Peter Lawwell gave this explanation today when asked about the Green Brigade’s stadium ban which starts tomorrow night in the Europa League match against Rennes.
“Over the years in terms of UEFA , we have actually been fined over €500,000 and that can’t go on. So we have had to take that action on the basis of what might happen if we don’t.
“You saw today that Feyenoord fans have been banned from travelling abroad which would affect all our supporters in terms of European travel. So we had to take action to prevent further possible stricter action from UEFA.
“We have the responsibility first for safety and secondly to protect the reputation of the club and the supporters have that as well,” Lawwell said.
“We are all proud of our reputation around the world and I am sure the supporters are.
“For the vast majority of times over there (Green Brigade) it is colour, atmosphere, energy and youth and it’s fantastic but there are times when a small minority let us down.
“The unfortunately concerning thing for us, is that they don’t seem to believe they are doing anything wrong.
“So in terms of overcrowding, pyrotechnics, abusive banners, abusive singing and alcohol in the stadium, these are things that just cannot go on.
“They are against the law, they are against ground regulations and they are against the rules of the competition.
“A small minority are a challenge in terms of safety and protecting club’s reputation,” the Celtic CEO told the Celtic AGM this afternoon.
“Societal issues manifest themselves through football. We built the standing section for safety.
“The Green Brigade provide youth, colour and passion but the concern is they don’t believe they are doing anything wrong.
“They are breaking the law. We have closed 14 rows because of this. When you see certain banners and hear certain songs my heart sinks.
“It allows our enemies to put us in with our rivals. We are not the same, we are different. We had to take action to avoid stricter sanctions from UEFA,” the Daily Record reported.
Niall J picked up this interesting idea from Jarod from Celts Down Under podcast. “Looks like a subject worth broaching for the Board and the Green Brigade” he suggested.
With the banners and songs it’s hard to just pin that on the Green Brigade. Indeed recently there was footage of Rod Stewart sitting in the Celtic boardroom getting the Directors to join him in a chorus of Grace – a rebel song that the BBC refuses to play.
📹 Rod Stewart leads Celtic singalong as Peter Lawwell joins rousing Grace rendition 🎶 https://t.co/8xqa9JVLVJ pic.twitter.com/Jb1iNRKoz3
— Daily Record Sport (@Record_Sport) November 13, 2019
The Cheer Up song is a disgrace and an embarrassment. It was brought into Scottish football to abuse the late, great Tommy Burns and it should never be sung again. However you can’t pin that only on the Green Brigade. Same goes with the banners and no-one has said whether the latest UEFA charge relates to the banner held up by the Green Brigade or by The Bhoys at the other side of the ground. Arguably theirs was more offensive and it could be this one that UEFA objected to.
Common ground can surely be reached on songs and banners but it is the blasted pyrotechnics that are the core of this problem. Lawwell is correct in saying that the Green Brigade don’t think that they are doing anything wrong as the Ulta groups own statement from last night confirmed.
So something needs to give or there is going to be no more Green Brigade at Celtic games. That would be a huge loss for the club. So let’s look at what Niall has sent over after listening to Jarod from Celts Down Under podcast.
Niall takes over from here…
A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE GREEN BRIGADE PYRO PROBLEM
Could it be the key to The Green Brigade’s standoff with the Celtic Board perhaps lies with the governing bodies running Australian football?
Celtic fans podcast ‘Celts Down Under’ have some brilliant content and their regular host Jarrod Hill has put out a possible solution to one of the biggest problems the Green Brigade face at the moment or at least opened up an avenue from which a solution could be found.
Here's a solution for the Green Brigade Pyro shitshow. This is done down here in Australia & in the USA
Thought you'd want to ready this @aHellofaBeating & @TheGallatron. Could be worth discussing on the @90MinuteCynic podcast https://t.co/N8jA6CZHqN
— Jarrod Hill (@JarrodHill82) November 27, 2019
While the Club have claimed the closure of the Green Brigade section for Thursdays night’s game with Rennes is down to all manner of disclosed reasons ranging from overcrowding through offensive chants and public safety, you’d have to say the one issue they really couldn’t find common ground on would be the continued use of Pyrotechnics here and abroad.
As with all disagreements and whatever we may think are the genuine reasons behind the Green Brigade’s exclusion from this particular fixture, it’s safe to say many of the other reasons for the partial closure in the North Curve wouldn’t be insurmountable if discussed openly.
It would take the board to match the reasoned response the Green Brigade came out with in their rather measured and conciliatory toned statement yesterday evening but I’d hazard a guess that once the board view the Resolution 12 issue as being closed down and forced off the agenda and have avoided witnessing a Green Brigade response to it by banning their attendance on Thursday night the Club will be more than willing to get the Green Brigade back on side. They know fine well they need them and they’ll know equally well that their current stance is detrimental to the club going into the busiest part of the season.
As such issues of overcrowding and offensive chants and banners can all be dealt with amicably as there will be a clear will by the weekend on both sides to end this standoff. I’d expect all those peripheral issues will land on common ground.
So how do they deal with the big issue, how do the board open up to a new fan culture (for this Country at least) and how do they find a path that both can walk down together?
In the article posted by the podcast host from the Sydney Morning Herald it stated the A-League and supporters groups there had their own stand-off regarding this issue but perhaps are now finding a solution to suit both parties.
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-to-supply-a-league-active-supporter-groups-with-legal-pyrotechnics-20180309-p4z3o3.html
According to the Sydney Morning Herald article “Football Federation Australia is assisting active supporter groups using pyrotechnics at A-League games and is set to permit “safe” smoke-emitting devices in stadiums next season.
In what is understood to be a world first, a national federation could help supply fans with smoke-emitting devices and encourage use of legal pyrotechnics with the FFA determined to rejuvenate active support in the A-League.
The FFA has not wavered from its firm stance against the lighting of flares inside venues, which is illegal in Australia due to the extreme heat released and potential to cause serious burns. However, in helping fan groups use devices that release volumes of coloured smoke for approximately 90 seconds with limited or no heat, the FFA believes it can find a legal and safe alternative to flares”.
It certainly looks then that with a little bit of effort and negotiation on both parts that there could be lessons we can learn from Australia’s A-League. It’s clear they understand this new culture is likely to remain and would much prefer to be seen as a facilitator to finding a solution rather than using the heavy handed approach of banning orders.
Head of the A-League, Greg O’Rourke explained, “Safe smoke is not the panacea but it will just be one part of the picture to enhance the match-day colour. It’s clear that we have to do some relationship building between the clubs, the fans and the FFA and we’re looking to engage on that with any of those fan groups that wish to do so.”
Apparently O’Rouke found some answers by looking to the USA and a club who had a designated area set aside in their ground for the use of Pyrotechnics and exclusively for a group of supporters who chose to be in that area of the stadium.
Orlando City FC seem to have been the trailblazers on this occasion. It might then be a port of call for the Green Brigade to bring evidence of how it can be done safely or the board to broach the subject and still have the colour and vibrancy that The Green Brigade bring to Celtic Park.
O’Rourke noticed a dwindling of not only attendances but also in the atmosphere. When you consider the A-League is fighting for bums on seats with Aussie Rules, Rugby League and Rugby Union over there, then there are obvious comparisons with Scotland and a small league trying to keep a foothold or get a competitive advantage over bigger footballing nations and attracting younger supporters of this new fan culture could be the way.
The head of the A-League concluded by saying, “We need to get that atmosphere back again. We have lost a bit of that and we have lost it for a lot of reasons,” he said. “It’s very clear that one of the points of difference of our game over others is the atmosphere inside the stadia. It’s the singing, chanting, the rhythm of the game that’s the point of difference that our game can bring, and people come to the venue knowing that they’re going to experience not only the game but all the entertainment of the crowd.”
Jarod himself stated on his twitter feed this morning that “The a-league is still working on it. It’s the police holding this up over here. But at least it’s a possible solution to the issues the GB is currently having with the use of pyro”.
At the very least it’s something both the Green Brigade and the Celtic Board could look to as a way to bridge the chasm that is opening up between them. A balance and agreement has to be found. It may be that solution could be found Down Under.
Niall J
