It’s no wonder Jim McLean hooked him all those years ago as former BBC man John Barnes takes a swing at the Celtic fans for their use of pyro’s at the cup final at Hampden.
The Celtic pyro debate is one that will rumble on until steps are taken to make safe areas for them but the issue I have with Barnes‘ tweet is that he specifically mentions us and conveniently forgets the flares being set of by the Onion Bears:
Would be good to hear what the authorities/clubs make of this because they seem to condone it. You really have to wonder why there are stewards or police at these games… looks like to stand back and “admire the spectacle” https://t.co/vgfhXfQzBS
— John Barnes (@JohnBarnes01) February 28, 2023
And what exactly does he expect the stewards to do? Look, being a steward is a tough gig. Would John wade in to either ends and try and grab flares from thousands of fans for £9 an hour?
It’s not difficult spotting them on cctv or social media posts. The authorities don’t bother and when they do it’ll be too late.
— John Barnes (@JohnBarnes01) February 28, 2023
Seems not. Now he wants people to play detective on social media to try and stamp it out.
Football is beautiful it’s the fireworks that are dangerous.
— John Barnes (@JohnBarnes01) March 1, 2023
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But when challenged on his views, Barnes didn’t back down. He doubled down:
My team didn’t get beat, as they weren’t involved in that game and I call out all flares, fireworks, smoke bombs etc in commentaries at all grounds.
— John Barnes (@JohnBarnes01) March 1, 2023
Quite a bizarre stance to take. I have no issue with people calling out wrongdoing by football fans. What I have an issue with is people with John’s platform being selective in their criticism of a certain fan group.
We all know why. The Establishment can never be seen to be calling out the Establishment club now can they?
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