As expected,
Union flags were littered amongst the home support as cries of ‘
Rule Britannia’ broke out, while the travelling Celts brought their usual Irish tricolours and array of Irish songs. There is nothing untoward or unusual about this but it unavoidably sets a scene of division and animosity
akin to that of an Old Firm game, albeit on a much smaller, less impassioned scale.
The fans even took to applying what in the football world we might call “Old Firm terminology” to each other. The Celtic support were labelled ‘fenian b*******’ and ‘Irish c****’ by individuals in the home crowd,
Celtic fans booed a song which runs to the same tune as the infamous Billy Boys and Hearts
fans booed the Fields of Athenry and responded,
bizarrely, with shouts of ‘f*** Bobby Sands, he’s deid’. Clearly in both instances something was lost in translation but, in any case, football fans are not always known for rational and sensible reactions.
Seldom, too, are they renowned for gentlemanly decorum or respect for their rival, as evidenced by the Hearts fans belting out ‘
Jimmy Saville, he’s one of your own’ and the Celtic fans jeering ‘you’re going to die like the Rangers’.