Celtic suspend Green Brigade fans amid safety concerns after Palestine flag row
Celtic have suspended the season tickets of fans in the club’s Green Brigade supporters group after they displayed Palestine flags.
The Scottish giants have clashed with the group several times over the past few weeks, with tensions growing amid allegations of bad behaviour. The Green Brigade defied the club’s demands not to display Palestine flags at Celtic Park at their game against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last week.
Celtic are expecting to be fined by UEFA over the issue, which has followed other incidents including the use of pyro in Rotterdam, bad behaviour in the Lazio fixture and fans getting onto the pitch at Motherwell.
The club have now sent out an email to supporters in the Green Brigade informing them of the decision, having previously been sanctioned by UEFA in 2016 for a pro-Palestine display in the qualifying clash against Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
An email to fans which was shared on social media read: “We are writing to advise that due to repeated incidents of unacceptable conduct involving the 'Green Brigade' group, the Club has suspended the season tickets of all season ticket holders who have registered with the Ticket Office as being part of this group, pending further review and communication with the group and/or the supporters in question regarding compliance with the Ground Regulations, the Rail Seating Safety Code of Conduct, and Club communications, moving forward.
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“Therefore, your ticket is not eligible for use tomorrow night for our match against St. Mirren and will remain suspended until further notice. Access to away tickets for supporters registered as being part of the group will also remain suspended.
The Green Brigade plan to hand out Palestine flags (Mateusz Slodkowski/Getty Images)“The safety of all supporters at Celtic Park is of paramount importance and amid these serious safety concerns, this immediate action whilst regrettable, is considered by the Club to be necessary. We have separately emailed the representative of the group with further detail, following on from a number of formal written communications dating back to September and ongoing dialogue since the summer.”
The Green Brigade, who occupy the north curve of Celtic Park, decided to hand out flags to supporters at Parkhead ahead of the 2-2 draw with Atleti on October 25. They were present in the stands before kick-off, as the players came out of the tunnel and as the Champions League music was played.
In a previous statement, the Green Brigade said: "Despite disingenuous claims, we have absolutely no doubt that these sanctions are motivated by a desire to quash political expression within the Celtic support, specifically in relation to Palestine at this time. In spite of this, and any further obstruction, we once again encourage fans to courageously fly the flag for Palestine.”
They have the "unshakeable belief" that football supporters have the right to express political beliefs and showed flags at the Atletico Madrid game "to show the world that Celtic Football Club stands with the oppressed, not the oppressor".
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