The Green Brigade and Section 60 - Celtic Da Weekly

Nothing to laugh about this week

Hello, good evening, and welcome to Celtic Da Weekly -the column that’s absolutely, definitely over Sunday. Sort of. Maybe. Look, we’re all doing our best.

If you’re after my thoughts on the game, you can catch them on the podcast we put out on Sunday night. And if you’d like, you too can dismiss our chat about the glaring lack of on-field leadership as “bullshit.” Maybe leadership just looks different when you’re watching through the telly… who knows?

Anyway, it’s international week, which means there’s absolutely nothing good to write about. Unfortunately for me (and possibly for you), Sunday’s events have been rattling around my head for days now, and I can feel a rant brewing. It won’t be funny, but I’ll feel better after it.

Let’s talk about the Green Brigade.

Let’s talk about how the Green Brigade were treated on Sunday.

Now, before we get into it, let’s lay the cards on the table. I’m not wildly pro-Green Brigade, nor am I fiercely against them. Some of what they do, I like - like the Show ‘Israel’ the Red Card banner or Match the Fine for Palestine. Other things, not so much - like refusing to take down a banner when fans who had shelled out a fortune to watch the team in Germany couldn’t see the game, or swinging digs at the wrong folk and then having to dish out awkward online apologies. But unlike at least one of my colleagues at CU, I don’t see their actions in black and white. Not everything they do is magic, but neither is everything they do a disaster.

What’s undeniable is the energy and colour they bring to Celtic Park. They’re a magnet for the young team - absolutely idolised by the next generation of supporters. They’ve got an edge that kids want to be part of: energy, rebellion, and a fierce anti-authoritarian streak. And let’s be honest, if you didn’t have that in you when you were younger, then you just weren’t cool. That same spirit ran through the Jungle in the ‘80s, from chants of Malvinas! to bucket rattling for the miners and the Celtic Fans Against Fascism campaigns. It’s the same energy, the same defiance.

Now, large groups of young guys will always bring a bit of chaos. And when you’ve got a highly visible group like the Green Brigade, they’ll inevitably become the scapegoat for every bit of anti-social behaviour that happens around football. Young lads busting fire doors to sneak their pals into away games? That’ll be the Green Brigade. Young guys doing coke in the toilets? That’ll be the Green Brigade. Young guys acting like young guys did in 1988? Must be the Green Brigade. Must be. It’s easy to pin football’s every social ill on a group of young men in matching olive jackets - even when the actual culprits probably weren’t even wearing the uniform.

So when it comes to the Green Brigade, I’d class myself as a Celtic Centrist Da - taking them on a case-by-case basis. Which is exactly why I can say, without a shred of bias, that the way they were treated by the police on Sunday was an absolute disgrace. And it should be a huge cause for concern - not just for Celtic fans, but for every football fan in Scotland.

Sunday’s game was the first time a match in Glasgow was subject to a Section 60. In case you missed it - and given the limited discussion in the media over the past week, it is entirely possible that you did - a Section 60 is a power under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 that allows police officers in the UK to stop and search individuals without reasonable suspicion in a designated area for a limited time. It is typically used in response to serious concerns about violence, weapons, or disorder, such as after a stabbing, gang-related incidents, or during protests.

On Sunday, it was in operation from 8am until 11:50pm throughout various areas of Glasgow, but for the purposes of this discussion, we’ll focus on the area specifically around Celtic Park. According to those who were there at the time, the Green Brigade and other Celtic supporters gathered at the Celtic Social Club, as they routinely do before matches. A significant police presence was already in place, as is to be expected on days like this.

It had been reported that Rangers fans would be escorted into the stadium at 10:30, and as such, Celtic fans attempted to leave for the game at around 10:45, at which point around 200 people were kettled on the road by police. Fans who were present say that officers stated they were being held until all away supporters had entered the stadium. After an hour, they were then informed they were being detained under Section 60 of the Public Order Act. The given reason? Some individuals were allegedly "concealing their identity" - despite the fact that witnesses state most weren’t wearing face coverings. When this was pointed out, the concern shifted to hats, hoods, and sunglasses. Even when fans offered to remove these items, the police refused to accept this.

To leave the kettle, every individual - including children - was required to undergo a full body search, then provide full personal details and confirm these with relevant ID, all while being filmed.

It’s important to state that this wasn’t just the Green Brigade who experienced this. Anyone who was in the vicinity found themselves scooped up into this action, including two pals of one of the CU contributors, both of whom agreed to the police requirements as they decided it was more important to get to the game than to complain.

To provide some context, I’d like to quote a post that appeared on one of the forums this week from someone who was held.

“Yesterday was supposed to be the weans first derby .Shes been going for years but wasn’t wanting her at a hun game till she had turned 13.

Walked out the Celtic club and in with the crowd so she could get a buzz from the atmosphere.Police and vans all around us near straight away but same as yourself , thought the Huns would be getting out into stadium and we would be moving soon.

Maybe 40 minute later when it was clear we were not going anywhere I tried to move out the crowd and cops said we could go out but myself, my son and the wean would need to be searched, details taken and filmed .Told them that wasn’t happening , no chance they were searching a minor ,so they wouldn’t let us leave the kettle .Near 4 hours later of us standing surrounded by police I was told I could go out without my daughter being videod but me and my boy would have to and if we didn’t comply to that then us two would be lifted, regardless of wean there or not.

Fucking ridiculous, her first derby,stuck in a kettle for about 5 hours overall,not allowed a drink or to go to bathroom and needs to watch her Da and her brother grabbed wae plod like criminals,took away to the front ,details taken and videod.Shes still wanting to go back to next game but you wonder if it’s worth the hassle never mind the amount of cash your down to stand in the middle of the road.”

If that doesn’t have your blood boiling, try this on for size—not a single arrest was made. Not one. Hours of police resources, an entire group of supporters detained, and yet, somehow, not a single charge worthy of cuffing someone.

Police Scotland justified their actions by claiming officers believed the fans posed a threat to public safety due to the “possible possession of weapons and pyrotechnics.” Possible. No evidence, no arrests - just vibes and suspicion.

This isn’t just a minor inconvenience for one group of supporters; it’s a significant and deeply worrying shift in how certain Celtic fans are policed on match days. Maybe you think it won’t affect you. Maybe you’re in the camp of my 50-something pal who shrugged it off with, “Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear.” Well, I’d beg to differ. Every football fan - regardless of where they sit or who they stand with - should be deeply concerned by this. Because when arbitrary, sweeping police actions like this go unchallenged, it’s only a matter of time before they come for the rest.

Because let’s be clear - if there’s one thing the Glasgow police love, it’s a good opportunity to remind folk who’s boss. Nothing quite says keeping the streets safe like pulling someone over for the crime of walking while existing. No reasonable suspicion. No evidence. Just police intuition...

Of course, this Section 60 malarkey is dressed up as a necessary tool to combat serious violence, but in reality, it’s a blunt instrument that raises serious concerns about civil liberties, racial profiling, and whether it even works. Spoiler: it doesn’t.

Normally, if the police want to stop and search someone, they need to have a reason. Maybe they think you’re carrying a weapon, drugs, or stolen goods - something that at least gives the process a veneer of legitimacy. This is how stop and search works under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). But Section 60? Different story.

Under Section 60, a senior officer can declare an area a stop-and-search free-for-all, meaning anyone in that space can be searched without any suspicion whatsoever. Forget due process. Forget individual rights. You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time? Tough luck.

I attended Sunday’s game with my youngest and my sister’s two boys. Both of us have brought our kids up to respect the police, operating on the basis that they are there to protect and serve the community. Sadly, the events of last weekend have significantly undermined that effort.

These three young men - aged 16, 21, and 23 - are now of the opinion that if they had been attending the game themselves, they’d have been the perfect demographic for an overzealous Robocop to exercise his “reasonable suspicion” on. And that’s before we even point out that one of the three was wearing a keffiyeh. Young guys in Celtic jerseys? Showing support for Palestine? Up against the wall, lads.

Because the entire concept of reasonable suspicion exists to stop arbitrary policing - to prevent officers from using their powers indiscriminately. Section 60 steamrolls right over that safeguard, allowing entire communities to be treated as suspects simply because the police have decided they might want to be.

Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. Stop and search in Britain has never been a beacon of fairness, but Section 60 takes racial bias and dials it up to 11.

The numbers don’t lie: Black people are up to 18 times more likely to be stopped under Section 60 than their white counterparts. Eighteen times. Not twice, not three times - eighteen. The police insist this is just a side effect of tackling crime in “high-risk areas,” but let’s be honest - if a policing tool is disproportionately targeting one racial group, then maybe, just maybe, the tool itself is flawed.

While racial profiling may not be considered as much of an issue in Scotland by some, there’s no denying that the Irish Catholic community has had cause to, erm, let’s say struggle with their relationship with Scottish police over the years.

By allowing the police to operate in such a fashion, we further alienate entire communities. If young Celtic fans know they’re going to be randomly searched and ID’d just for going to the game, why on earth would they trust the police? Further to this, it fosters a sense that everyday life is being criminalised. Guys my age really just have to worry about the occasional random bag check at the self-service checkout, but imagine being searched in public simply because you’re going to see Celtic? Treated like a suspect in a crime when all you’ve done is walk out of a Celtic pub or club? That’s not going to prevent crime. It’s harassment that will only stoke resentment - because history tells us what happens when authorities over-police certain groups. Tensions rise, anger festers, and sooner or later, something gives.

The lessons from the FAC don’t seem to have been learned. I’m no fan of Pigwatch, but it’s hardly surprising that it’ll make a comeback on the North Curve Twitter page if this policy continues.

If the police are serious about tackling crime, they need people on their side. Enacting Section 60 does the exact opposite.

And here’s the thing - if a Section 60 actually reduced violent crime, there might at least be an argument for it. But the evidence suggests it’s about as effective as shouting “Down with this sort of thing!” at a fight from across the road.

I went looking for statistical evidence of the success of this approach, and the first thing I found was that data for Scotland is hard to come by - so for now, we’ll have to base our discussion on England and Wales.

In the year ending March 2024, police in England and Wales carried out 5,145 stop and searches under Section 60. How many of those resulted in an arrest? 4.1%. Now, numbers aren’t my strong point, but by my maths, that means 95.9% of the times those powers were used, no arrest was made - which would suggest no criminal activity had taken place. Looks like that old police intuition needs a bit of work.

For offensive weapon searches under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, Black people were searched at a rate 9.2 times higher than white people.

So, what we have here is a policy that disproportionately targets minorities, alienates communities, and doesn’t even deliver results. Remind me again why we’re still doing this?

There’s a reason policing is supposed to be based on consent. When people trust the police, they report crimes, provide intelligence, and help officers actually do their jobs. When they don’t? Well, you get exactly what we’ve got now - mistrust, resentment, and a policing system that looks more about flexing power than solving problems.

Section 60 doesn’t just fail to prevent crime - it actively makes policing harder. The more people feel unfairly targeted, the less likely they are to engage with officers. And when that breakdown in trust happens, it’s not just stop and search that suffers - it’s policing as a whole.

Any law that removes safeguards is a law ripe for misuse, and Section 60 is no exception. As we saw on Sunday, these powers have been used to intimidate and disproportionately target young Celtic fans. In my opinion, they were deployed to enforce social control rather than prevent crime.

And because Section 60 doesn’t require any judicial oversight, there’s little to stop senior officers from using it whenever they see fit. David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, has already warned: “I fully expect Section 60 will be in play at every single Celtic and Rangers match, big derby match or any match which the police believe trouble can break out at.”

A bad law in the hands of unchecked power? What could possibly go wrong?

Section 60 is the worst kind of policing tool - heavy-handed, ineffective, and fundamentally unfair. Its implementation on Sunday didn’t make going to the game safer. It didn’t reduce crime. Say what you like about the GB, but I can’t recall a single time I’ve felt unsafe about the way they support Celtic in the standing section. All this police action has done is erode civil liberties and deepen mistrust between the police and the average Celtic fan.

If the goal is genuinely to tackle violent or antisocial crime, then the police need to focus on community-based strategies, youth programmes, and intelligence-led policing—not on treating entire cohorts of fans like crime scenes in waiting simply because they’re wearing an olive-coloured jacket.

The evidence is clear. The logic is clear. Section 60 isn’t just flawed - it’s dangerous. It should never be used at any football match in Scotland again.