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Genuine Racism Is A Serious Issue That Should Be Called Out, Not Undermined By Blaming Everything On Prejudice

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It goes without saying that racism is a very serious issue that should be called out whenever it presents itself. As Celtic supporters, we know all too well about anti-Irish racism and the struggles of the club’s founding fathers in Glasgow. Many Glasgow businesses also displayed the slogan ‘No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish’. Aside of this, there was the whole flag controversy when the SFA tried to remove the Irish tri-colour from Celtic Park, whilst we are still serenaded by The Famine Song against certain opposition.

Celtic has been an inclusive club since the outset. The club fielded an Orangeman in goal in its second season, despite the anti-Irish racism experienced by Celtic and it’s fans. We broke barriers by signing Mohammed Salim, ‘The Indian Juggler’. He was the first Indian to play football in Europe, let alone Britain and he did so because his cousin approached Celtic boss, Willie Maley, asking for a trial. The Hoops also signed Gil Heron, ‘The Black Arrow’. Heron, father of famous musician, Gil Scott Heron, was the first black player to play for a Scottish club.

Undoubtedly, Celtic are not immune to racism. Indeed, the shameful Mark Walters incident reflected this when fans in the Jungle threw bananas at the Rangers player in 1987. As The Celtic Story play said, a year later, “After the racism we have suffered, how dare you?” Since then the support has come a long way and very much reflects its early inclusive values.

There have been numerous banners and charitable work done by the likes of the Green Brigade to support refugees, victims of racism and everything from the LGBT community to asylum seekers. Alongside St Pauli, Celtic is possibly one of the most politically active football supports, with an easily identified left wing stance. For that reason, the likes of Stan Collymore have been attracted to the club. Whilst of course there will always be a minority of individual idiots.

With that said, John Barnes has been active on Twitter today. The former Celtic manager suggested that his sacking was as a result of racism. When dug up about this he cited two issues – “Other managers got more time,” and “the fans had turned on me, they were unconsciously biased.”

The facts tell a different story.

Celtic gave John Barnes his first managerial appointment in football. Why would the club appoint him if the boardroom was racist?

Barnes was sacked after 29 games in charge. During this time he drew 8 matches and lost 2. He was also eliminated from the cup by lowly Inverness Caledonian Thistle from the Scottish First Division. If anyone else had such a record, they too could expect to be sacked in the Scottish football with a club like Celtic. Can he honestly say he was doing a good job overall? He admitted himself there was discontent in the dressing room, clearly that indicates time for change! He got manager of the month in January and may have been more fortunate if Henrik Larsson didn’t break his leg, however, he failed to win a third of his matches at the club, not to mention to huge transfer fees wasted on the likes of Eyal Berkovic and Rafael Scheidt. Celtic’s fortunes took a massive upturn with a treble the next season and two decades of dominance, so history shows the decision was correct.

During his tenure, Barnes did not receive racist abuse from the Celtic support. He did lose popularity after an embarrassing defeat and a poor league run, which left Celtic trailing in the title race. That has nothing to do with skin colour and everything to do with being poor for the football club. Tony Mowbray suffered the same fate after his dreadful record and 4-0 defeat to St Mirren, which earned him the sack. Was this unconscious bias? Or the fact he had a shockingly embarrassing result after an already poor season?

Barnes was sacked in February and Mowbray was sacked in March. Therefore, are we led to believe that Mowbray enjoyed a massively longer run at the helm? Both were removed after their embarrassing results (3-1 loss to ICT and 4-0 loss to St Mirren). The fact is that Mowbray’s embarrassment happened to come a few weeks later in the season. Both resulted instant dismissals, the fact Mowbray was white didn’t buy him any time.

Kenny Dalglish was readily available to take over from Barnes on an interim basis. A club legend, this made the dismissal easy at a time when Barnes, who was a rookie manager, had lost support and the dressing room. Dalglish never got the job, it was offered to Martin O’Neill at the end of the season. Perhaps Dalglish can feel aggrieved at that, why wasn’t he given a chance?

Mowbray was replaced by Neil Lennon on an interim basis, an experienced white manager being sacked after a poor result, to be replaced by an inexperienced white man in his first job. Maybe Mowbray could question this? Was this something to do with him and his identity? Obviously, not. Just as it wasn’t the case with Barnes either.

Another poor manager, Lou Macari was in charge for 34 games. As a popular ex-player, he lasted just 5 games longer than Barnes. Again, is this few games really such a standout display of a white man being given more time?

Timings are different based on when events occur, expectations at the time, league positions, who is available as a replacement and many other variables. You could compare two white managers and question the timing of their dismissals. The likes of Tommy Burns could question why he was sacked, having brought the first piece of silverware to the club in many seasons. It just gets beyond ridiculous.

Hundreds of Celtic fans turned up to welcome Barnes. They turned after poor results and in-fighting in the dressing room. They have done this with white managers too. These same fans sing for Odsonne Edouard every week and idolise him. Edouard is a black footballer, the difference is he has been superb for Celtic. Beginning to see the common theme here?

Celtic fans are some of the most anti-racist in football. They’ve had issues in the past, no doubt, and should never be complacent. However, to try and rewrite history because of the brutality of the American police towards black citizens is absurd.

In blaming everything on racism, when clearly untrue, it undermines the issue. The genuine concern would be if Barnes had received racist abuse. The wider issue is racist discrimination and black people being unjustly targeted and killed. Those things should absolutely be called out and protested against.

In fact, the Celtic support have been at the forefront of that with the Green Brigade renaming Glasgow’s streets and taking videos of support for Black Lives Matter.

When you say everything is racist such as being sacked when you were not doing a very good job at Celtic, then you run the risk of undermining the issue of racism. You make it easy for people to be ignorant and to dismiss racist claims. That is not in anyone’s interests. Let’s tackle racism properly… genuine racism, not nonsense.

“I think John didn’t really know what it meant to be at Celtic.” Henrik Larsson – 2007.

To add insult to injury, Barnes shows a lack of Celtic knowledge with a reference to sectarianism. Celtic has employed and played protestants since the club’s second season. Songs on the terraces refer to Irish rebellion, where primarily Catholics, but Protestants too, fought for Irish freedom and civil rights of the Irish people in the North. It is not about hating Protestants and not a single rebel song has an anti-protestant lyric in it. These comments highlight ignorance, and it’s Barnes who is the ignorant one… how ironic.


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About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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