The SPL’s 2011/12 season fixtures were announced last weekend and one fixture stood out more than the rest. It was of course an Old Firm match, but this one stood out more than other matches because it had been scheduled for Wednesday, December 28th.
Flashback to Wednesday March 2nd. The venue is Parkhead, the tie a Scottish Cup fourth round replay. Having drawn 2-2 at Ibrox almost a month earlier, Celtic and Rangers faced each other in a live televised game, with a 7:45 kickoff.
In an otherwise poor match, ten players were booked and two were sent off. Referee Callum Murray appeared to lose control of the game, and sent off Ranger’s Steven Whittaker after 36 minutes. Celtic took the lead early in the second half, and never really found themselves tested by 10 man Rangers. Late in the second half, Madjid Bougherra made a challenge on Kris Commons that Murray believed warranted a second yellow card. Bougherra, in an attempt to change the referee’s mind, took hold of Murray’s arms to prevent him showing a yellow, then red card. Bougherra eventually relented and Rangers finished the game with 9 men. As the players made their way off the park, El-Hadji Diouf argued with Murray, and was sent off. Despite this, he made his way over to Rangers fans, and after arguing with the police, threw his shirt into the stands.
Even the coaches and players in the dugouts got involved in arguments during and after the game. During a break in play, Neil Lennon and Diouf appeared to get into an argument, leading to Rangers coach Kenny McDowall dragging Diouf away from the Celtic dugout while Walter Smith held Ally McCoist back from getting involved too. And then after the final whistle, Lennon and McCoist exchanged words while shaking hands, provoking an angry reaction from the Celtic manager who himself was dragged away by his coaching staff.
In the days following the bad tempered game, politicians and police had a ‘summit meeting’ with the SPL in a bid to find ways to improve the atmosphere and behavior of players during Old Firm matches. The police claimed that domestic violence and drink-related crimes rose in number around Old Firm matches, and even laughably suggested the games should be played behind closed doors.
One of the key points to come out of the summit meeting was to “Reschedule Old Firm games from next season where needed to minimise the risk of violence”.
So then, just why have the SPL decided that a Wednesday night in between the two biggest holidays of the year is the ideal time to play an Old Firm match?
An SPL spokesperson said: “Following the setting up of the Scottish Government’s Joint Action Group, there was a real pressure to reschedule Old Firm derbies away from weekends and bank holidays. We felt it was important for us to respond positively to the JAG process. Following consultation with the police, Government and other members of the JAG, we have therefore agreed to schedule the second Old Firm match to a date that reduces the challenges associated with such games being played on bank holidays.”
So there you have it. In the last decade, most Old Firm matches have been played early on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, and have been relatively calm games. But one match has lead the SPL, the police and the Scottish government to decide that Old Firm games should actually be played at night. And not only at night, but at a time of year when thousands of fans attending the game will be off work and will have all day to drink if they want to, which will inevitably lead to arrests and give the police a busy night.
And should that match be bad tempered on and off the pitch, who then will the authorities blame? Will they admit they were wrong? Of course not, they’ll blame Rangers, they’ll blame Celtic and they’ll blame the fans. And once again Scottish football will look bad because those that run the game don’t know what they are doing.
@DavidWDougan
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