#USA #MA – Scottish football fans visiting for the 2026 FIFA World Cup placed an orange traffic cone atop a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Saint Columbkille Parish in Brighton, prompting strong condemnation from a local Catholic advocacy group.
The incident, which occurred in mid-June, came amid a wave of playful antics by the so-called Tartan Army. Supporters placed cones on numerous statues across Boston, including those of Bill Russell, Paul Revere, and other civic figures, as part of a decades-old Glasgow tradition of irreverent humor.
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts swiftly denounced the act targeting the Marian statue. In a statement, the group called for a hate crime investigation by Boston police and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office. “The time is long overdue for someone to be incarcerated for anti-Catholic vandalism in Massachusetts,” the League declared, citing a series of prior unsolved incidents, including arsons at Catholic sites.
Local media and social media users largely framed the cone placement as harmless fun rather than targeted bigotry. Many noted that the Tartan Army applied the same treatment indiscriminately to secular and religious statues alike during Scotland’s matches in Boston. Videos and photos circulated widely showing fans crowning everything from founding fathers to bronze animals with the bright orange markers.
The episode highlighted tensions between cultural traditions and religious sensitivities. While some Catholics viewed the act as disrespectful ignorance, others urged restraint, arguing it paled in comparison to more serious threats against churches. Defenders of the fans emphasized that the cone could be easily removed and caused no physical damage.
As of late June, authorities had not publicly confirmed any investigation into the Brighton statue incident. The Tartan Army had by then moved on to other World Cup venues, leaving behind a trail of cone-topped landmarks — and a minor controversy — in their wake.
Image: The Blessed Virgin Mary statue vandalized at Saint Columbkille Parish in Brighton, MA.
