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Anorak News | Celtic Fans Ruin Remembrance Sunday With Sectarian Chants, Sky Presses Mute

Celtic Fans Ruin Remembrance Sunday With Sectarian Chants, Sky Presses Mute

by | 9th, November 2009

8009329OVER on Pies, news that some Glasgow Celtic fans disgraced themselves and their club at Falkirk on Sunday.

A small section of the club’s more sectarian support chanted Republican songs outside the Falkirk Stadium, DURING a minute’s silence for Remembrance Sunday. Looks like Bill Hicks was right about the whole ‘virus with shoes’ thing.

Sky Sports have since admitted that they muted the sound to avoid causing offence to viewers.

A Sky source says:

“Our sound technicians at all the games we cover have the ability to mute any chants or songs which could cause offence. That was clearly the case here – although the silence was observed by the vast majority of all the fans inside the ground.”

But this is what you should have heard:

Unbelievably crass behaviour. These f**kbrains have no place in football. I should add, the majority of Celtic fans did observe the silence.

Sectarian or not? A reader writes – and he wants all mention of the word “sectarian removed from the post”:

First of all there were no sectarian attitudes within the protest. The song which was sang suring the protest was centred around a young man named Aiden McAnespie.

Aiden McAnespie was a Celtic fan and Gaelic Football players who was shot dead by the British Army in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1988. He had previously been threatened freuquently by members of HM Forces before being shot in February 1988 as he walked to a local Gaelic Football club. How can the singing of such a song be described as sectarian, exactly who is it sectarian against ? I work as an Equality consultant and throughout the different laws applicable in England,Wales, Scotland and the North of Ireland, such a protest could not be construed as sectarian vis a vis intra-Christian division or [sic]

With that, can I ask that all references to ‘sectarian’ are removed, save of course there is other evidence which points to sectarian attitudes being in evidence. Such erroneous comments exacerbates challenging attitudes of intolerance and whilst I cannot understand the protestors need to vocally protest in such a manner, it is completely incorrect to label it as sectarian.

Celtic fans sing in honour of a man killed by the British during a Remembrance Sunday silence at  football a match. Sectarian? Or just fans doing the right thing? And why would such innocent behaviour cause offence?

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Posted: 9th, November 2009 | In: Sports Comments (7) | TrackBack | Permalink