A Celtic-Rangers clash is truly a 'must -see'

Scotland soccer derby features bitter rivals

Pope Benedict might not have approved of the tattooed Glasgow Celtic supporters waving the papal flags that I encountered on my first-ever Celtic and Rangers “old firm” clash.

Neither would the politically correct have joined in the singing of ‘The Boys Of The Old Brigade”  But when the strains of ‘Fields of Athenry ‘ rang out through the stadium the hair rose on my head.

A sea of green scarves and flags and everyone was singing. This was  communal  emotion  on a grand scale, the likes of which can rarely be  seen in any  sporting ground anywhere . Glasgow Celtic is a phenomenon, and the Old Firm derby against  Rangers a ‘must see’ event  for every fan of the green.

Built on waste ground in the urban wilderness of east Glasgow where the life expectancy is lower than anywhere else in Britain, the road to Parkhead stadium is strewn with the detritus of urban deprivation and despair.

A lonely tower block is ring fenced by scrubland  and shabby bars. A cheerless shopping mall  is only partly open. There are no proper streets and one moves on quickly.

But near the stadium  the broken down  pavements become alive with  street hawkers and flag sellers. The Irish tricolor is everywhere along with green scarves and emblems.

"Glasgow Celtic born from famine and repression’ says one banner. ‘The Pope’s Eleven’ says another. There is an unabashed  pride in showing everything Irish.

It is as if the Celtic supporter is standing up and facing the naysayer .’Yes my grand father was a Papist Fenian and I am proud of it and proud of where I come from’.

Glasgow Celtic  was founded by  a Marist Brother from Sligo in 1887 as a means to raise charity for the poor.

It became one of the most successful football clubs in Britain and was the first team , called the ‘Lisbon Lions’, outside  Spain, Portugal and Italy to win the European cup.

The club has a fan base of 9 million, including one million in the USA. The supporters have been awarded for their conduct at away matches but more often than not , the old firm derby day marks a huge increase in sectarian violence between the Celtic and Rangers fans, often driven by the events in Northern Ireland.

‘It is all a matter of education’ says my taxi driver, himself a Rangers supporter, when I query him about the violence .‘Especially in the west of Scotland , there is a sense that a lot of the supporters do not know anything about the history and culture of their opponents. This ignorance leads to hatred’ he said.

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Nster.com