THE row that has developed since footage emerged on social media of an Irish flag being grabbed by Dundee stewards at yesterday’s Premiership match at Dens Park, intensives today and now looks like making TV news today. The Hoops supporter who owned the flag was able to recover it after a heated argument with the stewards and seemed to have been ejected from the stadium as a result.
First of all let’s look at what happened when the Dundee stewards grabbed the Irish flag hanging over the ledge.
Cops just up and take Irish flag. This is what Scotland has come to. pic.twitter.com/ArXYm2lJJ8
— HoopsMerch (@HoopMerch67) March 17, 2019
Now let’s listen the short Captain Haggerty Noncast, where Angela Haggerty makes a very valid point about what happened at Dens Park yesterday.
“Instead of having a parade through Glasgow – a city that became home to many Irish immigrants – we see footage of an Irish flag being confiscated at a football game,” she says.
Captain Haggerty Noncast episode 8: Instead of having a parade through Glasgow – a city that became home to many Irish immigrants – we see footage of an Irish flag being confiscated at a football game. This is racism disguised, and officially sanctioned by the word ‘sectarianism’ pic.twitter.com/d4u4dagGyx
— Captain Haggerty (@AngelaHaggerty) March 17, 2019
But is it racism or is that a stretch?
Credit to Raman Bhardwaj from STV who this morning addressed the matter of the removal of the tricolour yesterday directly with Dundee FC.
John Nelms, who is the Managing Director at Dundee, told the STV News Sports Reporter that the flag was removed because it was covering an advertising hoarding.
Speaking outside Hampden ahead of an SPFL board meeting, Helms told Bhardwaj: “The flag itself was taken down because it was covering up a board that was paid for by patrons that support the club.
“That’s the only reason it was taken down.”
Watch the brief interview HERE.
Which would seem to be fair enough, but why not simply go up to the supporters and ask them to remove it rather than grabbing it from below?
However putting that to one side, perhaps Raman, can grab the Dundee MD on his way out of Hampden today and ask him about this photograph from the Dundee v Rangers game in December 2018.
Will John Nelms confirm if this Rangers flag was removed because it is also clearly covering an advertising hoarding?
If it wasn’t they why was it okay for them to display their flag but not fine for Celtic supporters – on St Patrick’s Day – to display an Irish tricolour in exactly the same way?
Perhaps the Celtic support should mobilise for the next match, which is against the Rangers on (Beautiful) Sunday 31 March by making sure we have as many Irish tricolours as possible to wave. With 58,000 Celtic supporters at this game and a worldwide audience for the match which will be shown live on Sky TV, we have a great chance to Fly the Flag, after all – we’ve won the league again!
Here are the Bhoys getting their flag back…
You need to take back what belongs to you ???????? #DUNCEL pic.twitter.com/Va8fIBbQMw
— Stephen Roberts ???? (@Roberts1521) March 17, 2019
“Police today in Dundee were a disgrace. Assaulting fans, shouting abuse, denying entry for standard banners and then, on St Patrick’s Day no less, removing an Irish tricolour from a fan and ejecting them. The recent hysteria has fuelled this madness and could have caused a riot,” FAC stated on Twitter.
Police today in Dundee were a disgrace. Assaulting fans, shouting abuse, denying entry for standard banners and then, on St Patrick’s Day no less, removing an Irish tricolour from a fan and ejecting them. The recent hysteria has fuelled this madness and could have caused a riot. pic.twitter.com/SuZtI5vTOM
— FAC (@FACKilltheBill) March 17, 2019
