Raith Rovers investigate sectarian chanting
Posted by: thelightblues on: 2 August, 2008
Raith Rovers Football Club are to have discussions with Police and Stewards over their fans sectarian chanting in the recent friendly against Rangers.
Vile abuse such as “go home ya huns” and “dirty orange b*stards” was clearly heard coming from large sections of the home support. It was also captured on YouTube (click here).
This may have been the first you have heard of it, because even though the mainstream media see bigotry as, among other things disliking a player because they played for Celtic (click here) and patterns on a football pitch that everyone else can use without comment but with Rangers it must be a sash – they seem to see no bigotry if it is directed towards Rangers fans, children included.
Not only did the journalists at the game fail to hear what was audible to everyone else, but even when it was pointed out to them afterwards, it was too hard for them to send an email to Raith Rovers to enquire about what happened.
Thank goodness it was not directed towards Raith Rovers by Rangers fans or we would have the General Secretary of the United Nations pleading for no more emails from Scottish journalists asking for sanctions against Govan. The attitude seems to be that if it happens against Rangers fans it doesn’t count. This in itself is the epitome of bigotry – projecting group hatred on individuals who have many diverse attitudes and beliefs. Simply put, not seeing them as people like themselves.
It is particularly sad because many Rangers fans were treated well by Raith Rovers and their fans and it has to be stated in plain English that what happened is not the fault of Raith Rovers FC as an organisation. The club, like every other football club, is subject to the prejudices of society as a whole. Religious sectarianism did not start with football, nor will it end with football much as the puppet-masters would like you to believe.
However, Raith Rovers as a football club are aware of what happened and as yet have not publicly condemned it. This is something they do have control over and if they fail to make any statement of condemnation then that would be their fault. They have a responsibility to try and educate their support or else many will not realise what they did was wrong and possibly continue to perpetuate it.
It would also mean they would have turned a blind eye to bigotry and would be another story of those shouting from the rooftops on how they hate sectarianism, only to fall silent when they are the perpetrators.
5 Responses to "Raith Rovers investigate sectarian chanting"
I was at the game and apologise for the DOB songs, but you are having a laugh for whingeing about go home ya huns.
How is it sectarian, when most of our fans are prods, explain how it is sectarian??????
Your selective hearing needs remedied, ftp was shouted as normal along with your ditties banned by Rangers and UEFA.
Those in glass houses……………………..
FAO ConfusedRover
“… but you are having a laugh for whingeing about go home ya huns.
How is it sectarian, when most of our fans are prods, explain how it is sectarian??????”
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“Research for a forthcoming book by the academics Peter Shirlow and Brendan Murtagh shows the strength of the fear of “others” in the two communities. Territorial markings such as painted kerbstones and graffiti screaming “Kill All Taigs” (Catholics) or “Kill All Huns” (Protestants) act as frontiers”
http://www.newstatesman.com/200511280006
Your comment is part of the reason for the article. Many Scots no longer know what they say and justify some comments as sectarian with reason and others as not sectarian because they want to perpetuate it.
The word huns and fenians are no longer used in their proper terms. Huns were an old Asian people and Fenians were Catholic and Protestant Irish Republicans. Neither word in it’s real sense is sectarian.
However, In Northern Ireland and Scotland both are used to pejoratively mean Protestant and Catholic respectively.
In Scotland the debate is so one-sided that to call someone a hun is just a laugh but to call someone a fenian is a terrible crime. Remember, neither in their technical usage is sectarian. What we cannot do is pick and choose.
Either we look at both as non-sectarian or both as sectarian. You can’t have it both ways. If fenian is sectarian (even though fenians were Protestant too) then so is hun. And if hun only means Rangers fan, why did Celtic fans last year sing “go home ya huns” to them too? If you know anything about Scottish football I think you can work out the religious link.
I hope that answers your question.
As for the glass houses remark. Idiots are idiots. Idiot Rangers fans no more represent me and the vast majority of Rangers fans than idiot Raith Rovers fans represent you.
[...] Raith Rovers investigate sectarian chanting Raith Rovers Football Club are to have discussions with Police and Stewards over their fans sectarian chanting in the [...] [...]
I am a Celtic Season ticket holder and I agree with what is being said in this article. It seems to be ok for every other team in Scotland to abuse both sides of the Old Firm yet when there is even the slightest murmure from a single supporter the press are up in arms, the supporters are up in arms and all the radio shows have a filed day. I think both sides of the old firm are to be commended on the way they have tried to eradicate this kind of behaviour from their support and if we can do it then so can the rest of you. I think it’s time that Scottish football took a long look at itself and stopped blaming their deficiancies on Celtic and Rangers. Every team has their half wits and it is down to the decent supporter to let them know their behaviour is not acceptable, Rangers and Celtic have done it and we have huge crowds , surely the little teams can do it for a couple of thousand.
1 | AyrBear
2 August, 2008 at 5:13 pm
This is so typical. There is continual, blatent bigotry against Rangers from media, the support of almost every team in Scotland and the football authorities (both national and international), but it is not reported, not investigated, not dealt with. We really need to get our act together and fight back as a club and as a community. We must fight this as the Covenanters fought back against the victimisation in their day, or we will soon be treated as outcasts in OUR OWN COUNTRY.