Celtic fans to defy club over Palestinian flags

A Celtic fans' group will distribute Palestinian flags at Celtic Park, despite the move being condemned by the club.

The Green Brigade said they would hand out flags to supporters ahead of Wednesday's Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid.

Celtic have already banned the group from attending away games after they displayed the flags at recent matches.

It is expected the club will receive a fine if the display goes ahead.

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues in the Middle East, Celtic fans have displayed Palestinian flags at recent games against Kilmarnock and Hearts.

The group previously reiterated its "unshakeable belief" that football supporters have the right to express political beliefs.

A statement released by the Green Brigade said the sanctions they had faced were "motivated by a desire to quash political expression within the Celtic support".

The statement continued: "In spite of this, and any further obstruction, we once again encourage fans to courageously fly the flag for Palestine."

The group said they would distribute "thousands" of flags outside Celtic Park ahead of the game despite being prohibited from bringing them into the stadium.

Celtic previously disassociated the club from the "entirely inappropriate" banners.

One of the club's players, 22-year-old Liel Abada, is from Israel and is being supported by the club as the conflict escalates.

Many Celtic fans have long had an affiliation with the Palestinian cause, with supporters displaying the country's national flag on a number of occasions.

In 2014, European football's governing body Uefa fined the club after fans waved Palestinian flags during a match against Iceland's KR Reykjavik.

Perhaps most controversially, the Green Brigade chose to display the flag once again during their team's 2016 Champions League qualifier against Israeli side, Hapoel Beer-Sheva - a move which landed the club a £8,600 fine.

Celtic were also fined more than £15,350 by Uefa after fans displayed an offensive anti-monarchy banner during a Champions League match last year.

Uefa said the fine was for showing a "provocative message of an offensive nature".

To many football supporters, their clubs are an extension of their beliefs.

Some fans are happy to follow the football alone, but others want to be associated with an entity where their views on other matters can be shared in solidarity, in the stands, supporters' buses or in social clubs.

It has been this way since working men first aligned themselves with the colours of their local village, town, or city's football club. But the globalisation of football, along with the globalisation of the media, has made that concept ever more difficult and sometimes extremely delicate.

Celtic Football Club has always prided itself on being open to all but as an organisation founded in the late 19th Century to help feed the poor, its core ethos has, understandably, been viewed as one aimed towards social justice and equality.

So how do fans, keen to share and promote those beliefs, express them in a world where politics and world events are so polarised and football authorities want nothing to do with any of it?

This is the backdrop to the ongoing dispute between the club and a section of its support who are determined to show support for Palestine. Celtic have already been fined on two separate occasions after some fans displayed Palestinian flags during Champions League matches.

The club has recently distanced itself from banners displayed by a section of its support, following the attacks by Hamas in Israel and both Uefa and Fifa are adamant that politics and football should never mix. In a game where money is king, sponsors don't want the controversy.

Those who want to use the club to convey their message are adamant they won't be silenced, though.

As ever, caught in the middle are those who want to leave the world behind for 90 minutes and concentrate solely on the football.

Celtic aren't the only Scottish football club to be punished for fan rule-breaking.

In 2022, Rangers were fined £4,400 by Uefa for actions by supporters during their Europa League group-stage ties.

Hearts were also fined for £10,500 for fans' offences after objects were thrown onto the pitch during their 2022 Europa Conference League match against Italian side Fiorentina.

Celtic have been approached for comment.