Celtic fans once again defied their club by holding up Palestinian flags during the club’s Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.
Members of the club’s Green Bridgade supporters group previously acted against the Scottish club’s wishes during a weekend match against Hearts, putting on a similar display in a show of solidarity with Palestine amid the raging conflict in Gaza.
In response to Sunday’s fan movement, Celtic issued a statement distancing itself from the gesture and doubling down on the stadium’s ban on associated flags.
‘Banners displayed in any area of Celtic Park ahead of Saturday’s match do not represent the views of Celtic Football Club and we dissociate ourselves from them. We condemn the display of such messages at Celtic Park,” they said.
‘Celtic is a football club and not a political organisation. One of our core values from the beginning has been to be open to everyone, regardless of race, color, politics or creed.
Celtic supporters defied a ban from their club and brought Palestinian flags to their Champions League match against Atletico
In addition to a choreographed display, fans raised individual flags against their club’s wishes
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‘That is why the club has always made it clear that political messages and banners are not welcome at Celtic Park, or in any match involving Celtic.’
But the club could not stop a second appearance in the UEFA match, which is likely to earn Celtic a fine.
The Green Brigade were denied entry to Celtic Park on Wednesday evening but ensured the display went ahead after handing out ‘thousands’ of Palestinian flags ahead of the match.
In a statement shared by the group they said: In a statement shared by the group they said the club was ‘motivated by the desire to destroy political expression within the Celtic support’, but despite this they would ‘once again encourage the fans to bravely raise the flag of Palestine.”
“For those unable to obtain a flag, the Green Brigade will distribute thousands of flags outside the stadium,” the statement continued. “Although it would be easier to hand out flags indoors, we are prohibited from taking the flags into the stadium.”
Following the club’s statement after the clash with Hearts, the Celtic Supporters’ Association was another group keen to emphasize that they have ‘the right to express political views on the terraces’.
In its own statement, the supporters’ group said: ‘Following a recent statement from Celtic PLC, we would like to reiterate our unwavering belief that we, and other football supporters, have the right to express political views on the terraces, just like ordinary citizens. do elsewhere in society.
“Football remains one of the few areas of public life where the working class has real political agency, and we will not be dictated to by an elitist administration that has repeatedly shown contempt for the history and traditions of Celtic Football Club.”
Celtic are not the only club whose supporters have ignored the ban on flags in relation to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. A number of Palestinian flags have been spotted in the stands ahead of Liverpool’s match against Everton at Anfield.
The club faces a fine from UEFA for this gesture as the rift between the club and the Green Brigades widens
Last weekend, Palestinian flags were also hoisted during Celtic’s away match against Hearts in the Scottish Premier League
Despite a Premier League ban on taking either of the two flags into football stadiums, and a plea from Tottenham themselves, Spurs’ match against Fulham also saw Israeli fans in the away match.
Mail Sport reporters spotted more than fourteen flags at Craven Cottage on Monday evening.
At Celtic Park, both the home team and their visitors will wear black armbands during the match ‘as a show of respect and support for everyone affected by the conflict’.
In 2016, UEFA imposed a sanction on the Scottish club after supporters similarly displayed Palestinian flags during a meeting with Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva.