Celtic were the target of abuse ahead of Saturday’s Glasgow Derby, something all too familiar to Neil Lennon, Scott Brown and Scottish football.
Sky Sports has reported that Police Scotland is investigating after Celtic alerted the authorities about the situation. There have been no arrests made so far.
The situation, which was captured on video and has made its rounds throughout social media, included people shouting abuse at the Celtic coach as it arrived at Ibrox ahead of their Glasgow Derby clash against the Rangers on Saturday. Standing in 2021, it is sad that such language is still being used at a football game.
In addition to the abuse that the team received while entering Ibrox, there was also an derogatory message displayed in graffiti under Kingston Bridge next to River Clyde. Glasgow City Council condemned the display and pledged to remove it.
Police Scotland are investigating sectarian abuse aimed at Celtic players as they arrived at Ibrox for their clash with Rangers on Saturday.
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 4, 2021
Celtic this evening described the incident as “unacceptable”.
Saturday was set up to be a good match of football following the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Ibrox Disaster, an event that took 46 lives and left others injured on January 2, 1971. It was all tainted because of the despicable scenes before the game.
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All this comes when the Black Lives Matter campaign has been driven by many professional sports leagues and still continues throughout the world, with Scotland included, while sectarian abuse continues to be a regular occurrence.
Neil Lennon has been the victim on a number of occasions where he has suffered abuse with Celtic as well as his time with Hibernian. Scott Brown has faced similar issues as well. This is an issue that has been around for many years now, and it must be dealt with sooner rather than later.
While the Glasgow Derby between Celtic and Rangers is among the best in sport, it often times brings out the worst side of sport. The entertainment on the pitch is fantastic and a full stadium of supporters significantly raises the value, but once a supporter or small group of supporters turn, it becomes embarrassing for everyone involved.
Those in power must act appropriately. The normalization of these actions is something that the they cannot allow to continue.