http://news.scotsman.com/news/Celtic-letter-bombs-Police-launch.6755112.jp LETTER bombs sent to Celtic boss Neil Lennon, lawyer Paul McBride and former MSP Trish Godman were designed to cause "significant harm and injury " to whoever opened them, police said today. All the suspect packages were intercepted by Royal Mail before they reached their intended victims, all of whom are Catholics. Today Strathclyde Police confirmed they have launched a major investigation. Two of the liquid-based devices were addressed to Lennon, one to McBride, who has represented Celtic FC, and one to former Labour MSP Godman, who is a prominent supporter of the club. The first one addressed to Lennon was found in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, on March 4 and the second was intercepted on March 26 in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. Two days later, on March 28, a parcel for Ms Godman, the former deputy presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament, was delivered at her constituency office. The most recent package was intercepted last Friday at a postbox on Montgomerie Terrace in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, and was addressed to Mr McBride, who represented Lennon at Hampden during his recent dispute with the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Mr Mitchell said: "The initial assessment was that they may have been a hoax. That being said, the investigation that followed was very important. "We sent devices to specialists for forensic examination and, on the back of that, we now realise they were indeed viable devices. "They were definitely capable of causing significant harm and injury to individuals if they had opened them. Absolutely disgusting. Well done to the Scottish media in general who have painted a distorted picture of a football manager as always snarling and angry and have contributed in some way into making him the hate figure he has now become. As for this being an attack on the good name of Scottish football... what utter nonsense. Look at the three individuals that were targetted. There is a fairly obvious link between all three.
I grew up supporting Rangers (they had Claudio Reyna after all). Then, I learned about the Old Firm and thought I must be supporting the wrong team (as I'm Catholic). In the end, I decided that I'm not Scottish, so it's none of my business. I steer clear. But this is disturbing and not befitting a wonderful country and a wonderful people.
Whilst watching the Kilmarnock - Celtic match last night it was noticeable that the home fans booed vociferously any time the Celtic support sang 'There's only one Neil Lennon'. Now I'm not suggesting who or what the home support should voice their displeasure at but once again, the media portrayal of Neil Lennon has whipped this country into a frenzy of hate against the man. I've met Neil Lennon on a couple of occassions at functions and he's always came across as a very decent man. He's no angel. That's very clear but I cannot hide my utter contempt for the role the written media in Scotland has played in making this man the hate figure he has now become.
There was also this story on the BBC website related to the story frasermc posted: Berwick Rangers sack player for Lennon bomb comments www.bbc.co.uk
I did see that yesterday. Well done to Berwick Rangers for their swift action in this matter. They had it posted on their official website yesterday afternoon.
Lennon may come off as a total prick but from what I've heard he is someone who would give the shirt off his back to his friends ( from Rab Douglas ) . There is absolutely no reason for this type of thing.
The tabloid media always have and always will have a penchant for hyperbole and sensationalism, but their way they have depicted this whole sorry episode has been utterly disgraceful, even by their standards. They, the police and politicians have all taken part in a feeding frenzy that, if anything, will only lead to even more trouble. As for Lennon, what's has happened to him is totally reprehensible, but I don't think the media are portraying him in a bad light - as far as I can tell there's been nothing but disgust and condemnation of what has happened. This article from the Sun (yeah I know) perfectly illustrates my point about the feeding frenzy. It's almost as if they're wanting it to happen. http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sco...-predicts-Old-Firm-carnage.html#ixzz1KJCj7Zdx
Exactly. The comparison game of who is worse between the two is redundant. But as far as scum that take it this far, they deserve to rot in a cell.
The papers were suggesting it might be an ex-soldier and they're concentrating the search in Kilwinning. Hopefully, if this is true, it shouldn't be too long before they get him. Rivalry is part of what makes football fun and I'm sure most football supporters have said they hate some player or manager or some club of fans of some club, but reasonable human beings can separate that from genuine hatred and wanting to see people and their families hurt. There's no place for that, no matter what anybody thinks of the people involved.
Obviously any sane person condemns what has happened but... Lennon has lived a football life of thuggery, provocation and accusation which continues to this day. People are too quick to simply look at the end result, the threats, in disdain without considering everything Lennon continues to do to feed the hatred towards him. He knows what elements of the Old Firm support are like and yet he continues regardless. It is this idiotic attitude from Lennon that has put his family in danger. Both Lennon and his supporters need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. You simply cannot act like he does and then complain when people and the mindless idiots in the Old Firm support react. Lennon made his bed.
From that response I assume you are part of the 'poor Lennon why is everyone against him' brigade? Irrespective I simply find it laughable when people look at the end result while refusing to take into account all of the contributing factors involved. Any sane Celtic fan must surely accept that Lennon's continued behaviour further inflames the hatred involved.
I have to admit, his gestures towards the Rangers fans at full time today seemed pretty stupid to me. There seems to be a pretty credible threat to his, his family's and other people's lives. I'm not suggesting for a minute that he quits or retreats away from the public eye (although that might be my first instinct if I thought the threats were serious) but he can certainly act in a way which doesn't just hurl fuel on the fire. Or maybe he's bought into the line which Celtic fan after Celtic fan spin that the only reason he's disliked is that he's a Northern Irish catholic connected with Celtic.
I have only been to Asbestox once and would never go back but quite a few friends were at the match today and informed me that thousands of Rangers supporters were singing "What's it like to live in fear" to him at the end and he retorts by holding his hands to his ears and yet again, Neil Lennon is the chief protagonist. Yet again he has only himself to blame... I wonder how any of us would react to those 'taunts' today, if we can call them that, considering what both he and his family have been, and continue to be, put through. And even more shameful they have the cheek to go running to the police about it... Only in Scotland... Easier said than done Gordon. Can you honestly say if you were in the same situation that you would do the same? As for him walking away, I've thought the same myself. Part of me wants him to walk away and live a normal life. As I've said previously I've met the man on a couple of occassions and he comes across as thoroughly decent but he is no angel. But if he were to walk away then we might as well call a halt to football in Scotland. We'd be counting the days/weeks/months to the next time a bigot with a bullet chases away a player/manager/supporter. We might as well call the game a bogey. It may not be the only reason but it is certainly a contributing factor and a fairly big one at that. Would you disagree?
Hmm... Makes me wonder why no-one is using the same tactics against someone like Diouf. Yep. That Neil Lennon, brings it all on himself so he does. The media paint him out to be the hate figure he is and they've got it bang on haven't they. No stitch up job there. No skewed perspective. You can always trust the media in Scotland...
Fair enough, if that's true. I only caught the last 2 or 3 minutes of the game and only noticed him walking off gesturing with booing around the ground. And I don't think anyone (at least not on here) is suggesting that he's to blame for what's happened. Obviously the only people to blame are the ones sending bullets/bombs through the post and taking things way too far beyond the football. We all know there are plenty of complete idiots surrounding both OF clubs and I just think it's possible to rise above it without rising to the bait and giving them even more of (what I would stress only certain people would see as) an excuse. Martin O'Neil was a Northern Irish catholic. There was never anywhere near this kind of trouble directed at him and, if there was, do you think he would have reacted anywhere near the way Lennon did today? I'm pretty sure he would have acted in a dignified way without being seen to 'back down' from it or at least not feeling the need to not be seen to back down from it. I agree completely. Whoever did that is a total idiot. Obviously I'm not in his situation but I would think if I was I would just shut it out, keep my head down (to an certain extent) and get it right up these bawbags by making sure my team did the talking on the park. If it comes to weighing up my and my family's lives against making a 'get it up ye' gesture to a group of neanderthals, it's no comparison really. I know it's a sad state of affairs but nothing in football is worth anybody's life. And I agree, to an extent, about not walking away from it but I would give it serious consideration in the circumstances and the consequences for Celtic, the OF or Scottish football be damned. Although I'm sure Neil Lennon has given it serious consideration. I do hope this gets cleared up and his decision to stay on can be seen as the correct one. Absolutely. I'm not and never would deny that. But I think Celtic fans need to realise it's not the only factor. I've mentioned Martin O'Neil. If being catholic and Northern Irish is all it takes to set this off, why was he never a target in the same way? I may be wrong (and please correct me if I am) but Neil Lennon has often said things to the effect that he is (or was) a Celtic fan and I'm sure has come out with lines about Celtic being in his blood etc, which I don't think O'Neil did or made an issue of. And like it or not, being Northern Irish and saying things like this (whether it's Celtic or Rangers) brings certain connotations. I was listening to a 5live phone in yesterday and a Rangers fans from Northern Ireland phoned in saying things about how this isn't to do with Rangers and they're not sectarian or bigoted and I kept thinking the host should ask this woman why she supports Rangers. Because we all know what the answer would really be, whether she would admit it or not (or at least what the reason is for the vast, vast majority of these people). The fact is that the old firm is undeniably and closely tied to sectarian political, religious and tribal divides in Northern Ireland and it's the same for too many people in Scotland. And Neil Lennon does tick all the boxes for being the ideal target for some knuckle dragging bigots here and in Ireland. However, he also ticks quite a few boxes for being disliked by quite a lot of normal football fans in this country who are pretty sick of both sides of the OF and who probably don't appreciate being labelled as bigots by Celtic fans when they're not.
I would hope that person got banned for life. Not really on the same scale as live ammunition and live letter bombs designed to maim or kill is it?
Of course not. The point I was trying to make though, was that the guy would did that was obviously a complete moron and racist but Diouf acting like and being a bit of a prick encouraged that idiot to do what he did. It's not a complete black and white (no pun intended situation). There were other black Rangers players he could have picked but the guy picked Diouf. I'm betting most Scottish football fans don't like Diouf but to say that's down to widespread racism is ridiculous.
Right. Diouf's behaviour can be described as antagonistic at best. A trait that Neil Lennon also shares. And whilst I'm not trying to belittle the racist behaviour towards Diouf or anyone else for that matter, the actions against Neil Lennon are on a whole different level to anything anyone else has had to contend with and can't be interpreted as something he has brought solely upon himself. Lets not forget that this isn't the first time that NL has endured death threats of some sort. The guy had to quit playing international football after the security forces told him it was in his best interests to take threats made against his life seriously. Why? Because he was a player of Celtic FC. That was in 2002. He hadn't been at the club for that long and yet he had no choice but to walk away from international football. As far as I'm aware he is the only player/manager/referee to be attacked in a street in Glasgow. And now we have this current situation. Why didn't Martin O'Neill get the same treatment? I don't know. Maybe he wasn't as volatile a character as NL is. But it has to stop. And soon. It's hard enough trying to attract players and sponsors to Scotland. S**t like this sure isn't going to make it any easier in the long run.
There is nothing to disagree with. Lennon's continued actions are there for everyone to see. The media does not make Lennon act in the way he does. "Lennon has lived a football life of thuggery, provocation and accusation which continues to this day." I stand by that. As per your last post there is little wonder that this has only happened to Lennon because previous Celtic managers have acted in a mature manner. Lennon has clearly not. You simply cannot act in the way he does and then complain that the world is against you. Lennon made his bed. I had avoided this discussion until now but having listened to some of the ludicrous shite spouted by Celtic fans today I had to pass comment. They, like Lennon, simply have no grasp of reality.