A WORKING class hero is, as John Lennon sang on the first album he released as a solo artist following the break up of The Beatles back in 1970, something to be.
The members of Scotland’s ultra groups clearly agree with that sentiment judging by the tone of the self-congratulatory “Fairer Deal For Fans” joint statement which 14 of them posted at the same time on X (formerly Twitter) last Sunday evening.
But it was another line from Lennon’s polemic about the ordinary man and woman in the street being subjugated by “the machine” which sprang to mind as I read a release which showed a quite staggering lack of self-awareness and no little arrogance.
You’re still f******* peasants as far as I can see.
There was much in the missive which a supporters’ collective that comprises The Green Brigade, Bhoys Celtic, Block E, Motherwell Bois, Block Seven, Cowshed Morton, Ultras City, Eastside City, Fair City Unity, Northbank, Section 1869 and Ultras Thistle put online which it was difficult to argue with.
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The hardcore elements which every one of this country’s leading clubs have among their fanbases definitely “generate atmospheres, create vibrant displays and help provide the drama and excitement that makes our game special”.
The managers in the dugout and the players on the pitch do their bit on that front as well. Their fellow fans hardly sit on their hands and keep their mouths shut once a match kicks off too. Nevertheless, it is a valid point. Modern all-seated stadiums can be awful, antiseptic, soulless places. The young team bring, as Neil Lennon would say, the thunder.
The gripe they voiced about ticket pricing will also have resonated with many punters. Top level football in Scotland is nowhere near as expensive as it is in England. Still, “a huge financial burden” is indeed being put on those who attend home and away during a cost of living crisis. Owners, chief executives, chairmen and directors need to be cognisant of that.
The mental health initiatives, foodbanks, community action groups and charity fundraising campaigns which are spearheaded by ultras are also laudable.
So what is the problem if they do so much good? If only it was so simple. For every commendable act they carry out it seems that a law is broken. The claim that the media has “repeatedly misrepresented working-class fans, amplifying isolated incidents while ignoring the overwhelming positive impact of supporter culture” is erroneous in the extreme.
It would be wrong to tar every ultras group with the same brush. I have no evidence of Block E, Cowshed Morton of Fair City Unity, for instance, causing their clubs or the authorities any significant headaches. But the charge sheet against their contemporaries is lengthy indeed. Their many misdemeanours are far from “isolated incidents”.
In the past few seasons there has been evidence of them forcing fire exits open, tailgating through turnstiles and causing overcrowding in stands, threatening and abusing stewards, posting photographs of police officers online and putting their personal wellbeing at risk, displaying racist and offensive banners, firing rockets above the heads of players on the park, bullying fans out of their allocated seats, singing sectarian songs, celebrating the massacre of innocent civilians, assaulting supporters in the street, throwing missiles, invoking fines and reduced ticket allocations and scarring children for life with discarded flares.
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Their widespread and illegal use of pyrotechnics has led to games being delayed and even postponed and caused no end of distress to the disabled, to those who suffer from asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and epilepsy as well as the many good folk who simply want to go to the fitba without being engulfed by toxic fumes.
There was widespread outrage about the kettling of The Green Brigade on London Road before Celtic’s league match against Rangers at Parkhead back in March and it is only right that incident that is investigated to ensure proper protocols were followed and human rights respected.
But one thing was conveniently overlooked amid the outcry. Police were only given Section 60 powers because of the unrest which broke out in Glasgow city centre before the Premier Sports Cup final in December when dozens, hundreds even, of ultras were involved in running battles along Argyle Street.
The videos which were posted on social media websites of frightened Christmas shoppers screaming in terror as they huddled in doorways for safety and burning flares were hurled about indiscriminately around them and heavily outnumbered police officers desperately battered troublemakers with batons beggared belief. What would have happened if one of those lit devices had landed in a pensioner’s hood? Or a baby’s pram?
It was beyond ironic that, just days after they had lamented the unfair persecution they are regularly subjected to, the North Curve Celtic X feed this week invited fans to attend a “Trongate Title Party” this afternoon.
Glasgow City Council have warned supporters not to attend gatherings which have caused significant disorder in recent years and “robbed the public purse of hundreds of thousands of pounds”. Police have echoed those sentiments. There have been serious injuries and multiple arrests in the past.
Ultras have a huge amount to offer Scottish football. Our game would be badly diminished without them. But they need to realise their myriad misdeeds will not be ignored and endeavour to channel their energies in a constructive manner going forward. If they don’t, their voices will never be heard.
At the moment, far too many of them are, as Lennon lamented on Working Class Hero, “f****** peasants”.
