I was in the middle of the crush on Sunday and wrote about it just after the game on The Celtic Star. To me it is pretty clear. A decision was made for Celtic fans to use the tunnel to keep them away from the away fans corner. There were over 7000 extra Celtic fans at this game than would normally be the case and not enough thought was given to the implications of directing all Celtic supporters wishing to get to the other side of the stadium from where they arrived to go through that tunnel. It was dangerous, the Stewarts were pretty much useless and there were no police around. It was only the self policing and common sense from the supporters themselves that stopped a much more serious situation developing.
It is relatively safe to go to games against them at Celtic Park, Ibrox or Hampden and the Police have their plans in place for each stadium and these are implemented. Because of the actions of Rangers pandering to their support, the dynamic was changed on Sunday by the police and presumably by Celtic.
My view is we don't take tickets for Ibrox - we don't give them any tickets for the next game at Celtic Park and we say the alternative is to revert to the tried and tested formula or it's home fans only.
Have to say I got a chill reading this. Sounds absolutely horrible. It's not being melodramatic to recognise the potential echoes of Hillsborough. A lucky lucky escape for all involved, authorities and fans.I sent this e-mail to the Celtic Trust and forwarded it the the SLO:
I was unfortunately caught up in the initial crush in Janefield St tunnel on Sunday 2nd September, just after 11:35am – well before Police Scotland suggest the incident occurred; here is my recollection and viewpoint on events.
I had met a few friends for breakfast in Coias on Sunday morning and we left before 11 to meet and say hello to some other friends at the corner of the Celtic Superstore – the south-west corner of the stadium; one of the friends we met was Chris Stuart from the Celtic Trust. I left with one other person at 11:30 because I had to get to my turnstile at the north-east corner of the Stadium and as the access via London Rd was closed, I knew I had to go via the janefiled St tunnel. Simple arithmetic suggested that as there were between 6000 and 7000 Celtic extra fans expected in the east stand and that it would be very busy and take a while to get through there. Logic suggested that approximately half of these fans would come from the north and east and half would come from the south and west. This suggested to me that somewhere between 3000 and 3500 extra fans would be coming along the janefield St tunnel that day as London Rd was closed for access. This number was augmented by those fans who usually walked along London Rod from the east to get to the west and south stands. So somewhere well in excess of 5000 extra fans would be accessing this tunnel from both directions in the 30 minutes before kick-off. One would expect that Celtic FC and Police Scotland would come to a similar conclusion; sadly, they didn’t.
As I approached Janefield St from the west at approximately 11:35 I saw that it was very busy. What did strike me was that the mounted Police officers who were usually at the west entrance of the tunnel for home games were not there. This is significant because had they been there they would have easily witnessed the start of the incident from their higher vantage point and could have taken action immediately. The time is also significant because Police Scotland have publicly stated that the overcrowding and crush started 10 minutes prior to kick-off; and that they responded immediately. This is absolutely untrue.
I joined the crowd at the entrance to the tunnel at approximately 11:35 and within 30 seconds or so I became alarmed because I was aware that the crowd behind me was increasing very quickly and pressure was being exerted from behind. For the first minute or so, slow but uncomfortable progress was made. Then the real impact became obvious. As fans were coming from the east and meeting those from the west head-on, there was literally nowhere to go. The pressure from in front and behind was increasing and I felt considerable alarm for my own safety and for the safety of those around me. There was a woman with a young boy of around 10 or 11 in front of me and she was struggling to keep hold of him. I had him hold on to the woman’s rucksack and I placed my hands on her shoulders to create a “cage” for him to keep him from being crushed. There were many children being lifted onto adults shoulders to escape the crush. People had very quickly become aware that this was a very dangerous situation and I was surprised at how calm the majority of people were and remained.
I have been in sizeable crowds at Celtic Park over the past 50 years and many of them far bigger than Sunday’s crowd. However, I can categorically state that I never experienced the fear and alarm that I did on Sunday. My main fear was that if anyone tripped or fell that they would be trampled to death – there would have been no chance of getting up.
I was in the crush for around 10 to 15 minutes (though it felt far longer) and when I got ¾ of the wat along the tunnel the crowd dissipated and the crush cleared. I managed to get into my place in Section 111 just before kick-off (John Paul Taylor, the SLO can verify this as I spoke to him as I was walking to my place in the rail seating). One of the guys I meet at the game with had seen the problems as he was walking towards Janefield St and diverted along the Gallowgate. Another was caught up in the crush and hurt and scraped his hands and arms as he scaled the wall at the cemetery. The Police and stewards were absolutely unprepared for this and their planning, along with Celtic’s was abysmal and the need to be held to account for this gross negligence. The match commander is a very fortunate man not to be facing significant charges over dereliction of duty over this incident and it must be highlighted bad (and prolonged) the incident was; and how the Police response was delayed for up to 15 minutes and wholly unsatisfactory in preventing the situation becoming worse.
This was easily avoidable with proper planning and both Celtic and Police Scotland need to explain themselves publicly on this.
KTF
It's looking like the whitewash is already out. Would be good to get some support for a proper enquiry from the Hillsborough activistsIn this day and age of communication this should never have happened. Someone needs to be held responsible. No excuses!
I sent this e-mail to the Celtic Trust and forwarded it the the SLO:
I was unfortunately caught up in the initial crush in Janefield St tunnel on Sunday 2nd September, just after 11:35am – well before Police Scotland suggest the incident occurred; here is my recollection and viewpoint on events.
I had met a few friends for breakfast in Coias on Sunday morning and we left before 11 to meet and say hello to some other friends at the corner of the Celtic Superstore – the south-west corner of the stadium; one of the friends we met was Chris Stuart from the Celtic Trust. I left with one other person at 11:30 because I had to get to my turnstile at the north-east corner of the Stadium and as the access via London Rd was closed, I knew I had to go via the janefiled St tunnel. Simple arithmetic suggested that as there were between 6000 and 7000 Celtic extra fans expected in the east stand and that it would be very busy and take a while to get through there. Logic suggested that approximately half of these fans would come from the north and east and half would come from the south and west. This suggested to me that somewhere between 3000 and 3500 extra fans would be coming along the janefield St tunnel that day as London Rd was closed for access. This number was augmented by those fans who usually walked along London Rod from the east to get to the west and south stands. So somewhere well in excess of 5000 extra fans would be accessing this tunnel from both directions in the 30 minutes before kick-off. One would expect that Celtic FC and Police Scotland uwould come to a similar conclusion; sadly, they didn’t.
As I approached Janefield St from the west at approximately 11:35 I saw that it was very busy. What did strike me was that the mounted Police officers who were usually at the west entrance of the tunnel for home games were not there. This is significant because had they been there they would have easily witnessed the start of the incident from their higher vantage point and could have taken action immediately. The time is also significant because Police Scotland have publicly stated that the overcrowding and crush started 10 minutes prior to kick-off; and that they responded immediately. This is absolutely untrue.
I joined the crowd at the entrance to the tunnel at approximately 11:35 and within 30 seconds or so I became alarmed because I was aware that the crowd behind me was increasing very quickly and pressure was being exerted from behind. For the first minute or so, slow but uncomfortable progress was made. Then the real impact became obvious. As fans were coming from the east and meeting those from the west head-on, there was literally nowhere to go. The pressure from in front and behind was increasing and I felt considerable alarm for my own safety and for the safety of those around me. There was a woman with a young boy of around 10 or 11 in front of me and she was struggling to keep hold of him. I had him hold on to the woman’s rucksack and I placed my hands on her shoulders to create a “cage” for him to keep him from being crushed. There were many children being lifted onto adults shoulders to escape the crush. People had very quickly become aware that this was a very dangerous situation and I was surprised at how calm the majority of people were and remained.
I have been in sizeable crowds at Celtic Park over the past 50 years and many of them far bigger than Sunday’s crowd. However, I can categorically state that I never experienced the fear and alarm that I did on Sunday. My main fear was that if anyone tripped or fell that they would be trampled to death – there would have been no chance of getting up.
I was in the crush for around 10 to 15 minutes (though it felt far longerz when I got ¾ of the wat along the tunnel the crowd dissipated and the crush cleared. I managed to get into my place in Section 111 just before kick-off (John Paul Taylor, the SLO can verify this as I spoke to him as I was walking to my place in the rail seating). One of the guys I meet at the game with had seen the problems as he was walking towards Janefield St and diverted along the Gallowgate. Another was caught up in the crush and hurt and scraped his hands and arms as he scaled the wall at the cemetery. The Police and stewards were absolutely unprepared for this and their planning, along with Celtic’s was abysmal and the need to be held to account for this gross negligence. The match commander is a very fortunate man not to be facing significant charges over dereliction of duty over this incident and it must be highlighted bad (and prolonged) the incident was; and how the Police response was delayed for up to 15 minutes and wholly unsatisfactory in preve
I was unfortunately caught up in the initial crush in Janefield St tunnel on Sunday 2nd September, just after 11:35am – well before Police Scotland suggest the incident occurred; here is my recollection and viewpoint on events.
- I had met a few friends for breakfast in Coias on Sunday morning and we left before 11 to meet and say hello to some other friends at the corner of the Celtic Superstore – the south-west corner of the stadium; one of