Incidents, Events & Controversies | About Celtic

The Controversy

During season 1951/52, while Celtic were floundering on the field, the club became involved in an increasingly tense contretemps with the SFA.

Several cases of misconduct involving Celtic supporters, culminating in disgraceful behaviour at the New Year’s Day 1952 clash with Rangers, had been concerning the authorities in Scotland. The Glasgow magistrates met to discuss the situation, and made several recommendations which they invited the SFA and the Scottish League to consider.

The most controversial was the the fourth: “...that the two clubs should avoid displaying flags which might incite feeling amongst the spectators"!

This vague statement was construed as a reference to the flag of Eire which flew over one end of the covered enclosure, and some football officials — undoubtedly with a history of coolness (sic!) towards Celtic — chose to use this recommendation as an excuse to threaten the club. After consideration, the Referee Committee of the SFA ruled “that Celtic be asked to refrain from displaying in its park any flag or emblem that had no association with the country or the sport" on match days.

When the full SFA council convened to consider the approval of the committee’s report, Bob Kelly of Celtic rose to defend the club’s traditions & heritage and to move the rejection of that part dealing with the banning of the flag. It all went down to a final vote, which ironically was Rangers (under John Wilson), and they actually voted for us! Before anyone begins to sense some bonhomie between the clubs, ultimately this was due to the financial aspect of losing Celtic as an opponent. Rangers needed Celtic financially for matches.

However, the council voted to ignore Celtic’s plea — and the battle-lines were drawn. If Celtic continued to fly the Eire flag in defiance of the SFA ruling — and any misconduct by their supporters took place — the club would face a number of unpleasant options: “a fine, or closure of the ground, or suspension or all of those penalties.”

The thought of Celtic being suspended from Scottish football over such a matter was ridiculous, but that threat hung over the club for the remainder of the season. A clique within the SFA, orchestrated primarily by the secretary, George Graham (a bitter Orangeman and Grandmason), continued to press for Celtic to take down the flag and submit to the SFA’s demands. Celtic had taken legal advice on the matter and were confident about the outcome. However, George Graham was not an easy man to tackle and was described (even by his peers and neutrals) as a "bigot".

Ironically, it was Hibs (itself decked in Irish colours) who were behind George Graham. Hib's chairman Harry Swan was an "acting" SFA President at a respective meeting on the whole issue and despite what some say, he wasn't a heavy handed bigot (he even commissioned works from Ireland for Hibs, including commissioning a new Hib's crest to replace a previous large motif on the entrance that was lost on demolition due to rebuilding of part of the stadium). It's also taking things too far when some say it was Hibs revenge against Celtic for supposedly bringing them down in the 19th Century (the latter being complete balderdash from Hibbee fans when you look at the facts). Admittedly Swann was a known Freemason but he did enough in his time to show he wasn't some kind of arch-bigot. Most likely in this case he was just playing power games in the SFA corridors, siding with George Graham in order to further and enhance his own ambitions in the organisation and with others.

However, Bob Kelly had to contend with considerable pressure from his colleagues on the SFA council. He remained unshaken, and eloquent in the defence of Celtic’s traditions, and it became his finest hour.

So, why was this flag so important to us? The club had been founded by Irishmen and their descendants in the 1880's, and the flag was flown to recall that association. The particular flag flown at Celtic Park was presented to the club by Eamon De Valera (the first Taioseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland) and his government, and so it was deserving of respect and not something that we should have to lock away.

The opposition to Celtic fragmented, and eventually the furore faded away. The threat had been made, pressure applied — but the likelihood of its ever being translated into action was diminished in light of Celtic's resolve and willingness to take this through the courts. Financial considerations over lost games etc played on the other clubs minds and it was defeat for the SFA. For George Graham it was a black eye, and Harry Swan ended up having to waddle away with his tail between his legs (the whole episode back-fired on him spectacularly).

The SFA had used the whole issue for their own ham-fisted aims, but they didn't count on Celtic's tenacity over the matter. Why were they aiming at the Irish flag? Rangers' sectarian policies were being swept under the carpet and the flag issue was being used as a diversion technique. If it was supposedly to dampen down troubles in recent Celtic v Rangers games, then how exactly was the removal of a flag to do this? There was trouble at Ibrox and Hampden Park in previous Celtic v Rangers games and there was no Irish flag flown at either of those stadiums. Maybe they could have flown the Irish flag at Ibrox at the next Celtic v Rangers game to test their theories ou). The entire events illustrates a crude attempt by the authorities to use their own ignorance and bigotry to challenge and blacken the name of our club to mask their own deficiencies.

In retrospect, the matter may now seem to many like to have been ‘a storm in a teacup’, to be recalled for amusement, but at the time it was anything but that. The Irish issue had social resonance for the time which is for analysis way beyond this summary, and it has been side-lined too often in this debate.

For Celtic, a club founded for an undermined minority, it was a big victory for the Irish community and the club's sympathisers. The sad irony is that Hibs (a forerunner of senior football for the Irish community in Scotland) were one of the clubs behind the attempt to suppress Irish symbolism at a fellow club.

Quotes

'He'll roast in Hell for what he tried to do to Celtic.'
Desmond White (Celtic Chairman in 70s) on then SFA George Graham

Links

• Celtic Incidents, Events and Controversies
• Robert Kelly (Chairman)