Fan protest (Covid-compliant)
There is understandable anger and concern among Celtic supporters which has led to a couple of spontaneous protests. While these were, overwhelmingly, responsible and orderly, there is potential for this understandable anger to spill over and for our fans to become vulnerable to arrest. Moreover, we are still in the middle of a pandemic and there is a health risk from gatherings of any kind. On that basis, the Celtic Trust, in recognising that these protests are very likely to continue, have decided to call for a Covid-compliant, organised protest to convey the concerns of the fans to the Club.
Perhaps there will be those who think we should keep quiet and say nothing given the sensitivities around the footballing issues and the health issues, however, we take the view that fan organisations should show leadership in situations like this and that is what we propose to do.
We should make absolutely clear that the Celtic Trust has never, and never will, condone violence or the abuse of employees of the Club. A robust expression of views is, however, a part of football and cannot/should not be suppressed.
Therefore, we have liaised with the Club and with the police and we are now calling on those fans who wish to protest to come to The Celtic Way on Sunday 13th December at 1pm and at no other time.
We urge those who wish to come to follow the guidance carefully:
- Please do not travel from outside Glasgow
- Please wear a face mask (face masks will be available from our stewards)
- Please stand 2m apart in the marked spaces
- Please follow instructions from our stewards
- Please do everything necessary to keep yourselves and others safe
We recognise that there will be mixed feelings on this but please be assured that our aim is to ensure that the Celtic support can express their views safely and to avoid spontaneous demonstrations in which our fans are vulnerable to arrest or becoming ill.
Just don’t see how this will help us at all. As much as we need a change , we are not helping by protesting atm. While it’s still mathematically possible I don’t think it’s called for.
I agree with a well organised protest. NL whom we love should not have been appointed as a long term plan. Board have shown no ambition. Treble winning team and new additions are not playing as it seems for the Manager. There is something seriously wrong within the club. NL does not seem to be involved on player signings and his backroom team are not his choice. Mr Lawwell has been CEO for over 17 years and has had great success but maybe a change is needed. This is a season that could bring us 10 but you would not have thought it means anything the way our team are playing. Change has to happen now not in Jan.HH
We have to protest now before it’s mathematically impossible that is the point to try get the season back up and running
Do you no think this is aw a wee bit premature? We’re only a few points behind them. This just makes us look like a shower of self entitled spoiled weans.
Lennon is a bare minimum manager Gerrard a rookie has the better of him and as long as Lennon stays we will be behind them the man is a dinosaur outdated for today’s game all his ex players have gave his game away go and look at kelvin Wilson’s interview if you want to find out how Sunday league Lennon is
You do not represent the views of many Celtic fans. If you want to support the team then by all means create your atmosphere and sing your songs from outside the stadium to show support for players on match days. Some of the vile behaviour from fans at these demonstrations have been abhorrent and shameful towards a club on the back of 9 years of success.
Sing your songs ? Are yours different ? Did you read the part where the Trust do not condone any violence or abuse towards anyone ?
Board allow protest at 1pm would anyone attending make sure you’ve cleared the area by 2pm stewards will be handing out candles face masks etc bin bags will be on hand for any signs banners left behind people will be watching so no excuses for them to say we’re mhanky HH
Thanks to the Celtic Trust for showing leadership. Something that is sadly lacking from the Celtic Supporters Association, who are simply forelock tuggers.
I don’t agree with these protests as I believe the board have backed the manager and we were all happy enough when the transfer window closed. I accept everyone has a right to protest and if they are going to do so this is a Great idea and the correct way to protest. ?
Really is an idiotic protest…. From a celtic fan.
Pandemic going on football isnt that important
Tell that to folk working through the pandemic in hospitals etc. Celtic is literally my outlet as everything else is shut. So to me the club I have adored from 4 years old is worth fighting for!
Spot on mate
Well done to the trust for organising this.
Without the ability to protest in the stands, something organised in a safe and proper way is the best we can do just now.
I disagree with any form of protest yous where all signing the praises of NL when he stepped in and when the board paid out for players to come in.couple months later you are crying about the same ppl. So the Celtic Trust are backing these protest’s but they get to dictate who can go ie if you ain’t from Glasgow then you can’t go?? so fans from an area out with Glasgow and in the same tier as Glasgow can’t travel,but by government guidelines they can.
Is this Board for real? Allowing a demonstration against themselves and the manager or are they just humouring us fans.
Totally agree with this demo. being done in a safe and organised manner. There is no doubt, in my opinion, that there is a need for one.
AGREED!!!!
Up the Celts.
Hopefully all goes well. As you say not everyone will agree with the demo but I personally think the time for doing nothing has long gone. Sounds like it will be well organised and I would have been there if I didn’t live outside the area. Good luck to you all.
I just don’t think this is time or place for this during this pandemic. I know you are perhaps trying to stem the tide with a covid compliant protest. But bottom line is NL has been given til end of year to try to sort it out. A week before Cup Final I feel that we have to support the team.
Well that ends my short membership of the Celtic Trust. What exactly is the protest for? What do we hope to achieve? How does this help players and staff that are clearly bereft of confidence?
The reason we are doing this is clearly set out in the announcement. I accept you don’t agree but I hope you accept that we are doing this in good faith.
And in the 90s when the Celts For Change movement was happening, you’d have sat back & said “the players are just just short of confidence, what’s the point?” Then the club would die & you’d be wondering why no-one did anything
People who are saying, ‘wasn’t that when Lennon won us 9?’.
Football fans celebrate when they win things, and have a right to protest when things are going far from being good. Don’t forget, people have paid good money to sit and watch Celtic TV, and get pumped off Ross County.
4-1 back to back against an average-poor Sparta Prague side, what else?
Draws with Aberdeen, Hibs, St. Johnstone, beat off our rivals at home, threw in the towel going two nil down. We’ve been throwing in the towel every game, even in Europe one goal down and it feels like 5. The mentality of the squad is abysmal, we have players earning big money, and can’t defeat Ross County, bearing in mind who are fighting for survival, and we lost two goals at home to them. Those of you who aren’t defending the protest, I am sorry, use are a poor excuse for a Celtic Fan.
They will have the cheek to charge us close to thirty quid to watch Celtic v St. Mirren at home next season, this is the mentality of the board. Shocking.
This is a ridiculous protest. We are going for a quadruple treble and because we had a blip after years of dominance people are losing their minds! This is about far more than just results.. this is about all the people who didnt want Lennon now thinking they are right! I had respect for the trust but this is a horrific idea…
The time to protest is now particularly on the back of last nights result. Last nights performance has shown up a number of players who obviously require a good boot up the rear. If you don’t want to be here be up front and get a move in January. The support understand a player having a bad game but will not tolerate a lack of effort on the pitch or training ground. We almost left it too late when Fergus came in. We cannot be accused as a support of being asleep at the wheel. At last some reason for optimism.
This is more a protest against the unelected Director of Football who has, over the last 17 years, lost the Club in the region of £100M due to his interference on the Football side of the Club. Protracted transfer negotiations close season, penny pinching or ‘ Project ‘ signings that never amounted to anything and our reliance on loan players every season that has diverted significant sums of money from the Club. More or less every year we went into European Qualifiers woefully unprepared leading to all the Malmo, Copenhagen, Ferencvaros debacles that cost us Millions. If we were lucky to qualify it was too late in the Transfer Window to make meaningful quality signings ending up with overpriced dross or his favourite, ‘ loan signings’ which invariably cost us an arm and a leg.
A CEO that relied on the paucity of genuine challengers in the years that Sevco spent in the wilderness as they made their journey through the lower leagues making friends as justification for hiring poor managers on a budget. The only 2 occasions that we had proven winners in charge, O’Neill and Rodgers, was when DD our absentee landlord got involved. 2 quality managers that brought success and who could have taken Celtic on to another level footballing wise ended up throwing in the towel due to PL’s meddling in footballing matters. Specifically signings and player retentions. Mowberry, Barnes, Lennon (twice), and Ronnie the Roar. All managers on the cheap, controllable. The major problem with O’Neil and Rodgers was that they were bigger names in football than the CEO. He couldn’t control them. Their relationship with the supporters was something he could only dream of.
Almost 20 years he’s been in charge and where do we find ourself in probably the most important season since Lisboa? Out of 3 cup tournaments, 13 points behind a FFP noncompliant Sevco all before the year end.
Perhaps the biggest failures of our esteemed Accountant and fellow members of the board lie in the areas of FFP, reform of the SFA, Res12/11. 8 years since Rangers died and our Board has allowed the Survival/Continuity lie to prosper, Nimmo Smith set up, no comment. On every issue that threatens our club, brutal treatment of our players on the park, partisan West of Scotland Media bias, scandalously biased refereeing from the Lanarkshire Refereeing Assoc, or should that be Lodge and the blatantly pro Sevco SFA our Board’s response is the predictable ‘ we are surprised…..’ press release then nothing, zilch , nada. The Board believe protecting our Club means preserving the ‘Old Firm’ brand, a concept that is morally reprehensible to a large part of our following. Protecting our Club to the Board means protecting the share price at all costs.
Previous posters on here have questioned why we need to demonstrate and why now.
The reason is really quite simple. What kind of Club do we want Celtic to be? A Club like no other or a Plc where cash is king? A Club that values it’s roots and acts in keeping with it’s founding principles or a Club that by it’s acquiescence condones the bigotry and the corruption that permeates Scottish Football? A Club that champions the underdogs and poor and disenfranchised in our communities or a Club that has lost it’s soul and curries favour with the ‘prawn sandwich’ brigade.
I know which kind of Club I want.
H.H.
Please reconsider Celtic Trust.We are all hurting……tomorrow is neither the time nor
the place.
Tony, we are going to have to agree to disagree on this but we appreciate you contacting us.
I have been on this journey since the early sixties and perceive myself as being mainly spoiled , we will have joyous memories we will take to the grave and some others we tuck under the bed .
From a distance some may see our fan’s most recent behaviour as being a bit premature , for me and plenty of others this is not the case , we have sat back for seasons now accepting European embarrassment and more recently the ‘Scotland’s Finest’, now before we loose any more points and credibility is the time to show all we deem this unacceptable .
HH
Well done to all those who managed to turn up today. Loved the banners!