UEFA fined the Scottish club after their supporters waved thousands of Palestinian flags during the match against Atletico Madrid last month.
Scotland’s Celtic Football Club was fined $19,000 after its fans waved Palestinian flags during a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid last month, UEFA said.
The match, which took place at the club’s Celtic Park in Glasgow, saw thousands of supporters wave the Palestinian flag and unfurl banners supporting the people of Gaza amid Israel’s war in the besieged strip.
European football’s governing body called the flags “provocative messages of an offensive nature” in a statement released on Wednesday.
Supporters, who had been warned by the Scottish club not to display flags ahead of the October 25 match, could be heard chanting “You’ll Never Walk Alone” while holding Palestinian flags in a video widely shared on Twitter. social networks.
As kickoff approached, the stadium transformed into a sea of Palestinian flags, each flying the colors of Palestine in a sign of solidarity with those in Gaza under Israeli assault.
Supporters also displayed two large banners at Celtic Park reading “Free Palestine” and “Victory for the Resistance”.
The main standard-bearers, both literally and figuratively, were the Green Brigade – an “ultras” group formed in 2006, renowned for its Irish republicanism and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.
Fearing sanctions, the club urged fans to disregard the Green Brigade’s call to show support for Palestine at the match, issuing a statement demanding “that banners, flags and symbols linked to the conflict and to the countries involved in it are not displayed at Celtic”. Park at that time.”
Days before the match, in an apparent warning to the group, Celtic banned the Green Brigade from all away matches. Following the demonstration against Atletico Madrid, this ban was extended to all home matches.
In a letter to fans, the club outlined several reasons for the ban, including anti-social behavior, the use of pyrotechnics and, most importantly, “against Atletico Madrid, another unauthorized demonstration, breaching previously communicated restrictions “.
The club was also fined $12,550 for fans blocking passageways and using pyrotechnics.
Fans say support for Palestine will continue
For the Green Brigade, there is no doubt that it was the show of solidarity with Palestine that led to their presence being banned.
“The other problems are just a smokescreen,” the Green Brigade told Tel Aviv Tribune earlier this month.
“The club is very intelligent and cynical. They want to sanction us, they want to punish us. They want to send us a message to try to keep us on course and dissuade us from taking further action.
“But they know very well that on the issue of Palestine, they are not on solid ground because they don’t have a lot of support among the wider fans on this issue. So they use other issues on which they think they have support to sanction us.”
The group said it was “unashamed and unequivocal in our support for Palestine” and insisted it would continue.
“And once again Celtic’s wider support showed that they too had the courage and conviction to stand up and be counted. Getting on the right side of history and expressing support for the oppressed, which in this case are the Palestinians.