I HAVE never been to Northern Ireland and not had a good time.
During my visits either for work or leisure, I’ve always found the people to be funny, welcoming, kind and just the right side of mad.
Belfast is one of my all-time favourite places. What a city. The past is never far away of course. You only have to turn a corner to be met with a gable wall painted with either republican or unionist art, which is what it is, but this young and vibrant hub is wonderful. Go. You won’t regret it.
I’ve been to Northern Ireland with Rangers, Scotland, Kilmarnock and Gretna. The welcome the Scottish press pack get every time is actually a bit embarrassing. They can’t do enough for you. Derry City in particular, if my woozy memory serves, were far from stingy on the drink.
Windsor Park, the home of the national team and Linfield, has been given a facelift but remains a great old fashioned football ground and I’ve always felt safe and welcome on my few visits.
Linfield are known as a protestant club; however, they have signed many Catholics in recent and not so recent seasons and do you want to know something – the sun still came up and down. Every day as well.
And yet Celtic have decided not to take tickets for their Champions League qualifier with Linfield, apparently on the advice of the PSNI, because they fear there could be trouble.
Now I am no expert on Northern Ireland’s past, present and future, but I know enough to concede that if a Belfast copper says this is a no-goer, and the game being moved to a Friday night makes sense, then you have to listen to them.
And as we all know in our own country, the threat of sectarianism at any level at a football match brings out the worst in people and the worst kind of people.
However, I have quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that suggests this game could go ahead as normal, with Celtic fans allowed in to the ground, without any real hint of bother.
Windsor Park today is easily accessible for away supporters. Yes, even those wearing green and white. Behind one stand is a relatively middle class area. Behind one of the goals is still a traditional unionist area which we will get to in a minute.
Behind the other stand is a motorway and behind that is the Falls Road. Celtic supporters could do their drinking there and travel down the Andersontown Road to the ground without any problem at all.
Alternatively, they could leave the famous Rock Bar on the Falls Road and travel down the Donegal Road. There would be about 300 yards when they would skirt the unionist streets but the police would surely make sure nothing silly could happen.
Apparently at this time of the year some cars going to the Falls do get attacked but I’m reliably told that while the situation could, with emphasis on the word could, be volatile it would be manageable, as manageable as say Amsterdam or Istanbul.
As one Belfast ex-pat told me; “compared to the marching season this is nothing.” Quite.
There are several Celtic supporters clubs in and around the city and surely they would open their doors and also make sure their fellow fans don’t stray into somewhere which they probably shouldn’t.
Cliftonville are a ‘nationalist club’ and their supporters manage to go to Windsor Park at least twice a season with not a problem.
Or even if Celtic feel it would be unwise to sell tickets to their supporters in Scotland, why not hand them out to their fans in Northern Ireland who find it difficult to get over to Glasgow.
Look, I don’t live in a bubble. I am well aware that were the game to go ahead as normal then the atmosphere would be less than pleasant, the party songbook would be emptied and as Celtic have had more UEFA fines than most in recent years, their concerns are justified and understandable.
Whoever did make the final call has done so for the right reasons even if I don’t agree with it. But what a shame that in 2017 good football supporters, which is the 95 per cent, are denied the chance to watch their team.
But still go to Belfast if you can. It’s full of lovely folk
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