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Should Celtic be excluded from Remembrance Sunday tributes? Brendan Rodgers remarks and fan protests debated
Remembrance Sunday commemorations were abandoned at Rugby Park yesterday after a section of Celtic fans disrupted the minute's silence.
Grounds across the UK fell silent this weekend as a mark of respect for Britain’s war dead. However, the pre-match tribute in Ayrshire was cut short after just nine seconds as supporters in the away end jeered, let off fireworks and chanted about the death of Aidan McAnepise, who was shot by a British soldier in County Tyrone in 1988.
Members of the Green Brigade also waved large Irish and Palestinian flags above a banner which read: "From Balfour to Starmer, The crimes of the empire live on, Britain is committing genocide in Gaza." As the moment of contemplation was drowned out, ref Nick Walsh abruptly ended the gesture as Hoops fans continued to protest. Sky Sports commentator Ian Crocker immediately apologised to viewers who may have been offended.
READ MORE: Derek McInnes lambasts 'awful' Celtic fans as Remembrance Sunday minute's silence cut short
The Green Brigade fan group - who describe themselves as anti-fascist and left-wing - last night released a statement explaining the reasons behind the protests as they highlighted "the hypocrisy and shame of the British establishment and others who selectively mourn the loss of life and fail to support an armistice to the ongoing genocide in Palestine."
However, Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes hit out at the Celtic fans who disrupted the silence. He said: "Awful. Why? I'm not going into it, I'm not a politician or anything but it's our ground, it's our minute's silence. I don't get why we shouldn't have the wherewithal just to stand and show a bit of respect for one minute."
Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers also felt that the silence should have been completed, adding: "I think if it's a minute silence it should be a minute. That's the reality of it. I think you guys know the script up here at this time of the year. It's always a challenge.
"But if it's a minute silence, it's a minute silence. I think we all want to respect that. And we all understand that some don't. So it can be a divisive one. But like I say, I understand. But really, my chat is for the football and that's something else. that's outside of that, sadly."
The show of defiance has made headlines across the country and was raised as a key talking point on talkSPORT's Breakfast Show as Jim White, Simon Jordan and ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown delivered their thoughts. You can read the debate in full below as the pundits discussed if Celts should be hammered by the SFA and whether or not the club should be involved in Remembrance Sunday tributes moving forward. Former Crystal Palace owner Jordan also criticised the way Rodgers addressed the issue in his post-match interviews.
Full talkSPORT transcript
Simon Jordan: I'm not entirely sure where they can go with it. I mean, there is a school of thought that says people, however you might not like their view, have a right to express their opinions. And if they don't particularly appreciate the remembrance of the circumstances, then you can't make them. You can't make them. The fact that they get coverage is a difficult thing, because if you weren't covering it, and focusing on it and expecting people to behave in a certain way, then they probably would be less inclined to be as vociferous as they are. And there's a part of me that feels no I don't like it. I think it's it's unacceptable and I think that a minute's silence should be observed but people don't want to and I don't think there's a lot that the Scottish authorities can do, what can they do? Reach into the minds of people and understand what they're gonna do? What can they do in a situation like this? Ban Celtic fans from a game if it's a home because Remembrance Sunday falls on a Celtic home game, ban all the fans on the basis that maybe a few hundred or thousands of Celtic fans might do something or Kilmarnock could say we're not gonna take any Celtic fans this weekend because we know what they're gonna do?
Martin Keown: I think Simon is right on this because it's a very deep-rooted issue, particularly as you've got a lot of Irish Catholic fans that go to those games and there's a resistance obviously to the British flag and the history that exists over the years with a lot of those fans and where they come from. I don't think it's an issue that's gonna go away, I think it's generational. I think maybe along the line, it disappears, but what, you know, for some people is still fresh and there's an issue, and that's why you're seeing it.
Jim White: When it comes to Remembrance Sunday silence at all, is it not an idea to exclude Celtic from it?
SJ: There's a part of me that thinks that is in part a solution. What are you gonna do if Celtic are playing at home on Remembrance Sunday? Are you going to say to them if it's at Parkhead that you can't have 50,000 Celtic fans inside the stadium?
JW: I'm saying maybe not have the silence at all.
SJ: That's the argument that Derek McInnes is in part making, which is the football in Scotland and every aspect of it from how the constructive Scottish football was put together. The value is only Celtic and Rangers. So in that instance, what we would be saying is that because a section of Celtic's fanbase, however big it may be, are not prepared to turn their back on that and not prepared to keep their powder dry for one minute, that the entirety of the opposition have to accept that. So, whoever's playing and that situation, Celtic are excluded from the minute's silence in the same way that the dreadful and revolting chants that they thought were funny to chant when Queen Elizabeth passed away, and all that went with that, that they should be accepted. They could be tolerated, they don't have to be accepted in terms of, you know, the idea that they have these views in the same way that James McClean has a view. I don't agree with James McClean's view. He takes everything back to 1972 and Bloody Sunday, and everything went with that, and he himself talks about the poppy and wants to stand aside, and more people focus on it. I mean, James McClean's entitled to an opinion.
JW: Do you think a points deduction is over the top?
SJ: I don't see how you can consequence the football club for a section of its fan base. I mean, it's like, ultimately I never agree with the consequences in our federation because an idiot minority of football fans want to boo another team's national anthem. I just don't think you can eradicate it. You can show your contempt for it, your disdain for it. I think it's an embarrassment to Celtic Football Club as a leading football club in European and world football, that a section of their fan base wanna behave in such a disrespectful fashion. They don't respect the value of it. We're asking people for whatever reason and digging deep into their psyche to understand their objections to it and I'm sure a few of them will be able to explain them, and a lot of them won't, but they don't respect this particular moment. They don't respect the passing of the Queen, and so you're not going to make them. We're not going to make them. All we can do is have our view on it and say it's unacceptable, it's a blot on Celtic, there's a football club. I'd like to see the football manager being a tad more condemnatory and a tad more robust. If he's gonna say something, say something, but you're gonna say that you think it's unacceptable, say it's unacceptable, don't walk down the line of the endless politician that you seek to be, if you're going to say something on this subject matter and you're gonna wear a poppy yourself and you're gonna observe the minute's silence yourself, then you're representing a leading football club and maybe just a tad more condemnatory from Brendan - not that they would take any notice of it quite frankly.
