Just wanted to comment on the whole ruckus that's come out of this week's Old Firm match.
The reaction from the media, Strathclyde police, and the Scottish Government is an overreaction of the highest order. Were there any calls for West Ham-Arsenal matches to be banned when Pardew and Wenger got at it? Do people call for Eboue to be banned when he throws his shirt into the away section? I'm sure a lot of people think, "Old Firm matches should be held to a higher standard because of its history, the sectarian nature of the derby, etc." At the end of the day, what happens on the pitch means very little. When all those arrests were made at Celtic Park earlier this season, I don't recall anything overly controversial happening on the pitch. Conversely, the media would like us to believe all hell broke loose earlier this week, and there were a fraction of arrests in comparison to what went down several weeks ago.
At the end of the day, the paranoia that has surrounded the aftermath of this match can only be bad for football in both Scotland and England. It probably won't happen, but let's say Old Firm matches are in fact banned, or at least away fans are prohibited from attending. Where do you draw the line? Do you ban North London Derbies because it's kicked off in the past? Do you play any match where violence has occurred in the past, regardless of whether or not they're local derbies, behind closed doors? The gentrification that's occurred in stadia across Britain has taken part of the soul out of the game, and this hyper-paranoid mentality expressed by those in power is only making things worse. If those in positions of power have their way, an English football match wouldn't be too much different than your average NFL game, both on and off the pitch.
