Frustrated Celtic fans put forward a ‘comical’ representation of their feelings recently, as they unveiled a new banner directed at club CEO Peter Lawwell amid the coronavirus crisis at the club.
A number of Celtic players have been affected by the recent surge in cases of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, as defender Christopher Jullien along with 16 players and staff are being forced to isolate as a result of testing positive for the virus (STV).
The North Curve section of Celtic fans protested against the club hierarchy as they unveiled the aforementioned poster, comparing their club CEO to Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahhaf, also known as Chemical Ali or Comical Ali or Baghdad Bob, a former information minister of Iraq who gave daily press briefings during the Iraq War.
He acted as a spokesperson for Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi government during the 2003 invasion and used to make appearances on Iraqi TV claiming everything was fine, when it most evidently was not.
Lawwell has been compared to Ali for similar dilution and misrepresentation of the Glasgow club’s current coronavirus crisis. The aforementioned banner featured an illustration of Chemical Ali with Lawwell’s face imprinted on his face, with the words “everything is under control” printed above the picture.
The North Curve account added the caption “it’s time for a regime change” as they uploaded the banner on their social media, and the message from the frustrated fans could not be any clearer.
It’s time for a regime change pic.twitter.com/9eFRiPRCw5
— North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) January 11, 2021
It has not been the best of seasons to be a Celtic supporter, as the defending champions are quite some way behind bitter rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership standings.
It is not a sight that Celtic fans are used to, having won the first division title of Scottish football for eight seasons in a row since Rangers won it last in the 2010/2011 season.
The gap between first and second now is now a whopping 21 points, although Rangers have played three games more than their rivals.
