SO much for the cuddlier, less divisive, more family friendly Green Brigade then.
The members of Celtic’s largest and most controversial ultras group have always had a quite remarkable ability to leave onlookers dumbfounded with their actions.
But everyone in Scottish football was lost for words earlier this week when they issued, drum roll, an apology for their conduct at recent matches and pledged to improve their behaviour going forward.
Contrition has not really, despite the lengthy list of misdemeanours they have been guilty of since being formed back in 2006, been something they have ever voiced before.
They have staged coordinated pyrotechnic displays under giant banners and put themselves and those around them at serious risk of injury. They have rushed turnstiles, forced open fire exits and threatened stewards. They celebrated after Palestinian militants attacked Israel and killed hundreds of innocent civilians. But remorse is not something they have previously expressed.
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The unexpected missive led to a flurry of online speculation. What prompted the Green Brigade to take the unprecedented step? Where have they crossed the line of late? Are they worried about receiving another ban as a result?
It has since been suggested the mass brawl which broke out in the stands of the Allianz Arena before their Champions League last 16 match against Bayern Munich in Germany last week was behind the sudden show of penitence.
According to one newspaper report, the son of a well-known Glasgow “mob enforcer” was on the receiving end of a doing in Bavaria and those responsible were fearful of reprisals.
Whatever the reason, the promise to be “more respectful to other supporters” proved to be short-lived. In fact, it lasted only a matter of hours.
Nobody was physically hurt by the tifo paying tribute to former IRA man Brendan “Bik” McFarlane which was unfurled by the Green Brigade during the William Hill Premiership match against Aberdeen at Parkhead on Tuesday night.
But the row which has raged in the days since – politicians and punters have argued about the display and police are now investigating if terrorism legislation has been breached after receiving a complaint - has damaged the Scottish champions’ public image and reputation no end.
Would honouring Evan Williams not have been a far better use of their time and energy? Yes, there was a warm minute’s applause for the former Celtic goalkeeper, who was named Man of the Match after the European Cup final defeat to Feyenoord in Milan in 1970, before kick-off. But would some other mark of respect not have been fitting as well?
There will doubtless have been some outwith Section 111 who approved of the McFarlane salute. But if there were then they will very much have been in a minority. The vast majority of the support have no time for such nonsense and just want to see their team win on the park and their club flourish off it.
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Manager Brendan Rodgers, who grew up in Carnlough in Northern Ireland during the height of The Troubles in the 1970s and 1980s and witnessed first hand the devastation caused, is very much of that view.
He has spoken publicly in the past of his sadness that sectarianism remains, despite his homeland making huge strides forward culturally, politically and economically in the past three decades, such a scourge on Scottish society.
“I left home at the age of 16,” he said during his first spell in charge in 2019. “Then I lived in England and in Wales for a bit. I came up here when I was 43. It’s only really come back into my life since I’ve come to Scotland. That’s the reality. It does not interest me one iota, not one iota. It’s no good for anything.”
Do any of those who continue to glorify terrorism, who belt out chants of “up the ‘Ra” at grounds at home and abroad on a weekly basis, have the same personal experiences as Rodgers? Or are they simply latching on to a conflict which ended years ago and never had any direct bearing on their lives in a desperate attempt to appear cool and hard?
They should, as they promised to do this week, perhaps pause and think about the negative impact their deeds have on the club they purport to love and ponder for a second if, as they arrogantly and mistakenly seem to believe, they are representing all supporters when they make such ill-considered gestures.
Questions have to be asked about how the Green Brigade were allowed to take their tifo in to Parkhead on Tuesday night. Were Celtic aware of what they planned? If so, did they condone it? Could they not have prevented what took place? But it is their ultras who really need to take stock if they are, as they have insisted, genuinely interested in the match day experience of their fellow fans.
