Sectarian chanting at Old Firm games was on the decline back in early 2008 but new unpleasantries were emerging. The target for some of my fellow Rangers fans was the late Jock Stein. And I was pretty much ashamed of that.
Click here for the When Saturday Comes website version of my piece in magazine issue 253 (March 2008)
Since I wrote this I've read and heard more than enough to know I should not have been so definite about Stein's ignorance of what happened at Celtic Boys Club. He is, in fact, reported by some to have thrown Torbert out of Parkhead, only for him to eventually be invited back by other Celtic board members.
Stein, a Rangers fan until the moment he signed for Celtic as a player, remains castigated by some Rangers fans for not going to the police, but he was far from alone in that. Similarly, this criticism will be far from alone in the grievances these same Rangers fans have against Celtic FC.
While the severity of the alleged crimes involved are worlds apart, the confirmation bias at play is identical to the sudden pro-HMRC stance adopted by Celtic and their fans in the early part of the following decade.
Rangers punters are the first people to criticise Celtic because they've had a lot to say about us in recent years, especially during Peter Lawwell's reign as Parkhead chief executive.
However, turning this subject into a song reflects poorly on us as a support, when the real victims - still fighting for justice - should be allowed only a forensically objective light to be shone on these horrible crimes.
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