Hugh Keevins: Fan-Tastic

I have been known to have had the occasional problem with fans. You may have noticed.

For some reason best known to themselves the supporters of all clubs can occasionally have difficulty accepting the depth and breadth of wisdom collected over a long number of years by yours truly.

Some are brutally hostile to my opinions, and the rest really don't care for them. It would appear to be the unanimous decision of the Superscoreboard judges that I lose in a heavyweight contest of contrasting viewpoints.

I respect that outcome, no matter how inaccurate, but I would contend that I have never doubted the heartfelt devotion that supporters have for their clubs. They are the people who pay to get in to matches, and they are therefore entitled to express themselves within the bounds of the law and common decency.

I don't for one moment buy the one about journalists not being entitled to their opinion because they are allowed free entry to the press benches inside football grounds. That area is our place of work and the fans in front of us don't pay to enter their workplace. It's as simple as that.

But the weekend past saw very few press areas occupied as the scheduled card was well and truly battered into submission by Storm Desmond, leaving housebound observers like me to marvel at the lengths to which people went to attend matches that were actually left standing.

Who, for example, would have taken to what is accepted to be one of Scotland's most treacherous roads, the A9, to watch St. Johnstone play Ross County on a day when the travel advice was not to undertake any journey that wasn't essential?

The official attendance in Dingwall was 3,229 and however many of that number were Saints fans then they each deserved to be saluted for the depth of their devotion to the cause.

On Sunday, on the other side of the border, the army was called out to help distressed communities in Carlisle suffering from the worst storm damage in history. While rescue work was being undertaken and roads were subsiding under the torrents of rain that could not be contained the local football team was playing, and defeating, Welling United away from home in the F.A. Cup When television cameras showed Carlisle's goals being celebrated with the travelling support, two things came to mind.

How had the fans got out of a Cumbrian town where streets were being negotiated by emergency pontoons?

And how could the fans be certain of returning to their homes that night in the midst of weather-induced chaos?

If it was moral support for their team above and beyond the call of duty then it might be thought of as nothing compared to the journey some Celtic fans are about to undertake this week.

Ronny Deila's side are out of the Europa League and the final match of their group, against Fenerbahce in Istanbul, is what is known as a dead rubber.

Istanbul is also five hundred miles from the Syrian border at a time when that country is being bombed by British forces.

Visiting Celtic fans have been advised no to travel on Istanbul's largely underground railway following a pipe bomb explosion at a metro station a few days ago.

Celtic cancelled their sole supporters' charter flight to Turkey for security reasons but some fans have insisted on being allowed to make the trip to support their team in a meaningless match.

You can question the wisdom of that decision, and I, for one, would query why anyone would voluntarily go to that part of the world at this particular time to see a totally meaningless game.

But what you can not argue over is the depth of the commitment that some people have for their football club.

The movers and shakers at the BBC's headquarters in London might acknowledge the Celtic and St. Johnstone fans' devotion when they next consider the imbalance in time and money alloted to the coverage of the game north of the border.

The Beeb's comprehensive coverage of the FA Cup at the weekend was nothing short of startling. Sunday saw eight games featured simultaneously, with immediate screenings of every goal scored, and then an hour long highlights programme later in the evening for anyone who didn't have the entire afternoon to spare while watching the ties go out live.

The cost in cameras, technicians, commentators, pundits and all that's necessary to undertake an exercise of that scope must have been astronomical.

But we pay the same licence fee in Scotland as they do down South, so when can we expect to see parity in practice when it comes to the Scottish Cup or the coverage of our league football?

Show me one Carlisle United fan risking life and limb to cheer his team on and I'll match that with a Scottish punter showing complete disregard for his, or her, personal safety to say "I was there." Wherever there was.

To the weekend travellers now home safely, I say well done.

To the Celtic supporters on their way to Turkey, I say have a very safe journey.

We can disagree on any subject except the need for everyone to return safe and well from a game where the football really is of secondary importance.