Celtic left furious at 'unacceptable' Palestine flag display made by fan group

Published on: 12 May 2021

Celtic hit out at 'unacceptable' behaviour by fan group The Green Brigade after they put out a fan display in support of Palestine.

Officials encouraged the fan group to lay out shirts, scarves and flags inside Parkhead ahead of captain Scott Brown's final Celtic game at home.

But a number of Palestine-supporting flags were displayed during the fan group's time inside the stadium and Celtic condemned the exhibition, believing they 'exploited the opportunity' inside Parkhead.

'We had invited supporters to pay tribute to our club captain, Scott Brown, by giving them the opportunity to display their own banners in the stadium,' a statement read.

'Unfortunately a small group, which was given access in good faith, has attempted to exploit this opportunity, taken advantage of an occasion intended for our club captain, Scott Brown, and used it for a different purpose.

'Clearly this is unacceptable and the display was immediately taken down by the club.'

Celtic take on St Johnstone on Wednesday night and the club have looked to mark Brown's final appearance at home with tributes in the stands.

The midfielder has been a loyal servant to the Glasgow-based side and was part of the squads who won nine-in-a-row. He is also a quadruple Treble-winner as he captained Celtic in a period of unprecedented success.

But fan access has since been politicised as The Green Brigade looked to stand in solidarity the the people of Palestine. Flags were placed in the North Curve section at Parkhead but have since been removed by the club.

The Palestine territory of Gaza has found itself under attack in the last week after deadly airstrikes from Israel destroyed two tower blocks.

It has been reported that a figure of around 43 Palestinians - including 13 children - were killed.

This is the most severe level of violence Palestine has seen since the 2014 Gaza War.

Israel's military declared the air strikes as a revenge attack made after more than 1,000 rockets were fired from Gaza, killing six Israeli citizens.

The Green Brigade has a history of supporting Palestine amid warfare back in the eastern territory.

In 2016 the fan group led the Match the Fine campaign and found themselves earning widespread support, including from Pink Floyd star Roger Waters.

Celtic were charged by UEFA in that same year because of the Green Brigade's decision to wave Palestinian flags prior to a Champions League qualifier against Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

Supporters came together to raise more than £176,000 and that money was later given to two Palestinian charities.

Source: m.allfootballapp.com

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