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As one of the males having the heated discussion (the younger one for the avoidance of doubt) perhaps I should shed some clarity on the matter. The other clearly aggrieved gentleman had removed a flag without request and when asked what he was doing had stormed off like a petulant child up into the stand. I followed him and asked why he had stolen an item of property that did not belong to him. He refused to return the flag proclaiming that it was a symbol of rangers, right wing politics, racism, orangeism (sic) and nothing to do with his football team and that it was offensive to everyone there supporting Inverness. I asked if he would like to move to the side of the stand and have a reasonable conversation out of the way of those around us which he refused to do. I then asked to have our property returned as he had no right to take something belonging to another person, which he refused to do. He then proceeded to rant about how offensive the 'union jack' is in Scotland and that I was displaying the same symbol as people that were attending an SDL rally in Dundee and associating our club with such people. As a British Soldier born and bred in Inverness I have served all over the world proudly displaying the colours of and spreading the message about ICTFC. His proclamation that the union flag which I wear on my uniform every single day and have seen friends and colleagues coffins wrapped in is a symbol of racism is disgraceful and offensive. I work in England, live in Scotland, have a welsh neighbour on one side, an Irish one on the other and identify myself as British, as far as I am aware we are all still one United Kingdom the idea that you can refuse someone's personal identity because of your bigoted preconceptions is bordering on Facism. I was not taken away by stewards, I left having kept calm though out the incident despite great provocation and the stewards were asking if I would like to report the incident to the police which I refused. As to it's relevance to ICT it's red white and blue, had Inverness written across it and our team is currently managed by an Emglishman, has a Northern Ireland international up front, a largely English squad, and captained by an Irishman. We are have a multi national, multi faceted team as we do a fan base, there are scores of fans who have fallen in love with ICT having holidayed in the highlands from England or Wales so to state that we are just a highlands club or just a Scottish club or a northern club is simply wrong.

a British flag? In Britain?!

Merger and flags. This thread is turning into an epic!

I remember us having Canadian flags when we had Xausa and Hastings playing for us. Flags are bits of cloth. Nothing is offensive unless you allow yourself to be offended. Just don't be offended.

Years ago my ICT tops used to get mistaken for Rangers tops and we used to be associated with them for the reason no neutrals really knew who we were. Our identity has grown since then and i haven't had anyone come up to me for years and mistake me for a Rangers fan. Everyone needs to get past this fear of being the Rangers of the north, We are too big a club now to even be considered as a sister club to someone else now. Yes the Union Jack has association with Rangers but who cares, We aren't Rangers and i don't think anyone else seriously thinks we are either! It's stupid to suggest that we can't bring in the British flag to an ICT match when our entire team is built up on British players. As someone mentioned above, i took no offence to the Irish flag being displayed as it was a support for our Irish connection so why is that any different?

I'm so confused on this important issue I'm researching just how offended I should be, or not as the case may be...

Fixed it for you!

Preferably Fijian!

Talking about offensive stuff at ICT games, has anyone else heard about this ultra-offensive 3-3-3-1 formation? Sounds way better than this 4-2-3-1 nonsense!

. I agree! To call one of our fellow fans who is also a member of the armed forces an "idiot", frankly is deeply offensive and upsets me greatly!Agreed wholeheartedly! Come on Joe! Let's be having an apology from you to a brave man who has spent his professional career serving all over the world in the British armed forces under the flag which you - but apparently very few others - seem to find so offensive. These are men who tell us they are proud to serve in our British armed forces, and we are proud of them. It's also thanks to such men - and women - that in more recent decades, the chances of you being blown up as you walk along the high street have been minimised - whether the threat is Irish or Muslim. Many of these people have actually given their lives in the cause of your safety. Your gratitude is a long way short of impressive. So perhaps - having put up out of order - you could now shut up.... after you have issued a much needed and even more belated apology to this man. What a load of fuc**ng sh*te lol

Is anyone offended by my next post, fans in the away end waving the home sides flags and the fans in the away end are also joining in with the home sides song, yet no one chucked them out, Would you complain ? Will you be offended ? Will you enjoy it ? Are you a hypocrite ?

Not after a fight they weren't.

There's been an ICT/Terry Butcher George's Cross, and there was an Irish tricolour at the Semi-Final last year, as well as the aforementioned people wearing Rooney and Hayes Eire kits in 2010, as well as a Romania flag when Marius Niculae was here. If the problem is all "national flags" and even ones that have "INVERNESS" written across them, then what about ICT-related saltires such as the red and blue one that's at games from time to time and the blue one with "Thistle" written across it, which belonged to the fellow that died recently? I don't see a similar outcry over those. Also, the question in the poll is "Are you offended by it", not "do you think it should be there". If people are offended by a piece of cloth with colours on it in such a design and is representative of the country we are in (whether you like it or not) and has the name of our town written across it, then these people really are quite sad and rather pathetic.

It's probably because he's a serving British soldier, and not Irish or Norwegian, that he is proud to have the British flag all over the world. Really small-minded of people to assume that in his own country, it means he is racist, bigoted or that, somehow, despite Inverness scrawled over it, it means he is a Rangers supporter. Says more about the posters that are offended than the soldier that carries it. I don't agree with the overseas military adventures but I doff my cap to our military. I find it offensive for the petty-minded to assume that makes me racist (with an Arabian wife) or Rangers (I was just accused on another thread of being a Celtic supporter).

It's got nothing to do with rangers! it's an Inverness flag with a background of the place Inverness are from! can't get my head around why you hate the flag of the place you live in.

Maybe not a tactical maestro but I don't believe we could be in the lofty position we are if he did not have a decent grasp on tactics.

We will always be known as the Rangers of the North by some but who really cares, we know better. I don't know the motives for those flying the Union Jack but I have seen flags of many nations at many grounds and I, maybe naively, think that there are in support of players from that country that play for their club. There is certainly no place for sectarian chanting at ICT and while I would prefer to see just plain old ICT flags I also don't get worked up when I see another flag, particularly when it has Inverness written on it.

Am I honestly reading that a Union Jack flag with Inverness on it is sectarian? Good grief.

Sickening that people are offended by the flag of the place you live in

Apparently he was so upset about the flag he had to get to his mum as quickly as possible for a cuddle.

This is unbelievable! a british flag with inverness on it is not a problem what so ever considering were all british citizens and part of the united kingdom, there's some amount of morons on this get a grip

Small minded folk that are offended by a Union Jack flag - unbelievable!!

Its not the SNP that has transformed the union flag into a contentious item. Its use by NF, EDL, Rangers/Sevco, and the type of people that follow those groups, and their ideaology, that has made the flag, to some, an objectionable item at a football match. Salmond,Wimbledon,saltire,idiot,pot,kettle?

Mind boggling that there's almost as many posts on a flag than yesterday's game.

Is this what having a SNP government has turned this country into - Folk that get deeply upset and offended by our Union Jack flag!

Patrick thistle up next! Don't they lads fly the German flag? Think the ict bigot police will be in overdrive come next Sunday.always looking for problems when there's none.

Or every time they have to use their passport. Unfortunately the small picture for some obscures the bigger one. A sad reflection on modern Inverness....

Simple - are you offended by the Union Jack appearing at ICT games in the ICT end? EDIT: Poll only topic so you just vote in this topic.

Totally agree with Joe. We spent long enough being the plastic Huns when it was Rangers and now it is the same with Sevco. Don't give me the rubbish that the guy took it as it was our team colours. It is taken knowing it will offend and we don't need our club being associated with the negative connotations. There are sadly racist bigots that follow our club and follow EVERY club in Scotland. We don't need you and Scottish football doesn't need you!

It has certain connotations in Scottish football with it predominantly being associated with one team in particular. I have had a couple of St Johnstone fans I know already mention our plastic hun support and going by the previous bigoted chants of these guys they are pretty bang on aabout them. We are a Highland Scottish team playing in a Scottish league and let's not have our fans being associated with the most hated team in Scottish football! There is a Highland identity to embrace instead of looking like tag along huns