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".
Mr Marcus Dowling, for Dublin Airport Authority (formerly Aer Rianta), asked Mr Geary if this was a "pretty stupid" thing to do. "In hindsight, yeah," Mr Geary replied.
Yesterday was the second and final day of hearing in the case. Judgment has been reserved. In December, the tribunal heard evidence from the men's colleagues that they were "100 per cent Celtic fans".
Yesterday, Mr Geary and Mr Flynn denied that they had used their positions to deliberately harass Glasgow Rangers fans and said they had merely suggested that they cover their shirts for their own safety. The men worked at the departures gate, checking boarding cards and frisking passengers at the X-ray machines.
Mr Flynn said he had been taking a break with colleagues at one of the airport's restaurants on July 12th, 2003, when he noticed some Rangers fans wearing jerseys. He made some comment to the effect that they were "mad" to be wearing those jerseys in Dublin given the day that was in it.
He said Mr Geary approached him later that evening and said he was concerned about some Rangers fans and asked him to accompany him to talk to the men.
Mr Geary said he had noticed some Celtic supporters drinking in a bar earlier on, and was worried that there might be a "flashpoint" if the fans met.
The security officers said they approached the fans and told them they had no problem with their football shirts, but suggested that they cover them up. "Basically, the young fellas thanked us," said Mr Geary. "They asked us for directions. We gave them directions and they went on their way."
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.
The following day, Mr Geary said some rowdy Rangers fans approached the departure gates where he was checking boarding cards. He smelt alcohol and said they were skipping the queue. He said he suggested that the men cover up their football jerseys for their own safety. One of the men claimed this was sectarian and pointed to a Celtic supporter, asking why he was not ordered to cover his shirt.
Mr Dowling said video evidence disproved Mr Geary's claims that the passengers were rowdy and had been queue-hopping.
Ms Fiona Crawford, for Mr Geary and Mr Flynn, said the investigative process was "fundamentally flawed" and the men had done nothing wrong. Both men said they wanted their jobs back and their names cleared.
