Security Guards Tribunal result

**Superhoops** · 23/02/2005, 11:23 PM

Two airport security officers, sacked for asking Glasgow Rangers supporters to cover their jerseys, yesterday lost their unfair dismissal case against Dublin Airport Authority.

Celtic fans Kenneth Geary and Frank Flynn were both dismissed for harassing members of the public.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal heard that on July 12, 2003, Geary, from Lorcan Villas, Santry, and Flynn, from Hill Street, Dublin 1, had stopped Rangers fans and told them to remove their football jerseys or cover them up.

The officers said they acted for the Rangers fans' own safety, as there were Celtic fans already in the terminal. But Dublin Airport Authority said they abused their powers as security officers to discriminate on the basis of religion.

The appeals tribunal had also heard that Ken Geary wore a Celtic jersey to the disciplinary hearing, because his Real Madrid strip was "in the wash".

Subtle or what?

**Longfordian** · 23/02/2005, 11:30 PM

Yeah, turning up in football jersies is always the best way to impress a disciplinary tribunal, 'me Real kit was in the wash bud'

**liam88** · 24/02/2005, 8:36 AM

Think they did a good job to be honest.....not jsut because I'm a Celt but they saved a lot of sh*te kicking off and really it would have been their heads on the block if someone got hurt

**Macy** · 24/02/2005, 9:13 AM

Originally Posted by liam88

Think they did a good job to be honest.....not jsut because I'm a Celt but they saved a lot of sh*te kicking off and really it would have been their heads on the block if someone got hurt

Or there could've been no comments at all - the only trouble that kicked off was them telling them to hide their jerseys. Presumably they should have been telling any one in any club shirts to take them off to save "a lot of sh*te kicking off"?

**Éanna** · 24/02/2005, 10:34 AM

glad to see some effort being made (finally) to rid our society of sectarian neanderthals. Two down, only thousands to go

**Nempton** · 24/02/2005, 5:56 PM

glad to see some effort being made (finally) to rid our society of sectarian neanderthals. Two down, only thousands to go

I couldn't have put it better myself. Although I must say the attitude displayed by the guys in question is a common trait in most but not all Celtic fans around Ireland and one I dislike hugely. Where I'm from, following Celtic belongs to a pub culture where bigots and ignoramuses can be found mis-singing the lyrics of the Wolfe Tones, drinking pint bottles of Bulmers, a beer belly that has gone south as well as east and west and the remains of that mornings breakfast on their jersey which they threw up half an hour ago.

Also on a side note the events that occurred after the Derry-Linfield game where very disappointing and no reference made to it by any Derry fans on the Derry forum on this website. I witnessed it on the news and was so angry. I hate when sport becomes embroiled in political and social issues and that these issues take precedence over the sport itself and detracts from the athletes involved. Can people who differ in politics, religion, sex and colour but yet share a love of football not just come together and watch a match in peace without being subjected to monkey chants and stone throwing? In this day and age you really would have thought so but it seems to be backwards we're going.

**OneRedArmy** · 24/02/2005, 9:00 PM

Originally Posted by Nempton

Also on a side note the events that occurred after the Derry-Linfield game where very disappointing and no reference made to it by any Derry fans on the Derry forum on this website.

Go onto the Derry City Chat or Irish League forums & you`ll see all the disgust & condemnation you`ll need. Also a thread on here somewhere too.

**liam88** · 24/02/2005, 9:05 PM

Originally Posted by Macy

Or there could've been no comments at all - the only trouble that kicked off was them telling them to hide their jerseys. Presumably they should have been telling any one in any club shirts to take them off to save "a lot of sh*te kicking off"?

No but there was a group of Celtic fans further along and even though mabye it's not a technical point but everyone knows that Celtic and Rangers have a pretty unique rivalry..........Éanna and Nempton have just made Celtic fans out to be some biggoted animals so why lets a group of unspecting innocent Rangers fans walk by these 'neanderthals' without warning.......that just wouldn't be fair would it because we know that neantherdals club things they don't like and hit them with big rocks......

.....I could even go on to say Neantderthals might jump up and down on someone until they died........and then celebrate it every time they got together by jumping up and down......OH NO! That's not the Neanderthals-at all is it!!!!

**Éanna** · 24/02/2005, 9:31 PM

Originally Posted by liam88

Éanna and Nempton have just made Celtic fans out to be some biggoted animals

can you read? I didn't say that. Or anything like it.
I said

glad to see some effort being made (finally) to rid our society of sectarian neanderthals. Two down, only thousands to go

Not all Celtic fans are sectarian neanderthals, and not all sectarian neaderthals are Celtic fans. I couldn't care less if these two are Celtic fans or not- what they did was a disgrace.

**liam88** · 24/02/2005, 9:40 PM

Originally Posted by Éanna

what they did was a disgrace.

What stopped a fight from starting and people possibly getting hurt? Yeah we don't want that in our society!

**Superhoops** · 24/02/2005, 9:50 PM

Originally Posted by Éanna

..I couldn't care less if these two are Celtic fans or not- what they did was a disgrace.

Gobsh*tes of the highest order.

**Longfordian** · 24/02/2005, 9:55 PM

Originally Posted by liam88

What stopped a fight from starting and people possibly getting hurt? Yeah we don't want that in our society!

You're missing the point, why should a fight start because they were wearing Rangers jerseys? There's no other evidence that they were misbehaving and Celtic fans weren't asked to cover up their jerseys..That's why it was sectarian discrimination and that's why they got what they deserved

**Éanna** · 24/02/2005, 9:58 PM

Originally Posted by liam88

What stopped a fight from starting and people possibly getting hurt? Yeah we don't want that in our society!

Liam, come on. Think about it. If you walked thru heathrow with a celtic jersey on, would you expect to be told to cover it up? I doubt it. I remember walking round heathrow en route to a UEFA Cup game in Switzerland, draped in a tricolour and there wasn't a word said to me. and that was a good few years ago, when things weren't as calm in the 6 counties.

**gspain** · 24/02/2005, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by liam88

Think they did a good job to be honest.....not jsut because I'm a Celt but they saved a lot of sh*te kicking off and really it would have been their heads on the block if someone got hurt

Had they told them to cover up it would have been fine. they harassed the guys - that was the problem.

**liam88** · 24/02/2005, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by Longfordian

You're missing the point, why should a fight start because they were wearing Rangers jerseys? There's no other evidence that they were misbehaving and Celtic fans weren't asked to cover up their jerseys..That's why it was sectarian discrimination and that's why they got what they deserved

No I thought the point was they were wearing Rangers jerseys and the place was already full of people wearing Celtic jerseys-the staff could see trouble-the Celtic fans were there first so they asked the rangers to cover up.....if the harrased them thought that is different.
Eanna re. Heathrow in my Celtic jersey I'm guessing it'd just be like Surrey up till recently where I got "take that cr*p off", "there's only one team in Scotland" or simply "f*****king Celtic!!!"

re. tri's no one ever had a go at me for wearing one-they just pulled it off my house!

**Éanna** · 24/02/2005, 10:34 PM

Originally Posted by liam88

Eanna re. Heathrow in my Celtic jersey I'm guessing it'd just be like Surrey up till recently where I got "take that cr*p off", "there's only one team in Scotland" or simply "f*****king Celtic!!!"

re. tri's no one ever had a go at me for wearing one-they just pulled it off my house!

my point is- if you were wearing a celtic jersey there and someone told you to take it off, would it bother you?

**liam88** · 25/02/2005, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Éanna

my point is- if you were wearing a celtic jersey there and someone told you to take it off, would it bother you?

Yes.
If they advised me to because there was a bunch of Rangers fans around the corner then no. I'd keep it on anyway but it wouldn't bother me that they asked me to take it off for my own saftey.

**Junior** · 25/02/2005, 2:01 PM

Now I don't know whether these guys have been rightly or wrongly dismissed.

It makes perfect sense to me to ask a few Rangers fans to cover up their colours before heading in to a terminal full of celtic fans. It would be in the interests of the Airport property and personnel to avoid any possible confrontation.

This is no big deal, Ferry companies doing the scotland to Ireland route, & pubs throughout the UK are just two further examples of establishments with similar policies in place with regards to football colours.

However, I am not naive enough to think that these guys could not have gone over the top and abused their positions in which case they should be subject to disciplinary action.

Originally Posted by Superhoops

The officers said they acted for the Rangers fans' own safety, as there were Celtic fans already in the terminal. But Dublin Airport Authority said they abused their powers as security officers to discriminate on the basis of religion.

No one seems to have commented on this section of the quote. Mis-reporting surely? were the two members of airport staff in a position to know what religion the Rangers supporters were? I doubt it. Was this incident one of Religious bigotry? it doesn't appear to be, though if it concerns Celtic or Rangers its much easier to just lump it all together

**Macy** · 28/02/2005, 8:31 AM

Originally Posted by Conor74

Liam, you seem to be assuming that they were doing a good deed.

Now their employer's weighed up everything and sacked them, which is a pretty serious penalty, and not one that employers do lightly, particularly in a unionised workplace. They clearly decided that the actions were unacceptable and there was no good reason for it.

And the independant EAT weighed up the evidence and said the employer's were right to sack them.

So what do you know about the incident that everyone who has heard the evidence missed?

To me this is a key point. If it was just telling them to cover up their jersey's any union worth their salt wouldn't have let it get this far. If they weren't in a union, fook them anyway, but the tribunal would've cleared them if there wasn't the evidence of wrong doing...

**Superhoops** · 28/02/2005, 11:22 PM

Originally Posted by Junior

Was this incident one of Religious bigotry? it doesn't appear to be, though if it concerns Celtic or Rangers its much easier to just lump it all together

I think the 'religious' link is because the incident took place on 12 July 2003 and one of these eejits told the fans to cover up their Rangers jerseys because 'of the day that was in it' an obvious reference to the date and the signifcance of that date.