St Mirren supporting MSP pokes fun at Morton during Holyrood debate
A ST MIRREN supporting MSP poked fun at Morton during a debate in Holyrood earlier this week.
Paisley-born politician Kenneth Gibson, who is the MSP for Cunninghame North, joked that fellow MSP Christine Grahame would "make the Morton first team" despite her self-professed lack of knowledge about football.
He jokingly claimed that instead of reading out team sheets over the Cappielow tannoy, Morton’s announcer recites "the names of the supporters who have turned up".
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The gags came during a members’ business debate about the partnership agreement signed between the Ton's bitter rivals and the University of the West of Scotland, which is aimed at changing the relationship between sport and education in Scotland.
(Image: Paul Ramsay/Scottish Parliament) Mr Gibson quipped: “I say to Christine Grahame that, although she might not know a lot about football, she would still make the Morton first team.
“If anyone has not seen the team’s DVD, ‘Morton: 100 Great Throw-ins’, it is well worth watching.”
His remarks were met with scattered laughter and mutters of ‘oh dear’ from around the chamber.
In reply, the Scottish Parliament’s deputy presiding officer Liam McArthur said that he suspected the Cappielow club would be ‘writing to the Presiding Officer to demand a right to reply’.
Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Stuart McMillan, himself a Morton fan, also contributed to the debate, highlighting the work of the European Football for Development Network (EFDN) to the Scottish Government’s minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport Maree Todd.
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He said: “Does the minister recognise the European Football for Development Network, of which Greenock Morton Football Club is a member, which helps to promote clubs across the European continent, particularly some of the smaller clubs, which then mix with some of the major players such as Bayern Munich, Juventus and Manchester United?”
Ms Todd replied that she was happy to recognise the EFDN’s work and added that Scotland has ‘some of the best community football clubs in Europe’.
The debate closed with Mr McArthur thanking Mr McMillan for "providing Morton with the right to reply".
