Celtic v Rangers madness
El Hadji Diouf goes crazy, Neil Lennon goes crazy… Everyone goes crazy!
El Hadji Diouf playing for Rangers against Celtic. What could go wrong?
However, the Senegalese was only one of seemingly hundreds of people who went mental during the Celtic’s 1-0 Scottish Cup replay win over Rangers last night.
Even that lovely Neil Lennon – who has an appeal hearing today regarding a six game touchline ban – kicked off at former Question of Sport banter boy Ally McCoist (or vice versa. It’s hard to tell).
It’s an ugly side of football that nobody likes to see…
After the jump there are TWO VIDEOS OF ALL THE FIGHTING AND SENDINGS OFF AND EVERYTHING!
Here’s the first one…
And here’s the second one…
So, what did you make of it all? Let us know what you think with a comment below…
Mar
3
21 responses so far
Sav // March 3, 2011 at 11:09 am
It was hilarious, but im happy Celtic won!
Carol Miller // March 3, 2011 at 11:12 am
Neil Leenon is a thug, if people can’t see that he was antagonising Ally Mcoist they were watching a different game than me.
J.C // March 3, 2011 at 11:45 am
What Diouf did at half time and full time was nothing short of disgraceful. Another shocking performance by Rangers, with their first shot on target coming in the 91st minute, LOL
Martin Hopton // March 3, 2011 at 12:17 pm
@Carol Miller – 11:12 am
I’m afraid i must have been watching a different game then. Or could it possibly be that Neil Lennon is, once again, being painted out as the bad guy?
I’m sure if you watch the second video, you’ll clearly see that Lennon is the one who was antagonised. Lennon is actually smiling when he originally speaks to McCoist, but this quickly changes after McCoist speaks. Also, you’ll notice that McCoist actually pushes Lennon, antagonising him further.
Sorry to tell you, but you’re looking for an easy target. Still, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good dig at Neil Lennon, eh?
Papua New Guinea CSC // March 3, 2011 at 12:22 pm
“The Bhoys are back in town”
Diouf really is a horrible little individual,not that we wouldn’t expect it from the other lot.
Hail Hail from the Pacific
Gaffney // March 3, 2011 at 12:23 pm
Neil Lennon is a thug ? After being beaten up by two rangers fans and getting death threats not just through bullets but from the rangers fans at ibrox and the rangers fans on the web. McCoist clearly said something to Lennon, when Diouf went after Lennon ally tried to get involved but Walter held him back like a kid.
toast // March 3, 2011 at 1:49 pm
@Carol “Neil Lennon is a thug”
Rangers have 9 bookings, 3 sendings off and neil lennon is the thug??
Eh?
JG // March 3, 2011 at 4:16 pm
i remain convinced that scottish football is an oxymoron.
Also, the fact Diouf is still permitted to play professional football is a disgrace to humanity.
Fiel // March 3, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Watching this it is pretty clear Neil Lennon is the, I’ll say, antagonist (I do support Celtic) initially against Diouf.
As to what happened between Lennon and McCoist its unclear but it appears McCoist started the ruckus. It is usually the way these things work the first one to blow up is the one who responds (see Gattuso vs Joe Jordan when Joe Jordan wandered onto the field [grounds for a removal] and received not even a warning before Gattuso did his tough guy thing).
Also wondering why the police felt the need to obstruct a now calm Diouf from throwing his shirt into the stand I don’t know. Anyway good on them for making Diouf look like a friendly lad and taking on the role of the uptight prickly one.
CK // March 3, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I don’t mind Diouf.
Think it was a nice touch that he went over to the Rangers fans after the game and threw them his shirt for their thanks for turning up on a cold evening.
No other players seemed to have the decency to do that.
bhoys // March 3, 2011 at 7:01 pm
@fiel
diouf was sent off,he shouldnt have been on the pitch let alone walk over to the fans
Sav // March 3, 2011 at 10:10 pm
lennon shouldnt have bit, but lets be honest, its obvious Ally McC said something to Lennon.
And anyway, this used to happen all the time.
Yee Ha!!
Josh Hogan // March 3, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Only one set of players behaved discracefully. 3 red cards and 7 yellows. All for vicious challenges.
Several of the initial yellows should have been straight reds too. Devoid of any footballing advantage this is the tactics employed for the one side that IS worse than the other. Diouf ran the full width of the park to shout at Neil Lennon (after shoulder charging the Celtic Physio). Bougherra grabbed the referees arm and tried to pull it down earlier in the game, not just at the end. Diouf was hopeless and spent the night trying to stir something up.
So, that’s the players. Now onto the fans. A majority of the visiting fans sang sectarian songs, ones that are banned by law. Report that, spineless Scottish Media (What team do you support, anyway?). Nazi salutes too. Look at the comments aimed at Lennon here – implying all Irish are terrorist supporting etc. Racist behaviour. The Famine Song ‘Go Home’ – the language of racists. The remnants of a sad culture that never got used to the first big wave of immigrants. Before we indulge in any ‘whatabout’ – we’re talking legally banned songs by a significant number. You can whatabout all you like, only one side singing banned songs in significant numbers. The stats – 1 in 6,200 Celtic fans arrested in Park, 1 in 250 Rangers fans arrested – one side is much, much worse than the other. So the players on one side only – disgrace, the fans now too.
So we can have an entire team disgracing themselves with vicious, anti-football, and a huge section of the fans disgracing themselves too. Yet it’s reported as ‘Old Firm’ – this only happens when Rangers are a disgrace (again, cheap Scottish Media, what team do you support, are you defending?). Maybe it was Chelsea fans in Rangers tops again.
But who are we blaming… Neil Lennon. Why is he hated by the Rangers fans – there’ve been tougher tacklers, more aggressive players, mouthier players. C’mon, say it… because he’s an Irish Catholic. And he doesn’t back off when he’s bullied. Lennon went over to McCoist (nice tactics with the tackles Ally, you at least got some kind of treble) to shake his hand – got abuse and a push. But hey, it’s Lennon’s fault.
So if you’re out there demonising him, in the midst of all this, could it be, you’re a racist too? Not me! And I’m sure my Dad never sings these songs when he’s at Ibrox. There’s a lack of class in applauding a character like Diouf, a lack of class in signing him and in playing him in the second half. The desperate act of sad, hateful culture on it’s way out.
Oh, there’s another reason you don’t like Neil lennon, he’s just beaten you again.
JS // March 4, 2011 at 12:26 am
Scottish football sucks.
The End.
SkyBlueTim // March 4, 2011 at 6:39 am
Pathetic all round. 2 medium-sized fish in a small pond who don’t realise that everyone outside Scotland is laughing at them.
Glasgow's Smiles Better // March 4, 2011 at 2:56 pm
I can’t believe anybody can sit here and impartially argue that Neil Lennon is not and has never been a thug. Why do we have to argue this over and over. He always was a nasty little player at Leicester and at Celtic and he certainly doesn’t know how to behave as a manager. I know Ally McCoist will take some of the blame but going over to the other ‘manager’ and getting right up in his face whilst pointing your finger is just not on. What was he doing in the first half getting involved with Diouf – he’s just an idiot. The truth is that Neil Lennon is still behaving like a player and not a manager. You can get away with certain things as a player for getting carried away in the game but when you are sitting on the bench you don’t really have an excuse. He’s a thug pure and simple and if Celtic want that as their representative it says a lot about the way the club is being run.
As for Rangers, the players were out of control, Diouf lived up to the pantomine villain tagline. Hope they throw the book at them. Rangers are self-imploding anyway.
Frankly Scottish football would be well shot of both sets of idiots. Love the guy quoting stats on how many were arrested on both sides as if one side was comparably better than the other. Both sets of fans have an unsavoury element.
Josh Hogan // March 4, 2011 at 7:07 pm
@Glasgow’s
All teams have an unsavoury element in their support. You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Rangers have a significant problem with their fans. Celtic do not. The stats back this up. Celtic fans are the only British fans that have received both the FIFA and EUFA fair play award. So to say that both sets of fans are idiots is unfair. Was Manchester suddenly to blame when violence erupted there after the Rangers game.
Almost all sectarian attacks in Scotland are in one direction. Repeating the apologist mantra of one-side’s-as-bad-as-another is part of the problem. If you think the arrest figures quoted are ridiculous, what kind of crowd would you rather be part of? One where the chance of trouble was 1 in 6000 or a chance of 1 in 250?
It is partly also that the Scottish media turn a blind eye to the source of the problem -institutionalised sectarianism – that allows it to continue.
Not exactly a stat: Celtic, EUFA cup final, biggest ever travelling support for a team (around 100,000) – 1 arrest in 3 days. Rangers, EUFA FINAL in Manchester, now how did that turn out…
To say one side is as bad as another is to follow the lazy journalism, repeating cliches and to blindly ignore the evidence.
Shaun Dillon // March 6, 2011 at 2:29 am
Neil Lennon is being investigated by Strathclyde Police for alleged Racial abuse of Rangers Black players.
This is breaking news tonight.
Josh Hogan // March 6, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Not quite accurate Shaun. Neil Lennon has been reported by members of the public as having done this. Quite a strange allegation bearing in mind the Rangers support had no chance of hearing what Lennon said after Diouf ran at the Celtic technical area.
It doesn’t surprise me that Rangers supporters at the match have done this. They think that’s what Lennon’s done because that’s how they think. We know this because several thousand of them were screaming racist abuse for the entire length of the match. This could be clearly heard, unlike their dodgy allegations.
Quite curious that the Police release this statement though when there is no chance of viable evidence?
Not really. Who is Strathclyde Police Director of Communications? Wouldn’t it be interesting if, up until last year he’d been the SFA head of communications?
Josh Hogan // March 6, 2011 at 12:51 pm
PS. You can add ALLY McCOIST GOES MAD to the article title:
http://i56.tinypic.com/1scl8g.jpg
A much more powerful picture than the poor quality one of Neil Lennon wagging his finger that the press chose to go with.
gaz // March 6, 2011 at 5:14 pm
I wish the media would just be honest: Rangers fans are far far worse. And it’s not people who “never got used to the large wave of Irish immigrants”. Many Rangers fans, in fact most people in central Scotland- Catholic and Protestant – are descended to some degree from Irish settlers in the 1700 and 1800s. In many years there were more Protestant immigrants than Catholic ones. However… Celtic have an element too. There is a Celtic fan in jail for running over a Scotland supporter and then boasting about “killing prods” on his facebook page (something 2 Aberdeen Catholic players also “joked” about). There were arrests of Celtic fans for racist abuse at both the recent games, chants about “orange scum” reverberate around Parkhead at old firm matches (the main reason I stopped supporting Celtic, I got tired of the hurtful comments about “prods” and “orange bastards”). Monkey chants? Even the English got rid of this 20 years ago. And as for the violence after games… the police are not talking about sectarian assaults in which Catohlics are often the victims and non-Catholics often the culprits. Rather, they are talking about assaults and murders and domestic abuse which takes place after a day of drinking and tension. and which don’t generally involve any sectarian element.
Celtic fans are infinitely better than Rangers but that in itself really isn’t something to boast about.
Leave a comment