SO STEVEN GERRARD in trying to draw a line under his players’ thug like behaviour on Sunday has decided to announce Celtic are playing the victim card. My word this man is behaving now like he has error strewn judgement in the face of a season ending game and the possible impact on his own tenure at Ibrox.
That’s right folks 3 assaults on the Celtic captain Scott Brown during and after the match from 3 separate members of his team and they are still trying to play the blame game. This defence is desperate it lacks intelligence and any form of credibility.
Too many prods? (Somebody explain that one for the thickos 🙂 pic.twitter.com/0GFghEhbwG
— Kneel Doncaster (@IncubatorMan) April 2, 2019
In various formats of the printed press this morning the Rangers manager has had a dig at the club in particular Neil Lennon and John Kennedy for their post-match comments.
Having already stated that Scott Brown ‘antagonised it all’ and deserved to be punished himself he’s now compounding this idiocy with his continued deflection tactics away from 3 of his players who assaulted one man.
Lennon and Kennedy have both defended the player and teammate Callum McGregor has also succinctly stated his belief that Brown was basically ‘assaulted twice for a bit of mind games’.
Lennon has called the treatment ‘disgraceful’ and Kennedy very eloquent in his Monday press conference called criticism of Broony ‘ludicrous’. All three are echoing what any right minded human being would say in the light of 3 different assaults on a man who never raised more than a smile or 8 fingers. He did have a wee dance mind you and that was criminal!
This hasn’t stopped Steven Gerrard though. He somewhat played himself into this corner by making his childish comments to the press in the immediate aftermath calling for the antagonist to face the same punishment as the attackers. He’s now decided compounding this is better than back-tracking now.
In stating first he wasn’t going to comment he decided to stick to his guns by, well commenting really.
“Neil Lennon will say what Neil Lennon wants to say his assistant will say whatever he wants to say. If they want to play the victim card that’s up to them.”
Let’s get this right the club captain was assaulted. Assaulted twice during the game first by the elbow of a man Gerrard has no disciplinary control over whatsoever as is evident from 5 red cards this season and by Ryan Kent with a straight arm punch clearly trying to injure the Celtic captain. Brown’s ‘crime’ if anything was a bit of gamesmanship. There is no comparison to the retribution meted out compared to the so called provocation Brown handed out.
His players deserve the punishment and Gerrard would do well to put up and shut up. Morelos gets a 4 game ban while young Kent has somehow managed to escape with the offer of a 2 game ban for his attack on Broony. If rumours they intend to appeal this are true I hope the powers that be decide to add the extra 2 games he should be getting for the brazen brass neck of any appeal.
Celtic are not playing the victim card at all. They are right to defend the player. They have left all comment on any punishment due to the offenders to those who will dispense it the justice.
Celtic have merely defended their employee assaulted in his workplace for basically showing a wee bit of cheek and being at the wind up. The retribution did not match ‘crime’. If it happened in any town centre on any night out, it wouldn’t be the guy giving out the verbal’s in the taxi queue that would face the punishment. Justice would be dished out to the 3 who took the defence beyond a verbal retort and turned to physical violence.
Gerrard is starting to look like a man feeling the strain, his actions post-match highlight this. I hope his employers will have a word in his shell like and tell him to back off. I won’t hold my breath.
Niall J
