Last week Hampden hosted a classic cup final.
Should have been a celebration of all that is good in our game.
It wasn’t.
If you had just landed from The Moon the pre, and post-match nonsense would be a good starting point in understanding Scottish football and why despite the apparent success of a sold out 3-3 draw, that Neil Doncaster and Ian Maxwell are managing a decline on behalf of their members and us.
It’s the elephant in everyone’s room and is now even far bigger that PT Barnum’s ‘Jumbo’ ever was.
And wow, bigger too than Ringling Circus’s ‘Big Bingo’, ‘The Biggest Brute that Breathes’, a ‘Giant Two Story Elephant’.

Here are some of the elements worth deep discussion, consideration and real change but today just an Andy summary and the start of an insight.
Fan Behaviour

First and disturbingly we had organised, quasi-uniformed, threatening behaviour in Buchannan Street and close by, by two mobs.
Not many kids or women to be seen dressed up to harm, just anonymous neds.
Paramilitary wannabees.
I hope facial recognition allows arrests and time inside.
Send for Sir Keir Someone.
After all the town centre stuff we had the usual Hampden vitriolic crowd issues.
Just the usual when these teams and their minority mobster fans get together.
It has become so predictable that it has becomes blasé and seen as ‘normal’.
Immediately before the match we then had the predicted, tedious, illegal and dangerous pyrotechnics that should have held the game up longer because of the smoke.
Every single flare exponent knows it is illegal and dangerous.
And doesn’t care because there is no punishment.
And all through the match we had the usual and predictable ‘bile’ from one of the mobs spewing-out historically incorrect, and now mostly irrelevant anti-Irish catholic bile.
It is racism in full and open view.Racism like that is also a crime,
The MSM don’t comment on it, the clubs do nothing to stop it and the SFA and SPFL seem to find it acceptable.
Uefa don’t.As a counterbalance at the other end we were ‘entertained’ by offensive quasi-political songs and glorification of a ruthless organisation who killed many innocent members of the public in their twisted and brutal campaign.Scottish Football is dominated by two polarised communities and because the divide attracts more and more like-minded people to each, it has become a cynical way to boost revenues substantially for both clubs, both remotely and direct at matches.
Considerably Worse Behaviour Than in Uefa Competitions
Clubs including Celtic and Rangers are still in Europe and when chasing Europe’s riches sign up gladly and as fast as possible to ‘Uefa’s Strict Liability’ every time they play. This results in markedly changed fan behaviours and song books that are almost acceptable. Banter they are not.
Post Match Behaviour
There will have been the usual clashes and they usually go unreported.
But the city centre pre match nonsense climbed above the usual MSM publicity ‘omerta’ and became a story that ran and ran.
The Pyro problem is just becoming tiresome.
Most fans don’t want it, but the small groups who genuinely think they are the beating hearts of their clubs behave with impunity and currently do what they like.
And the clubs either don’t know how to deal with them or more likely find it easier to do nothing.
‘The Rangers Nil, Who Missed the Penalty?’That wasn’t just the name of a ‘keyboard warrior’ I noticed a few years ago and smiled, it was a truism and a deep insight into what used to be.
We all grew up knowing that playing either of the Glasgow Giants was never a level playing field and never fair especially against the team from Govan.
Fast forward we have a special manager at Ibrox who 6 weeks ago was somehow a ‘pariah’ whom the club couldn’t afford to sack.
But he is still under pressure nevertheless.
I was sad but not surprised to hear his post-match blame-shifting, claiming that the match hinged on one wrong call.
It didn’t, matches don’t.
Anyway.
C’est La Vie, Phillipe.
Welcome to the 40 club, a club that all our non O.F. teams were ever, or are members of.

Willie Collum says it was a penalty.But on balance he is only commenting on one incident.
Willie could have but didn’t say that at every single corner in the match the ref could have blown for a penalty.
And that too is a fact.Some think the fuss made by the blue club is just anger at their loss of their
historic and never spoken about
‘entitlement’ and a smokescreen to appease their fans.
There Should Be Entitlement in Scottish Football
But not just for our blue and green clubs.
It should be that without fear or favour that the game makes the right calls for all, based on the rules of the game and the SFA and SPFL constitutions.
Every club should be entitled to equal treatment and fair application of all the rules.
That needs change.
And please no more of our ridiculous voting systems in place that were and are cynically designed to take entitlement away from all but 2 members so that self-interest abounds, top down.
Matthew and others Call it Wrong
I like Matthew Lindsay from the Herald, a fine writer and a fellow ICT fan.
On Radio Scotland he agreed with the current establishment view/ defensive wall that says clubs can’t be penalised for behaviour of their fans outside the grounds.
I couldn’t disagree more.If fans know that loutish and violent behaviour, open racism and municipal vandalism will hurt their club it will impact on what they choose to do.
That is what Strict Liability is all about. And let me finish with a couple of honest questions that I don’t think I’ve ever seen asked or debated.
Why should Glasgow council tax payers have to pick up the tab for all the extra polis that are only there because of a football occasion?
And why should the same Glasgow citizens have to pay when George Square gets trashed by ‘Fans in Scarves?’
Andy’s Sting in the Tale
1. Creditors Treated Wrongly
2. Unify Setting a Trap
3. Hidden Dopedemics?
4. Pedro, and Our ‘Bullseye’ Moment
5. Non-Glorious Hearts
6. Beers On Sale at Hampden to All Big Match Fans
7. Open Letter to Saudi
1. Football’s Debt to The Wee Guys

Reading this week the ICT creditors list I was struck by how much the demise of clubs can hurt the wee local guys.
There is every likelihood that the administrators will find a white knight and the creditors will get half of bugger all in the final pay outs.
Football has a wee internal rule that all football debts have to be covered but doesn’t mention all the other non-football ones.
I find both the legality and morality of that to be questionable.
In administrations I understand the law but if a club wants to be the same club into the future it should acknowledge that it has burnt suppliers and commit long term to righting its wrongs, when it can.
In liquidations I feel stronger.
Is it fair that liquidated clubs claim the glories and substantial fan bases without paying the unpaid bills that helped deliver them?
2. The European Super League is Just the Next False Summit

This week the European Super League re-surfaced as ‘The Unify League’.
A22, a sports management company,
have set a trap for Uefa and proposed a 4-league pyramid for the top 96 clubs who qualify via their normal Uefa local leagues. A year ago the European Court of Justice decreed, ‘Uefa and Fifa must allow third parties to propose new competitions. Their role is ‘regulators of the game’ and it must be in a transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate manner. If proposals would or could work better for the game then Uefa/Fifa are legally bound to consider.’So if Uefa allows clubs to flesh out the current or subsequent plans there is an inherent threat of the new ideas sprouting legs and running.
And if it blocks ideas like this there is a danger of legal action backed by the European Courts. As always follow the money and the final outcome will be top clubs playing top clubs and Europe will no longer be a boundary,
3. Hidden Epidemics?
A few years ago I had a long discussion with my pal Willie who knew more than he ever said, and told me all about the micro doping that he said was endemic in competitive sports especially at the top end.
All sports including football.
Last week £62M Ukrainian on a 7.5-year deal at Chelsea Mykhailo Mudryk was said to have failed a dope test because of something called Meldonium which helps athletic endurance and capacity.
Willie would have said, “Idiot, he should have done what he was told by his supplier”.
At the same time an old Polis pal was shocking me with the current white powder statistics and how Scottish fans are getting ‘coked-up’ instead of beered-up.
It’s cheaper than the old drug of choice.
And yes it is a societal problem but he feels nothing is being done about it by the game.
4. Lo Que Pudo Haber Sido

In Pedro’s ‘mither’ tongue, ‘What might have been?’
Our women’s team might have drawn in a group containing, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland which is what has happened to our conquerors, Finland.And here’s a wee xmas cracker inspired Pedro Joke.
Knock, knock.
Who’s There?
Pedro.Pedro Who?
That’s Scottish football for you
5. Not the Finest Night in Gorgie

No wonder the fans got grumpy.
Hearts were never going to win the trophy in late May but 2 money spinning ties after Xmas would have done the coffers no harm. My pal Derek today said, “Too many second-rate mercenaries in our squad, not enough heart and maybe our league place is for real.
As of now the season ahead looks much tougher”.
6. Beers On Sale at Big Hampden Match
Answer me this?
Why is it allowable to sell rugby fans beers on Sunday at Hampden for the Scottish Glasgow v Edinburgh derby?
Because our two biggest football clubs can’t control their fans and all other fans get tarred with the same brush might be one answer.
7. MEPs Asking the Right Questions of Fifa.
I read this and said ‘well done’ in my head.
An open letter to Fifa from cross party and cross-country MEPs.
Here’s one para.
Binding Commitments?
“Will you ensure all fans regardless of gender, race, religion or sexuality will not face discrimination.
Will you ensure that residents will not be forcibly evicted, ensure that migrant workers will not be exploited, and ensure a sustainable climate strategy is in place for continuously reducing emissions”?
That’s it for another week
Enjoy the Winter Solstice all its celebrations and have a nice time.
The good news for the ‘daylight’ anoraks is it is already getting lighter (1 min) in the afternoon although we have to wait for a morning reciprocal rise that doesn’t swing back till early January.
Andy’s Sting is written by Andy, the opinions are mine and I don’t mind if you disagree with any or all of what I say, that’s a good thing.
Andy’s Non-Album of the Week
(Because I Hate Xmas Albums)
But here are 5 tracks, in no order, that would make any compilation I might make if asked nicely and paid handsomely.
The first is ‘Feliz Navidad’ a joyous wee number from Puerto Rico’s Jose Feliciano back in 1970.
I love the YouTube vignette of the guys singing it and playing it on just one guitar.
Feliz navidad a aquellos que me sigan y gracias
The second is ‘Driving Home for Xmas’ by Chris Rea.
Sums up so much to so many.
Third is ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ recorded by the Pogues unsuccessfully in midsummer till the wonderful Kirsty McColl made it a classic and baled them out.
Fourth is ‘Christmas Wrapping’ by a short-lived band called The Waitresses with an ex-punk lead singer, Patti Donahue. Chris Butler the writer said the lyrics came from his hatred of all things Christmas
And Fifth, getting better every year.
In fact every time I stop what I’m doing and listen to ‘River’ by Joni Mitchell I realise what a great track it is.
And when I see and hear all the product of today I don’t think any of us really knew just how good Roberta Joan Anderson from Fort McLeod really was.