SOCCER: Kilmarnock 0 Celtic 4:THE MOST important match of Scotland's top-flight season will take place at Ibrox on Sunday, but discussions in the build-up to Celtic's visit to Rangers will no longer be dominated by the significance of the game to both teams' title aspirations.
A high-profile campaign – almost exclusively for negative reasons – in Scotland has suddenly retreated into its latest dangerous territory on account of explosive devices sent to the Celtic manager Neil Lennon and others.
The timing of this season’s seventh Glasgow derby – early on Easter Sunday, therefore immediately before a public –holiday – and importance therein hardly lends itself to peace breaking out. Strathclyde police leave had already been cancelled for the occasion before the serious security threat made to Lennon, his lawyer Paul McBride and the former MSP Trish Godman.
For generations, Scottish football was intrinsically linked to World Cup near-misses and players with a silky touch. Now, the image portrayed to the wider world contains little apart from venom and desperation.
Ally McCoist led the voices of sanity. “Like every other normal human being, I am absolutely appalled,” the Rangers assistant manager said of the bomb affair. “I am as shocked as I am horrified. These are sick individuals.
“They are hell-bent on causing trouble and damage. I am saddened that this has taken place in Scottish football. We obviously have our differences on the park but you hope you can conduct these discussions, and disagreements, in the right manner.”
McCoist’s words are even more pertinent as he and Lennon squared off in what was merely one sideshow of this 2010-11 Scottish Premier League.
A political summit was held after that fury-ridden Old Firm game on March 2nd with some involved in football casual enough to sniff at the need for such a forum. This week, terrorist officers have felt the need to contact those involved with Scottish football for whom they believe safety may be at risk.
This pin-pointing of Lennon has surprised McCoist and others across Scottish society because of its severity. Yet, matches being overshadowed by negative incidents has been a recurring theme since August. The Celtic manager has been living under security so strict that he has to inform others of his every move, his young son cannot attend school without an escort and a panic alarm is fitted to his home. He has also received abusive phonecalls during the night.
Lennon became almost immune to threats against him as a high-profile Catholic, Northern Ireland international Celtic player. In January, he privately even shrugged off the sending of bullets through the post to him at Celtic Park.
Nonetheless, the recent intensity of what the 39-year-old has been subjected to will affect his personal life and, surely, his state of mind. Almost as abhorrent as the treatment dished out to Lennon is the response from some fans not well disposed to him that, for whatever reason, he merits it.
It is an exaggeration to suggest that Scottish football is more rife with sectarianism than ever before; what is, though, apparent is that the small fringe of extremist fans are rising in prominence.
Last night Lennon watched his side move within a point of Rangers after trouncing Kilmarnock, 4-0, at Rugby Park.
In a breathtaking performance, a Kris Commons double and a Gary Hooper strike had the points tied up for the visitors before the interval. Ireland’s Anthony Stokes scored a fourth at the start of the second half and, in the end, Kilmarnock were happy not to concede any more goals.
GuardianService
KILMARNOCK: Jaakkola, Clancy (Berntsson 79), Pascali, O'Leary, Hamill, Fowler, Kelly (Hay 65), Bryson, Eremenko, Silva, Gros (Agard 83). Subs not used: Letheren, Rui Miguel, Dayton, Aubameyang. Booked: Clancy, Fowler.
CELTIC: Forster, Wilson, Majstorovic, Mulgrew, Izaguirre (Samaras 73), Forrest, Brown, Kayal (Ki 59), Commons (Ljungberg 69), Hooper, Stokes. Subs not used: Zaluska, McGinn, Rogne, Murphy. Booked: Kayal, Commons.
Referee: A Muir (Scotland).
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)