Bomb sent to Celtic manager intercepted
Source: Agencies |
April 21, 2011, Thursday
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THE parcel bombs sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two prominent supporters of the Glasgow club were live devices that could have caused "real harm," police said.
The devices were sent in the weeks after an ill-tempered match between Celtic and fierce Glasgow rival Rangers, two clubs with a history of sectarian conflict. The packages were all intercepted before reaching their targets and did not explode.
"They were designed to cause real harm to the people who opened them," said detective chief superintendent John Mitchell of Strathclyde Police. "Sending these packages through the post is a despicable and cowardly act."
While police didn't discuss the motive behind the mail bombs, sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland and Glasgow are regularly played out between Celtic fans, who are mostly Catholic, and Rangers fans, who are mostly Protestant.
The first parcel bomb targeting Lennon, a Catholic from Northern Ireland, was found on March 4 and a second was intercepted at a sorting office outside Glasgow on March 26.
Intercepted
Another package destined for Celtic-supporting Scottish lawmaker Trish Godman was intercepted at her constituency office two days later. A third package destined for Paul McBride, a lawyer who has represented Lennon, was intercepted earlier this week.
Stewart Regan, the English chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, said the sport "must not be used as a platform for religious intolerance or hatred."
"As a relative newcomer to this country, I find this recent situation both depressing and deplorable," Regan said. "With the support of the police, the Scottish Government and our other league bodies, it is our intention to help rid Scottish football of this unwanted poison which seems to be prevalent in society."
The news comes just days before Rangers hosts Celtic on Sunday in another league game between the two sides. Rangers are trying to close a four-point gap on the defending champion at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
The devices were sent in the weeks after an ill-tempered match between Celtic and fierce Glasgow rival Rangers, two clubs with a history of sectarian conflict. The packages were all intercepted before reaching their targets and did not explode.
"They were designed to cause real harm to the people who opened them," said detective chief superintendent John Mitchell of Strathclyde Police. "Sending these packages through the post is a despicable and cowardly act."
While police didn't discuss the motive behind the mail bombs, sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland and Glasgow are regularly played out between Celtic fans, who are mostly Catholic, and Rangers fans, who are mostly Protestant.
The first parcel bomb targeting Lennon, a Catholic from Northern Ireland, was found on March 4 and a second was intercepted at a sorting office outside Glasgow on March 26.
Intercepted
Another package destined for Celtic-supporting Scottish lawmaker Trish Godman was intercepted at her constituency office two days later. A third package destined for Paul McBride, a lawyer who has represented Lennon, was intercepted earlier this week.
Stewart Regan, the English chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, said the sport "must not be used as a platform for religious intolerance or hatred."
"As a relative newcomer to this country, I find this recent situation both depressing and deplorable," Regan said. "With the support of the police, the Scottish Government and our other league bodies, it is our intention to help rid Scottish football of this unwanted poison which seems to be prevalent in society."
The news comes just days before Rangers hosts Celtic on Sunday in another league game between the two sides. Rangers are trying to close a four-point gap on the defending champion at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
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