Mayor slams thugs who left man fighting for life

Monday, March 31, 2008
Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers last night hit out at so-called football fans who left a man fighting for his life after he was stabbed in broad daylight.
The UUP councillor, who is seeking a meeting with police chiefs over the attack outside Cosgrove's bar on Saturday, urged anyone with information on the incident to contact police.
Trouble flared at the junction of Castle Street and King Street at around 3.30pm when a crowd of between 30 and 40 men - believed to be wearing Linfield football jerseys - attempted to storm the busy pub.
Revellers at the bar had gathered to watch the lunch time Old Firm game.
A 32-year-old man who was walking close to the bar had his throat slashed and last night remained in a critical condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
A number of other people were also injured by bricks, bottles and stones during the trouble.
Mr Rodgers has called for more police patrols in the city centre in a bid to combat crime.
Said the Lord Mayor: "It saddens me when this type of awful activity occurs in this tremendous city of ours.
"My thoughts and prayers are with the young man who is in hospital fighting for his life.
"I hope he makes a speedy recovery.
"I welcome the police response to this appalling incident but I just think that there could've been more officers on the ground on Saturday.
"The issue of policing in the city centre is something which concerns me and I intend to speak to senior officers about this shocking incident which has brought shame to our city.
"These thugs are not real football fans and they have simply undermined all the good work that we have been doing to promote the city.
"What sort of message does this send to people hoping to visit the city.
"We need to learn from this incident and I just hope the city doesn't lose its reputation as one of the safest cities in the UK."
West Belfast SDLP representative Margaret Walsh called on the Irish Football Association (IFA) to investigate the disturbances.
She added: "I would also call on the Irish Football Association to investigate the matter in order to establish if the culprits were Linfield fans.
"Communities cannot accept this type of behaviour and sport should not be used as an excuse to carry out violent acts."
Initial reports claimed that the trouble was between fans of Cliftonville and Linfield but this was later denied by a Reds' spokesman.
"Cliftonville Football Club wish to point out that from information received from the PSNI and other sources, that our supporters were not involved in this incident," said the spokesman.
€ In a separate development, IFA head of Community Relations, Michael Boyd, has hit out at death threat made to Cliftonville manager Eddie Patterson.
He added: "The whole football family in Northern Ireland is united in support for Eddie Patterson and his family at this time.
"Eddie Patterson's commitment as a coach, manager and role model promoting positive community relations through football is well known by football people across Northern Ireland."

Stabbed man critical after gang target city-centre bar

HORRIFIC: The scene in Belfast city centre following violence after a football match between Linfield and Cliftonville on Saturday PICTURE: Sean McKernan/PressEye.com

A man remained in a critical condition last night after being stabbed in the neck by a gang of loyalists outside a Belfast city centre pub.The victim, originally from Glasgow but living in the Cliftonville area of north Belfast, had been in Cosgrove's bar in King Street when it was attacked by a mob armed with knives and other weapons.

Football boss sent bullet in post

The manager of Cliftonville Football Club in Belfast has been sent a bullet in the post, the club has said.
A police investigation is under way after a parcel containing the bullet was sent to Cliftonville manager Eddie Patterson.
The package was intercepted at a postal sorting office on Wednesday.
However, the news was only released after Saturday's Irish Cup semi-final in which Linfield beat Cliftonville by two goals to one.
Mr Patterson said: "The individual, whoever they may be, has just saddened my thoughts on football.
"They cannot be real football supporters."
'Disgusting'
A Cliftonville spokesman said that it was a "disgusting and sad day for football".
The parcel had been addressed to Mr Patterson at the club's Solitude ground, off the Cliftonville Road in north Belfast.
In a statement released on Saturday, the club said that, with Mr Patterson's agreement, they had not commented until now to avoid disrupting the team's preparations or raising tensions in any way.
"Cliftonville Football Club and the PSNI are treating this as a very serious matter and have offered Mr Patterson and his family every support and assistance at this time," the statement said.
Linfield manager David Jeffrey said the person who sent the bullet was "absolutely sick".
"I trust the police will apprehend whatever idiot has done this. Words like condemnation are an understatement. I'm angry that a man like Edward Patterson should be subjected to that," he said.
A police spokesman said it was not policy to discuss the security of individuals.

Two men injured in city violence

A man has been seriously injured after disturbances in Belfast city centre.
A second man is also being treated in hospital after trouble broke out in King Street on Saturday afternoon.
It is understood that a gang of football supporters wearing Rangers fc and Linfield fc tops were involved in the violence after Linfield's victory over Cliftonville in the Irish Cup semi-final.
Police were called to the scene at about 1530 GMT. A spokesman said police officers intervened and two men were taken to hospital by ambulance.
Sinn Féin said the trouble was started by a crowd of Linfield supporters.
Sinn Féin assembly member Paul Maskey said: "I urge people not to get involved in any retaliation. The people who carried this out need to be ashamed of themselves. They need to be arrested and put behind bars for a very long time."
The condition of the second man who was taken to hospital is not known.

No one from the football clubs were available for comment,

The Offical Statement

It was not until the 1960’s that the burning issue of sectarianism reared its ugly head at Ibrox. A former player, Ralph Brand, made the sectarian policy at Rangers public knowledge and around this time the behaviour of Rangers fans was a real problem for the club. In 1963, Rangers fans jeered during the minute’s silence for assassinated Catholic U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Then, in 1967, then vice Chairman Matt Taylor was questioned about Rangers no Catholics policy and he stated that he felt that they policy was

"part of our tradition....we were formed in 1873 as a Protestant boys club. To change now would lose us considerable support."

In 1972 during the European Cup Winners Cup Final in Barcelona, Spain, Rangers fans were to shame themselves publicly. Murray feels that the Spanish police were perhaps not prepared for the antics of the Glaswegian crowd, however in his opinion, the combination of cheap wine and the knowledge that they were in a Catholic country added venom to the situation.
Ian Archer in the Glasgow Herald, issued a damnation of Rangers:
"As a Scottish football club, they [Rangers] are a permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace. This country would be a better place if Rangers did not exist."
In late 1978, Rangers fans were involved in troubles with Aston Villa fans during a friendly match in Birmingham. Birmingham is a city noted for its Irish population and such was the behaviour of the supporters, the match had to be abandoned after only 53 minutes of the game. Willie Waddell said that "these louts are ruining a great club." This brought more pressure on Rangers to sort out the problems caused by their supporters.
In 1983, the resignation of manager John Greig produced fresh calls for the club to end its sectarian employment policy. Chairman at the time, Rae Simpson argued that the club had never been a sectarian club. Perhaps his view would have held more water were it not for the words of the vice chairman 16 years previously. Equally, the presence of supporters’ organisations such as the ‘John Greig Loyal Rangers Supporters Club,’ who picked members up from locations including Orange and Masonic lodges, have not aided their anti-sectarian cause. At the time, Rangers managers had always held strong links with the club, therefore to break with any tradition would have been difficult for them. John Greig was a former player and a member of many fans all time greatest Rangers teams. Each manager knew of the history of the club and so were conditioned by, and refused to break with it. Greig’s predecessor and successor, Jock Wallace, is alleged to have encouraged his players to yell the Protestant battle cry ‘No Surrender’ [See appendix 3] as they entered the field of play.
The Orange Order have long been connected to Rangers, a link supported by the fact that the Order held the annual divine service at Ibrox

Will The Knives Be Out In Force

As we approach the latest old firm derby the question everyone involved with Celtic fc support is asking:
HOW MANY CATHOLICS WILL BE MURDERED IF CELTIC BEAT RANGERS?

"Every second week at Ibrox, many thousands of voices
raucously remind the watching Fenian scum that they, Scotland’s
Catholic haters, are the people, born to walk the Glasgow equivalent of Garvaghy, and that, consequently, Catholics are merely imitation Scots, here on sufferance and lucky to be here at all."
Such views indicate that feelings on the topic of sectarianism in Scottish society are particularly strong.

Rangers told to axe 'Billy Boys'

Rangers have been ordered to make a public announcement at all of their home games prohibiting the chanting of the song "Billy Boys".
The instruction comes from Uefa as one of a number of directives aimed at stamping out sectarianism.
Rangers were fined £13,000 for the sectarian behaviour of their fans at a recent Champions League match.
And Rangers chairman David Murray has already met with supporters groups to make sure their fans comply.
The Rangers Assembly, fanzine and website Follow Follow and the Supporters Trust were all represented at the Murray Park meeting on Thursday evening.
Murray said: "These supporters' groups represented should be applauded for coming forward in recognition of the importance of this issue.
All parties are united in a bid to silence the minority that continue to tarnish the reputation of Rangers Football Club
Rangers statement
"I am delighted at the progress we made.
"Over the last two years, the club has strove fervently under the banner of 'Pride over Prejudice' working with the authorities to impose indefinite and lifetime bans.
"I look forward in the coming weeks to implementing some of the actions that were discussed.
"It is absolutely clear to all concerned that all supporters need to commit to silencing the minority."
The meeting followed receipt of Uefa's written grounds for fining Rangers following the tie against Villarreal.
Uefa also ordered Rangers to "anounce measurable targets in order to reduce sectarian behaviour amongst its supporters".
And it instructed the Glasgow club to prove the success of its measures through statistics communicated to the public.
Rangers have warned that their fans must comply to "avoid sanctions being imposed or expulsion from European competition altogether".
"A positive debate was held at Murray Park and all parties are united in a bid to silence the minority that continue to tarnish the reputation of Rangers Football Club," it was stated on the club website.
A joint committe has been formed between the club and supporters groups.
And a statement from the fans' bodies read: "The message now could not be clearer that the spotlight is upon the supporters and the club and it is their duty to work together to stamp out the minority who are damaging the reputations of all those connected with Rangers Football Club.
"Not only does this small minority tarnish the reputation of Rangers but of Scottish football and our society in general and hopefully anyone who is interested in Scottish football will work with us in assisting to eradicate this behaviour."

Murray sends sectarianism warning

Rangers chairman David Murray says the consequences for the club of fans continuing to sing sectarian songs will be grave.
The Ibrox club were fined by Uefa last season for "discriminatory chanting" and have been warned that any repeat will be more seriously punished.
"The supporters need to show a certain level of integrity and behaviour in the grounds," Murray told Rangers TV.
"But, if they don't, be prepared for the consequences."
Uefa has asked Rangers to announce the banning of such songs before every home game, one of a number of steps Murray has taken to attempt to eradicate the problem.
"We are creating initiatives for match days, we've been meeting supporters' groups, we've been meeting editors of newspapers, we have been pleading with the fans to show respect," Murray added.
"There is only so much the club can do. We can only reiterate it before every match.
"But, if we have a small group of fans who want to continue to behave in such a manner, they're doing no service to this club whatsoever and I am sorry to say it, but in the modern world we live in, that behaviour is totally unacceptable.
"You can only receive so many warnings and we will receive a stiffer penalty (if this goes on) of which every decent ordinary Rangers fan will suffer, so I just ask those people who wish to continue to sing such songs to please stop.
"You are jeopardising the future of our club."

Rangers captain's chants warning

Rangers fans have been warned about sectarian singing by their club captain on the eve of the Old Firm derby.
Midfielder Barry Ferguson urged fans to heed recent warnings, issued after a Uefa fine for sectarian chanting.
He added: "I'm sure our fans won't let us down and the players thank all those who have shown us great support."
The derby at Celtic Park on Saturday is the first to take place since the introduction of orders which could see fans banned from football for 10 years.
Laurence Macintyre, Rangers' head of safety, said: "We have made significant progress since the start of the season.
Offensive songs
"We appeal to our supporters travelling to Parkhead on Saturday to once again show their support of our anti-sectarian policies."
Jim Templeton, president of the Rangers Supporters Assembly, said: "Rangers fans have been singing these songs from the begining of time at Ibrox, Nows the time for change.
"We should be proud of that but we all need to continue our efforts."
Football banning orders were introduced by the Scottish Executive on 1 September, giving courts the powers to ban supporters from all games for up to 10 years.

SECTARIAN ABUSE AIMED AT CELTIC PLAYER AND MANAGER

Killing for Rangers

An Phoblacht · Thursday 31 August 2000
Scotland's unacknowledged sectarianism
BY MICK DERRIG
As the pub danced to Chris Sutton's injury time tap-in last Sunday, as Celtic hammered Rangers 6-2, the moment for this son of Parkhead was spoiled.

It is no coincidence that Johnny Adair's UDA have borrowed a modern Rangers anthem, `Simply The Best', to strut their fascist stuff at Drumcree
The thought jumped into my head and would not go away. I will share it with you now. How many Celtic supporters are going to die tonight because of this? The answer, so far, is one.
James Hardie was watching TV with his kins at his home in Drumchapel. A man burst into his home and stabbed him repeatedly. Drumchapel is the peripheral housing estate on the Northwest edge of Glasgow that produced George Seawright.
It has the twin social poisons of poverty and loyalism. I spent time there as a youth worker in the 1980s. I know the place well; I looked into its soul. I came away from Drumchapel with a settled view that loyalism in Scotland would, one day, be a major social problem which the Scottish nation would have to deal with.
There is now a regular body count of Catholics after every Old Firm game. Last season, a young man called McFadden with Donegal connections was stabbed to death - his crime was wearing a Celtic top. Another young man escaped death by the strength of his sternum - he was shot in the chest by a crossbow. He survived, to the bafflement of medics.
If James Hardie's killer is ever brought to justice, then it would surprise no one if he benefits from the eloquent sophistry of Donald Findlay QC. Findlay was Vice-Chairman of Rangers until he was filmed singing sectarian loyalist party tunes. Before being outed, Findlay had represented a number of loyalists in Scottish courts. No doubt they still call on his services.
Jason Campbell, a UVF thug who slashed a young man's throat to the spine, was heading for a conviction for murder. Findlay got the charge reduced by the skill of his courtroom oratory. Campbell's victim was Mark Scott. He had made the fatal error of walking through Bridgeton in the East End of Glasgow wearing a Celtic Top.
What shocked nice polite Scottish society was that Mark Scott could've been one of their own (i.e. not a working class Taig). Mark Scott's dad is a leading Scottish surgeon and a Protestant. His mother is a Catholic. Nice, middle class, tolerant, they allowed Mark to support Celtic. It cost him his life.
The Scottish media, even presented with this opportunity, chose not to examine this twisted sectarian belief system.
The culture that Rangers nurtures every match day is an open sewer that no one in Scottish society seems willing or able to address. It is no coincidence that Johnny Adair's UDA have borrowed a modern Rangers anthem, `Simply The Best', to strut their fascist stuff at Drumcree.
The badge of a Harryville protester was a Rangers scarf worn as a mask. Rangers keeper Andy Goram was photographed in his home in a room that could only be described as a shrine to loyalism. This is no ordinary soccer club.
The club's unofficial battle hymn for generations has been `The Billy Boys'. It commemorates the exploits of the inter-war Glasgow gang of that name, founded by Billy Fullerton.
Fullerton was one of Mosely's Blackshirts, a member of the British Union of Fascists and a founder member of the Ku Klux Klan in Scotland. His razor-wielding gang weighed in on the side of the state during the 1926 General Strike. Many of the Billy Boys received Certificates of Commendation from the Secretary of State for Scotland for services rendered during the General Strike.
There is a rich vein of fascism in Scotland stretching back to those days. It almost always wears a Rangers shirt.
There is no nationalist equivalent. Simply none.
The British Left wrap themselves up in a comfort blanket that says `both sides are as bad as each other'. This holds about as much water as saying that the Metropolitan Police would not have dealt with the Stephen Lawrence affair differently if Lawrence had have been a white kid who had been murdered by a group of black thugs.
No one seriously believes that anywhere. The Met are racists and the targets of that racism are the lower orders of English society. That means Black and Irish. In Glasgow it means a Catholic with, usually, an Irish surname.
An Irish surname is a major indicator in Scotland thatyou will be unemployed and that your dad was long-term unemployed. It is also a major indicator that you will have worse health than someone without an Irish surname - even when socio-economic factors are allowed for.
What Scottish society and the Scottish political elite - now complete with their own legislature - cannot, it would appear, come to terms with, is that there remains a problem of anti-Catholic/anti-Irish discrimination in Scottish society.
That discrimination legitimises, in the sick heads that killed Mark Scott and James Hardie, the killing of Taigs if the Rangers defence has an off day. Because in Scotland 2000, its still OK to be down on Taigs.
This fixture list slaughter hardly raises a comment from the concerned chattering classes now flying around the Scottish parliament. This is because Catholics still predominate in the lower socio-economic orders and it is an unwritten subtext that Catholics in Scotland, because so many of them have maintained an emotional attachment to Ireland, are not really full members of Scottish society.
For many in the West of Scotland, that is an accurate picture of their mindset. It is certainly the sense of identity I grew up with. We were expatriate Irish. That identity would not be a problem in New York; in Glasgow it can be a stabbing offence.
The next Old Firm game will have more deaths. They will be Catholics. As the graffiti in Portadown says `Any Fenian Will Do'.
At least on this island we recognise Adair's belief system as a social problem. Even that nice Fintan O'Toole said it was a Bad Thing in the Irish Times. There is a wide consensus on this island, and not just among nationalists, that those Drumcree protesters are a social problem. They have a belief system that has no place in an agreed Ireland.
Scotland is still in denial. That is why the killing will continue.

Hate-filled bigot walks

BY FERN LANE
On Saturday night, whilst Donald Findlay, now ex-Vice Chairman of Rangers FC, was relishing the prospect of being up to his knees in Fenian blood, the blood of a 16-year old Celtic supporter, stabbed to death after being chased by a gang of Rangers supporters after the Scottish Cup Final, was being mopped up from Bankhall Street in Glasgow just a few hundred yards from his home. Ironically, Thomas McFadden's mother had not allowed him to attend the match because of her fears of violence; instead he had watched the game on television.
Another Celtic supporter, 20-year-old Karl McGroarty was hit in the chest by a crossbow bolt as he returned home after the match. He had been bought a ticket for the game as a birthday present, never having attended the fixture, and was given a Celtic top at the ground which he was wearing at the time of the attack. He is presently in the intensive care unit in the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow.
The attacks were the violent corollory of the mindset which informs antics such as Findlay's at The Edmiston Club during a celebration for Rangers' cup victory - a celebration, incidentally, at which most of the players were present and at which many of them joined in enthusiastically with Findlay's karaoke rendition of Follow, Follow, The Sash, Derry's Walls and Billy Boys.
However, Findlay was secretly filmed singing some of the most horribly sectarian songs in the Loyalist repertoire and the video tape was subsequently passed on to the Scottish paper, The Daily Record. Amidst the uproar and condemnation which followed the images of his drunken display, Findlay resigned from the Rangers board, pleading that his behaviour had been ``an error of judgement''.
Findlay has been notorious for years as a rampant bigot but has always managed, just, to stay on the right side of the law whilst those in authority turned a blind eye to a sectarianism which bordered on the psychotic. One of his milder comments was that he had never forgiven his mother for giving birth to him on St. Patrick's Day; he chose instead to celebrate his birthday on 12 July.
During his professional career as a QC, he defended Jason Campbell, who was convicted of murdering 16-year-old Celtic supporter Mark Wright and who was claimed by the UVF as one of theirs before an outcry forced them to disown him. He also defended Campbell's close friend, Thomas Longstaff, convicted
last year of attempted murder when he cut the throat of another Celtic supporter, 19-year old Sean O'Connor. Away from the courtroom, Findlay also vigorously defended Paul Gascoigne's notorious flute-playing mime and was savagely critical of those who exposed Rangers' goalkeeper Andy Goram as a loyalist fanatic.
The Daily Record, in exposing Findlay, issued a harsh condemnation, saying: `` ...he has been caught, condemned out of his own foul mouth among his toadies, where, no doubt, he arrogantly assumed he was safe...''
Findlay with his courtroom skills, sharp intelligence and brilliant mind is not stupid. Except that that mind appears to be a closed mind, a narrow mind, pickled and distorted by his innate bigotry. He was knee-deep in it. He wallowed in it. He gloried in it. If he was simply stupid, it might just be understandable. But Findlay always knew exactly what he was doing. That is what makes everything so much worse.
Contents Page for this Issue
Reply to: An Phoblacht

Bogus ‘Celtic fans' hunted by police after north Belfast incident

A gang of young loyalists, posing as Glasgow Celtic supporters, are being sought by the police after a weekend of bitter sectarian clashes in north Belfast.In the latest incident a 17-year-old youth was stabbed three times in the head after being confronted by the gang.The youth had just got off a bus at Brougham Street, between Catholic New Lodge and Protestant Tiger’s Bay areas and was asked his religion by four youths, one of whom, was dressed in Celtic’s green and white colours.The victim, believed to be a Protestant, is understood to have told his attackers he was a Catholic in a bid to escape injury.But as he was fleeing he stumbled and was set upon, and was stabbed and beaten.Earlier a woman was stopped in her car at the nearby Duncairn Gardens and North Queen Street junction by three youths, the ringleader again wearing a Celtic jersey.She was questioned before he smashed the Ford Fiesta’s windows and began beating her while his accomplices began wrecking her car.She got out and ran to safety before her attackers stole the vehicle, which was later found abandoned.Police sources said members of the Ulster Young Militants, the youth wing of the Ulster Defence Association, regularly disguise themselves in the colours of the football club, which was founded by Catholics and has a strong Catholic following in Belfast.

E-fit issued in Glasgow rape case

Strathclyde Police have issued an e-fit of a man they believe may have raped a young woman on her way to church.
The 20-year-old woman was attacked on Sunday, 4 February as she was on her way to St Mungo's Catholic Church in the Townhead area of Glasgow.
The woman was attacked in Glebe Street between 1700 and 1800 GMT - her assailant is said to have escaped in the direction of the Royal Infirmary.
Police said they are keen to speak with anyone who was at or near the Pitz five-a-side football centre at the time of the attack.
Police issued an e-fit of the alleged attackerDetective Inspector Allister Crawford has also asked a young couple who were spotted carrying a wicker basket in nearby Parson Street to come forward.
He said: "I am hopeful that the issue of the e-fit will prompt a response from the public who may recognise the man concerned."
The man suspected of the attack is described as between 23 and 30 years old, 5ft 11in to 6ft 1in, clean shaven with a slim build and mousey short hair.
He wore a blue Rangers fc zipper-style jacket with dark coloured stripes on the sleeves, faded blue denims and was carrying a grey holdall over his shoulder.
Following the attack, the 20-year-old woman was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where she received treatment and was later released.

Rangers wont denounce violence

These are the images of loyalist terrorists who have a show of strength every july for many rangers fc supporters who travel to northern ireland. Rangers football club also go to play against linfield bringing around twenty thousand supporters with them,WHY?

Rangers also donate a large amount of money each year to so called charities in belfast which were set up by loyalist terrorist, but have NEVER asked where the money goes.

'Bigots murdered my son'

Tuesday, 31 July

The father of Gavin Brett, murdered in a sectarian shooting by loyalists at the weekend, has branded his son's killers as bigots.
Eighteen-year-old Gavin was shot dead on the Hightown Road in Glengormley on Sunday night as he stood chatting to a group of Catholic and Protestant friends.
The Red Hand Defenders, a cover name which has been used in the past for the Ulster Defence Association and the Loyalist Volunteer Force, said it carried out the killing.
The RUC chief constable has said the police are investigating the possibility that the UDA murdered Mr Brett, as one of their lines of inquiry.
On Tuesday afternoon, Michael Brett spoke publicly about his son's murder for the first time.
Father tried to save his son
Mr Brett, a paramedic, has attended victims at the scenes of many acts of violence during the Troubles, including the August l998 Real IRA bombing of Omagh which left 29 people dead.
Gavin Brett was murdered by loyalists on SundayAt a police news conference, he described how he had tried in vain to save his son's life when he was called to the scene of the shooting near their home.
"It was difficult to stop trying," he said.
Gavin had just finished high school and was waiting for his A-level results. He was hoping to work with computers.
Mr Brett said Gavin was a precocious, outgoing, friendly young man who had friends in both sections of the community.
But his promising future was ended by people his father said were just bigots.
"There wasn't one bigoted bone in his body and bigots took his life away," Mr Brett said.
'He was my mate'
"I was very, very proud of my son. Apart from being his dad he was my mate, my chum.
"People have asked me, did you bond well with your son? I bonded with my son when he was born 18 years ago and we were the best of mates."
Mr Brett said he had this message for son's killers: "I wonder do they realise the pain and the anguish they've caused my wife (Phyllis), Gavin's brother (Phillip) and sister (Tara) and relatives and friends."
He added: "Last night we had over 200 of Gavin's friends arrive with messages of support, which we greatly appreciated."
On Wednesday hundreds of Gavin's Protestant and Catholic friends are expected to be at his funeral in Glengormley.
Appeal after car found
Meanwhile, the police have issued an appeal for information about a car believed to have been used by the gunmen.
RUC district commander for the area Superintendent Bertie Verner said it was believed two gunmen may have been involved in the shooting.
He appealed for anyone who saw a Vauxhall car driving in a reckless manner after the shooting to contact police.
A similar dark blue Vauxhall Nova car was found burnt out behind shops in the loyalist New Mossley estate after the murder.

Lennon pulls out after death threat

Wednesday, 21 August, 2002, 21:39 GMT 22:39 UK

Lennon is disappointed to have withdrawnNeil Lennon was forced to withdraw from Northern Ireland's team to face Cyprus on Wednesday after a reported death threat from a paramilitary group.
Lennon was due to captain his country's team at Windsor Park in Belfast.
He withdrew on police advice following the threat made by telephone to the BBC earlier on Wednesday.
The threat is believed to have come because Lennon is a Catholic and plays for Celtic.
Lennon played for Leicester City, but it was only when he moved to the predominantly-Catholic Celtic 18 months ago, did the abuse start. Lennon has constantly been verbally abused by the Majority of Rangers fans on and of the pitch since he signed.
Lennon said: "After close consultation with the footballing authorities and the police service of Northern Ireland I will not be participating in this evening's international game.
"I am very disappointed that my desire to play for my country, on my first opportunity to captain my team, has been taken away from me."
Flying home
The Celtic player was not on the Northern Ireland team bus when it arrived at Windsor Park with the rest of the squad.
He flew back to Glasgow later on Wednesday.
A Celtic spokesperson said: "We are very disappointed to learn of the circumstances of Neil's having to withdraw, particularly in his first game as captain of his country's team."
The Irish Football Association consulted with police and with Celtic on the matter before Lennon took the decision to pull out.
Northern Ireland Security Minister Jane Kennedy said a handful of sectarian bigots "have disgraced Northern Ireland in the eyes of the world by ensuring that the captain of the Northern Ireland football team cannot play in an international game".
"It is shameful that people cannot go about their lawful business without intimidation and threats."
The former Leicester player has been the target of sectarian abuse at previous international matches in Belfast.
Threatening messages had been scrawled across a wall near Lennon's family home in Lurgan ahead of the game against Norway last March.
"I thought long and hard about whether I should carry on playing for my country, but the honour of getting the captaincy makes it all worthwhile," Lennon said earlier this week.
WATCH/LISTEN
ON THIS STORY
IFA general secretary David Bowen''We have to respect Neil's decision''
BBC NI football pundit Bobby Carlise''We may now lose Neil Lennon for good''
Former Ireland star Jimmy Quinn"I doubt he'll play again"
NI boss Sammy McIlroy"We'll do our upmost to get Neil back"

Killer's murder appeal rejected

A man jailed for killing a 15-year-old budding football star has lost his appeal against the conviction.
Appeal court judges in Edinburgh said they were satisfied that Brian Beattie had not suffered a miscarriage of justice at his trial.
Rangers supporter Beattie was jailed for life for the murder in 1996 of Celtic Boys' Club member Lawrence Haggart.
After the judges announced their verdict the teenager's father, Larry, said he was "delighted" at the outcome.
I hope he stays where he is as long as possible and he is kept off the streets
Larry HaggartLawrence Haggart's father "We have been waiting seven years for this. We have been on tenterhooks. We were always on edge he would get out," he said.
"I hope he stays where he is as long as possible and he is kept off the streets. We can now get on and grieve for Lawrence in peace," he said.
Beattie was found guilty of the murder at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1998.
He attacked the teenager in his own home in Larbert, in Stirlingshire, in March 1996 and bludgeoned him with an unknown weapon, seriously fracturing his skull, before setting fire to the body.
Beattie, 39, had a criminal record which included sexual attacks on youths in their homes and the abduction of a teenager.
Police evidence
Defence counsel Donald Findlay QC argued the critical questions in the trial were whether Beattie was the perpetrator and whether the direction of judge Lord Dawson to the jury was correct.
The case against Beattie depended on whether the jury accepted the police evidence over what he allegedly said to them but which was not recorded on tape.
The Lord Justice General, Lord Cullen, who heard the appeal with Lord Hamilton and Lady Cosgrove, said they had reservations over Lord Dawson's treatment of the police evidence and particularly the way he referred to the experience and seniority of certain officers.
But the judges said that when they considered all the criticisms made they were not persuaded that the terms in which the trial judge directed the jury gave rise to a miscarriage of justice.
Lord Cullen said the main issue was whether a statement of Beattie's was a true account of what he said or a complete fabrication.
The senior judge said: "It is clear that this issue was put to the jury."

bigoted rangers players

Malcolm told to explain 'gesture'

The Scottish Football Association has ordered Rangers defender Bob Malcolm to explain his reaction to his side winning a penalty against Celtic.
Malcolm, who was on the bench, allegedly gestured after Nacho Novo was brought down by Joos Valgaeren. He was seen to be running his finger accross his neck mimicing a cut your throat threat to the Celtic defender.
He was spoken to by police at the time and referee Kenny Clark included the incident in his match report.
An SFA spokesman said: "Rangers and the player will now receive a letter and be asked for their comments."
The SFA is already looking at incidents involving Novo and Celtic striker Henri Camara,after Novo was heard to call the Celtic striker ( a black fenian bastard ) to which Camara responded by pushing Novo
There was further controversy when Bhoys boss Martin O'Neill claimed midfielder Neil Lennon had been "verbally abused in a racial and sectarian manner" during the game, by the majority of the Rangers fans.

Rangers defender Bob Malcolm was fined by the club for autographing a fan’s programme and then adding the sign-off "FTP" - "f**k the Pope").

Goram the Bigot Terrorist

Rangers goalkeeper Andy Goram likes to mix with loyalist paramilitaries in East Belfast, according to several press reports, Goram was regulary seen in the company of William McGrath and Raymond Semple leading loyalist terrorists who have convictions for arms offences,GBH and sex offences against young boys.
One of the British Governments biggest cover ups KINCORA BOYS HOME which was run by the Orange Order in wich McGrath,Semple,Ian Paisley Lord Mountbatton,amongst others were all involved in, was ordered to be kept under the carpet so to speak by the then Prime Minister Edward Heath Conservative Party,
Goram has made hundreds of visits to Northern Ireland where he regulary attends loyalist functions in which funds are raised to buy guns for the terrorists,he would bring signed Rangers tops or give his signed gloves up for auction.Thousands of pounds have been taken in at these auctions and arms purchased with monies raised are then used for sectarian murders in ulster and Glasgow,Goram had been warned by rangers football club that he must cease his activities with the Loyalist terrorists or face expulsion from the club. Weeks later Andy Goram wore a black armband in the match against Celtic as a mark of respect for Billy Wright? Goram wore the armband five days after Wright was killed. When it provoked controversy he told a tabloid he was wearing it in memory of his Aunt Lily. Well, Lily died last October and there were nine matches between her death and the Celtic game. Besides, Goram's mother has said that Andy wasn't particularly close to Aunt Lily, A True Bigot that again never was punished for his behaviour.

The Scotsman 15/03/1996
A MAN was jailed for life yesterday after being found guilty of the murder of a schoolboy Celtic fan.
Jason Campbell, 23, whose father and uncle were Protestant terrorist paramilitaries, stabbed 16-year-old Mark Scott outside a pub at
Glasgow's Bridgeton Cross on 7 October last year.
Iain Bonomy, QC, prosecuting, revealed to the jury that Campbell had a previous conviction for carrying a knife.
The defence QC, Donald Findlay, suggested that Campbell, of Heron Street, Bridgeton, had originally intended just to slash his victim.
Campbell denied murder and lodged a special defence of alibi, claiming he was at home with his relatives at the time of the killing.
During the trial the court heard how minutes before he died, Mark, a Glasgow Academy pupil and the son of a corporate lawyer, had been
watching Celtic's 2-1 win over Partick Thistle with two friends at nearby Celtic Park.
As the three youngsters - one the son of James Friel, the procurator-fiscal at Paisley -walked along London Road towards Bridgeton Cross
they had to pass through a gauntlet of hate from Rangers fans outside the pub.
The attack, in broad daylight, was witnessed by other fans, women out shopping with their children and people in cars and buses.
After the killing, Campbell sprinted to his home just a few hundred yards away where the family was having a party for his nephew's 12th
birthday.
He quickly showered and changed, then left, travelling later that night to stay with friends in Greenock.
During the first hours after the incident police received at least 50 telephone calls naming Campbell as the killer.
The next day Campbell gave himself up to police with his lawyer Massimo Franchi.
He was picked out by various witnesses as the young man in a pink shirt and denims they saw running from the scene.
One witness identified Campbell as the killer at a parade and in the dock. Another couple saw him with a knife before the murder.
Life for fiend who killed Celtic fan Mark
Daily Record 15/03/1996
ARNOT McWHINNIE
Twisted bigot Jason Campbell was locked up for life yesterday for the brutal murder of a schoolboy Celtic fan.
Campbell, 23, whose father and uncle were feared Protestant terrorist paramilitaries, slashed the throat of 16-year-old Mark Scott.
Yesterday, after a seven-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Sutherland told him: "You have been found guilty of a horrific attack on
an entirely innocent youth."
As he was led away Campbell, of Heron Street, Bridgeton, gave his family a thumbs-up sign.
The trial heard how minutes before he died, Mark, a Glasgow Academy pupil and the son of a top corporate lawyer, had been watching
Celtic's 2- 1 win over Partick Thistle with two pals at nearby Celtic Park.
As the three youngsters headed along London Road towards Bridgeton Cross, Rangers fans screamed abuse.
Campbell, who regularly hung about Bridgeton Cross wearing a bright orange anorak to show off his Loyalist leanings, was spotted by
various witnesses.
The boys did not react to Campbell's abuse but he sneaked up behind them, grabbed Mark and slashed at his throat.
He then sprinted to his home where the family was having a party for his nephew Carson's 12th birthday.
He quickly showered, changed, and then left, travelling later that night to stay with friends in Greenock.
During the first hours after the incident police received at least 50 telephone calls naming Campbell as the killer.
The next day Campbell gave himself up to police and was later identified by several witnesses as the man they saw running away.
One woman identified Campbell as the killer at an identity parade and in the dock.
Campbell claimed he was at home with his family at the time Mark was being attacked.
He was backed up by his mum, Agnes, 52.
And he was so confident that he wouldn't be convicted that at one identity parade he said to a stand- in: "Long live the not proven verdict."
In June, 1979, his father, Colin Campbell, now 53, and his uncle William "Big Bill" Campbell, 54, and another seven Ulster Volunteer Force
terrorists were sentenced to a total of 519 years.
Charges ranged from the bombing of two Catholic pubs in Glasgow and a criminal conspiracy to further the cause of the UVF by gathering
arms and explosives. The brothers were convicted of the conspiracy.
"Big Bill" Campbell, then the UVF's top commander in Scotland, got a total of 62 years in concurrent sentences. The longest was 16 years.
Colin got 57 years, which included a 15-year sentence.
Yesterday both were in court to watch Jason sentenced to life.
A detective who was involved in hunting Mark's killer said yesterday: "This murder chilled the public because the victim could have been
your son, my son, indeed anyone's son.
"He was picked at random and killed for no other reason than he supported the wrong football team.
"What happened shocked people so much that the dogs were barking Campell's name in the street soon after it happened.
"Our phone was red hot and each caller named Campbell as the killer.
"The trouble was the Campbell family is so feared in the area witnesses were just terrified to give their names."

Knife blow left 26-yard trail of blood

Daily Record 07/03/1996
A Schoolboy had his throat ripped open in a street attack as he walked home from a football match, a murder trial heard yesterday.
Celtic fan Mark Scott, the son of a top Glasgow lawyer, died at the scene despite frantic attempts to save him.
A seven-inch wound from his chin to his ear severed Mark's jugular vein and left a 26-yard trail of blood, the High Court in Glasgow was told.
On trial is Jason Campbell, 23, of Heron Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow.
He denies murdering Mark in London Road, near Bridgeton Cross, by striking him on the body with a knife or similar instrument.
Campbell claims he was at home at the time of the alleged incident.
Mark's pals, James Friel and Iain Speirits, told the start of the trial how the three of them were heading home after watching Celtic beat
Partick Thistle 2-1 on October 7 last year.
They were walking along London Road towards the city centre to get a train home.
James told Iain Bonomy QC, prosecuting, that a man standing in a group of people outside a pub near Bridgeton Cross spat beer at them.
The beer hit Mark and Iain, but none of them reacted to it. They just kept walking forward.
James said he then heard footsteps running up from behind.
"When I turned round I saw a person standing behind Mark with his hand beside Mark's neck," he said
Asked by Mr Bonomy if he saw what happened with the hand, he replied: "I only saw the hand up at the neck then the person took the hand
away.
"Mark held his neck and blood came out. He staggered forward diagonally across the pavement and fell beside the gutter."
James said a group of women tried to staunch the blood with clothes. And then volunteer ambulance-women who had been at the match
also came to his aid.
He admitted that walking through that part of Glasgow might have brought them into contact with Rangers fans.
But he said they had never experienced any trouble before.
He said his Celtic scarf was in his jacket pocket. Mark and Iain had Celtic tops on, but they were covered by their clothing.
They did nothing aggressive or anything to attract attention to themselves. "We were just walking along and talking."
James told Mr Bonomy that he identified two people at an identity parade on the basis of their build and hair.
And in court he identified Campbell as one of the two people he picked out.
Cross-examined by Donald Findlay QC, defending, James admitted he only got a "momentary passing glimpse" of Mark's attacker.
Mark's other pal Iain told the trial he saw a man with something black in his hand near Mark's shoulder.
He added: "Mark started holding his neck and began to scream because he was in pain."
Consultant pathologist Professor Peter Vanezis of Glasgow University said he went to the scene and found a trail of blood 26 yards long.
During the post mortem he found a gaping seven-inch wound in Mark's neck which stretched from his chin to under his ear.
It had been caused by a single blow from a smooth-bladed knife.
Mark's jugular vein had been severed and the wound went through to the spine. He also had a deep defensive cut on his left hand and had
bled to death.
Dr Gordon McNaughton, a registrar at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, said the injury severed skin, muscle and blood vessels on the right side of
Mark's neck.
The doctor described his injuries as "non-survivable".

By Fern Lane

Knife victim confronts Ervine

PUP negotiator David Ervine had an uncomfortable time when he met the victim of a sectarian knife attack at a public meeting in London on Thursday 20 November.

Young Celtic supporter, Sean O'Connor, narrowly escaped death after he was attacked just yards from the spot in Glasgow where loyalist Jason Campbell murdered 16-year-old Catholic Mark Scott in 1995. O'Connor confronted Ervine about the PUP's support for Campbell when Ervine addressed a public meeting at the University of North London.

The attack, which left Sean with a gaping six inch wound to his neck which needed fifteen stitches, took place on 15 November as he left the Celtic v Motherwell match at Celtic Park. The assailant had been waiting in the doorway of a betting shop and, as a crowd of supporters passed by, he ran out and slashed the 18-year-old student with a Stanley knife, attempting to cut this throat in what was clearly a copycat attack - like Campbell's victim, Sean was wearing a Celtic shirt.

According to Glasgow police, there have been 38 similar assaults in the area since the Scott murder, all of them directed at Catholics.

Sean had left the football ground with a large number of other Irish supporters. Police and stewards directed them down the loyalist London Road, a practice which has become common in recent months. However, there were no police present on London Road itself, despite the frequency of attacks on Celtic supporters in the area and the prevalence of graffiti glorifying sectarian murderer Jason Campbell.

Sean said: ``As I was walking with the crowd... suddenly I heard a move behind me and out of the corner of my eye I saw this guy come running up to me. I thought he had come to punch me and I just managed to get my arm up to block him. He ran off down an alleyway and the people with me said he was still shouting sectarian abuse as he went... It was only when I felt my shirt was soaking wet and saw the blood that I realised what had happened. Then I felt a huge hole in my neck.

``When I was in the ambulance the paramedic said to me `you do realise that this is attempted murder, there's no doubt about that'. But when the CID interviewed me in hospital they basically admitted that they are not really interested in investigating these kind of sectarian attacks''.

``The doctor who treated me told me that if the blade had gone one millimetre deeper it would have severed a major artery. She said that when that happens you lose consciousness in 40 seconds and will die within minutes. She told me I was extremely lucky to be alive. As it was, I lost three pints of blood anyway.''

A number of the crowd chased the attacker, but he was driven away in a car which was waiting a short distance away, lending support to the claim that the incident was premeditated.

This attack and others like it can be linked to the fact that Jason Campbell has become a loyalist hero. David Ervine and the PUP recently pressed for Campbell's transfer from prison in Scotland to the Six Counties as a `confidence building measure' saying that he was ``well got'' within loyalist circles.

The PUP only withdrew their request when Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar refused to authorise the transfer and when the public outrage at support for someone who had committed such a nakedly sectarian murder became increasingly embarrassing.

During the question-and-answer session after David Ervine's speech in London, Sean O'Connor asked whether he acknowledged that this support for Campbell had significantly contributed to the number of similar attacks on Celtic supporters in Glasgow, including himself, carried out on the assumption that such supporters were Catholics.

Ervine replied, ``At the time I asked for his transfer I didn't know what Jason Campbell's crime was''. This was met with a chorus of disbelieving jeers from the audience. Sean asked what sort of politican Ervine thought he was and what sort of political party he was running if he did not make even the most basic enquiries about a prisoner to whom he was offering public support. He suggested that by supporting Campbell, the PUP was giving its implicit approval to others who committed similarly sectarian attacks.

At this point Ervine appeared to become somewhat unnerved. He denied he or his party could in any way be responsible for the increased sectarian attacks on Catholics in Glasgow, adding, ``I dont' give a damn about Jason Campbell''. The only explanation he could offer Sean was that the killer's father and uncle were past member of the UVF, and for this reason he had given his support to Cambpell. Nevertheless, he also told Sean ``I am very, very sorry for what has happened to you''.

Violent reminder of sectarianism

The murder of a Celtic fan at the hands of a Rangers supporter brought a violent reminder of sectarianism in Scotland.
In Bankhall Street in the Govanhill district on 29 May, teenager Thomas McFadden was stabbed to death in a brawl.
In that same street, on that same afternoon, Rangers fans David Hutton and Peter Rushford marked their club's Cup final win over arch rivals Celtic.
But for Hutton and Rushford their elation at Rangers' victory during a heated match was not confined to a few celebratory pints and a handful of rowdy soccer songs.
The pair were picked up by police and charged in connection with the death of Mr McFadden, 16.

On Tuesday, Hutton, 21, was jailed for life for murder and Rushford, also 21, was sent to prison for a year for assault.
The bloody event in which Mr McFadden died was one of the sorriest episodes in the history of a religious divide involving the city's Catholics and Protestants.
Football has been its major vehicle of expression.
Accusations of bigotry were levelled at Rangers vice-chairman, Donald Findlay, who was videoed singing Loyalist songs. The flamboyant QC resigned his position and apologised for his public display.
That event formed part of the background to claims by one of Scotland's leading composers, James MacMillan, that there is still a strong anti-Catholic bias in Scotland.

His views were in the main dismissed as extreme, but the murder trial shows that the problems created by religious bigotry still exist.
At Edinburgh University, sociologist Michael Rosie is researching the history of sectarianism in Scotland.
Posters from the 1930s show attempts to end it have been around for some time. But he says much of what is classed as sectarianism can be more simply explained.
Mr Rosie said: "To take bigotry and put it in the context of drunken rowdy football fans is to incorrectly give it properties of sectarianism which it does not have." Celtic have backed Rangers in their campaign to wipe out the sectarian following of their team - but old habits die hard and pleas for tolerance have been shown to fall on deaf ears.
A campaign to eradicate racism from the Scottish game has been more successful and those behind it say education could be the key to tackling sectarianism too.
But for the family of Thomas McFadden it is too late - their son was the latest victim in the tribal warfare which goes by the name of Glasgow football rivalry.

Scotland's top defence lawyer exposed as a Protestant bigot

1 July 1999

The Orange Order's continued influence at Rangers FC

On Scottish Cup Final day this year Rangers Football Club beat their Glasgow rivals Celtic 1-0. The same evening, Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay attended a celebratory function in Ibrox Park, his team's ground. There Findlay, Scotland's top defence lawyer, was captured on video leading the singing of sectarian anti-Catholic songs. A song which includes the line ( up to our knees in fenian blood )The Daily Record newspaper led with the news in its Monday June 1, 1999 edition and Findlay quickly resigned as Rangers' vice-chair.
Findlay is a leading member of the Conservative Party in Scotland and was the public face of the Tory campaign against Scottish devolution. As a lawyer, he has defended loyalists rangers fans who have murdered, or attempted to murder Celtic supporters.Orangeism is ripe in Scotland, and is mostly confined to Rangers supporters, It retains a membership of around 25,000. Among Rangers followers, moreover, there is considerable support for the loyalist paramilitary killers of the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association. Until fairly recently, no Rangers player could have a Catholic girlfriend, and no Catholic ever played for Rangers until 10 years ago. Rangers player Paul Gascoigne was disciplined when he imitated playing a flute at one match — a reference to the flute bands used to head the Orange marches intended to intimidate Catholic areas. Andy Goram, formerly a Rangers goalkeeper, appears to enjoy hobnobbing with loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast, according to several press reports. Three years ago the entire team was warned not to sing the Orange anthem, "The Sash", in their dressing room after winning another trophy.
The Findlay affair exposes the pretensions of Rangers owner, millionaire David Murray, to have eliminated religious bigotry from the club. Such claims are quite clearly only for public consumption. Murray and his counterparts and business rivals at Celtic see the sectarianism previously encouraged by both clubs — which has led to several deaths and countless stabbings — as an obstacle to the profits to be made from global TV rights to screen soccer matches.
So Findlay resigned, unrepentant, angry only at having been caught out. The response to this from within the city's social elite has been most informative. A defence campaign of other lawyers has been formed to oppose any attempts to discipline Findlay by his professional body — the Faculty of Advocates. St Andrew's University, where Findlay is rector, has decided to merely delay granting him the traditional honorary degree. The Students Association at the university has given him unqualified support.

Man jailed for sectarian murder

A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Northern Ireland for the sectarian murder of a Catholic boy in County Down

Glasgow Rangers Supporter Norman James Coopey admitted killing 16-year-old James Gerard Morgan. The boy's badly burned body was found in a pit near his home in Annesborough in July 1997.
Lord Justice McCollum at Belfast Crown Court told Coopey that he hadcarried out the "heinous murder" of an innocent young man.
He added that while Coopey participated in this "dreadful crime", he had not planned it, but it was regrettable that while his accomplice was known to police he had "so far escaped the consequences".
Afterwards the boy's parents would only say they were "glad it's now all over".
Body hidden
On 24 July 1997, James was picked up by Coopey and an accomplice while hitchhiking. When they realised he was a Catholic the boy was bludgeoned to death, his body doused in petrol and set alight before being dumped in a 10ft water-filled pit.
Later, an unsuspecting workman disposed of animal carcasses in the pit before covering it over. It was a further two days before his body was found.
Coopey was transferred to the Loyalist Volunteer Force wing in the Maze Prison after being attacked by two Catholic inmates. His lawyer said he now bitterly regretted his involvement in the attack.
Andrew Donaldson, QC, said that Coopey "was very much in fear of the person with him".
He said: "It may well be that taking part in the assault afterwards was to give himself some credibility to the person he was with."
Police confession
Earlier, Terrence Mooney, QC, for the prosecution said the day after the murder Coopey telephoned police to say he had been involved in a killing, although police had no reports of any missing person.
Coopey was able to name his victim and later told detectives he and another man had given the teenager a lift.
Mr Mooney said Coopey said his partner bludgeoned the schoolboy with a claw hammer. But Coopey also confessed that he had "finished Mr Morgan off with further blows" to the back of his head for fear he might later identify him as one of his attackers.

Mother in tribute to murdered son Tuesday, 9 May 2006

Teenager's family view floral tributes left where he was attackedThe mother of a 15-year-old boy murdered in a gang attack in County Antrim has paid tribute to her son.
Michael McIlveen, a Catholic, died in hospital on Monday evening after being beaten with a baseball bat in an alley in Ballymena, on Sunday.
His mother, Gina, said her son was "popular" with Catholic and Protestant friends: "I just can't understand this at all - he didn't deserve it." Just because he wore a Celtic football shirt,Why is that so bad to these hate filled scum?
Four men and a juvenile are still being questioned about the sectarian assault.
Earlier on Tuesday, Michael's uncle, Francis McIlveen, told the BBC's Nolan programme the family wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.
"The family's distraught at the minute, so they are," he said.
"They just can't believe it that wee Michael's gone, a wee child, 15-years-of-age, lying in that bed, dead."
The teenager, from the Dunvale area of Ballymena, was attacked after buying a pizza on Sunday. He had been on a life support machine at Antrim Area Hospital where his family had been at his bedside.
I think now's the time, if any time, in the memory of Michael McIlveen to put an end to sectarianism
Terry ShevlinPSNI district commander
Michael was a pupil at St Patrick's College in Ballymena which held a special assembly on Tuesday morning.
School principal Kate Magee said everyone was shocked by the death of Michael who, she said, had been very popular.
"We feel very much his loss," she said. "We are supporting one another. It is very much a whole community effort to try to support the young people."
Young people have been holding vigils in the teenager's memory and flowers are being laid at the spot where he was attacked.

Michael McIlveen died after being attacked in Ballymena
Superintendent Terry Shevlin, who has pointed to a sectarian motive for the attack, said there was a lot of emotion and anger at the murder.
"There's maybe a turning point within Ballymena - that not just young people but adults, who at times behind the scenes would orchestrate young people to get involved in sectarianism, I think now's the time, if any time, in the memory of Michael McIlveen, to put an end to that."

Rangers Fans Go On Rampage

Lorenzo Amoruso's stunning strike earned Rangers a 1-0 win at Aberdeen in a game which had been held up for 38 minutes because of crowd trouble, After Rangers supporters went on the rampage on their way to Aberdeen football stadium,a few Aberdeen fans who were caught up in the fracas retaliated with chants
Both sides are now likely to face punishment by the football authorities because of the behaviour of their supporters.
Aberdeen's Robbie Winters had been hit by a missile thrown from the Rangers section and home fans were seen to leave one end of the stadium to try to confront their rivals before riot police moved in.
It was a scene which had not been witnessed in Scotland for a number of seasons.
The goal from Amoruso, who had tried to quell the unrest, was the highlight of a largely uneventful 90 minutes on the pitch.
The animosity between the two clubs dates back to the 1970s when four (Aberdeen fans were doused in petrol and set alight, none of them survived). and intensified a decade later when Rangers midfielder Ian Durrant suffered a serious injury following a reckless challenge by Neil Simpson.
A Pittodrie fixture in November 2000 added a new chapter when Fernando Ricksen was caught on camera aiming a kung-fu kick at Darren Young.
The Dutchman became the first player in Scotland to be punished for an offence using solely video evidence as referee Mike McCurry had missed the incident.
Eyebrows were raised when McCurry was appointed for today's game and the potential for trouble was more than evident by the sight of riot police in headgear on the streets before kick-off.
The match itself had already seen Young lectured for clattering Ronald de Boer and then Ricksen in a matter of seconds, and after 24 minutes the trouble began.
Winters was about to take a corner in front of the away fans when missiles started being thrown at him.
While Amoruso, the fans' favourite, tried to calm the supporters down, McCurry ran across the pitch to report the incident to the fourth official
The game was about to restart when Winters was hit on the head by a coin and a rabble of home fans took this as a cue to leave the stand behind the Aberdeen end to make a charge for the away supporters.
Police intervened and McCurry immediately took both teams off. They were to remain in the dressing room for a further 17 minutes, during which time more than 50 Rangers fans were arrested by the riot police.

Life for murderer of Celtic fan

Friday, 19 December, 2003
Thomas Loughrey pictured died from his injuries

A teenager who murdered a Celtic fan has been branded an animal by the judge who sentenced him to life in prison.
James McCormick knifed 17-year-old Thomas Loughrey, who was wearing his favourite hoops top, in the Pollokshaws area of Glasgow on 27 July this year.
The High Court in Kilmarnock heard that McCormick, 17, of Arden, Glasgow, had drunk a cocktail of lager and gin on the day of the killing.
Judge Lord Hardie said the youth should spend a minimum of 15 years in jail.

Web clip shows 'sectarian abuse'

A Sunday newspaper claims video footage posted on the internet shows Rangers football fans chanting sectarian abuse in Spain last week.
A spokesman for Rangers said the club would be discussing all aspects of the Uefa Cup Osasuna game with supporters at a meeting on Tuesday.
The YouTube clip apparently showed fans in a near empty stadium chanting an offensive slogan to a Tina Turner song.
The Sunday Mail claims it was shot in Pamplona last Wednesday.
Dozens of fans in Rangers shirts were seen punching the air as the song is sung. The video has since been taken off YouTube.
The side went out of the Uefa cup last week after losing to Osasuna.
After the match, Rangers complained of a lack of segregation in the stadium and of heavy-handed policing.
Last season Rangers was fined £13,000 by Uefa for disciminatory chants during a Champions League match in Spain and warned about its future conduct.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcvvgxxAlp0&feature=related

The differance between Rangers and Celtic Fans

Reading spanish newspapers in the internet, i remember that when Rangers visited Barcelona for their match in the CL group stages,

Ranger fans were rioting and basically behaving like assholes.

Bar fights all over, etc... etc...However,

today, when celtic fans visited barcelona, they seemed to behave very well. There were festivals going in the montjuic area and everything seem to be in a friendly environment.Why is there such a difference in the behavior of both crowds? is it because ones are well behaved catholics and the other protestant savages? why?

Rangers hoping 20,000 away fans behave on nostalgic return

Rangers make their first return to the scene of one of the most bittersweet triumphs in their history tonight, with the match against Barcelona in Camp Nou conjuring memories of the 1972 Cup Winners' Cup final. The Ibrox side claimed their solitary European trophy in Catalonia 35 years ago with a 3-2 victory over Dynamo Moscow.
What followed proved the first of several spats between Rangers and Uefa. The Scottish side were fined and handed a one-year European ban on account of their fans' over-exuberant celebrations. Even Willie Waddell, the then manager, openly castigated his support, labelling them "hooligans, louts and drunkards amid claims that two teenage girls were raped by several men wearing RANGERS TOPS.


Rangers' class of 2007 will have up to 20,000 travelling fans backing them tonight, despite the fact that the club's official ticket allocation was only a quarter of that number, a matter which has ensured Spain's anti-violence commission has classed this as a high-risk encounter. Riot police clashed with Rangers fans during a match against Osasuna in Pamplona in March. The Scots were also fined for sectarian chanting and an attack on the Villarreal team bus by supporters during their previous visit to Spain in March 2006.Again three men were stabbed,one had his throat cut from ear to ear but some how managed to survive.The reason for this indiscriminate attack was purely the fact that the men were catholics returning from evening mass during the lental period.

Rangers supporter jailed for murder of Celtic fan Sep 22, 1999

A RANGERS football supporter who stabbed a teenage rival Celtic fan to death after an "Old Firm" derby match in Glasgow was jailed for life yesterday.
David Hutton, 21, and Peter Rushford, 22, of Glasgow, attacked 16- year- old Thomas McFadden after Rangers' Scottish Cup Final victory over Celtic on 29 May. The boy was stabbed four times, including twice through the heart.
Hutton, of no fixed address, was found guilty of murder by the jury at the High Court in Glasgow. Rushford was found not guilty of murder but was given a one-year sentence for assault.The men showed no emotion as Lord Caplan passed sentence. He told them: "You have been found guilty of a despicable crime. It was a particularly mean assault ... The court takes a particularly dim view of football violence and this was a particularly nasty incident."
Hutton and Rushford denied murdering the teenager.Hutton told the jury: "I did not mean for him to die. I'm not a monster; I made a very stupid mistake. I pulled the knife out and stabbed him and the knife came back on me and cut me and I opened it up and stabbed him again. I'm disgusted with myself, I'm ashamed of myself I just can't believe I did it."
Rushford admitted the teenager might still be alive if he had not chased and assaulted him. Rushford was joined in the attack by Hutton.

Quote ( I did not mean for him to die) Im sure his parents are happy now that they know that.

HATE FILLED FANS

Rangers football club supporters are the single most bigoted hate filled racist fans in the world.
where ever they go when ever they go they leave their mark, stabbings, rape, robbery, mugging,assults and even MURDER. And the reason is simple, they are stuck in a time warp which goes back hundreds of years they think being protestant means killing all catholics and coloured people. each time they go to play in a foreign country their fans cause mayhem.they have been warned on numerous occasions by the european and world football governing bodies that they will be expelled from all uefa and fifa tournaments for their appalling behaviour. ironically their city rivals Glasgow Celtic have the best record of all supporters worldwide they are the only club supporters that have been given awards by both UEFA,and FIFA, For their exemplary behaviour around the world and as a result they are welcomed with (OPEN ARMS)every where they go.