Celtic has spoken out about a new draft proposal that has been drawn up by the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain where the governing body aims to bring in new rules for football fans travelling by coach to attend fixtures in Scotland.
The proposals include measures that would not allow coaches or buses to park within ten miles of a football ground. It would also limit where supporters can be picked up or dropped off without police permission.
And also included in the measures is that supporters’ buses must leave their venue within 30 minutes of matches ending and cannot arrive at their venues two hours before a game or less than one hour before kick-off. A list of the proposals can be found here.
The proposal has been slammed by all supporters in Scottish football and this morning, Celtic have spoken out and released a statement on the matter.
The statement in full reads, [Celtic FC], “Celtic FC are closely monitoring the proposed new rules for fans travelling to matches on public hire vehicles, which have been issued by the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain.
“Celtic has discussed these proposals with groups representing the interests of supporters travelling to matches, including the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Supporters’ Clubs and our supporters’ groups in Ireland.
“The Club shares our supporters’ serious concerns that these proposed measures would do nothing more than demonise football fans, unnecessarily targeting one particular sport and its supporters.
“Supporters are the lifeblood of the game, with thousands each weekend contributing positively to the sport in Scotland, yet these proposals would negatively affect a large proportion of supporters travelling to matches.
“Celtic will engage robustly with the consultation process, outlining the Club’s deep concerns with the proposals consulted upon.”
The Celtic supporters will be delighted that their club has engaged the fans on this matter as the outrage is felt not just by the Hoops support, but all over Scotland.
The SFA and the SPFL released joint statements yesterday highlighting their concerns and now Celtic have thrown their backing at outlining their concerns, the proposal is now coming under more pressure as the spotlight is fixed firmly on the issue.
TBR Celtic will follow this one closely and bring you updates as and when they occur as this is an issue that is not going to go away anytime soon.
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