Celtic supporters will find little to disagree with in SFA President Mike Mulraney’s comments on pitch invasions and abuse of referees.
The SFA President is right. Scottish football should not tolerate supporters entering the field of play and nobody wants match officials feeling threatened.
The issue is not what Mulraney said. It is whether Scottish football’s authorities have shown the same level of concern when similar incidents have happened in the past.
Celtic’s official statement on the pitch invasion was far more measured than Hearts.
No hysteria, just balance. Thoughts on this 👇
Celtic supporters deserve consistency from the SFA
The strongest part of Mulraney’s intervention was his acceptance that football cannot keep looking elsewhere for solutions.
He told The National, “When I was a little lad I ran on the pitch. It was a moment of celebration at the end of the season and you hoped to get your favourite player’s shirt.
“But that was a long time ago and we can’t have that any more. And we can’t have referees being told they are in protective care effectively with their kids.
“We are just not going to have these things in our football society any more, we are going to eradicate it. Trust me, those who have experienced me know I have a track record of making things happen when we say they are going to happen, regardless of what people think.
“Scottish football does not duck from that. We’re not blaming anybody else. It’s our job to ask the media to support us and to please ask the fans to support us.
“To ask the politicians to do so and to ask the philanthropists to do so, to make a fundamental change to Scottish football and our nation.”
Those comments should be welcomed. Scottish football needs stronger leadership on supporter behaviour and the protection of officials.
What Celtic supporters will be looking for now is consistency. Strong statements are easy to make. Applying those standards fairly and consistently across Scottish football is much harder.
Mulraney says the game is determined to eradicate these problems. If that commitment is genuine, supporters of every club should expect the same response regardless of who is involved.
That is why Celtic fans have every right to question the stance being taken today. Not because they disagree with the principle, but because they want to know why Scottish football’s governing bodies have not always shown the same determination in the past.
Celtic fans have seen serious pitch invasions before
Mulraney’s remarks would carry more weight if they were not arriving after years of Scottish football appearing far less concerned about some of the most notorious pitch invasions in the modern game.
The 2016 Scottish Cup Final between Hibernian and Rangers remains one of the defining examples. Thousands of supporters entered the pitch at Hampden after the final whistle, taking part in running battles, with disorder following during scenes that made headlines well beyond Scotland.
There has also been pitch invasions at Kilmarnock, Motherwell and various other grounds in Scotland over the years.
If the governing bodies now believe pitch invasions have no place in Scottish football, that standard must apply equally in every case. It cannot depend on the fixture, the occasion or the club involved.
That is why many Celtic fans will read Mulraney’s comments and ask a perfectly reasonable question.
Why does there suddenly appear to be a greater sense of urgency now than there was after previous incidents that were every bit as serious?
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