FLYING THE FLAG

Should a Hearts fan carrying a Union Jack be ejected from Tynie? Well, there's no reason why he/she should be ejected but I think they should be asked WHY they are carrying it? WHY should somebody choose a football match to have a sudden outburst of British patriotism? I think that you'll find that in the majority of flag waving cases it's an attempt to antagonise the rival fans (usually Celtic). If the waving of a British flag upsets some Celtic fans then they must lead some sad lives. Alternatively if a Celtic fan waving an Irish flag turns a Jambo into a raging loony then that Jambo has some mixed up ideas going on in his head. If a Celtic fan crosses himself in an attempt to wind me up, I laugh. i find is hilarious that some people think crossing themselves will make me go into a raging fury. i wonder what the Celtic fan would do if I crossed myself in front of them?

Irish flag-waving Celtic fans can argue that the colours of the Irish flag are also the colours of Celtic and Rangers fans can do the same with the Union Jack. hearts original colours were also red white and blue but by the time we won our first trophy in 1891 we were in maroon and white. More importantly, Hearts colours were maroon and white when we won our last trophy in May. Their ain't no maroon in the Union Jack.

If a foreign visitor went to a Hearts vs Celtic match they'd be puzzled why there were Union Jacks at one end of the ground and Irish tricolours at the other when two Scottish teams are playing each other. The bottom line is, regardless of teams' early history, Celtic come from Glasgow, hearts come from Edinburgh. Both teams are Scottish and should be proud of the fact.

What about Hearts playing in Europe? Surely there's no problem with Jambos waving the Union Jack at European matches? Hearts are representing the country, which is both Scotland and the UK. There would be no problem with this if England hadn't hijacked the Union Jack for their own purposes. If you don't think the English have nicked it, how many Tartan Army fans were waving Union Jacks in France? NONE. Compare that number with the number of In-ger-land fans waving Union Jacks in France. If you wave a Union Jack, don't be surprised if people think you're English. If you wave a St Andrews Cross everybody knows you are Scottish. What's so wrong with the saltire? It may not be maroon but it is incorporated into the Hearts badge, we play in the capital of SCOTLAND and when in Europe we represent the SCOTTISH FA. There isn't a British FA yet and not likely to be one either!

To sum up, waving a Union Jack at a European tie is fine as long as you don't mind being called English. But for domestic Scots versus Scots matches, the person waving the Union Jack should be asked why they are waving a flag with no Hearts colours on it and if they can't find a reasonable answer, it should be put away.

THE MAN WITH NO NAME