CELTIC FOOTBALL club has warned supporters they will face sanction if they continue to sing songs glorifying the IRA, following protests about about chanting after a fixture with Hearts earlier this month.
In Glasgow yesterday, club chief executive Peter Lawwell said Celtic had been inundated with complaints from its fans about the conduct of others after the 2-0 away defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle, which has prompted a police investigation under anti-sectarian laws.
The songs allegedly sung at the match, according to Lothian and Borders Police, included “Ooh, Ah, Up The Ra”, “The Boys of the Old Brigade”, though this celebrates the Old IRA’s role in the War of Independence, and “Roll of Honour”, which commemorates those involved in the Maze hunger-strikes of 1981.
Some Hearts fans are alleged, in turn, to have shouted anti-Catholic chants.
Tensions at the match were high following the attack in May by a Hearts supporter, John Wilson, on Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
Wilson was later jailed for eight months for breaching the peace. But a not-proven verdict was returned by an Edinburgh jury on the more serious charge of assault aggravated by religious prejudice. Police and stewards surrounded the teams’ dugouts at the game.
Mr Lawwell warned that offenders were putting the club’s reputation at risk: “Chants glorifying the Provisional IRA are totally unacceptable. One, it is wrong, and it is an embarrassment to the club and embarrassment to the majority of supporters.”
He said that though the problem had been mostly curbed during home games at Parkhead, songs praising the Provisional IRA “give those who wish to categorise Celtic” an opportunity to attack.
“It’s embarrassing to the club and damages the club,” he added.