Fans’ stance on Middle East war thrusts Celtic FC into spotlight

A stadium ban imposed by Scotland’s reigning football champions on a section of its fan base with long-held support for the Palestinian cause has opened up a bitter divide between the club and its most hardcore supporters.

Celtic Football Club’s decision to suspend members of the Green Brigade from attending home games this week has thrust the Glasgow-based team into the centre of a global debate about how football should respond to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Members of the Green Brigade, a so-called “ultra” fan group known for its strong leftwing political values, last month defied the club’s request on displaying flags and banners associated with the war, triggered by Hamas’ deadly assault on Israel on October 7.

As Celtic prepare for its next match — away at Ross County on Saturday — the controversy is likely to be at the fore of spectators’ minds.

The ban by Celtic’s board could be driven by concerns that fans’ behaviour will harm the club’s reputation and its finances, as the “ultras” rebel against what they see as the erosion of their identity, according to football experts.

Meanwhile, the Green Brigade argue they are acting in line with a long tradition of adopting political causes and standing with the oppressed.

David Low, a Celtic shareholder and former adviser to the board, said the club, founded in the late 19th century to feed the poor in Glasgow’s East End, always had “a political vein running through it”.

“I think the Celtic board are out of step,” said Low, chair of Lowdit Partners, a family investment office. “They don’t want to upset Uefa, which is influencing their position, but human life is more important than football.”

Uefa, European football’s governing body, has opened disciplinary proceedings against Celtic over the fans’ display of Palestinian flags in a game against Spanish side Atlético Madrid last month. It cited “provocative messages that are of a political, ideological, religious or offensive nature”.

The suspension of 250 vocal fans, out of a total of 53,000 season ticket holders, was felt when Celtic played at home this week, with empty gaps visible in the stadium.

“They are colourful and very loud . . . and they help generate a lot of the atmosphere,” said Mark Diffley, founder of polling company the Diffley Partnership, and a season-ticket holder for the past 25 years.

However, he added that demonstrations that took place during another game on the day of the Hamas attacks were “offensive and inappropriate. It was really thoughtless, apart from anything”.

The Green Brigade’s support for the Palestinian cause comes as football authorities and clubs grapple with their response to the war that has killed at least 9,025 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian officials. Israel has been bombarding the enclave in retaliation for the October 7 attacks by Hamas, which it said killed 1,400 people.

Celtic said the ban resulted from “an increasingly serious escalation in unacceptable behaviours and non-compliance with applicable regulations”, including the use of pyrotechnics and alleged instances of violent and intimidating behaviour to stewards.

But in a letter to supporters, Celtic also said it had been informed about a number of banners and flags used by the Green Brigade “which relate to or are connected with terrorist organisations involved in the conflict in the Middle East”.

“This is completely unacceptable at Celtic Park and any match involving Celtic Football Club,” the club added.

The Green Brigade has denied the allegations of bad and unsafe behaviour by its members, describing them as “sinister and defamatory”.

The dispute has been the subject of fierce debate on fan message boards. One Celtic supporter said it all came down to the club’s image and sponsorship. “The bottom line is the bottom line,” a user wrote on Talk Celtic.

The ultras, whose logo features a cracked skull wearing an orange, green and white scarf in a nod to Celtic’s Irish Republican origins, have a long record of clashing with authority.

The group, founded in 2006, describes itself as anti-fascist, embraces the club’s Irish roots and has long shown solidarity with the Palestinian cause, including fundraising for a football academy in the Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem.

“Celtic supporters are right to stand beside the Palestinians, who have been treated appallingly,” said Low, who previously chaired an organisation that campaigns for more supporter involvement and ownership of the club.

The Green Brigade’s actions could “inadvertently” benefit Celtic and Scottish football, which has lost out riches that have flowed to the English game in recent years, said Gerry Hassan, a professor of social change at Glasgow Caledonian University.

“Whatever the rights and wrongs of this, it gives Celtic an enormous international traction,” said Hassan, who supports Dundee United in the second tier Scottish Championship league.