BILLY BREMNER MEMORIAL JOIN OUR CAMPAIGN
Date: 11th April 2025
(Photo:@Homesoffootball)
The ‘Sting’ headline this week could have been about the song book eventually ‘aired’ last night in Govan.
When Stephen Thompson, paid handsomely by the BBC to commentate on the occasion said, “Listen to this place now”, he was referring to a mostly Scottish support in front of him trying to rouse their team by singing about being ‘up to their knees in Scottish catholic blood’ live on BBC radio, and also on a PPV channel, and on Amazon Firesticks.
He didn’t mention the racist nature of the songs or the fundamental disgrace that somehow it takes racism to fire up his team.
Neither did this morning’s red tops or broad sheets.
Deafening silence.
In the year 2025 that is a deep obscenity and a disgrace that our game and society seem to allow in plain sight and sound.
If the very particular, albeit rousing, ‘Marching Through Georgia’ variant changed its words slightly to “Up to our knees in Jewish blood”, or “Up to our knees in Muslim Blood” there would rightly be a stooshie, so much so you would expect match commentators to bring it to the attention of the audience who pay his or her wages.
But that doesn’t happen in Scotland.
Somehow, somewhere, in the alternative reality our game and society lives in, ‘mass racism’ has become contextually acceptable when belted out by 50,000 ‘Gieing it Laldy’ fans like last night.
It isn’t acceptable guys and it never was.
I wonder what the ’49-ers suitors at the game last night, Andrew Cavanagh and Gretar Steinsson made of the sentiment?
As far as I know nobody in our 4th estate has asked them.
That is also unacceptable guys.
But enough of Scotland’s shame already, this week’s Sting Headline ‘Provocative Messages of an Offensive Nature’ wasn’t going to be about Ibrox chanting.
No.
It was straight from a Uefa ‘rational’ for fining Norwegian Club SK Brann.
“UEFA = Mafia” was what had been written and sung, and no Norwegian or Fenian blood was threatened in Bergen.
The club’s fans has simply aired a banner that obviously touched a Uefa nerve at a recent Women’s Champions League and the Uefa punishment machine roared into action.
The fine was only 5000 Euros but Uefa were bullying their patch like an elephant seal being challenged at mating time.
I don’t even find the sentiment, the words or the broad thinking behind ‘Uefa = mafia’, offensive and think Infantino’s Fifa would deserve something even more profound and possibly extreme or expletive.
Fast forward.
The club were unhappy at the bullying tactics and fine so they appealed.
Uefa said G.T.F. as is their want and the fine stood as was.
So the Bergen club sent two passionate lawyers to the highest court in sport, The Court of Arbitration in Sport.
The court judged and said, “In light of the context there is no offence”.
And Uefa had to pay the club’s legal costs.
The Club were magnanimous, “We are very pleased with the ruling from CAS,” said the president of Brann, Aslak Sverdrup, “It’s not every day a club from Norway moves all of football Europe, but today we actually do. In a world where freedom of speech is under attack, this is an important and correct ruling”.
Uefa always tried to get the last word and said,
“CAS affirmed that freedom of speech does not allow so-called ‘fans’ to make offensive statements. Moreover, CAS has confirmed that ‘UEFA has a legitimate regulatory interest of securing public safety and preventing disorder or improper conduct during a football match.”
But this time Andy will have the last word and ask Uefa to do something about the song books we seem to hear every week in our game and ‘live on BBC’ for all to hear.
Andy’s Sting in the Tale
1. Girls Wanted
2. Fresh Ayr
3. Legalese Nonsense
4. Brora Holding Their Nerve
5. Savage Advice
1. Time for Big Thinking and Change
Welcome to Melissa Andreatta the new Australian boss of our Scottish Women’s Football team.
I hope you are a strategic thinker because that is what we really need.
Tuesday’s encounter with Germany saw our 1-0 lead at half time turned into a 6-1 thumping but I honestly don’t think we can blame the manager on the night, Michael McArdle.
We have to blame the system that under-delivers what we aspire to as a nation.
We’re simply just not producing the right number of top level kids, boys and girls and that starts with our grass roots.
That’s because we’re not producing enough kids.
Our grass roots need a long term plan not just a new team picker.
Last week I shared my thoughts and new slogan, “Grass Roots is Everyone’s Business”, and got a few very interesting emails agreeing.
The problem is just now it’s nobody’s problem.
And when it’s easier to do nothing then that is what gets done, Nothing.
Until it’s time to sack the manager.
2. Be Part of Our Community or Bugger Off
Sometimes football is over passive and allows itself to become a victim of negative societal copycatting trends.
Ayr United this week fought back at a growing and worrying rogue fan element in their share of the football ‘Ultras’ movement and the escalating coasts of controlling those fans who in reality don’t care much about football or their communities but use the occasion as a convenient shield for whatever.
“What has become apparent over recent months is that the supporter groups contain 2 distinct elements: Firstly Ayr United fans who are keen to see an improved atmosphere in support of the team and Secondly, an element who attach themselves to the groups and engage in behaviours that are unacceptable in and around stadiums, which does little but increase costs to the football club, and misrepresent what the club seeks to achieve”.
Here is the full club statement and I wish them a fair wind.
https://ayrunitedfc.co.uk/club-statement-ayr-ultras
3. When Lawyers Get Involved
I don’t know how many kids teams were subjected to sexual abuse back in those dark days but have read that there are ongoing cases against a dozen or so of our clubs.
There was never any doubt that Celtic Boys Club in the ‘60s ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s was affiliated to the club having been started under Jock Stein by Jim Torbett in 1966.
As the tales of abuse of some 30 plus Celtic BC players leaked out and even anecdotal stuff about Jock Stein’s violent reaction in one meeting where he threw Torbett out of the boardroom, I was glad to hear that my old late pal Frank McGuire’s Thompson’s were on the case and now the club are finally doing the right thing and paying out.
All without ever admitting guilt because Celtic’s bloody lawyers constantly told them to distance the boys club from the actual club and to never admit guilt like Man City did with Barry Bennell.
So we’re giving you money but have done nothing wrong ‘a la Prince Andrew’.
Utter nonsense.
I hope all the victims and all the survivors get looked after properly and that Celtic have set a proper precedent.
4. Why is This Not on Telly?
Kilby are already so far ahead they will be in the play off and all Brora have to do is beat bottom of the table Rothes in Brora tomorrow.
Both the Highland/Lowland League play Offs and the two legged follow up with Bonnyrigg or Forfar, or Clyde or Stranraer should be on TV.
Why has this not been sold as the big deal it is?
5. Please ‘Right Size’ Alan
There is a long way to go but Alan Savage looks to be on the final rocky road to rescuing ICT from their current administration nightmare.
It’s not the first time the club have had to be baled out since the merger in 1994 and there will still be ‘stuff’ and ‘baggage’ to sort out.
I know that the club have effectively ‘burnt’ a whole load of previous investors too.
People like the local Muirfield Mills group and that is plain wrong and all because of rampant over-ambition.
I’d like to thank Alan for his personal investment and suggest two things.
The first is to use this hiatus to fully unite the town behind the club and that will take some questions being asked and maybe some changes too.
The second is to ‘right size’ the club so that expenditure and revenues are in harmony.
Simples.
Sting is:
A weekly column written by former club owner Andy Smith about stuff in football that needs an airing.
Football has changed immeasurably since my Dalneigh Dynamos debuted and dominated the Inverness Street League.
I still have lifelong friends from those happy and innocent days and a profound and deep gratitude to Alex and Marion Urquhart, two unsung heroes who founded the league and supplied cold drinks and digestive biscuits at half time.
When I see the rascals and carpet baggers like Mr Gove in both the annual and resignation honours lists I ask why the good guys like Alex and Marion doing real good in communities all around were/are always overlooked.
Andy’s Album of the Week : Paul Simon: So Beautiful or So What
The engineer on this 2011 album just happened to be Andy Smith and the sleeve notes written by Elvis Costello.
I have long enjoyed Paul’s music and missed this record first time around.
When I came across this CD in a pal’s Ikea ‘Billy’ CD bookshelf a few weeks ago I borrowed it away and it has grown and grown on me.
So much so that this week I’ve also since revisited ‘Still Crazy’, ‘Paul Simon’ and ‘Graceland’ from my own ‘Billy’ CD bookshelf.
The LA Times reviewer said, “A multi-ethnic landscape of American pop and Afropop influences”.
Fair enough.
Perfect background on a sunny Friday afternoon.
The man is a genius.
Posted in: Andy’s Sting in the Tale, Latest News
