the third open meeting of
celtic supporters

Disclaimer: I was asked by NTV to provide my personal observations on the third Open Meeting of Celtic supporters on 20th March at St Mary’s, Calton. Whilst I have been as honest as I can be in recollecting my memory of what took place please bear in mind it is not an official account of the meeting. That can be found at http://www.celtictrust.net/ThirdOpenMeeting.htm

 

The Commitment(s)

Having attended the previous Open Meeting as someone with an interest in the aim of the meetings and having witnessed the difficulties in trying to achieve some degree of critical mass, I could not help but think that those trying to create a lobby where the various Celtic Supporter Groups (CSGs) could come together and discuss issues in order to approach Celtic as a united group, had never seen Alan Parker’s movie The Commitments. * Either that, or if they have, they thought, “Feck it, we are going to sing our own soul music” and they went ahead anyway.

If the latter, I salute them.

If the former, I recommend they watch the movie to see the pitfalls that await them, but encourage them to still charge on regardless……

(* The vision of Jimmy Rabbite, the man behind the Commitments was to play soul music that sang from the Celtic spirit of Dublin and to play it with such harmony, that others would want to listen. The similarities of aims are striking.)

The Third Meeting.

So to the Third Open meeting of around 80 souls which met at the point where, having agreed at the previous meeting that a band was a good idea and, having debated over the “song” they needed to rehearse in order to give them and their prospective audience a belief that they were worth listening to, “The Poppy” issue” was the one they decided to cover as one that would surface again this year and one the support could unite around.

However in the intervening period the issue of the quality of referees in Scotland was added to the list such was the feeling amongst the Celtic support about “the honest mistakes” being made that only ever seem to benefit one team in Scotland, the one in deep financial difficulties.

The Poppy

A proposal was put forward that Celtic adopt the white poppy as a symbol that respected the history of the club more than the red poppy, that for many of the support has become militarised and associated with an army at whose hands some of the support had suffered.

The legitimacy of this feeling being dismissed by those with an anti Celtic agenda, more determined to paint Celtic into a corner rather than get them out of the one they had got themselves into when they started singing the racist Famine Song.

The meeting recognised that Celtic would be pilloried whatever steps they took, but the feeling of the meeting was strong that the wearing of the red poppy - particularly on the jersey - was an imposition that Celtic, like some clubs in England, should have resisted from the outset and this argument still stood.

In any case, the argument for forcing those left behind to honour the memory of the dead persons in a particular way goes directly against WHY those that died did so.

It was to stop war, bring peace and protect the freedom to exercise individual choice in a responsible manner.

If those dead could see what Scotland has made of their sacrifice in the last few years, they would cry out in despair at their deaths being used as an instrument to foment further conflict.

The mood of the meeting was that the white poppy, whilst a well intentioned proposal that still carried some merit and could be kept in reserve, diverted from the key issue of denial of an individual being free to exercise responsible choice:

* Our individual re sponsible choice to wear a red poppy.

* Or not to wear one.

* To attend a minutes silence.

* Or not to attend it.

* Our responsibility to recognise and respect the responsible choice of others.

* Our responsibility not to respect the irresponsible choices of others.

Is this denial of individual freedom how the dead, whose memory the wearing of the red is supposed to commemorate, wish to be honoured?

It is unlikely Poppy Scotland intended what was the symbol of a deserving charity to be hijacked for political purposes, but in the case of Celtic in Scotland it has been, and it is time to say enough.

Consequently, the meeting asked that the message be taken back to Celtic that the support wished the club to decline to wear the poppy on the jersey, making it a player’s choice and in respect of the matter of the minutes silence and to the extent the club were in control, to follow the principle of recognising each individual’s freedom to make responsible choices and in so doing truly honour the memory of why those that died did so.

Should this request fall on deaf ears the issue of using the white poppy of peace would be revisited by the CSGs represented at the meeting before the Poppy issue resurfaced in November.

The Honest Mistakes.

No Celtic supporter needs telling the background for this addition to the Meeting’s agenda. Feelings were running high about what looks like blatant favouring of Rangers by match officials or those responsible for appointing them at the SFA as well as how the SFA administer the disciplinary rules.

The problem was what to do about a system that the Celtic support have lost confidence in.

The proposal put forward below was discussed.
The feeling from some was that the language could be stronger, more direct and down to earth.

The counter argument was that to do that might open opportunities for those, only too keen to do so, to deflect from the central message that all Celtic wanted was a level playing field on which to play the game, which was the SFA’s responsibility to deliver.

The fact that other Scottish teams might feel the same way was seen as another reason to support the proposal although the mood of the meeting was it had to be clear that the message of loss of confidence came directly from a Celtic support that put a lot of money into Scottish Football.

The proposal was intended to set a goal, something against which future progress could be measured, but the feeling in the room was also to back it up with some teeth.

The pros and cons of boycotting some away games was discussed and a show of hands indicated a large number in attendance were in favour, (although that was still not an indicator of wider support), but the logistical difficulties of organising something effective quickly combined with the sacrifice having to be borne by a few, meant nothing immediate could be considered in boycott terms.

However, if there were no signs of Celtic and SFA action on the proposal then organised boycotts of certain away games next season were not ruled out of the question.

Other easier ways of demonstrating the supporters’ dissatisfaction, like turning their backs on play for a time or brandishing red cards at referees and the SFA, to make our feelings known to the world were also discussed and these ideas are still under consideration to underpin the following proposal agreed at the Meeting that Celtic be asked to convey to the SFA.

It may be embellished before being passed on but the core message speaks for itself:

The Proposal

1. As a result of evidence accumulated during this football season 2009/10, the Celtic support in all forms, who are major contributors to the financial well being* of the game in Scotland, have lost all confidence in the ability of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to administer professional football in Scotland in manner that reflects their duty of care to all aspects of the game and everyone who takes part in it.

2. The lost confidence will only be restored by the implementation of policies and procedures covering four major areas of concern viz:

(i) Transparency in Appointments Procedures
ii) Transparency in Disciplinary Procedures
(iii) Accountability of all Office Holders
(iv) An Annual and Independent Audit of SFA policies, appointments and Disciplinary Procedures.

3. The Celtic support asks Celtic to convey our concerns and their provenance to the appropriate authorities as they see fit viz:

* Football Authority in Scotland (The SFA)
* and Europe (UEFA)
* Civil authority (on the issue of proper governance.)

4. We note the Review of Scottish Football being conducted by Henry McLeish and ask if his terms of reference agreed with the SFA cover the issues described above and if not, why not and will they be added?

* Note: As a club, we are one member of the SFA (i.e. 2.5% share of voice), however as supporters with average gates of 55,000+ then we represent approx 33% of the 170,000 CUSTOMERS who pay to watch Scottish Football.

Having 2.5% customer dissatisfaction is a problem, 33% is a disaster waiting to happen.

The Commitments.

Remember them? If this great Open Meeting adventure is not to fail as The Commitments did, and some of the difficulties stemming from lack of authority and mandate were evident in the conduct of the meeting, some form of informal structure is required.

Now if that is not Irish neither were my ancestors, but just because it is Irish it can be done.

Like the Commitments, the Open Meeting has to find a way to transform itself into an entity that sings Celtic soul songs that others will want to listen to. Songs created from the Celtic heart, with passion for sure, but songs with reason and purpose: The overall purpose always being the ongoing prosperity, spiritually and materially of Glasgow Celtic.

However, despite the quality of their songs the Commitments ultimately failed because the needs of the individuals took precedence over the group. If the Open Meeting is to become the lobby, a forum where the Celtic support can voice their concerns knowing that they will be transformed into songs that will be listened to, then Group and individual egos are going to have to be suspended at times for that greater good.

The shape and form of a relevant informal structure are being looked at by those involved in the Open Meeting process and will be published in accessible places for consultation and feedback from those interested in taking part as they are developed.

AULDHEID

Footnote: the final letter sent to Celtic can be read on the Celtic Supporters Association and The Celtic Trust web site.

The Celtic Trust http://www.celtictrust.net/LettertoCelticandSFA.htm
CSA http://www.celticsupporterassoc.co.uk/showthread.php?t=411

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