A not so glorious Twelfth

In one sense it's silly to speak of negative consequences of 9/11 that don't involve someone getting killed, since of course the main negative consequences of that day are borne by the victims' families and the civilians who got in the way of the hail of bombs and bullets that followed. But one thing we have wondered about is the extent to which the increased emphasis on security has created a class of little dictators in airports and airplanes -- people who can lord it over the passengers, knowing that they can always cite security concerns as a basis for their actions.

For instance, the Canadian passengers who maybe had a legitimate gripe about service on board a transatlantic flight, but who get tossed off the plane in an unscheduled stop at Shannon? And, since it's our job to bring you global issues with an Irish flavour, here's another one. An unfair dismissals tribunal Dublin is hearing the case of two ground security staff at Dublin airport who were fired for harassing football fans (subs. maybe req'd).

And not just any football fans -- fans wearing the jerseys of the dreaded (in Dublin) Glasgow Rangers. As we've noted before, Irish fans have taken to Glasgow's sectarian sporting divisions with gusto, and the two guards, ardent Celtic fans, took the wearing of the Rangers shirts as a provocation. And used their power:

The tribunal heard that on July 12th, 2003, Mr Flynn spotted the football fans and remarked that they should not be wearing Rangers jerseys "on the day that's in it". [1690, Battle of the Boyne anniversary]
It is alleged that he and Mr Geary then waited more than an hour and a half for them to pass through security.
Mr Geary and Mr Flynn, who were described by former colleagues as "100 per cent Celtic fans", approached the three young men in the shopping area of the airport, telling them to cover up their jerseys.
The tribunal heard evidence and saw a video tape of a separate incident the next day when it is alleged Mr Geary was checking boarding cards at the entrance to the frisking area when he barred access to three Rangers supporters until they covered up their jerseys.

It seems that the two former employees don't have a great case, because while they cite some verbal abuse, the dispute had already escalated by that point:

They [the Rangers fans] used sectarian language and called her client "Irish scum" and a "Free State Fenian bastard", [their lawyer] said.
But Mr Dowling said that the video proved that the Rangers supporters had showed no signs of drunkenness or aggression. He also maintained that the sectarian language only arose after Mr Geary had forced the men to cover up their Rangers jerseys.

We're somewhat impressed with the fans' decent command of history in that they could at least uncork insults from two centuries at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, whatever the outcome of the case (and a decision isn't due for two months), the overeager guards doubtless made their day. We're not aware of any similar cases in the USA, but one doesn't seem beyond the bounds of possibility.

UPDATE 13 April: Since we've recently linked to this post, we wanted to do an update on the status of the case. The most recent news item that we could find was an Irish Times story (subs. req'd) covering the resumption of the hearing on the 14th February. The two sacked guards weren't doing themselves many favours during the proceedings:

An airport security officer accused of ordering Glasgow Rangers supporters to cover up their jerseys wore a Glasgow Celtic jersey to a disciplinary hearing, the Employment Appeals Tribunal heard yesterday.

Mr Kenneth Geary and his colleague, Mr Frank Flynn had been dismissed by Aer Rianta for "gross misconduct" over the alleged incident at Dublin Airport on July 12th, 2003.

Mr Geary was also alleged to have been involved in a similar incident the following day. The charges were later changed to "serious misconduct".

Asked why he wore a Glasgow Celtic jersey to a disciplinary hearing, Mr Geary said: "My Real Madrid one was dirty".

And later ...

When Mr Flynn went over to talk to the Rangers fans, he said a colleague, Mr Brendan Butler said something along the lines of "off you go Frankie for a bit of bigotry".

When they returned, Mr Geary started singing the song Land of Hope and Glory. Mr Butler had earlier claimed that this was being done to annoy him as he was leaving to join the London Metropolitan Police. Mr Geary denied this and said he hummed the song because it was written by Elgar and "it's just a great song".

Some of the men's colleagues claimed that Mr Geary and Mr Flynn were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Rangers supporters after the initial sighting and Mr Flynn had asked Mr Geary to ring him on his mobile if he saw them approaching.

But no verdict yet that we know of.