famine song. There is a difference between football keeping its house in order and civil liberties being restricted.

So by that analogy you are saying that its ok to dissaprove of something but not ok to stop it or to make others stop it?

I'm glad you don't have anything to do with law making..........."Stop raping that woman now young man do you hear me? I dissaprove of rape strongly and I believe you should too" "Kids eh"?

If people want to sing about Nacho Novo being shot or Scots of Irish descent being repatriated due to their being a decent spud harvest this year that is their business.

If people want to buy a ticket for an SPL game at Ibrox or Celtic park and sing these songs then it's reasonable that Celtic and Rangers take action against them. When you buy a ticket to Ibrox or Parkhead you are going onto the property of a business and thus have agreed to abide by the rules and regulations set by that business, by the league the clubs play in and by the international associations they are members of. These rules clearly state that songs like these are not allowed.

Falkirk FC would be completely within their rights to ban fans for singing the NOrrie McCathie song - it wouldn't be an infringement of their civil liberties or freedom of speech. The same goes for the people who want to sing the Famine song or the Nacho Novo song.

Yes I know, you go further than me if I understand your comments correctly in relation to freedom of speech, although I'm not clear how you relate Rangers wishes to what the supporters sing






But that's the bottom line, ddoes it break the law, yes? it's out, No? then it's up for discussion

There really isn't.

Incitement to racial and religious hatred are both prohibited by legislation in the UK.

No it's not, the Novo song is not nice, the


Break the law in my opinion, pretty sure the police will have to do something on that basis not because it's not a nice song




Rather than breaking this up to answer it (I'm going out or is that being allowed out ) You break the law you are out, I suspect that most Falkirk fans would ban songs about the IRA at Celtic park, I'm not too sure that that same overwhelming majority of celtic fans would

You can say what you want in the UK we have freedom of speech, that does not mean that we have what i consider to be reasonable regulations on what you can say

So we have freedom of speech to say what we want, except for the things we aren't allowed to say?

UK law actually has several limitations in its freedom of speech convention, so you can't "say what you want"

For saying a country has freedom of speech in how it's normally used then we have freedom of speech I'd say

In that regards then no one has freedom of speech you are all just being pedantic

We have a freedom of speech law, however due to the limitations it includes (racial hatred being one of the main examples), you can't say what you want.

The theory is the same in every jurisdiction that have adopted the Convention. They just vary according to what they restrict.

Like Swampy, I am a believer is absolute freedom of speech.

Banning "IRA" stuff would only be the thin end of the wedge imo. Once they had torn into Irish Republicanism they'd be looking to expunge other 'Oirishness' until we were a watered down irrellevance, like Hibs.

I see the complaints sub-forum is full of nonsense accusing myself of terrorist apologism, anti-Britishness, anti-Protestantism etc. etc. which obviously has no basis in anything I've posted.

Once the mob get ideas in their head, though, any appeal to reason is unavailing.

As I say pendant, I was using the phrase as it's normally used in relation to countries.




A minority view by a good distance I'd say

Oh how very true that is.

Indeed. Your status as "the IRA's biggest critic on this board" being well established

Yes, I expect so.

I think your treatment on here is a fair summation as to how Celtic are seen and treated (incorrectly) by a large group of posters on P&B

Doesn't matter how you used the phrase, you were still wrong.

As I said pendant