Jim White tells Celtic fans you are nothing like James McClean as minute’s silence row reaches crescendo on radio
Jim White has told Celtic fans they lack the decorum shown by James McClean over Remembrance Sunday.
The Hoops' travelling fan base at Rugby Park forced an apology from Sky Sports after the silence to mark Remembrance Sunday was disrupted by singing and booing. The jeering from the stands was evident on Sky microphones as Kilmarnock captain Kyle Vassell approached the middle of the pitch with a wreath. Referee Nick Walsh then blew his whistle to commence the period of silence before he quickly ended it as jeers and whistles rang out.
Derek McInnes vented his fury post-match while Brendan Rodgers also weighed in on the situation from the stands pre-match. It's a hot topic of discussion yearly but an act from McClean during Wrexham's clash with Mansfield Town caught the eye of talkSPORT host White. The 35-year-old has never been shy in sharing his beliefs and his opinions but his choice to stand to one side of his team-mates in his own peaceful protest was praised.
White told talkSPORT: "I saw James standing to one side from the rest of the Wrexham boys. I know James McClean. And I want the people out there to know that I speak to him on a semi-regular basis and he is a good guy and is very co-operative when it comes to doing things for this show and talkSPORT.
"But I would argue that there was almost a bit of respect from James by standing to one side. It was his own peaceful protest and that was the way he wanted to go about it. This was anything but peaceful at Rugby Park from the Celtic support."
Giving his view on the situation, Simon Jordan added: "The fact that they get coverage is the difficult thing. If you weren't covering it and focussing on it and expecting people to behave in a certain way they would probably be less inclined to be as vociferous as they are.
"There is a part of me that feels 'no I don't like it and it is unacceptable and a minute's silence should be observed'. But people don't want to and I don't think there is a lot the Scottish authorities can do. What can they do? Reach into the minds of people and understand what they are going to do. What can they do in a situation like this?
"Ban Celtic fans from a game if it is at home because when Remembrance Sunday falls on a Celtic home game ban all the fans on the basis that a few hundred or thousands of fans might do something? Or Kilmarnock could say we aren't going to take any Celtic's fans this weekend because we know what they are going to do."