OPINION
Footballers, like the rest of us, have strengths and weaknesses.
Some of them can run like crazy for 90 minutes without breaking a sweat, while others can barely get out of the centre circle but could ping a ball into a dustbin from 50 yards blindfolded.
Scott Brown’s special talent, if it isn’t already abundantly clear, is getting on people’s nerves.
There are wind-up merchants, there are exceptional wind-up merchants, and then there is Brown.
The Celtic skipper is never too far away from a scuffle or a controversy, and he seems to take the greatest delight from going through an opponent both footed and then laughing in his face.
His most recent incident has, of course, been his wild celebrations in front of the Rangers support following the Hoops’ recent Old Firm victory – a move that saw him hauled up in front of the SFA for a disciplinary hearing.
The veteran midfielder was cleared of any wrongdoing, although comments were made about him maybe not acting in the “best interests” of the game. Not that that will bother him in the slightest.
Now, however, Brown has spoken out on the affair, and it shows once again why he is the master of his craft.
As quoted in the Express, he said: “I wasn’t worried. I don’t think I did anything really wrong. I celebrated with my team-mates and a fight kicked off and I walked away from it.
“Somebody [Alfredo Morelos] elbowed me in the face and I walked away from it.
“Somebody [Ryan Kent] punched me in the face and I walked away from it.
“If I was a hooligan, I’d have started a brawl in the middle of the pitch, but I just walked away from it all, I didn’t want to get myself booked or suspended. I think I acted quite well on the day.”
Brown knows what he’s doing here. He knows that he overstepped the line. But he also knows that he did just enough whereby he could dart back over it when the accusations started flying.
After this latest incident, the Gers will be gunning for him more than ever, and he will love it.