Davie Provan has absolutely rinsed Nicola Sturgeon in his Scottish Sun column this week for her dig at Celtic.
After the Hoops took the mind-boggling decision to go to Dubai, government reacted to the media attention it was getting. This led to First Minister Sturgeon calling for the SFA to investigate the trip, and questioned why Celtic are there in the first place (Clyde 1).
A source from the Daily Record, however, stated that the government had been working with Celtic on the trip. And as recently as last weekend too. This threw real doubts over the credibility of Sturgeon’s calls.
And Provan hasn’t missed a note as he lambasted the First Minister for her comments. Speaking in his Scottish Sun column, he thinks Scottish football fans should boo Sturgeon out of Hampden if she shows up at the Euros like they did with Margaret Thatcher in the 1988 Scottish Cup final.
“Deserves the same treatment”
“Back in 1988, someone at the SFA had a brain freeze inviting Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the Scottish Cup Final. Sure enough, the PM was booed mercilessly before fleeing Mount Florida. Our First Minister deserves the same treatment if she shows up at Hampden for this summer’s Euros.
“Nicola Sturgeon and her gang are treating football with contempt. Politicians are good at hijacking football when it suits. On the night Scotland qualified for Euro 2020 in Belgrade, Sturgeon was quickly on the bandwagon, posting an old picture of herself celebrating.
“If this pandemic teaches us anything it’s that our politicians don’t give a toss about football unless there’s a headline in it. Nippy Nicola couldn’t get on Celtic’s case quickly enough over the Dubai trip. Spare me the idea Lennon’s players put the planet in mortal danger. The entire party would have provided proof of a negative test on arrival in Dubai and you can bet they were tested before they got back.”
Provan takes aim at Sturgeon; Celtic not in the clear here either
It’s great to see some pundits standing up for Celtic here. In my view, I agree with Provan 100%. The First Minister definitely hasn’t missed an opportunity to take a dig at the Scottish champions this season.
The comparison to Margaret Thatcher may be a bit crass. Sturgeon won’t be booed out of Hampden this summer if she made a trip to see Scotland in Euro 2020. Of course, that’s if we’re even allowed in! But the fact still remains that football has been used as a political tool.
Politicians seem to feel that there’s something to gain in taking stances against our national game. As if it’s going to impress all non-football lovers across Scotland. But they should be wary about standing too fiercely against a £200million economy booster (The Times).
Celtic, of course, aren’t in the clear either. Their trip to Dubai last week was so lacking in awareness. It didn’t look great after losing their third consecutive derby and during the midst of a pandemic to fly halfway around the world.
In truth, it’s only really added an extra layer of pressure to them also. We now can’t afford anything other than three points against Hibs. You could say that was the case regardless of whether we went to Dubai. True. But if we fail to win all of our 19 games between now and the season’s end, the necessity of the trip will come under the microscope.
However, if there’s one thing we can do without, it’s government consistently sticking their beaks in. It’s not as if they’ve done a lot to help football during the pandemic so far.
In other news, this Celtic star is said to be “fully committed” to Parkhead after chats with management.
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