As Scottish football plummets further into darkness, if Celtic secure the treble, will the Ibrox club descend into chaos?
Eric Knott 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
Scottish football is in a strange place at the moment.
There is so much positive going for it, but there is one constant negative that continues to grow.
Like a malignant tumour, growing and eventually looking to consume all that is around it.
It grows, unchecked, with nothing willing to treat it.
Nothing even capable of treating it.
Despite this, we have one of the most forward thinking and inspirational managers in the game leading the way in the league.
We have the highest attendance rates in Europe per capita.
We have some of the most passionate fans in world football.
Yet our game is being devoured from within.
By a club that lives in the dark ages.
That rose from the ashes of it’s predecessor, and mutated into an even more hateful institution than it’s previous incarnation, if that was even possible.
You wouldn’t have thought so in 2012.
Yet here we are, 11 years later and Scottish football is probably at it’s lowest ebb in many, many years.
If you can name a more turbulent time in the history of the game here, out with 2012, of course, I challenge you to do so.
I discussed this in an article last Thursday.
I cannot ever recall relations being so fractured between Celtic and the Ibrox club since both clubs became arch rivals.
At the risk of sounding like I’m just talking about both Glasgow clubs, as if they were the only clubs in Scottish football, I’m not.
I’m talking about the overall effect the Ibrox club’s behaviour is having on the game as a whole.
We just happen to be a large part of it.
More to the point, we happen to consistently be the victims of that club’s behaviour.
But the rest of the league also suffers.
Constant unnecessary disputes with the league’s sponsors doesn’t just affect us, it affects all clubs, and put’s them at risk of losing vital finance, should these sponsors grow tired of the antics at Ibrox.
Biased refereeing causes clubs who could be fighting for survival or European places to lose points that in the long run could have crippling financial effects.
We have a governing body which deems it perfectly acceptable to govern 39 clubs out of 40.
Yet they allow one to abide only by it’s own rules and to ride roughshod over the rest of the game
Most notably Celtic.
They are a club fuelled by rage and hatred.
But above all else, a complete inability to accept that they are not the biggest club in Scotland.
They detest being simply the second best.
And this is driving them to hitherto unseen levels of rage.
When they reached the fabled “55th” (1st in the real world) title, they firmly believed they were about to embark on a period of total and utter domination in the Scottish game.
Then Ange Postecoglu arrived, to much derision I might add, and snatched this firm belief right out from under their noses.
It was the shock of being undone by someone they perceived as a complete unknown, that made this all the more difficult to accept.
This season, they have had to witness Celtic go from strength to strength, with a seemingly limitless amount of funds to spend on players.
Well, that’s what their manager would have them believe.
Instead of actually looking at Ange’s player dealings forensically, Beale chose to state that he was just “lucky”.
They were pulverised at Celtic Park in September and lost the League Cup final meekly in February.
Now they have to face Celtic next Saturday with none of their fans in attendance, knowing that the last time this happened, they were once again pulverised.
Underneath the surface, the rage is just building and building.
Yesterday, Douglas Park fled Ibrox, like a rat scurrying from a sinking ship.
He knows the situation there is becoming untenable.
That’s why he’s running for the hills, although I’m pretty sure it’s a long time since he ran anywhere, if ever.
John “scores to settle” Bennett has now stepped into the role.
His moniker gives away the kind of mentality he has.
A siege mentality.
Nobody likes us, we don’t care.
When they first came into the top flight, they were routinely hammered by us, home and away.
Whether they accepted that or not, it became the norm.
The Covid title, however, re-instilled the supremacist belief in them that they were back to their rightful place in Scottish football.
The fact that they are now looking at Celtic possibly achieving another treble under their noses, well, that’s really sending them over the edge.
Bennett, based on his previous reputation, will have no intention of dousing the flames of rage and hatred over there.
He’ll probably fan the flames to heights previously unseen.
To him, the SFA are the enemy, Celtic are the enemy, in fact, every other club that voted to deny the new club entry to the top flight, is a potential enemy.
Which begs the question, if Celtic win the treble, will Scottish football descend into chaos as the Ibrox club adopts a scorched earth policy?
Nobody has stopped them up to this point.
The SFA aren’t suddenly going to grow a pair and step in to diffuse this already very tense situation, are they?
Neither are Doncaster and the SPFL.
What is it going to take for them to be brought to heel?
When will they cross the line beyond the point of no return?
We may be about to see in the next few weeks.
These past couple of weeks have shown just what they’re capable of.
The final part of this season could be the most turbulent we’ve seen in years.
All because one club cannot abide by the rules.
And they cannot lose with dignity.
There’s only one answer.
Hit them and hit them hard, where it counts.
On the field of play, fair and square.
Whatever comes after that is on them.
Aodhán Ó Conchobhair 
“When they first came back into the top flight”
Liquidation deems this impossible….
HH
This Govan club is utterly malevolent along with a sizeable majority of its support. Evil is not a strong enough adjective.
Fkem
Huns are pathetic..as are SFA..! VAR bought in to help huns..!
My view on this is if Celtic and the other ten SPFL clubs won’t do anything about that club the supporters have to. The sixth floor at Hampden needs gutted as they’re not fit for purpose and that’s why Scotland aren’t qualifying for tournaments as well. Someone with a larger intellect than mine should be contacting other supporters trusts or groups and taking the fight to Hampden because the clubs don’t appear to have the appetite for it. One thing I would suggest is to boycott Scotland games meaning the SFA and SPFL would soon change their attitude as they need that money to come in every year, we can’t have one club running roughshod over the rest of the clubs as you alluded to in your piece. I don’t know how to change things but if the clubs don’t act the supporters have to.
The worst time in Scottish football was caused by your mob, Namely the referees strike in 2010. You slag Rangers off at every turn about how evil we are. Let me tell you evil, Evil is when you protect all the paedophiles that worked within Celtic football club over decades and then try to distance yourselves when the shit hit the fan. That is truly evil. Evil is when you attack your own players bus. Rangers have never done that nor will they. Evil is when you glorify a terrorist organisation that killed and maimed innocent men, women, children and unborn children. Do you want me to go on. I suggest that you all rein your necks in and stay quiet.
Gordon Neely
Shsssss wee angry billy the bigot.
Talk about hiding sex abuse he forgets his club were guilty of the same thing , sweeping it under the carpet then telling victims to see the liquidator for compensation as it was the old club that did it , it’s called a new club when it suit their agenda
Two words for you Michael: Gordon Neely
Three more for posterity:
Pot, Kettle, Black
Absolutely pathetic and sad that the only comment available to many of the huns is about child sex abuse. To use this in defence of their childish hatred is incredible. And yet they chose to ignore their own small clubs history in these matters. Really not a subject for point scoring.
Same way they choose to ignore the fact that King Billy was a friend and staunch ally of the pope and that the Boyne was sanctioned and financed by the Vatican.
Not to mention that the majority of their ancestors were Catholic.
Pointless and worthless hateful morons
Well well well. Silly Billy sinking to the depths only a hun can go to. Use child abuse to try and sling mud at a rival supporter for pointing out facts. Even though horrific child abuse was carried out within the walls of ibrox. But then again huns don’t do reality do they? You then talk about glorifying a so called terrorist organisation yet you fail to mention the uvf song belted out at ibrox and elsewhere. Not to mention the terrorists your club invite every November to put on really pathetic displays in your stadium. Lower than a snakes belly you are silly Billy.
yes Liam,
The very same terrorists that fought wars so as you can have your say you really are a sorry excuse for a human being.
On the field of play, fair and square. Well said. We play by the rules win or lose.
No point trying to educate an ignorant Hun, it’s a waste of breath, 12 century mentality living in the 21 century, just pointless.
Great article. One thing that doesn’t get mentioned enough however is how complicit the other teams have been. Apologising for calling them a new club, taking down adverts for cinch to accommodate them giving after match interviews, no-one pointing out the blatant decisions that go their way on a weekly basis. No condemnation of the behaviour of their scumbag support. No , seems they’re all glad to have them back. Yet still they rage. HH
Andy ,
Before the reformation I agree we were all Catholics. Then the reformation started and the vast majority of Scotland ditched the Catholic doctrine which was not before time. A church that had indulgences whereby you could pay for your sins to be admonished. This only helped the rich and the poor were forgotten hence the reformation. You really need to educate yourself Andy before commenting on this forum.
Billy, I don’t agree with much of the practices of the Catholic Church despite the fact I’m Catholic. But because I am what I am, it doesn’t give people the right to abuse me for it. If you are Protestant towards the Catholic religion, by all means protest against it, I do too when I don’t agree with aspects of it. But don’t use it as reason to think you are superior to me. Protestantism was founded on the balls of King Henry VIII, he was protesting against the pope not allowing him to marry who he wanted. So he ditched it and then decided it was open season on Catholics because he hated the Pope and Catholicism as it didn’t suit his sexual desires. That was instigated by one man who had a fairly questionable attitude towards women, to put it mildly.
Henry Viii was an english king….nothing to do with events in Scotland. Our “reformation” under John Knox was years later
Regardless, that’s where the religion was founded.Or do you think John Knox would’ve created it himself??
Eric,
You are wrong on the Henry v111 theory.
Scotlands reformation was founded on both Martin Luther and John Calvins writings. In fact, Martin Luther was branded a heretic by the Catholic Church as he exposed all their dodgy dealings and money making plots.
Simple question, where and why did Protestantism begin? I’ve given you the answer.
Eric,
It started in Germany and spread across Europe like wildfire. Millions of the population discarded the Catholic church and joined the reformation.