In Glasgow football, there are two factions in place, forever contending for supremacy .....
Rangers Football Club and The Celtic Football Club .... who also represent the aspirations of many in the two Christian religious and social communities of that city and surrounding areas.
These of course are the Protestants (Rangers), and Catholics (Celtic) and this sectarianism has led to often violent antipathy between the two sets of supporters, which also reflects to some level or another at other clubs as well. In fact the problem seems to be getting worse, and is often described as "Scotland's shame".
The spotlight has increasingly turned to the Scottish Government to tackle it, and Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the "vile cancer" was not just connected to football, but was also a 'societal problem'. But that societal problem will be highlighted again shortly when Scottish football Champions Celtic, are hosted by arch rivals Rangers on the 12th of May 2019. Celtic have just won their eighth Scottish Premiership title in row, but Rangers will reportedly refuse to give Celtic a guard of honour ahead of the 'Old Firm', derby despite it being a tradition afforded to title winners.
All this reminded me that the Blues versus Greens is not a battle confined to Glasgow, or indeed the West of Scotland. I remember from my historical readings that in both the Roman Empire and later Byzantine periods, both the Roman and Constantinople supporters of the chariot racing teams, were defined by their colours .... Blue, Green (and the much less supported Reds and Whites). But it was the Blues and the Greens who dominated the support (and in Byzantium, the politics of their cities) ... in both cities the Emperor traditionally supported one or the other of the two colours.
The Roman Emperor Caligula was an avid Green fan and is alleged to have poisoned Blue and other colours drivers or horses, to ensure a green victory. The average lifespan of a charioteer was calculated to be 22 years of age .... which is somewhat shorter than a Scottish footballer, but shows the battles were just as tough, if not tougher. And just like their Scottish counterparts, it was unusual, if not impossible, for a charioteer to swap between Blues and Greens. However once a year they had a race known as the Diversium, where the drivers would swap teams, and a charioteer named Porphyrius uniquely won racing first for Greens versus Blues, then vice versa ... he had statues raised in his honour.
During the Roman period, there were not very many riots as a result of these Green v Blue races, and the fall of the Western part of the Roman empire effectively ended the Blues and the Greens et al, because racing had ended at the Circus Maximus .... the last race in Rome was run in AD 559 solely for the benefit of the Gothic conqueror Totila, who was curious as to what they looked like. He presumably wasn't impressed.
But not so the Byzantine fans who, like their modern football equivalents would regularly erupt into violence that would spill into the streets from the Hippodrome ... indeed one such riot became known as the Nika (Victory) Revolt in AD 525. It was so serious that it nearly toppled the Emperor Justinian .... this was becasue in an unusual alliance, the fans of both Greens and Blues united to ransack half of Constantinople, leaving it burnt to the ground, and over 30,000 people dead. Imagine what that would do to Glasgow?
Eventually these two factions disappeared, and by the 11th - 12th in Constantinople they had been replaced by jousting and the imported sport of polo.
So perhaps, bearing in mind the potential political consequences, its understandable that the Scottish government has been so loath to interfere in the strife between the Blues and the Greens over the last 40 years or so.
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| Blues Versus Greens - An Historical Battle ..... |
Rangers Football Club and The Celtic Football Club .... who also represent the aspirations of many in the two Christian religious and social communities of that city and surrounding areas.
These of course are the Protestants (Rangers), and Catholics (Celtic) and this sectarianism has led to often violent antipathy between the two sets of supporters, which also reflects to some level or another at other clubs as well. In fact the problem seems to be getting worse, and is often described as "Scotland's shame".
The spotlight has increasingly turned to the Scottish Government to tackle it, and Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf said the "vile cancer" was not just connected to football, but was also a 'societal problem'. But that societal problem will be highlighted again shortly when Scottish football Champions Celtic, are hosted by arch rivals Rangers on the 12th of May 2019. Celtic have just won their eighth Scottish Premiership title in row, but Rangers will reportedly refuse to give Celtic a guard of honour ahead of the 'Old Firm', derby despite it being a tradition afforded to title winners.
All this reminded me that the Blues versus Greens is not a battle confined to Glasgow, or indeed the West of Scotland. I remember from my historical readings that in both the Roman Empire and later Byzantine periods, both the Roman and Constantinople supporters of the chariot racing teams, were defined by their colours .... Blue, Green (and the much less supported Reds and Whites). But it was the Blues and the Greens who dominated the support (and in Byzantium, the politics of their cities) ... in both cities the Emperor traditionally supported one or the other of the two colours.
 |
| Greens Versus Blues Started In Roman Times And Still Goes On In Glasgow .... |
The Roman Emperor Caligula was an avid Green fan and is alleged to have poisoned Blue and other colours drivers or horses, to ensure a green victory. The average lifespan of a charioteer was calculated to be 22 years of age .... which is somewhat shorter than a Scottish footballer, but shows the battles were just as tough, if not tougher. And just like their Scottish counterparts, it was unusual, if not impossible, for a charioteer to swap between Blues and Greens. However once a year they had a race known as the Diversium, where the drivers would swap teams, and a charioteer named Porphyrius uniquely won racing first for Greens versus Blues, then vice versa ... he had statues raised in his honour.
During the Roman period, there were not very many riots as a result of these Green v Blue races, and the fall of the Western part of the Roman empire effectively ended the Blues and the Greens et al, because racing had ended at the Circus Maximus .... the last race in Rome was run in AD 559 solely for the benefit of the Gothic conqueror Totila, who was curious as to what they looked like. He presumably wasn't impressed.
But not so the Byzantine fans who, like their modern football equivalents would regularly erupt into violence that would spill into the streets from the Hippodrome ... indeed one such riot became known as the Nika (Victory) Revolt in AD 525. It was so serious that it nearly toppled the Emperor Justinian .... this was becasue in an unusual alliance, the fans of both Greens and Blues united to ransack half of Constantinople, leaving it burnt to the ground, and over 30,000 people dead. Imagine what that would do to Glasgow?
Eventually these two factions disappeared, and by the 11th - 12th in Constantinople they had been replaced by jousting and the imported sport of polo.
So perhaps, bearing in mind the potential political consequences, its understandable that the Scottish government has been so loath to interfere in the strife between the Blues and the Greens over the last 40 years or so.
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